The Official Blog of Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.

What Do We Celebrate?

2009-08-15T09:01:00.002-04:00

First and foremost I would like to thank all of the individuals involved in coordinating and organizing this year’s Puerto Rican Festival. I enjoyed the food, reconnecting with old friends and the entertainment was pleasant. As I walked the enclosed layout of the festival, I kept thinking to myself, why are we here? What are we celebrating? What have I, or my community achieved that we are here celebrating so joyously this weekend? With these questions stuck in my mind I began to think about the upcoming Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs annually from September 15 through October 15. I began to think about what do we do here in Rochester that recognizes the importance and contributions of this nationally recognized month. The short answer… not enough.

Now more then ever Latinos must begin to be a part of the everyday conversation. In fact, according to the most recent projections from the U.S. Census, Latinos are the nations largest ethnic minority at an estimated 46.9 million individuals. Given that, only Mexico had a larger population of Latinos than the United States. To coincide with this President Obama most recently placed the first ever Latina to the highest court in the land. The confirmation of Sonia Sotomayor, a Puerto Rican from the Bronx on August 6, 2009 was a historic moment for Latinos across the country. In my eyes it was a glimpse of hope that opportunities still exist for an often-overlooked population.

I know our community has a lot of struggles some self-inflected and others systematic, but now more then ever we have individuals in positions to impact change. Yes, that includes me! What we have to do now is focus our agenda back on advocating for our community. We have to create opportunities for our community to help one another and be viewed by the larger community as an asset. Whether those opportunities involve community service, health outreach or educational exposure, more must be done. As a community, we should have a unified presence that has resources for all Latinos to look towards as an advocate or beacon of hope, regardless of political affiliations. In an era where many of our youth feel disengaged and the family structure has dismantled. I feel that we need to go back to the basics of educating our population on all we have accomplished and still have yet to do. We should be exposing our community to the various cultural practices that make us so unique and special. Our language, food and family traditions are important and should not be abandoned. As a community we should have monthly events that continue to recognize all things that make us Latino. We should be educating our youth on what it means to be Latino and in turn sharing all of the rich cultural history we have.

I repeat, what we need is continual ongoing events that are both educational and community service based, events that allow us to truly be viewed as entitled to a celebration. So ask again, what do we celebrate?

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Back to School

2009-07-25T22:22:00.003-04:00

As I write this section I am sitting in the blazing temperatures of Orlando, Florida vacationing with my family in Disney. During my week here, one thing keeps popping back into my mind, that one thing is “back to school.” I keep thinking about the many things I have still to accomplish, but more importantly the many important things that students and parents can do to ensure a successful start to the school year. I thought I would take this month's issue to address some of my “back to school” recommendations for parents and students.

First, parents this is the best time to sit with your daughter or son and clearly go over their performance last school year. It is the best time to discuss those results before you head into the start of another school year. You should both clearly lay out some goals together and then periodically check on your child's progress as the school year goes along. Let me warn you though first, please don't make the goals just about academic performance but make sure you include behavior as well.

Parents, August is also a great time to revisit what is necessary for “back to school” shopping. I often times see many of my students coming to school with the latest and greatest clothing and footwear, but with no book bags, pens or calculators. I know it's important to look good, but if you don't have school supplies from the onset, then your telling your teachers and administrators that it's more important that you look good rather than be prepared for school. If you don't know what's needed for your school, then call them up and ask for a “back to school” supply list. I am sure they would love to provide one for you, but you can never go wrong with lots of notebooks, pens, folders and pencils.

Parents, I will stop here but I cannot emphasize it enough that our students don't hear it enough at home that being successful in school is the most important thing in their lives and that everything else will fall in place once they are successful in school.

Now, some words of advice to the students of Rochester. Let me first start out by saying I hope you have enjoyed your summer, but I also hope you have spent some time thinking about how you will continue your successes or improve on your past performance in school. I will keep my recommendations short and focused really around a couple of things, all which surprisingly you can control.

My first word of advice to you is that you take some time before school and get use to being on a schedule. What do I mean by a schedule? Well, what I mean is that you go to bed at a reasonable hour (no later then 10 P.M.) and that you wake up with the use of an alarm clock. Getting your body in a routine similar to school will help ensure that you are ready to start your school day fully engaged.

My next piece of advice is that you start to read daily, especially if you haven't been doing this at all this summer. I don't care what you read, it could be something that interests you like a good novel or a magazine. What matters to your teachers is that you are reading daily. Unfortunately for you reading alone won't do it and you must take the time to also practice your writing. Again, I am not asking for much, but after you read something take the time to write a quick blurb about what you just read, or maybe it's a paragraph asking some questions that you have about the article or book. The combination of both elements will determine your overall success in school and in life.

Now for my final recommendation for all of you students as you get ready to head back to school. Take the time to take advantage of all the programs, support and opportunities your school has to offer. School is about you, it's not about the adults that work there. In fact, many of them are there to guarantee that you succeed, but they cannot do it without your willingness to succeed in school. Regardless of whatever obstacles you face, school is the one place that can help you move beyond them but you have to want it. I will leave you with this final piece of advice. I can show you all that needs to be done in order to succeed in school, but you the parent and student must take what I give you and actually do it! If you do your part, then the rest will fall into place. Have a great start of the school year and remember to start getting ready now!

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

A New Day

2009-07-25T22:15:00.003-04:00

The summer months are often spent relaxing and enjoying time with your family and friends, but for me it’s a time to begin a new journey. In late May, I was announced and appointed the new school principal of East High School a surprise too many outside my family and close friends. With this appointment comes a new day for not only East High School, but for the Latino community. It is the first time in a very long time that the Rochester City School District has more than one Latino male leading a school. This appointment also puts me, a Latino male in a high public position that has direct access to the city's community. It is my hope that with this position I can help bridge the gap with many families who don’t see a direct association with our public school system. In particular, the Latino families who often feel underrepresented, uninformed and misguided by our school system.

As I write this article, I have been at East High School for two and half weeks and what I have seen is extremely promising. I have seen students engaged and orderly throughout the school. I have seen staff and teachers working closely with students to ensure they succeed. I have also experienced award ceremonies that recognize the hard work and dedication of students, student- athletes and the families that support them. I have also been able to interact with phenomenal programs that exist within the school walls at East High School. School programs such as the Firefighter Training Program that provides high school students an opportunity to gain employment in the Rochester Fire Department after successful completion. In fact, five graduates of East High School were just inducted into service. East High School also has an array of National Academy Foundation programs that focus on business, information technology, culinary arts and hospitality and tourism. Too compliment those programs there is also a Teaching & Learning Institute that prepares and exposes high school students to what is required to become a school teacher. Once more, these are just some of the many positive programs often not recognized by the media that exist at East High School.

With that being said, there are still many areas of improvement for my new school and moving forward to next year it is my hope to continue to build upon the successes currently at East. It is my goal to surround myself with dream builders that understand the challenges we have ahead of us. It is also my goal to continue to foster and build upon the strength of the Rochester community. I look to challenge and enhance the current partnerships with local colleges and universities, to ensure they are truly doing their part in educating our children. I look to enhance the educational experience of all my students. I look to create a high performing environment that fosters high expectations for all students regardless of their socio-economic background. Additionally, my goal is to create a school with a top-ranked staff that competes academically, athletically and artistically with those from more affluent environments. The task will not be easy; in fact it will be arduous. I often have to remind myself that the great pyramids of Egypt were not built over night but stone by stone.

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Summer Vacation

2009-06-07T22:29:00.002-04:00

The weather has finally changed for the better and May’s flowers are now in full bloom. Another school year will come to a close and there will be thousands of youth looking for things to do. There will be another group of youth who would have completed the kindergarten through twelfth grade journey and will now be entering college or the workforce.

Let me be the first to say that just because school is out that doesn’t mean learning has to stop. For the group of students who have not graduated and are still enrolled in school there are plenty of opportunities for you to engage in academic summer programs throughout the city and county. As parents we have to make sure we go out and get access to every opportunity available for our children. Often times it is just a matter of signing up. It is significantly important that we do not allow our students to take a break academically because more often then not our students spend the summer months engaging in little-to-no academic behavior. As a parent or guardian it is your job to continue to hold your child to the expectation that they will continue to learn new things even when school is not in session. Parents must look for summer programs that continue to promote and expose their child to high levels of literacy and math. Particularly important is the exposure to literacy as many of our youth do not read or write enough during the summer months, which often places them behind at the start of the following school year. Even as an adult and college graduate literacy is still my weakest area, which is why I continue to read and write as much as possible. I know I will never be the best at it, but it won’t be due to a lack of effort. If your child is not enrolled in a program, then take him or her to your local community library and have them sign out a book or two of interests that both of you could read together. I can’t think of a better way to improve your child’s reading ability while still spending time together.

Now, for those students who are completing high school let me be the first to congratulate you on your upcoming graduation. Congratulations you made it! For many of you, you are the first in your family to obtain a high school diploma. Enjoy and treasure this moment but don’t get overly excited because your work is far from over. In today’s economic condition it is critically important that you prepare yourself for college or trade school. I encourage you to not necessarily take this summer as a break but to use it as a transition period to prepare yourself for the “real world.” What you do this summer will setup your path down the road of life, therefore make sure you take advantage of every networking and academic opportunity available. If you are going away for college make sure you spend this summer with friends and family while still engaging and learning new things. In retrospect I wish I had prepared myself better for the rigor of college and spent some time reading more about my major or about topics that intrigued me.

Lastly, summer time has been meant as a time to break away from the normal challenges of the school environment but given the poor educational achievement of many that break can no longer be afforded. I challenge you and your parents to make the most of your summer and my hope is that by the end you would have become more knowledgeable then when it began.

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

It Takes A Village...

2009-05-05T13:39:00.001-04:00

Two months ago, the community was hit with another immense setback. The Executive Director, of the Rochester Surround Care Community Corp., formerly known as the Rochester Children’s Zone had stepped down. Thus putting the organization further back and in my opinion completely out of reach of finally producing something that will affect our community. This was not only a huge blow to the fledgling efforts of this organization, which was initiated approximately three years ago by Dr. Rivera who ambitioned replicating what is still going on in Harlem; but it also is a devastating setback to our Latino community. This was the first direct concerted effort that I can remember by various organizations within this community to begin to have conversations around addressing the socio-economic barriers involved in educating our children. Unfortunately, like most initiatives that start with these intentions this effort has resulted in little to no community improvements.

Now my reason for writing about this is not about putting down the organizations efforts, but more about raising awareness that this cause and effort cannot be lost. The old proverb and often-used rhetoric clearly states that it takes a village to raise a child, but right now our village is disconnected. Currently within our village we have only small pockets of individuals stepping up and making educating our children, and specifically our Latino and African-American students a priority. It is my fundamental belief that if we focus on educating our community and specifically those individuals of various ethnic backgrounds who live in the heart of the city that then, and only then will we see improvements in our city. This community needs an individual or leadership that is not afraid to put the critical issues at the forefront. A leader, who understands that the health, well-being and social environment of our students directly effects student achievement considerably. When I visit my grandparents who still live off “La Avenida” and I see abandoned house after abandoned house, or I see local drug dealers hustling just a block away, you can’t tell me that these conditions don’t affect our students abilities to perform let alone dream. The social problems and economic gaps our students live in are real, and must be addressed before we worry about implementing a citywide literacy initiative.

It is my hope that regardless of the outcome of R.C.C.C. that someone or some organization of our community will come together to lead the blended efforts in educating our children. A focus on leveling the playing field for students who have economic and health gaps when they enter our school doors. It is also my conviction that these efforts must be lead by an individual who is specific about the intentions of bettering the lives of African-American and Latino students. A realization that the achievement gap isn’t just about those who live in poverty or are in a lower class, but more importantly a gap that has racial significance. An individual that understands these are issues of access and exposure that our current system is not addressing within our community and schools. Again, we know schools cannot do it alone and that education is the key to opening the doors of opportunity, but until someone is specific and targeted we will continue to have racial achievement gaps and efforts that will continue to die out to bureaucracy. I will leave you with this thought or uncertainty, if not you then who, if not now then when?
--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Fatherhood: It's Never to Late

2009-04-05T20:49:00.002-04:00

It was 1990 and I was 13 years old, it was the last time I can remember my father being around for one of my birthday celebrations or better yet any celebration. Now, there are some things you should know about my father and me. First, we share the same name and secondly, we also share the same birthday. Like most, Latinos naming your first-born boy after the father is a tradition. Furthermore my parents were not married, something that has become a negative standard associated with our culture, and as you can imagine contributed significantly to his absence. In fact, my father didn’t live in Rochester he lived in Newark, New Jersey and currently resides in Florida.

Outside of these small intimate rendezvous around birthdays or holidays that was the extent of our relationship. I grew up without his presence. Although my Grandfather did an outstanding job filling the void, it is something that I still am impacted by today. Questions of why and images of doubt still go through my mind as to why my father was never really involved. At the time of his absence I didn’t know what to think of his lack of involvement, or what to say. I thought it was normal, because all of my other Latino and African American friends were also being raised by their single mothers and grandparents, again I knew nothing else.

The point that I am trying to make is that the role of the Latino Male as a father within our community has drastically declined. In fact, according to the 2000 Census Hispanic women had a 36% rate of childbirths out of wedlock. This statistic clearly states that there is a divide within our family structure. A separation that allows Latino males to not step up and take responsibility for not only creating a child but also in raising them. We have lost the value of fatherhood within the Latino family structure. I am not saying that parents have to get married or even that they have to live together, but instead what I am saying is that the today more then ever the father must be involved in raising his child. Involvement doesn’t mean just paying child support or showing up on those special days. It means picking up the phone daily and calling to check on his or her progress. It means spending time reading a book, or coloring with him or her. It means showing that child, that although you are not living with them, you are committed to always being a part of their life. It also means that during good and bad times you will always be there.

Presently, the communication between my father and I is still sporadic, and although we have never had any meaningful conversations about why things worked out the way they did, I do know he is proud of what I have become. I know that he acknowledges the strength of my mother and the commitment of my grandfather to fill his void. I also know that it hurts him knowing that he wasn’t around enough, although he has never told me directly, he has demonstrated it by his renewed attempts to stay in contact. Again, I know that it hurts because he could never go back and change the way things worked out.

Having recently become a father myself I have not taken the role of being a father lightly. I know realize first hand the power and influence I will have on my son as a man. Lastly, if you could take anything from this small vignette of my life, take with you the impact and importance of being a Latino and a father. There is no time like the present to go out and change your approach and ensure you are a part of your child’s future. Ultimately, If you know a Latino father who hasn’t done their part please remind them of how important this moment is and that it’s never to late to start.
--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Latino Advocacy: Migente Please Stand up!

2009-03-05T20:03:00.001-05:00

The majority of my life has been spent here in Rochester, N.Y. and during all my years I have barely seen or heard a large voice speaking for the Latinos within this community. In my opinion, the focus has always remained predominantly on the needs of the African American community, and the media has contributed to this deficit by continuing to paint the issues in black and white. To the credit of the African American community they have realized the importance of being at the table and have positioned themselves in various political functions, which although not perfect has extremely increased the sponsorship within that community. The same cannot be said of the Latino community.

Whenever an issue is presented in this community whether it’s violence, education, or economic we have no public voice. As a community we have not found ways to advocate for our betterment. As a community we continue to sit back and not realize that we have a role in this community, in fact we have a large voice that is yet to be heard. The issues and concerns of Latinos will continue to remain invisible until we begin to understand the importance of advocacy. The only way we will begin to change this unfortunate circumstance is to come together as one. To create unified partnerships with other Latinos and Latino based organizations. We must begin to work more efficiently, and find ways to ensure that we are always a part of the agenda. We must understand that advocacy must begin within our community. We must be willing to go out and support each other in public forums, to stand up for what is right not only for all of those within our neighborhoods, but especially for Latinos. We must begin to understand the role of education in all we do, and especially in it’s role of advocacy.

Advocacy starts with knowledge, and as Latinos we must remain informed as a community. If we are not, we will remain and continue to be marginalized by society. Education, and in fact literacy has been the tool that has helped so many other ethnicities break through barriers within this country. It is the same tool, which has allowed many activists such as Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass and currently President Barack Obama to unite a group of people and bringing about change within their community. Simply put, through education all is possible. It is being informed and having access to different venues that has allowed myself to navigate the system, and it is the same tool that has allowed me to advocate for others and my family. I grew up in a single-parent household in the North Clinton area of Rochester. I was a Latino, who attended city schools who wasn’t supposed to amount too much, but through the advocacy of my mother and grandparents who had ingrained in me from the very onset of my educational experience, that schooling would open new doors for my Latino community and myself. That even though the road would be arduous what would come as a result would be far greater then any of the difficulties that I have faced, it is with this body of knowledge that I am now able to advocate for my community.

Finally, what we need now is a unified coalition of Latinos within this community, a grassroots type effort of Latinos who will work together to ensure that Latinos do not remain invisible or silent. A group of Latinos who will encourage future generations to maximize on their educational experiences for the advancement of the Latino community and themselves, a distinct group of Latino advocates who will ensure that we have a voice and are present when it comes to issues of poverty, violence, joblessness and most importantly education.

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Latino to Watch

2009-02-21T18:43:00.002-05:00

Recently I was selected by a new publication here in Rochester, New York as a "Latino to Watch." The publication focuses on the Latino community and the issues or topics within that community. Check out this month's latest issue here: La Voz download the PDF on the main page.

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

A Message From A Former Player

2009-01-25T10:47:00.007-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, one of my former basketball players from my coaching days at School of the Arts wrote me. His message, which he posted on my "wall" on the popular social networking site facebook touched me. It reminded me of the work I do, and still must continue doing for others. When your working with youth, you often don't realize how powerful of an impact you have on their lives. His message, again speaks to why I feel so many of our city youth need mentors and advocates and how those individuals can make a lasting impact on their lives. Finally, his success is the biggest reward he can give me. Keep up the good work, and before you know you will reach all of your goals!

Here is what he had to say...

"I c y u and P r best friends. Yall some deep brothers. Yall probably battle each otha 2 c who is the most deep. lol Well I am def living the dream. Living my life 2 achieve my dream of being a sports broadcaster/anchor man 4 ESPN and trying 2 live a righteous life 2 inspire someone else 2 show that dreams can come true by hard work and surrounding ur self wit good ppl, like u amade my life turn out so different bc (well as P tells it) me and someone else was the last person 2 b cut from JV (i was bad) but u didnt cut me. u gave me a chance & 4 that I am 4eva greatful. By me playing basketball u gave me not only an opportunity 2 do something I loved but a chance 2 meet ppl I probably wouldnt have met and gave me the confidence in school 2 step out of my little shy phase, (that as u can tell never went away lol) I had coming into high school that i had, but i wasnt shy bc pl knew me bc I played on the team & by u giving me the confidence 2 shoot the ball out there in the game changed me and 4 that I am 4ever thankful 4 u Coach Red! u the best coach eva. U wanted us 2 win basketball games but most importantly u cared about each and everyone of us personally as young men and wanted us 2 b good men. U wanted us 2 care 4 one another and play hard and those r values that go with u the rest of ur life, way way way past the basketball court. Ur a great teacher and heck of a shooter (until I get on u. I hope P told u but my new nickname besides Julo is the Red Stopper:-), ur just an awesome guy and everyone that has ever been in contact wit u feels lucky, like I do."

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Happy 2009!

2008-12-31T20:39:00.001-05:00

I want to wish everyone a Happy 2009 New Year! 2008 was a good year, but I foresee 2009 only getting better despite America's financial crisis. Good luck to all my readers! May all your wishes come true!

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday Avery!

2008-12-27T23:34:00.007-05:00

Today was one of the most important days of my life. It was the 1st birthday of my son, Avery. It's still hard to believe that a year has gone by. Watching him grow up everyday is a constant reminder that life is a beautiful thing.

During moments of his birthday I found myself reflecting back to the night we received the phone call that he was born. Since that day, memories of excitement and pure joy have filled the life of my wife and I. Again, we are truly blessed!!

As you would expect, he was rightfully spoiled by our families. He has everything and more that a 1 year old could need and most importantly we have him.

Happy Birthday Little man!

We love you!

Papi

------
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

The Next President & Education

2008-11-07T23:53:00.006-05:00

When our next President takes office in a couple of months he will have a multitude of critical items that will require his immediate attention. One item that I know that is on his short list is the state of education in America. He plans on making some necessary changes to NCLB and implementing a variety of other educational initiatives that will affect P-16 as a whole. If you would like to read more specifically about his plans check out his education agenda on his website, Change.Gov.

Again, I am eager to see what transpires in education under his new administration. I hope he puts the right people in place that would allow for our antiquated educational system to change and meet the needs of the 21st Century student. I hope he looks at focusing and reducing the racial educational achievement gap. The necessary changes will require some tough conversations and difficult decisions by all parties; both of which he is capable of doing. Lastly, education is the essential foundation to changing this country and improving our lives.

Once again good luck and if you need any help I am only an email away!

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Hope Won!

2008-11-07T23:52:00.003-05:00

I wanted to acknowledge all of those individuals who went out and voted this year. Many of my friends including my wife were first time voters. It is great to see that the person many of us wanted won, in fact many believe hope won. The hope and faith that has been missing from this country for quite sometime has now been reignited. Obama is our choice, but as he said in his acceptance speech he will need the commitment and involvement of all of us to help America during these tough times. I want to take this moment to wish our President Elect good luck!! You have my unwavering support along with millions of others.

On a historical note; My son will always know that even he could become president. Congratulations Mr. Barack Obama!

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Up Where We Belong

2008-11-02T15:01:00.009-05:00

Recently I had the opportunity and privilege of attending the 2nd Annual Up Where We Belong Conference in Atlanta, GA. I had attended this event as part of the RCSD's Diversity Department's initiative to bring some relevant training and best practices back to the district. While I was there I attended a variety of workshops on what different individuals are doing in their regions of America to help promote the achievement of African American and Black students. None of the workshops had any new information but did exhibit other individuals who are passionate for the cause and those who have made some improvements in their areas. In its totality the conference served as a reminder of how much work there is still yet to do.

Also as part of the conference I had the opportunity to explore and visit the "Triangle." That is the area that hosts Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and Moorehouse College. This was the highlight of the conference in my opinion. I had never been exposed to an HBCU (Historically Black College and University). While visiting these campuses I was exposed to an abundance of history that is a integrated into these campuses. The alumni lists of these institutions look like a who's who of the most successful African Americans. While I was being toured through the campus of Moorehouse, I thought to myself, what I wouldn't do to grab some of these kids and bring them to my high school. The exposure to my students that institutions like this exist, and that they are heavily attended by students who look, think and represent them would provide a resounding affect. Often times it is just access to information and exposure that students in urban education settings often lack.

The conference only lasted two days, but again served as an important reminder of what work has been done and how much is still left to do in decreasing the racial achievement gap. I also left with a renewed spirit that what I am doing is hard and important work, but that I must look at increasing the magnitude of what I am doing. I hope that someone will soon begin to listen to my ideas, and thoughts. That they will take advantage of my passion on improving the educational experience of inner-city youth. As I have previously stated my time will come!!

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

True Life:Surviving RIT

2008-10-16T12:55:00.005-04:00

Last night I had the opportunity to once again address a mixture of college students. I was asked by one of my fraternity brothers to deliver a presentation on being successful in college. Although I have never attended R.I.T. the components of my message are pretty universal. My presentation was followed by a panel of 5th year Seniors at R.I.T. who represent a variety of cultures, and majors. The students spoke genuinely about the positive and not so positive experiences they have had in their lives and at R.I.T. They also offered the students advice, and gave them honest opinions on what they felt worked for them. Although none of the students have graduated yet, they are definitely in the final stretch.

As I sat there listening to what they had to say, I found myself desperately wanting to throw all of them into my SUV and bring them to school the next day. Why, you may ask? Because they are a direct reflection of my students. My students, do not have role models or connections to the world that is achievable through education. Role models and mentors that not only look like them but also exhibit the importance of college attainment.

I would like to give kudos to Mr. Sean Bennett, Director of the North Star Center, who sponsored this event with the ideas of Mr. Shaun Villanueva. Mr. Bennett is definitely an advocate and agent for change at R.I.T. Good Luck as their is still much to do on your campus.

Living the Dream!
Mr. Soler

MCC Latino Male Retention Program

2008-10-03T06:21:00.009-04:00

Yesterday I had the opportunity and privilege to speak to an all male Latino based MCC Retention Program. I was asked by a colleague of mine, if I would come and speak to the class. She wanted me to share my message of education and expose the students to another successful Latino male. As I previously stated, I was honored.

I presented a slide show very similar to what I had shown students at the University of Rochester's event a couple of weeks ago. The theme and message was still relevant to this group of students. Throughout the presentation we had, great "teachable moments" and instances where students were inspired. In particularly when we spoke about getting involved on campus, and making your mark. The students looked at this statement as their opportunity to reignite a club that has diminished over the past couple of years, "Latin Pride." I hope they take up the challenge and reestablish this once existent program. There is a huge void for the Latino student body at MCC, and hopefully these 13 young men will change that for future generations of Latinos who enroll at MCC.

I would also challenge them to recreate the name of the program, as it labels them already as having a deficit with the word "retention." We all know that they don't have a deficit but rather an untapped opportunity!

Ultimately, what I enjoyed the most, was that these students stood before me as a reflection of myself 13 years ago. Most come from various backgrounds and support systems but all have one thing in common, the desire to do great things. They have much work to be done, but with the guidance of Professor Alas, and Professor Quinones-Rosado they will be just fine.

Good luck and keep Living the Dream mi hermanitos! Adelante!!

Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
www.anibalsoler.com

Hispanic Heritage Month

2008-09-28T21:42:00.007-04:00

I hope this post serves as a reminder to many of you. This time of the year often gets over look by those in the hegemonic group, from September 15-October 15 it is National Hispanic Heritage Month. A time to stop, think and celebrate the various cultures that are present within our Hispanic and Latino communities.

Read more about Hispanic Heritage Month here: National Hispanic Heritage Month

Living the Dream!
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
www.anibalsoler.com

Latino Leadership Development Program

2008-09-17T06:29:00.006-04:00

Today, I had the privilege and opportunity to present to a room of thirty highly motivated Latina/o professionals. These individuals were participating in the Latino Leadership Development Program which is organized and hosted by United Way of Rochester. My presentation was entitled, "The State of Latino Students and Education In Our Community."

My presentation focused entirely on what I see supported by data and research, occurring in urban public schools. I spoke about the student cultural experience or lack thereof for Latina/o students in schools. I also spoke and displayed some data on our overall underachievement in K-12 schooling, which supported and clearly stated we are the worst of the big three demographic groups with the highest percentage of failure. I finished the presentation with a variety of various reccomendations that I believe could help alleviate and address the issue of inadequate success by Latina/o's.

The presentation, as all of them do, went quickly. We had a great panel conversation that followed my piece. A couple of days later I receieved various emails and facebook messages, letting me know how much they enjoyed what I had to say along with my overall presence. It is definitely great to hear these type of things, especially when you believe in so much in what your doing!

As I told the participants listening to my presentation, "Make Your Mark!"

Living the Dream!!
Mr. Soler

Elite Success

2008-09-10T11:46:00.011-04:00

Today I had the opportunity to speak to various college level students at the University of Rochester. My message was simple, leave your mark!! The contents of my message also spoke of the importance that minority students make it out of a system that has been setup without our views or perspective. I also spoke of the lack of representation of minority students on various campuses and in particular the University of Rochester. My message also spoke about navigating the college scene and using various college resources to ensure elite success. The event concluded with a Q&A session which I enjoyed the most because you get to see and hear what concerns are most important to the students.

The event was hosted by La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc.

Living the Dream!
Mr. Soler

Shhh... Class is in Session

2008-09-10T11:46:00.010-04:00

The start of another great school year is underway! I am entering my third year as a high school administrator (Academy Director) and I have begun to see items that I started three years ago start to fall in place. The staff is at an all time high in terms of morale and the building has had no change in administration or leadership. The first week has gone very smoothly and looks like it will be an even greater year!

I am looking forward to seeing what initiatives and programs the new Superintendent will put in place during his first full year at the helm. I am sure he is just as excited with the opening of school. I will keep you all posted as the year goes along.

Living the Dream!
Mr. Soler

Good Luck Jasmine!

2008-08-30T18:35:00.003-04:00

Today my cousin is off to college. She is the third of my immediate family to go and she will be attending Daemen College in Amherst, New York.

Hey, what a coincidence that's my old stomping ground. I am so proud of her, as is the rest of the family. I wish I was going back as well, boy do I miss those times. Good luck Jazzy and don't look back, the future is yours!

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

RCSD graduation rates on the rise, but what about Latinos?

2008-08-12T22:00:00.009-04:00

Today, the Rochester City School District held a press conference releasing the positive news that graduation rates are going up in the school district. In fact they are up 6% from last years 39%. Superintendent Brizard acknowledged the fact that although the numbers are positive there is still much work to do. He spoke of a new web based program that will help schools keep track of their incoming 9th graders and follow them throughout their four years. The web based software program will be the main tool used to identify what supports are needed for students to ensure they complete high school within four years. Superintendent Brizard, also spoke of various programs that will be in place that will allow various non-traditional students, or students with special circumstance the opportunity to graduate on time.

One thing that wasn't talked about at all in the media, was the success of Latino students in the RCSD. Over the past three years their graduation rate has increased, but they are still the lowest of the three major ethnic groups. Latinos also possess the highest percentage of dropouts within the city school district at 35%, a title which they have also had for quite some time. Latino students make up 21% of the student population within the school district but the reflection in teaching staff, and school leadership is not the same. In fact no one except for School Board member, Melisza Campos represents the Latino voice in the Rochester City School District. If you look at the restructuring makeup of Central office and the key positions, you will notice an obvious void or lack of an individual who is Latino and represents the voice of Latinos students and community members within the Superintendents leadership cabinet.

So, I wonder why hasn't the Latino community come forward in outrage? Why haven't they called for immediate action to this crisis affecting our children? Why isn't the Rochester City School District investing in resources or programs to help alleviate this matter? What is being done to ensure Latinos will have the same opportunity to graduate as their classmates of other ethnic backgrounds? What is being done instructionally to allow students dominant in their native language of Spanish to be viewed as an asset rather then a criteria for academic hardship? If it is about every child, then why are they not represented in terms of school and district leadership? As you can tell I am very passionate about this subject and I have many questions, concerns and recommendations when it comes to the education of my people.

If nothing changes, another year will go by and Latinos will continue to fall into the same categories. The time is now to take a stand and bring about change to this crisis. If not me then who? In the words of Dr. King, "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?' "

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)

--
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

7 Months as a Father

2008-08-12T21:38:00.004-04:00

It has been an amazing 7 months since my son stepped into my life. It has been filled with many long nights and exciting days! My son has brought a new found joy to my family and a new role for myself. He is truly a blessing and has brought a renewed perspective and purpose on life. His innocence, energy and curiosity is contagious and often times refreshing in a world that could burn you at a moments notice.

Time is going so fast and I often catch myself worried that soon enough he will be asking me for advice on women, sports, school and life. He will be watching my every move and looking at me as his benchmark on life. I will have to set the bar high for my son, and I will also have to support him at all times to ensure that he is successful at whatever he chooses.

Bottom line, he is always going to be looking up to me.

Avery, I love you!

Papi

------
Living the Dream!
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
www.anibalsoler.com

MLK National Historic Site

2008-07-27T00:20:00.009-04:00

While attending the AVID Summer Institute in Atlanta, GA I found some time to get away and visit the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s National Historic Site. I, along with some of my colleagues walked over to the site from our hotel. As we were walking down we could see the history and the depletion of the neighborhood which once thrived in the sixties. Many of the buildings were torn down and uninhabited. There were many homeless individuals occupying various parts of the neighborhood.

When we finally arrived at the site, it was as if you had walked into the past. The first thing you saw was Dr. King's church, Ebenezer Baptist. The same church that he attended and the same church that held his premature funeral. I was standing on the same street, as thousands of people where 40 years ago during his funeral procession. I also took a photo near he and his wife's tombstone.

While I was there I learned many new things about the life of Dr. King. One thing that stuck with me the most was this quote that was posted in the museum.

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of selfishness. This the judgement. Life's most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?”

These words, are words that I try to live by everyday as an educator, father, husband, mentor and friend. I must remember that my life will be measured ultimately by what I have done for others.

Lastly, if you are in the area I highly recommend you visit this special site.

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Advancement Via Individual Determination-AVID

2008-07-27T00:04:00.005-04:00

I just got back from Atlanta, GA were I attended a training session for AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) and let me start out by saying that I am eager to get underway.

AVID is a unique program targeted at middle of the road students who are often times invisible in the classroom. The type of students who get by academically and rarely cause any issues behaviorally. The students, that need some support and instruction on preparing themselves for college.

What impressed me most about the AVID program and the five day institute was the passion and fire that was there by the organization and by other attendees on making sure underrepresented students get to college.

This September, I along with my AVID site team will be embarking on our first cohort of AVID students. We have 46 students engaging in this journey. I will keep you all posted!

For more information on AVID check out their website: www.avidonline.org

Living the Dream!
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.

Missing in Action

2008-07-08T16:54:00.002-04:00

It’s been a long time since my last blog post. Life has gotten hectic this summer. Currently, I am taking two sessions worth of Doctoral classes at the University of Rochester, working, and most importantly spending time with my wife and son. I promise to get refocused and reenergized with my posts.

Living the Dream!
Mr. Soler

Dr. Pedro Noguera

2008-05-23T16:32:00.012-04:00

Today we had the privilege of having Dr. Pedro Noguera speak to our staff members as part of the building based professional development on Superintendents Conference Day. Since the beginning of my doctoral course work I have been a huge fan of Dr. Noguera. His research focus is primarily on race and urban education. He often looks at school reform and how it will impact various races and he also does a lot of work focusing on decreasing the racial achievement gap.

His message was very powerful and a reminder of what urban schools must be doing for students in education.

If you ever have the opportunity to read his work, or see him speak I encourage you to seize the moment. Read more about Dr. Pedro Noguera. (Click here)

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Charlotte High School Prom 2008

2008-05-23T16:32:00.007-04:00

Time has flown by, and just the other night we had another successful magnificent event for our student body. We had our 2nd Annual Junior/Senior Prom. I am always amazed at how good our students look when they dress up. As expected our students had a great time and enjoyed another memorable night in their high school career.

My only wish is that more staff members would participate and attend this event so that they would view our students in a different lens and get a better understanding of what it is all about.

This event also brings us closer to graduation and now we only have a month.

The work continues!!!

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Happy Birthday!

2008-04-27T21:43:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday to me! Today I turned 31 years old... boy does time fly by. I have to say in retrospect I have lived an excellent life. I have been very fortunate, and blessed in my 31 years of life so far.

Whenever I have a birthday I often find myself being more appreciative of what I have been giving and the experiences I have had. I still have a lot of work to do to ultimately get where I want, but I know I am on the right path.

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Keynote Speech 14th Annual Noche Dorada

2008-04-20T20:56:00.007-04:00

The event was a success! Congratulations to all the undergraduate Hermanos who worked so hard on the event. I along with many alumni Hermanos had a great time! I have copied my speech below and I hope you feel the message as much as the crowd did that night.

Keynote Speech
Ladies and Gentleman, Damas y Caballeros, Let me first start out by saying thank you! Thank you for attending the 20th Anniversary of the Epsilon Chapter of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc. I want to also thank my Hermanos for giving me this opportunity to come before you today and deliver my message.

When my Hermanos asked me if I would be the keynote speaker tonight, I was thrilled. I didn’t hesitate for a moment at this opportunity, the opportunity to address the future leaders and difference makers of our world.

Before I proceed, I want to take a moment to recognize all of you in attendance that are achieving the dream. You are what I often state amongst colleagues, students and peers, Viviendo El Sueno, Living the Dream! Before I continue, please give yourself a round of applause!

This year’s theme is "Eternal Reflections: Viente Anos y Para Siempre!" For any of my non-Spanish speaking guest that is “20 years and Forever. “

This year’s theme speaks to our capability to live and learn from our past, to take what we know and continue pushing forward in our daily lives. This year’s theme creates an opportunity for us to reflect, and take a good look at ourselves as Latinos and citizens of this world. It also forces us to ask the question, are we as Latinos truly doing the best we can do for ourselves and our people with the privileges we have been given and earned. The term, “Eternal Reflections is the ability to always look at yourself in the mirror and see your past, present and future within yourself and everything you do and stand for.

Having said this, I am sure you are wondering who I am, and why am I here?

Before I get into specific details about me, you need to know some information from the past. Information that will help shed a light on why I do what I do, and why we are all here as an organization.

Twenty years ago, sixteen courageous Latino Men at Buffalo State College unified. These 16 young men at the time saw a void on their institution’s campus. They saw the lack of representation and voice for a growing Latino population. They found it very difficult to have their cultural needs meet through their college experience. They saw a lack of appreciation and recognition of their Latino “cultura.”

They decided to endure a process they would take them 13 and a half weeks, and finally on April 23, 1988, these young Latino men became the founding Hermanos of the Eternal Epsilon Chapter of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc. A chapter that started at one institution and has now since evolved into a citywide chapter encompassing nearly all institutions in the City of Buffalo.

I would like to take a moment to recognize these founding Hermanos, if you are in attendance please stand up to be recognized…
1. Hermano George Cruz 
2. Hermano Caesar Cabrera 
3. Hermano Albert Martinez 
4. Hermano Alexis Bairan 
5. Hermano Edgar Martinez 
6. Hermano Francisco Guzman 
7. Hermano John Tufino 
8. Hermano Leslie Leon 
9. Hermano Stan Luban 
10. Hermano Alex Cruz 
11. Hermano Anthony Cruz 
12. Hermano Mike Rosell 
13. Hermano Anthony Rivera 
14. Hermano Renard Aikins 
15. Hermano Richard Bertocci 
16. Hermano Edwin Suarez El Segundo

Because of these men, I was able to join an organization that reaffirmed my commitment to the empowerment and betterment of all Latinos. Because of these men I also connected with three other individuals, who became my line brothers and life long Hermanos. This organization has taught me that all things are possible through education and collaboration with others who believe in the struggle. To date, there are approximately 100 young men from various backgrounds and beliefs who united under the vision of La Fraternidad and became Hermanos.

So now onto the present, and who am I?

Well as you previously heard, my name is Anibal Soler, I am currently an Academy Director/ Vice-Principal at Charlotte High School in the Rochester City School District. In case anyone was wondering I'm 100% Puerto Rican and very proud of my culture, as I am sure many of you are. I have grown up and lived the majority of my life in the City of Rochester. I attended public city schools up until my junior year of high school, when my parents had finally gained the means to own their own home, and we moved to the suburbs.

After graduating high school, I attended Daemen College in Amherst, NY on a basketball scholarship. Yeah, us Latino’s can play ball too. During my time at Daemen College, in the Spring of 98, I became an Hermano of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc. After becoming an Hermano and obtaining my undergraduate degree in teaching, I came back home to Rochester yet again. I worked full time as an Art teacher, at what was called at that time, Thomas Jefferson Middle School. Since graduating from Daemen College I have since obtained two master’s degrees, one from Nazareth College in educational technology and another from St. John Fisher College in educational administration. Currently, I am working on my doctorate at the University of Rochester in educational leadership.

I am sure many of you are sitting here and thinking, boy, that is a lot of school loans! Well you’re right, but well worth the ultimate goal, and we all know that knowledge is power.

Well, that’s enough about me, now let’s to get to why I am here.

I need you to take a moment to focus and critically consider the message I am going to deliver tonight. In my line of work, the country is in a state of crisis, some have called it a “silent epidemic.” As I have previously stated I am a high school Vice-Principal in the City of Rochester. I work in one of the five largest school districts in New York. I work in a school district that has approximately a 90% poverty rate. Many of my students come from homes and life experiences very similar to what many of you and I have encountered, except with them, I am losing more then I am gaining. I want you to understand that what the future holds is very critical for us, us as Latinos and us as a country.

A couple of weeks ago, ABC news reported that as a country, we have a national high school drop out rate of 50%. Ladies and gentlemen, that is 1.2 Million students dropping out a year. In Los Angeles the dropout rate is 45%, in Baltimore 34%, Miami 49%, and home to many of you, New York City, 47%. In Detroit 1 out of 4, 9th graders that entered school this year, will graduate. That is 25% graduation rate! Mi Gente, this has got to change!

Out of all the minorities not graduating, Latino’s are the highest. Latino’s are dropping out of high schools at an even alarming rate and are as much as 75% of the dropouts in America. In Rochester we have approximately 10,000 high school students, and if things don’t change and they continue to follow the current path, we will only graduate 40 percent of those students, that is 4,000 out of 10,000 high school students will be graduating. The majority of those not graduating in my school district are Latino’s. Latino’s in my school district are the highest of any minority group not making it out of high school. Again, the problem is real, and this has got to change!

According to the America’s Promise Alliance, every 26 seconds, one high school student drops out. Based off this statistic alone, by the time I get done speaking to you tonight, we will lose approximately 50 high school students.
In September of 2007, CNN reported that more Blacks and Latinos live in jail cells that in college dorms. The numbers are staggering. More then three times as many African-American people live in prison cells than in college dorms. The numbers don’t get any better for Latinos as there are 2.7 Latino inmates for every one Latino living in college housing. The majority of these inmates are also males.

This information also reflects the majority of the students dropping out of high school and not graduating. The bulk of them are also African-American and Latino. They live in poor unfunded inner cities. They come from homes and environments where they have little to no social support. They come from broken homes that have a single parent or grandparent raising them. The conversations about the value and importance of education are far and few in between in their lives.

For me, as I am sure was the case for many of you, college always felt like an option but only because my mother, and my Abuelo made it that way. They were my advocates. As the most educated person in my family, I feel a sense of pride but also a great appreciation. My mother never let me believe that the color of my skin or the amount of money we had would define my future. Instead, I got unfailing support. Now today, I am before students who are going through the same process and our coming from similar backgrounds. By showing and being the example for students that college is accessible, we can set an example for our future leaders. We all know that education is the foundation and the critical component for our success.

The time has changed, and today’s inner-city students need more support then ever, they need advocates and mentors in their lives.

Last year with the help of one of my Hermanos, I orchestrated the first ever free out of town overnight college trip for ten of my senior students at my high school. Ten students who knew the importance of college, but never had the opportunity to experience what it is like. Ten students, who had never left their neighborhood, were suddenly exposed to a completely new world of possibility. Last June, all ten students graduated high school and eight out of the ten enrolled in a college for the upcoming next year. This is just one example of what can be done.

I know this sounds crazy, but just last week , I had another example of the power and benefit of mentoring. A true example of what can occur if we all get involved in the life of a youth. I have been working with a young lady for this past school year. She comes from a broken home and has had many personal struggles throughout her life. She shows up to school every day with a smile and she makes sure that her academics are in place. This same young lady also works twenty plus hours at Wegmans to help make ends meet at home.

Last Friday at around noon, I took this young lady for an interview at the St. John Fisher College HEOP Office. An hour later, she was accepted, and as she turned to hug me outside of the office, she said, “Mr. Soler, I did it I am the first in my family to go to college, Thank you!” After that I walked her over to the bookstore to buy her, her first college t-shirt. Before I continue, I want to acknowledge that this would not be possible if I didn’t have the assistance of an Hermana of Sigma Lambda Upsilon Sorority, Inc. This is another example of why we must all be involved.

You are probably sitting there thinking what can I do to help? Well you have taken the first step. You have come and supported this organization through the purchase of your ticket. You have given a monetary donation that will be used by LUL to help impact the life of Latinos and other under represented groups on college campuses.

Before I leave you, tonight I want you to remember that your life will be measured not by how long you lived, but by what you have done during that time for others. So please make time to give to organizations such as LUL. If you cannot give financially then please give with your time, heart and dedication to doing what is our civic responsibility, of taking care of others. Make sure you go back to your college dorms, your work place and think how you may make a difference in the life of someone younger and less fortunate then yourself. Make sure you become an advocate for those students who are just as you were in high school. Again, this problem is real, and it is all of our responsibility to help.

Think back to what those 16 young Latino men did 20 years ago when they decided to create change and opportunity for the generations of Latinos to follow in college campuses in Buffalo.

I want to leave you tonight with some words from one of my all time favorite pieces of writing by Michael Josephson states, “Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters!”

Please help our youth, “Live the Dream!”

Thank you and Para Siempre!!
--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

14th Annual Noche Dorada Banquet

2008-04-16T22:48:00.007-04:00

I would like to remind everyone that I will be the keynote speaker at this year's 14th Annual Noche Dorada Banquet. It is also the 20th Anniversary celebration for my Chapter. I will repost my speech after this weekend. I look forward to seeing you all there!

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Keynote Speaker at Noche De Fuego

2008-04-14T08:01:00.005-04:00

On April 11, 2008 I was honored to be the Keynote speaker at Noche De Fuego, a benefit dinner being held by Senoritas Latinas Unidas, Sigma Lambda Upsilon Sorority, Inc. The event was held at the Clarion Riverside Hotel. This was my first public speaking engagement, and below is my speech. Thanks again to all of those who attended. It was for a worthy cause.

Noche De Fuego Speech
Ladies and Gentleman, Damas y Caballeros, let me first start out by saying thank you! Thank you, for attending, Noche de Fuego and supporting the lovely Hermanas of Senoritas Latinas Unidas, Sigma Lambda Upsilon Sorrority, Inc. I want to also thank the Hermanas for giving me this opportunity to come before you today, and deliver my message. I am very humbled and honored to be here.

When the Hermanas asked me if I would be the keynote speaker tonight, I was thrilled. I didn’t hesitate for a moment at this opportunity, the opportunity to address the future leaders and difference makers of our world. The opportunity to address students, professionals and colleagues who come from a multitude of cultural backgrounds that need to hear, and know, that we are all we got.

Before I proceed, I want to take a moment to recognize all of you in attendance, all of you who are achieving the dream. You are often what I state amongst colleagues, students and peers, Viviendo El Sueno, Living the Dream! Before I continue please give your self a round of applause!

So who am I, and why am I here?

Well as you previously heard, my name is Anibal Soler, I am currently an Academy Director/ Vice-Principal at Charlotte High School in the Rochester City School District. I am 100% Puerto Rican and very proud of my culture, as I am sure many of you are. I have grown up and lived the majority of my life here in the city of Rochester. I attended city schools up until my junior year of high school, when my parents had finally gained the means to own their own home and we moved to the suburbs.

After graduating high school I attended Daemen College in Amherst, NY on a basketball scholarship. Yeah, us Latino’s can play ball too. During my time at Daemen College, I became an Hermano of La Unidad Latina, Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity, Inc. After becoming an Hermano and obtaining my undergraduate degree in teaching, I came back home to Rochester yet again. I worked full time as an Art teacher at what was called at that time, Thomas Jefferson Middle School. Since graduating from Daemen College I have since obtained two master’s degrees, one from Nazareth College in educational technology and another from St. John Fisher College in educational administration. Currently, I am working on my doctorate at the University of Rochester in educational leadership.

I am sure many of you are sitting here and thinking, boy, that is a lot of school loans! Well you’re right, but well worth the ultimate goal, and we all know that knowledge is power.

Well, that’s enough about me, and let’s to get to why I am here. I need you to take a moment to focus and critically consider the message I am going to deliver tonight. In my line of work, the country is in a state of crisis, some have called it a “silent epidemic.” As I have previously stated I am a high school Vice-Principal in the City of Rochester. I work in one of the five largest school districts in New York. I work in a school district that has approximately a 90% poverty rate. Many of my students come from homes and life experiences very similar to what many of you and I have encountered, except with them, I am losing more then I am gaining. I want you to understand that what the future holds is very critical for us, us as Latinos and us as a country.

Just last week ABC news reported that as a country, we have a national high school drop out rate of 50%. Ladies and gentlemen, that is 1.2 Million students dropping out a year. In Los Angeles the dropout rate is 45%, in Baltimore 34%, Miami 49%, and home to many of you, New York City, 47%. In Detroit 1 out of 4, 9th graders that entered school this year, will graduate. That is 25% graduation rate! People, this has got to change!

Out of all the minorities not graduating, Latino’s are the highest. Latino’s are dropping out of high schools at an even alarming rate and are as much as 75% of the dropouts in America. Here in Rochester we have approximately 10,000 high school students, and if things don’t change here and they continue to follow the current path, we will only graduate 40 percent of those students, that is 4,000 out of 10,000 high school students will be graduating. The majority of those not graduating in my school district are Latino’s. Latino’s in my school district are the highest of any minority group not making it out of high school. Again, the problem is real, and this has got to change!

According to the America’s Promise Alliance, every 26 seconds, one high school student drops out. Based off this statistic alone, by the time I get done speaking to you tonight, we will lose approximately 50 high school students.

In September of 2007, CNN reported that more Blacks and Latinos live in jail cells that in college dorms. The numbers are staggering. More then three times as many African-American people live in prison cells than in college dorms. The numbers don’t get any better for Latinos as there are 2.7 Latino inmates for every Latino living in college housing. The majority of these inmates are also males.
This information also reflects the majority of the students dropping out of high school and not graduating. The bulk of them are also African-American and Latino. They live in poor unfunded inner-cities. They come from homes and environments where they have little to no social support. They come from broken homes that have a single parent or grandparent raising them. The conversations about the value and importance of education are far and few in between in their lives.

For me, as I am sure was the case for many of you, college always felt like an option but only because my mother, and my grandparents made it that way. They were my advocates. As the most educated person in my family, I feel a sense of pride but also a great appreciation. My mother never let me believe that the color of my skin or the amount of money we had would define my future. Instead, I got unfailing support. Now today, I am before students who are going through the same process and our coming from similar backgrounds. By showing and being the example for students that college is accessible, we can set an example for our future leaders. We all know that education is the foundation and the critical component for our success.
The time has changed, and today’s inner-city students need more support then ever, they need advocates and mentors in their lives.

Last year with the help of one of my Hermanos, I orchestrated the first ever free out of town overnight college trip for ten of my senior students at my high school. Ten students who knew the importance of college, but never had the opportunity to experience what it’s like. Ten students, who had never left their neighborhood, were suddenly exposed to a whole new world of possibility. Last June all ten students graduated high school and 8 out of the 10 enrolled in a college for the upcoming next year. This is just one example of what can be done.

I know this sounds crazy, but just today, I had another example of the power and benefit of mentoring. A true example of what can occur if we all get involved in the life a youth. I have been working with a young lady for this past school year. She comes from a broken home and has had many personal struggles throughout her life. She shows up to school every day with a smile and she makes sure that her academics are in place. She also works twenty plus hours at Wegmans, to help make ends meet in her household. Today at around noon I took this young lady for an interview at the St. John Fisher College HEOP Office. An hour later she was accepted, and as she turned to hug me outside of the office, she said, “Mr. Soler, I did it I am the first in my family to go to college, thank you!” After that precious moment I walked her over to the bookstore to buy her, her first college t-shirt. Again, this is another example of why we must all be involved. Before I continue I want to thank Victoria McEachin for helping me out. Thank you Vicki!

You are probably sitting there thinking what can I do to help? Well you have taken the first step. You have come and supported this organization through the purchase of your ticket. You have given a monetary donation that will be used by SLU to help impact the life of a young lady.

SLU’s Ladies program is another example of doing what it takes to make a difference in the life of our youth. Their program has helped each participant gain college level skills, develop professionally, and most importantly learn about their culture. Since its inception in 2001, the program has helped touch the lives of young women. It is helped them realize that college is not inaccessible dream but a reality that they can achieve. Some of the participants are now enrolled at various colleges throughout New York State.

Before I leave you, tonight I want you to remember that your life will be measured not by how long you lived, but by what you have done during that time for others. So please make time to give to organizations such as SLU and their Lady’s Program. If you cannot give financially then please give with your time, heart and dedication to doing what is our civic responsibility, taking care of others. Make sure you go back to your college dorms, your work place and think how you may make a difference in the life of someone younger and less fortunate then yourself. Make sure you become an advocate for those students who are just like you were in high school. Again, this problem is real, and it is all of our responsibility to help.

As one of my all time favorite pieces of writing by Michael Josephson states, “Living a life that matters doesn’t happen by accident. It’s not a matter of circumstance but of choice. Choose to live a life that matters!”

Finally, please help our youth, “Live the Dream!”

Thank you!
--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Living the Dream: Technology in Urban Schools

2008-04-06T13:09:00.009-04:00

Lately, I have been thinking about what most students, teachers and administrators can expect in terms of technology in big box urban schools. I am sure there are other items, but here is what I have come up with so far...

You can expect that most classrooms in urban schools will have one computer that is usually dedicated for teacher use. You can expect that the teacher will only use the one workstation for work related activities such as attendance, communication, and grade keeping. These low level activities also include email and using Microsoft Office products scarcely. The highest activity occurring on teacher workstations, is internet browsing for personal interest.

You could expect that urban schools only have a handful of LCD projectors and the teachers who use them the most often use them for video playing and only pull them out once in a while. Often times you find the overhead projector getting more use then an LCD projector.

You could also expect to find a few to zero laptops dedicated for student use. You could expect to find very few if at all any color printers. SmartBoards or Interactive Boards are rare and few in between. Most are located in classrooms that has teachers who are very comfortable with technology. You also find them in rooms that the teacher may have no familiarity with the technology, but has indicated an interest in learning how to use it. The follow through and training is rarely present to help that teacher.

Printers, are also far in and few in schools. Often printers are located scarcely throughout a building with not enough of them being centrally located. Copiers are also very scarce often urban schools with 70 plus teaching staff members have no more then two available to them, and many times only have one. Copiers are often not found setup for network printing so teachers, students and administrators could rarely use them remotely throughout the school building.

Digital cameras, camcorders are scarce and very often non-existent for teacher and student use.

Computer labs are strictly dedicated for a content area and very few buildings have space for open use labs. Mobile laptop carts would alleviate this scarcity.

So what's my point, well if we are to improve urban education we need to provide access to current resources and tools. We need to provide teachers and administrators with exposure and training on using such tools to improve the overall educational experience for students in urban schools. There is a huge disparity of exposure from schools from state to state as well as within the same city. If we are to allow students of color an opportunity to succeed in the 21st Century then we must incorporate the use of technology in everything we do. The longer we wait the bigger the gap, and the further minorities will be at being able to access the digital jobs that now exist.

The time is now to integrate cutting edge technology. Let us not do it for a grant, or as a partnership with another organization but let us do it because it is the right thing to invest in.

------
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Living the Dream: We Are All We Got!!!

2008-03-30T13:10:00.004-04:00

The city and suburban residents of Rochester, have to realize one thing, "We are all we got!!" It is not good enough for us to turn away from the problems plaguing the city. We cannot allow for the economic breakdown of class to be reflective of our city and our priorities.

We have to be comfortable enough to speak out when we see wrong. We ALL have a civic responsibility to each other as humans in this world. We must not be afraid to advocate for those in need. We must not be afraid to speak out for inequities that occur in the school system. We must not be afraid to challenge one another to do what is right for our children, students and the world. If we see crimes committed, we have to speak out against them or eventually they will consume and dictate how we live our lives.

Students, educators, school leaders, politicians must remember one thing,...
WE ARE ALL WE GOT!!!

------
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Brown vs. Board of Education, A Constant Influence on Educational Practice and Priorities, Then, Now and Forever

2008-03-22T13:15:00.007-04:00

The U.S. Supreme Court case Brown vs. Board of Education, has been called the turning point in the promotion of educational equality for all students in the United States. “The Brown decision stripped legitimacy from racial segregation in American public education and set in motion the quest to ensure millions of black schoolchildren equal educational opportunity” (Edelman, 1973, p. 33). This case also placed a national focus on providing equal opportunities of success for all nationalities in America in particular African Americans. “The actions of African Americans contributed to the militancy of other groups in demanding equality of educational opportunity and recognition of their cultures in public schools” (Spring, 2007, p. 113). Latino’s and other minority groups have also gained attention to their disparities because of this case. Brown has been and still is criticized and credited for various results in education.

In theory, it allowed students of color to attend schools that were off limits to them, it eradicated segregation legally, but in the current make-up of urban schools, there seems to be a relapse. Since the Supreme Court ruling African Americans and Latino students have never been at the top of the achievement gap. They have always been held in comparison to the White Anglo Saxon population, and been viewed as deficient. If the verdict was truly put into practice, it would allow students who are tied into certain school districts due to the socio-economic status of their family an opportunity to go to any school of their choice, that they deemed appropriate for their success.

The major benefit of the law was that it helps bring national attention to a discriminatory practice of funding. It forced those Whites in power to change some of their practices in order to help alleviate a growing national tension. There answer was desegregation, not the initial intentions of Brown, but the result of it.

Given that desegregation was the policy or tool of choice from the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, it in turn caused major unintended corollaries for various stakeholders of color.

For example teachers of color, exclusively African American teachers loss their jobs as schools were segregated and many White school officials and parents did not want their children to be taught by them. African American educators would often receive letters stating that because of this ruling and the federal mandate that they would have to lose their jobs. School districts placed blame to the ruling in their letters to black teachers, and made it seem that it was the primary reason for losing their job. These teachers were forced to enter other careers and leave a profession that many of them loved and flourished in. Teachers of black students were advocates. Many of them lived in their communities, attended church with them and were viewed by many as pivotal in the success of black students in a desegregated world (Tillman, 2004). Since 1954, we have not recovered from the dismissal of a large African American teaching and administrative workforce.

Abysmal school facilities are another unintended result of Brown. Students in urban educational settings have school buildings that still in theory are segregated by the majority of the students that attend those schools. Most students of color have been forced to live where housing is affordable and the schools are old and worn down. Facilities that often include poor heating, plumbing, roofing problems, unsanitary bathrooms, non-functioning water fountains, characteristics of “ghetto-schools” that were highly attended by Latino and African American students (Lopez, 2002).

Another unintended consequence or benefit of Brown vs. Board, was the creation of Bilingual education. Bilingual education programs are an example of efforts rooted in the principles in Brown. If not for Brown, many Latino children would not have been afforded the right to succeed by being educated in their primary language along with English. This has since gone under some reforms by those who feel that an “English only” education is the right choice.

Parents, in particular African American parents were also affected by the decision of Brown vs. Board. Minority parents were faced with having to send their child to a school, where they would be the minority and may face prosecution by the majority White students. It was not uncommon for students of color to be beaten, abused physically and verbally and humiliated when going to majority white schools.

The Brown case also indirectly did not investigate the role that race plays in our lives as a society. It failed to realize that although desegregating schools was in theory the correct thing to do, it force many individuals to lose their cultural identity and become assimilated to the dominant culture. It also allowed those with the financial resources to get up and leave.
“White Flight” was also an unintended result of Brown. Rather then stay and be forced to learn how to live with other cultures, many Whites migrated to further suburban neighborhoods so that their children would not have to be educated along side minority students. This created new divisive lines between community groups and races that were based on economic resources.

It has been 54 years since the historic decision and there are still many inequities that have yet to be resolved with “deliberate speed.” The issues of equity range from facilities, curriculum, resources, cultural appreciation and recognition, leadership, opportunities, faculty and student expectations.

Urban school facilities have faced and seen a lot of neglect and in very few cases do those same districts have any new school buildings. Most of the educational facilities in urban schools are either buildings that have been around approximately a 100 years, and have been patched up yearly just to get through.

Curriculum has never reflected the cultural interests of students after the Brown vs. Board of Education decision. When schools were segregated they were taught by teachers of color who in term would automatically include culturally significant materials and intertwine it with items they felt would be necessary for students of color to succeed in a “white world.”

Today’s curriculum still lacks major representation for students of color, there are only superficial mentions of historic African-Americans that are embedded in Social Studies textbooks. In terms of Latino’s the mentioning of the Spanish American War and immigration are two of the main topics that only hint about history and role of Latinos in America. Latino’s have very little of any mention of historic political figures and their trials in tribulations through out U.S. History.

The major error with curriculum today, is that it continues to promote the Americanization of students of color. The curriculum rarely if ever speaks from the angle of those oppressed, or most negatively influenced by the majority White American government. Native Americans, African-Americans, Asian Americans, and Latino Americans are all viewed in the curriculum as having gained so much more by the influence of the majority White Anglo Saxon America. Influences such as having been taught English the language of power, and having been shown religious and culturally valued norms, that are viewed as the right and acceptable practice amongst the masses. Curriculum today also continues to be written by those individuals in power, who continue to culturally reflect only a small percentage of the students being influenced by the curriculum.

Brown vs. Board of Education main premise was to fight for the end to legalized racial school segregation and separate but equal opportunities for students of color, in particular in terms of resources. The lack of resources and educational opportunities for school districts that serve a majority of students of color are startling. Today, in urban inner city schools the adequate availability of items such as school field trips, computer technology, assistive technology, student internships, textbooks, athletic equipment is far and few in between. There is a huge disparity between suburban schools that serve a majority of Caucasian students and city schools that serve a majority of minority students, very much, like what existed in 1954.

Since the historic ruling of Brown vs. Board, our national landscape has grown and diversified exponentially. We have a wide variety of minority groups who we now have to be mindful and sensitive to in terms of providing a rewarding adequate and equal educational experience.

Our country now includes the following groups, Arab Americans, Indian Americans, Hispanic/Latino-Americans, African Americans, Afro-Caribbean Americans, Asian Americans, Caucasian Americans and various combinations of the before mentioned groups. We also have a melting pot of religions and cultural influences that have been recognized in the media and through business. We have to create schools that promote diversity, where all children regardless of race and background can see the benefit of coming together, to learn and become part of a global world.

This generation of leaders needs to revisit how schools function, how they are organized, what and how they teach, and how they involve the community. Education though, still has a long way to go in improving the deficiencies that were fought for fifty-four years ago. With the emergence of various cultural groups and the huge disparities they possess financially, the work of “separate but equal” is far from finished.

----
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Loss of Two Students

2008-03-14T19:57:00.010-04:00

It has been almost a month since we lost two students to street violence at Charlotte High School, Both students were freshman and their lost was deeply felt by everyone in the building. Read more about what occured here on the Democrat & Chronicle .

The first couple of days back were a little rough with students asking questions of why, and having difficulty dealing with the lost of someone whom they had known.

Looking back, our students were great, they were very open to healthy dialogue on about their emotions and thoughts. They also used various venues to release there emotions such as creating cards, signing the students lockers and leaving messages on the poster hanging in the cafeteria. Many of the students also attended the funeral services of both students.

Still to this date there is no information on who committed this crime and why. A lot of what we have heard is just speculation. Some of the dialogue I had with students in classes was about the importance of reporting whatever they may know. I was mainly trying to address the issue of "snitching." One of the main areas of concerns in school and in urban environments.

One particular dialogue sticks out in my mind. I asked the students why don't students "snitch" or report crimes? The one student who raised her hand first, turned and looked at me and said, "Mr. Soler, we know what's right and what's wrong, but you gotta understand that we live in those neighborhoods and if we tell someone, that person we told doesn't necessarily go back to that neighborhood but we do."

Those comments really pointed to the immense presence of fear that exist in inner-city communities. She was 100% right many of us involved with students in urban schools do not live in the same neighborhoods. I found myself stuck and I didn't really know how to respond to her, other then saying you must use schools and education as the way out to better yourself, and family.

I ended my visit by saying, "All we have is each other!"

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Living the Dream: Back 2 Back Section V Champs!

2008-03-08T11:12:00.006-05:00

Congratulations to the Charlotte High School Boys Varsity Basketball Team! They have accomplished what most student-athletes never get to experience once in their careers, they won back-to-back Section Five Championships.

This team of boys have been together since middle school and their hard work, determination and commitment has paid off. They have help rebuild and make Charlotte High School a powerhouse in boys basketball.

I wish all the Seniors on the team, good luck and we will be looking forward to their college careers.

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Jordan Major-Scholar Athlete

2008-02-03T09:57:00.002-05:00

This week brought some great news to Charlotte High School and in particularly myself. Last year in my first year at Charlotte High School I made a connection with a student, Jordan Major. At the time Jordan was a Junior and I seen an enormous amount of potential in him athletically as well as academically. Since that time I have become his unofficial mentor and advocate.

In two years worth of time I have taken Jordan to various venues, including college visitation trips and AAU basketball tournaments. I have also helped him out financially when things were tough.

Jordan, is evidence that making connections and mentoring students pays off! As a result of his hard work he was chosen as the scholar athlete for Channel 10 news in Rochester. Check it out the news article here.

Congratulations Jordan, I am proud of you!

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Their words...

2008-01-27T19:05:00.002-05:00

Recently on the Rochester City School District, 7th Grade English Language Arts, city wide midterm, the students where asked to write an essay on suggestions what they believe would help them be more successful students and prevent them from dropping out of school.

Here were eight of the most consistent items mentioned. The order of these items has no significance, as all of the items have equal value.

• On the first day of school the principal should introduce him or herself to all of the 7th graders
• Teacher and Administrators should bond with students
• Older students should be assigned as mentors to 7th graders
• Test should be referred to as a celebration of learning
• Students should be grouped in classes according to their ability or level
• Teachers and Administrators should assure students that they are not being given up on, even if this means going to their house and talking to their parents
• Have 8th grade students talk to 7th grade students at the beginning of the year and give them advice on how to be successful as 7th graders
• Try to work with kids instead of just kicking them out of the classroom right away

After reading what the students wrote, I thought to myself, is the district going to look at this information? And if they do are they going to use it? Is this question only on the exam to foster stronger student participation, because students will feel that their voices are going to be heard?

Not sure what, and if the district will use this information, but I know I have come away with some valuable insight that I plan to use to help build a stronger community next year.

Thanks 7th Graders, Class of 2012!

¡Viviendo el Sueño!
(Living the Dream!)

Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Identity

2008-01-27T19:04:00.003-05:00

Through out my time as an educator and school administrator, I have often thought about the concept of identity. I think about how this act of self-actualization plays a role in the educational experience of my urban students.

It is often stated that minority students struggle through out school, especially secondary school, because they see no relevance in curriculum and education. They have no connection on why education is important and how they should be using the school experience to open other doors. Is this their fault or ours? I believe it to be our fault and responsibility.

This framework causes me to think about identity and its role in school. When students know who they are, they can begin to fulfill their potential and become viable and productive scholars, but yet schools don't spend anytime on this. Why don’t schools change some of their focus?

Why don't we teach students about their cultural backgrounds to help build their identity and role in the world? Why don't we create academic avenues where students can engage in self-identifying activities? I left high school unsure about what I wanted to become or who I was because my experiences where limited and non-relevant. This lack of practice still continues today.

I highly recommend that educators and school leaders start to change their focus on creating instructional programs that help students see themselves better through work, and through educational experiences. I think it is a huge reason why students struggle with being successful in school. Students see no to little relevance in school and curriculum. They also see little of their identity developing at school.

Let's take the time to focus more on the student and less on the mandated content. I think when you do this you will see the benefits beyond measure.

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

I have a Dream!

2008-01-21T10:20:00.001-05:00

Today is a day that many individuals have off from work and school. Today is a day that has been declared a national holiday by our government. Today is a day when many individuals especially African-American and Latino students still have no real context to what had occurred just 40 years ago. The results of Dr. King's work is very evident in the lives of all minorities today. As a Latino I know that I have benefited from his work.

Dr. King had a vision and belief that our world would be much better as soon as we started to treat everyone equal and see individuals for their character and not for their color of skin. How correct he was indeed!

Sadly, although a lot has changed a lot has remained the same. We still have huge racial inequities that exist in our culture. Inequities, that those who are not of color would never experience and may even argue do not exist because they have no true experience with them in their lives.

In my eyes, the greatest of these inequities exist in the public school system, where schools are still divided by racial lines. Where schools that are located in inner-cities do not have the same resources as their suburban counterparts. Where the student population is reflective to that of the era of segregation.

My point is that while Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream the work is still not finished. We must all step forward and pay it forward to the next generation. We must educate our youth today and tell them of the great leaders in the past who have paved the way for their future. A future filled with opportunity and choices that may have not been here if it wasn't for the great work of Dr. King.

Today's students must have a grasp of their cultural roots in order to aspire for great things. Urban schools must focus their energy on reaching the hundreds and thousands of African-American and Latino students that we lose every year. We all must do our part in the struggle and help show cultural relevance in curriculum and its connection to life.

Gone but not forgotten!

Dr. Martin Luther King

1/15/1929-4/4/1968

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

New Year, New Promises and Renewed Efforts

2008-01-01T16:30:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

Another year has come to a close and it's now time to sit down and think about what you are going to do different, or better this new year.

I begin to think about all the items that still need to be done in education to help better meet the needs of my students. I think about my new personal adventure as a father in 2008. I think about my continuing academic journey in my Doctoral program, at the University of Rochester.

Before I continue looking forward let me just say that this year was another great year for myself. I have had numerous amounts and opportunities to help students at my school. I have been privileged enough to make connections with other professionals in education who have the same passion and desire to create better opportunities for students as I do. My wife and I also had the honor and privilege of receiving my son, Avery into this world. So in retrospect it was a great 2007.

So what is in store for 2008? I am not sure but I do know that whatever it is I will make the most and best of any situation that may come my way. Now this leads me to my resolutions for the 2008 new year.

Here is a quick list of my manageable and realistic resolutions:

Be the best father I can be and do all the things that were never done for me by my father
Continue to do well in my doctoral coursework and ultimately get closer to completion
Continue to become a better school administrator, and continue to reflect and make changes where possible
Create new opportunities for my students, to help achieve their dreams in and out of school
Tell those in my family and circle of trust, that I love them as often as possible, and always remember that family comes first

Those are my top 5 resolutions for 2008, let us see how I do.

Have a great New Years Day!

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)

Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Dreams Do Come True!

2007-12-29T21:21:00.000-05:00

The time has finally arrived.

I am currently in Indianapolis, Indiana with my wife and my newly born son, Avery Celestino Soler. We got the call last night from the birth mother that he was born at 7:46 PM and was 8 lbs and 21.75 inches long.

We left late into the night on Friday and after a short nap in Buffalo, New York we arrived in Indiana around 3 PM.

The moment just before his arrival felt very surreal, and it became quite emotional for my wife when he was wheeled into the room.

Let me keep things short, because I need to get off this laptop and go back to being a baby hog.

In closing, let me once again restate that dreams do come true!

Living the Dream!

Mr. Soler & Avery

The Great Debaters

2007-12-28T08:28:00.000-05:00

What does one do over their holiday break from work? Well if it is me, I try to get out and do the things that I often don't have time to do. In particular I went out to see the movie, The Great Debaters with my wife.

Let me start out by saying this movie was loaded with an enormous amount of teachable moments. As I kept watching the film, I kept thinking to myself, my students need to see this film! Since a majority of my students are African American and Latino, I know they could all see similarities from the movie and connections to the struggles in their lives.

The movie was about a college professor who helped establish one of the nations best debate teams at Wiley College. The movie captures many issues of race, inequality, discrimination and the civil rights movement.

Again, I highly recommend all those in education and community service to go out and see this movie. It is as deeply moving to me as Lean on Me and Freedom Writers. It is amazing the power and influence a great teacher has over their students and what can be accomplish with time.

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)

Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.

http://www.anibalsoler.com/

http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com/

Becoming a Father

2007-12-16T22:21:00.000-05:00

Those of you who read this on a daily or monthly basis know I do not often speak of my own personal life and usually stick to issues of education. This current posting I have decided to speak about what is currently going on in my life. Many of you are aware of my journey on becoming a Father but most of you are not. If you're like most let me bring you up to speed.

After trying for two years on our own, my wife and I we were unable to have a child of our own. My wife and I decided to go another route to becoming parents, adoption was our choice. In just a short time after finishing our classes and social work visits my wife and I have been selected to adopt our son from Indiana. We are in the final weeks until his arrival. His due date is Jan. 1, 2008. His name is going to be Avery Celestino Soler. He will have the middle name of the most influential male in my life, my Abuelo (Grandfather) Tino. His room is ready to go and all we are awaiting for is his arrival.

We received a call early Friday morning from the birth mother that she was having contractions 3 to 4 minutes apart and she wanted to put us on standby. Well the day went on and it looks like Avery is not ready to come into the world just yet.

Well even though I am not currently driving on my way to go pick him up from the hospital in Indiana that phone call got me to do some more thinking about being a Father.

I thought to myself oh man, I am going to be a Dad, officially now, the pressure is on! I got to thinking how my life will now change as I will have an all new purpose to live for. Looking back at my life I grew up without the daily presence of my biological father. He would visit on birthdays and special occasions but as I grew older those visits became fewer and fewer. I grew up mostly living with my Mother and spending a lot of time with my grandparents and in particular with my Abuelo (Grandpa). He showed me over the years what it meant to be a man and he often disciplined me through words, actions and expectations.

I know think to myself what type of Father will I be? Will I be courageous enough to tell my son, I love him daily. Will I be able to prepare him for success like my Abuelo (Grandfather) did for me? Will I be able to show him that what matters in life most is what we do for others and not the monetary things we possess. I know I will have a lot of challenges ahead of me and I have some great examples in my life that will help me as I enter the world of fatherhood.

Avery, I hope one day you read this. As the days get closer I can't wait until I have you in my arms! I want you to know that I will make mistakes as our journey begins together but understand that I am learning this whole father role. I will do my best to give you all the love and support you need to succeed, and if I don't please let me know. I know you may not agree with the things I do, but remember I am only going to do what is best for you and I have learned a lot from my own experiences. I can't wait to spend time playing basketball with you and hanging out like father and sons do. I may sometimes embarrass you as you can tell in this photo, your father likes to joke around a lot, but son don't take any of it personal.

Lastly, hurry up and come into this world your father is eagerly waiting!

I Love You!

Future Father of the Year!
Your Papi!

Color Matters?

2007-12-09T10:08:00.001-05:00

Lately this race and color has been a very hot debate in my school district and community. There have been articles written by various individuals rebutting and supporting the various perspectives.

Here are my thoughts...
I strongly believe that race is not the single determinant of success by minority students in urban education. I beleive that what students of color and non-color want from their teachers are individuals that care and take the time to get to know them for who they are as students. I have a quote hanging on my door in my office that states, "Before a student cares to know what you can teach them, they must know that you care."

As a Latino going through the RCSD there were very few if any Latino educators in my educational experience. Did this doom me for failure? Nope not at all because the teachers that made me successful where those who I remember today as the teachers that took a vested interest in me inside and outside of the classroom. The teachers who attended my basketball games, the teachers who allowed me to stay after school and hang out with the in their room, the teachers who let me come up during lunch to offer me help outside of the normal class day. It didn't matter to me how much math they taught me or what content I was showed but rather the connection we had as student and teacher that encouraged me to work hard for that teacher. My main point here is that having teachers that care is what is most important not the color of the teacher.

I do believe that having more staff and teachers of color is an important thing but to say that it is a reason for higher suspension rates, special education referrals, high school dropout percentages is slap in the face to those who work day in and day out in schools.

My question is why are we not doing national recruiting to help increase the number of diverse highly qualified candidates? This is a national problem that is being felt by school district across the country so why not take a different approach? Why not team up with a local university and create a gateway teaching program that prepares our current student body to enter college become teachers and come back and work in the district that prepared them. Rather then point the finger and make claims offer viable solutions to increase the number of Latino and African Americans available to be chosen in the work force.

In closing let us all offer solutions to change items rather then point out obvious deficiencies being felt across urban school districts nationwide. Some of the greatest leaders in this world learned for a variety of individuals, and if you asked most of them why where those individuals so influential in their lives they would more then likely say because they cared in my success.

Living the Dream!
Mr. Soler

Mr. Brizard, the time is now!

2007-12-09T10:04:00.000-05:00

Mr. Brizard,

I want to be one of the first school level administrators to welcome you to Rochester and the Rochester City School District. As you are well aware of there are a multitude of problems/opportunities needing to be addressed in our school district.

I want to tell you that there are a lot of hard working individuals at the building level that need to be recognized for their daily efforts. These individuals range from custodians, paraprofessionals, teachers and administrative staff.

From what I can tell you from my own experience the majority of individuals at the school level want a Superintendent who is truly about bringing some drastic positive change with the needed resources, accountability and commitment to see them through. We have been in limbo for quite some time now and the time is now to get back on track.

I am sure you have many ideas and initiatives you are eager to get in place when you arrive next month. I hope you use your New York City experience to help make some real changes to Rochester. Lastly I truly hope you surround yourself with individuals who are making this job as personal as you are, and understand that everyday we fail we lose more and more youth.

Good luck! Your time is now!

Living the Dream!

Mr. Soler

Priorities or Livelihood?

2007-11-27T22:15:00.000-05:00

Today was another eventful day at work. I was able to informally walk through some of my teachers classrooms and watch them teach. I was able to see student become engaged and challenged by the different situations and content presented by their teachers. I also had an interesting conversation with one of my schools' more popular and academically stellar students.

She is a senior and has faced a lot of adversity in her life. She comes from a home with two sibling and a single mother. Like many students in my building she has been very transient and has moved often in her 17 year lifetime. Just last year she was kicked out of her home and left at the corner locked out of her home. Her mother had decided that she had enough of dealing with her and she is old enough to be on her own. Yeah, I would't believe a parent could do that but it really happens and it happens a little too much in our society.

Well after being on her own this past summer and living with a group of other young ladies she attempted to come back home. Her mother and her have tried to heal and mend their relationship over the past 5 months. Unfortunately it the situation has occurred again. The student came looking for me once again, asking me what to do? Would I help her find some income based housing? Would I be a reference for her? Here is a 4.0 student who works a part-time job at Wegmans, takes two college level courses, and has now been kicked out of her home.

Those not involved in urban education often forget what our students are face with. They often blame schools for the failures and struggles of children without closely examining the failures of society and parents. Again I wish all of those who are looking from the outside in to spend sometime with those on the front lines before you past judgement on our failures. As you can see from this scenario a lot of times it is items out of the control of the school that hinder our success, but don't worry this child will succeed if I have something to say and do about it.

Living the Dream!
Mr. Soler
www.anibalsoler.com

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-23T08:19:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving, is a time to make sure you tell those you love, that you are thankful for everything they do for you. Make sure you hold them close and tell them you love them. Make sure you thank yourself for doing what's right for those who are not as privileged as you are. Make sure you enjoy the moments spent with your family during these times.

Lastly, thank you for being in my life!

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Living the Dream!
Mr. Soler

School Safety

2007-10-20T14:21:00.001-04:00

On a daily basis, schools and school districts face a multitude of challenges in keeping weapons, drugs and any other harmful individuals or items out of their buildings.

Most school buildings have a small handful of individuals that deal with safety and preventing items from coming in. It is visually obvious very few schools have enough resources and staff to handle the high need of safety in a school.

I often ask myself, why are school districts so reactive when it comes to safety? Why don't they provide schools with the resources to scan every student, provide doors with alarms on them, airport style bag scanners, or with enough video cameras to monitor school activity?

The fact is without a safe environment no learning can occur. Staff and students will be to concerned with their safety then with teaching and learning.

I challenge all school districts to make sure they provide enough resources to make sure that incidents of violence that involve weapons, do not occur. I challenge school districts to become "Proactive" rather then waiting for an incident to occur.

Another critical element involved in creating a safe school environment is having enough counseling and wellness resources available to students. Counselors need to have manageable size case loads so that they can know students more intimately and hopefully prevent incidents from occurring since they are better informed.

The last and most vital element is parent/guardian-student relationships. We need our parents of our students to talk, listen and respond to their children. We all remember as a child we needed someone we could talk to if we had an issue, or even if we didn't. We all need someone to vent or celebrate with, but we often get caught up in our own lives to take time to listen to our children who need us the most. We also have to encourage our students the importance of telling an adult when another child may be upset, and may cause harm to him or herself or another individual.

I know you have heard it before but I cannot emphasize it enough!
"It takes a village to raise a child!"

Living the Dream!
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
www.anibalsoler.com

A Letter to the Mayor, City Councilman and School Board Officials of Rochester

2007-10-08T11:03:00.000-04:00

Dear Mr. Duffy, Mr. McFadden and Mr. White,

As a citizen of this community I want to applaud you on your efforts to
increase the awareness of this ongoing issue of violence and poverty within
our Rochester community. I view this problem as not just belonging to the
City of Rochester, but belonging to the entire community including the
suburbs of Greece, Gates, Brighton and so on. As you know the demographics
of the suburbs are changing as more of us minorities are moving out into
those areas.

I work in the City School District, as a High School Vice Principal and I
love my job and the students I serve. I have spent my entire professional
career in the Rochester City School District as a teacher and now as a
school administrator. I attended elementary, middle and high school in the
city and I would have graduated from them if it wasn’t for my family moving
down lake avenue one street over into a town called Greece, where I completed
high school.

This problem of violence I see as a huge breakdown of the educational system
and what it offers Latino and African American students. Being Latino the
issue of relevance was something that I struggled with while attending city
and suburban schools, relevance was something that was not in place in
curriculum nor in practice.

Today as a school administrator I encourage my staff that they build,
relationship with the students they serve and that they model what is it to
be a positive and productive citizen. That they incorporate strategies
which help show relevance to why it is important to succeed at school,
especially to a student who comes from an environment where school is low on
the list of priorities.

As you gentleman continue to push forward with your various projects that
will affect the students and the community of Rochester please remember to
encourage that the RCSD place a Superintendent that is vested in this
community and wants to remain here to see things through. One who knows
that the true litmus test for any project in the educational system, is
whether the project is truly beneficial to students. A Superintendent who
understands the various influential variables of urban education, a
Superintendent who is truly focused on raising the level of success for our
students.

I also want to remind you that most of the individuals regardless of
nationality in our city school system want to see the students succeed, and
work very hard to make sure that this occurs. All the students I serve do
not care what the color of the teacher is but rather that the teacher CARE
and is there because they want to make a difference, although ethnicity
helps build a connection it is not the ultimate factor in determining
student success.

I often go home from work frustrated and discouraged that more cannot be
done in terms of providing resources and support for the students that I
serve. I do not sleep well at night knowing that statistically half of the
students that enter my school building will not finish high school. This is
a crisis!

As you are all aware it takes a community to raise a child, and education
equals opportunity. I hope the Children’s Zone does come to fruition for
the sake of our students and community.

Once again keep up the great work as we are in a state of emergency to save
thousands of youth! Don’t hesitate to lean on others like myself for
support or help as the success of our city depends on it.

Thank you for your time and have a blessed day!

--
¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

2007 Latino Upstate Summit

2007-09-25T21:46:00.000-04:00

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the inaugural 2007 Latino Upstate Summit in Buffalo, New York. I was able to attend workshops that focused on various issues affecting the Latino population in New York State. The workshops ranged from Bilingual education to Gang and Youth violence to the voting process.

Also at the event I was able to hear the keynote address of Dr. Manuel Rivera, Deputy Secretary of Education for New York State. Dr. Rivera made some interesting and great comments during his keynote. He focused on items that he is going to implement or have already implemented, items such as the Schools Contract for Excellence. He also focused on changing funding to schools so that institutions that have a higher need will receive the funding they are rightly due.

Another major theme for the summit was education. What other arena affects everything else in society, but education. Latino's like many other minorities are falling behind their Caucasian counterparts. Some of Dr. Rivera's comments focused on that along with some of the workshops.

The event was the first of it's kind created to unite the Latino communities across New York State. I must commend the board of directors and everyone responsible for creating the event. It must start somewhere and I think they are off to a great start. The environment was very professional and great for networking and forming connections.

I am looking forward to next year's Latino Summit which is scheduled to be located in Rochester, New York.

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

Hispanic Heritage Month

2007-09-18T10:57:00.000-04:00

Hispanic Heritage month begins on September 15, and is scheduled yearly
to last until October 15. It is the time of year that is set aside by
every school to focus or recognize the contributions of Hispanics or
Latinos in society.

In most schools and school districts very little is often said or done.
Latinos are the largest growing minority in America, and yet very little
emphasis is placed on the necessity to understand, learn and appreciate
the culture.

I look at schools as a reflection of what society places value or weight on. Let's look at the Social Studies curriculum. Their is no mention of the role of Latinos in America, and the only mention of African Americans outside of slavery and civil rights is minuscule.

Has anyone realized that this is why so many students struggle in school? Releavance! Today's generation sees no relevance to their world or their culture in education.

During this month I was privileged enough to go into Ms. Martinez's Spanish
class and present to the students. My presentation was based off of the
independent movie directed by Rosie Perez,Yo soy Boricua, pa'que tu lo sepas! (I am Puerto Rican , Just so you know!).

I was speaking to a group of Latino students not one outside of the
culture or ethnicity. We spoke about our role today, what they need to
do, and who they represent. We spoke of my past and how I came to where
I am right now, a Latino with an education and a successful career. The
students were very intrigued and enjoyed our conversation. I left the
class and discussion hoping to havereached at least on student who will begin to live the dream!

Hispanic Heritage remembrance needs to occur daily along with Black History
month and all the other cultures and ethnicity's that make up this
beautiful country called America.

Living the Dream!
Mr. Soler

Jasper Update

2007-09-15T09:05:00.000-04:00

Good morning,

I wanted to share Jasper’s, (the young man who you all thoughtfully donated money to help towards his college) Philosophy of Education paper. His transition into college has gone extremely well and I speak to him regularly whenever he needs to vent or just share some of the college excitement.

Here is what he wrote in his first paper, a reminder of what life and education is really all about, enjoy!!

Jasper
Philosophy of Education

I am a 19 year old, who is hard working. I plan on traveling the world and hope to meet thousands of people. I am for the first time in my life satisfied with what and who I am. I value my life and especially the people I am around, where people are not handed anything in life. I can appreciate coming up hard and having to earn what I get out of life. It gives me a great sense of belonging when I see how much a person appreciates the time and effort I put into what I do.

My long term goal is to be a principal in a high school. I believe that much of education needs to be changed and that “we” (as those learning to be educators) are not doing a very good job preparing our youth for their future in the real world. I feel as a principal I will be able to mold my teachers to teach in a manner of my choosing though professional development and observation.

I want to start off as a physical education teacher and later head in the administrative field in education. I have accomplished a necessary short term goal by graduating from high school, last June. My current mission is to gain a degree in physical education and later get certified in administration to be a principal.

The interpersonal feeling that I receive when I see that I have positively influenced a child to do his or her best is one I experienced while working at the City of Rochester Recreation Center. I like the feeling that I help today’s youth make a better society tomorrow, plus in my high school, I have been close to all my physical education teachers and I have liked the way they connect with students. When I worked at the recreation centers, I loved the way I connected with the kids during play or when I could teach them how to play a game. Most of my physical education teachers have been a mentor and an inspiration in my life, I would love to do the same.

My “ultimate” career goal would be a principal at a high school where I can make my own rules. Much education today is monumentally ineffective. “All Too Often We Are Giving Young People Cut Flowers When We Should Be Teaching Them To Grow Their Own Plants”. ~ John Gardner. I believe hard work and dedication are needed in any aspect of education. I want to teach as many courses as I can. I want my teachers to excite and introduce students to a new perceptive of sporting careers. I believe if I can interest enough students to go on to college and take up careers in any of these fields or maybe be recognized by as many important people as they can. I also feel that in order to move into administration it will take many hours and a huge sacrifice in my personal life to move into the position I desire, like early in my career I want to try to reach every child. This may take many sleepless nights before I may realize that all children don’t want to be helped and that I maybe sacrificing many hours identifying those who need and want my help and those who don’t. This reminds me of the saying that “one can lead a horse to water but can not make it drink.”

I used to consider chasing my dream as a police officer, but some of society’s criminals start off as kids. However, if I get into education, I would want to fix what I believe in, which is, an injustice to kids and more importantly tomorrow’s society.

Living the Dream!
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.

Welcome Back!

2007-09-09T19:20:00.000-04:00

The first week of school has come and gone. As you are all already aware I am in my second year as an Academy Director (Vice-Principal) at Charlotte High School in Rochester, New York. Our school last year was labeled as persistently dangerous due to the suspension and incident rates of 2005-06. During my first year our school principal and administrative team put many things in place and well, it paid off. We are now off the list that gave us a negative perception by our community members and students.

On our opening day we were welcomed with a visit from Interim Superintendent Dr. William Cala, who was going to visit all 60 schools during the first two days of school. Along with the Superintendent's visit came the media, in particular Channel 10 NBC News was there to report on us getting removed from the list.

I was glad to see them there to report on all of our hard work. All of the things that our teachers, students and administrators have been doing to make Charlotte High School a world class institution of learning.

Here is the video and article of that morning. Click Here

Now that we are off the list and back to a fresh start our focus still remains on continuing a a safe learning environment and improving our instructional offerings. With time I am confident that Charlotte High School will move up and be known as an elite high school in the Rochester area.

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

The iPhone and K-12 Schools

2007-09-03T22:35:00.000-04:00

It was about 3 weeks ago that I finally took the financial plunge to acquire an iPhone. Being the "digital junky" that I am it was only a matter of time before I got my hands on this innovative device. Let me see that the iPhone has definitely set the bar very high in terms of expectations for future phones.

Apple in my eyes has set the new benchmark for mobile phones.

Being an educator I can see a whole new world of benefits for schools, educators and district leaders. I can see this device take the place of the many "Laptop per child" initiatives. This device can do everything a laptop can do and would allow 24 hour communication between student and teacher or student and school. Obviously there are some legal concerns to consider but if done correctly it would allow for continuous learning to occur in and outside of school.

I am thinking of a student who doesn't have internet at home, he picks up his iPhone to log on to the internet to do some basic research online. That same student may text message his teacher with a question about the homework. I am thinking the school could send out messages to its students about snow days, or school sporting event schedules, etc. The school could even send out reminders for SAT registration and so on. There could be a hotline for students to text message to warn adults about potential problems. Teachers or the school could have a site with downloadable podcasts for the students on various topics along with videos that they could watch on their iPhones to support learning.

I would love to work with Apple and its education team on developing a model environment that could be reproduced in any educational setting. I would use my school as a potential learning environment. Just provide me with 25 iPhones, and 25 iMacs in a classroom and I will take it from there. One last thought the students could have a digital portfolio on their waist. They could show a mentor, parent or friend what they have been creating in class because of the total integration of iLife '08 with the iPhone.

I think you can see my point the possibilities are endless.

Steve Jobs, give me a call, shoot me an email, or text message me on my iPhone if you would like to expand your market. :)

Living the Dream!
Anibal Soler, Jr.
www.anibalsoler.com

Back to School!!

2007-09-03T22:08:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow morning, it's back to work for thousands of teachers across New York State. The excitement is in the air!

I personally can't wait as I begin my second year as an Academy Director/ Vice-Principal at Charlotte High School. Coming into this school year with a years worth of experience speaks volumes. I am attacking things from whole new perspective. I am looking forward to improving our NYS ELA test results along with continuing to develop valuable connections with my students. I have some new teachers under my supervision along with many from last year. I think in ten months from now you will see a different end of the year grade for my self evaluation.

I want to wish all the educational leaders, teachers and students a successful and eventful school year. There is no other job out there where you will be able to affect the future of our world and obtain intrinsic rewards!

Good luck everyone and remember to Live the Dream!

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

UPDATE: A Call for help...

2007-08-29T19:04:00.000-04:00

Thank You!!!

Let me start out first by thanking everyone who donated and responded to my call for help. Jasper has started classes and is all moved in with plenty of materials, supplies and funds to last him for a while. I cannot tell you how grateful I am for your generosity in this time of need.

Through your donations I have secured $500 dollars that have been given to him for food, clothes and school incidentals.

This experience has helped me realize the huge void that exist for "Urban American" high school graduates who do not have much support or experience in preparing for the transition into college. Something must be done to ensure that once students graduate that they take the required steps to get into college.

Once again I am deeply grateful for your help in helping another one of my students, Live the Dream!

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

A call for help

2007-08-21T23:14:00.001-04:00

Dear Family, Friends and Colleagues,

You are all aware of my commitment and passion to serve my students in my role as their Vice Principal at Charlotte High School. I look to instill in all my students the courage, desire and perseverance to achieve their dreams regardless of whatever adversity comes their way.

Today, I encountered a call for help by one of my recently graduated male success stories.

His name is Jasper M. and in 19 years of life, he has encountered a multitude of adversity that so far he has been able to overcome. Although now, he is at a crossroads in his life with no direction or immediate family support to help him and has turned to me, and I am turning to you.

Jasper in the past 3 months has gone from high to low to uncertain. After various matters and hardship during his high school tenure, he was able to complete and graduate. During his final month, he was also able to apply to Genesee Community College and be accepted, although having some learning complexities. Shortly after graduating and being accepted to college, Jasper’s mother who was chronically ill passed away. Jasper is currently working fulltime at a local recreation center but the majority of his college savings was spent on his mother’s funeral, as he is the only other income in the house and his father is also deceased.

As of today, he has $50 dollars towards his college future and a minimal amount of belongings to take with him this Friday, August 24, 2007. This is where your help comes in to play. If you could spare $10 dollars, please feel free to donate at the PayPal site that I have setup for Jasper’s College Fund. Click on the button below; create a PayPal account and pay with a credit card. I would love to present him with a check in the amount of money raised to help him purchase food, school supplies, linens and many other items. Once again he leaves Friday. Thank you!

Living the Dream!
Anibal Soler, Jr.
www.anibalsoler.com

Addressing our ailing Rochester City Schools

2007-08-14T22:11:00.000-04:00

As I was reading the paper this past weekend I came upon a request by the D&C asking community members their opinion of 6 different questions. I have written the questions below and I will answer the questions to the best of my knowledge. Again let me clearly state that these are my opinions and do not reflect any of the organization I work in. I speak for myself and no one else.

1.What is the most positive thing about city schools?
Diversity. The most positive thing about city schools is the diverse population that it serves. We have students that come from a variety of nationalities and cultures that will define the future of America.

2. Is the Children's Zone a good idea?
Absolutely! The Children's Zone, if modeled correctly after Geoffrey Canada's Harlem Children's Zone will address the many social inequities that are often blamed as the single reason why students in Urban America fail. It will create schools that are a one stop shop for families. Schools that will offer social and medical services to families who would not receive it otherwise. Schools that will become 24 hour community hubs that will become pillars in their communities. My only fear with the Rochester Children's Zone is like many new initiatives, it brings huge political games especially with the City of Rochester and the Rochester City School District being managed independently. The other issue will be money, it has been two years since the Rochester Children's Zone was started and we have yet to see anything occur other then meetings and discussions. Our time is precious and the longer we wait the thousands we continue to lose. We need individuals who are passionate about this and have the extreme urgency as Mr. Canada had in Harlem.

3. Should more vocational/technical classes be offered?
Yes. When I was a city school student in Rochester, I was focused on attending Edison Tech because it offered me the option to learn a trade or skill that would allow me to immediately obtain employment. Although I was not excepted to Edison I still found academic programs of worth at East High School. The reason why was because the teachers at East showed me relevance on how their Art program would still benefit me even-though it was not a technical graphic arts class. They showed me relevance in what I was doing and based on a program of rigor allowed me to have the artistic skills to work or attend college anywhere. Vocational education is an essential option that needs to be offered in conjunction with the traditional comprehensive high school.

4. Rank in order of importance, and say why:
*A. School Security
*B. Good test scores
*C. Teachers and Principals who care
*D. Cost-effective administration

My ranking would be: A, C, B, D.
School Security is the most important thing that needs to occur in any institution of learning. Without staff and students feeling safe nothing can occur. No learning will occur in an environment that is disruptive and unsafe. The next essential piece is having a staff that cares. A staff that is truly vested in the success of the students. Staff members who go above and beyond with the students and are not tied to what is said on a union contract or if there is additional pay for doing extending themselves. One of my biggest frustrations with staff is a lot of them have never seen the neighborhoods that are student come from and assume that their role as a teacher or administrator ends when the student leaves the building. In inner city schools a teacher is not just a teacher and an administrator is not just an administrator. They will be mothers, fathers, big brothers, big sisters, friends, social worker, counselors and list goes on and on. With a staff that cares you will begin to get students to change the way they approach their education and in turn get the next choice, "Good Test Scores." The test scores will come once the other two items are in place, without the prior two being established nothing will improve.
My last item of importance is cost effective administration. Salary is usually dictated by established unions or reflective of the job market. I know most individuals have a tough time with the salaries made by central office administration. Here is what my solution would be for that I would require that one day of their work week be sent at a building of high need. This would be a school that is not making NCLB's AYP. This new requirement would place these highly qualified and highly paid experts back at the building level thus reminding them of what is truly the focus of their decision making.

5. Who should run city schools? Explain why.
This is an extremely tough question because there are current examples of a city run school district and an independently run school district throughout our country. Both have their pro's and con's and their success and defeats. My main point here is I think most would agree that we would like to see a consistent, vested and visible leader. A Superintendent who is not going to be here for the traditional 3 year term but one who will see his vision and projects through completion.

6. What's the most important quality of a city school leader?
This is a very difficult question because it is like asking what is the most important ingredient in meat-loaf. You would say that all the ingredients are important. I think a city school leader needs a culmination of characteristics, not one of them being more significant than the other but being equally reliant for an effective school leader.
Here is my list of qualities in no significant order: compassion, humble, visible, integrity, dedicated, passionate, knowledgeable and experienced

Once again let me remind you these are my feelings and opinions in response to the Democrat and Chronicle's article.

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
www.anibalsoler.com

NYSCATE Leadership Conference

2007-08-14T22:10:00.000-04:00

Leading on Purpose?... This was the title of a NYSCATE sponsored conference I attended in Syracuse, New York which I thought would have had more of a focus on technology. Instead what the attendees and myself received was a revisit back on our educational value system. A look back to why we decided to become educators and leaders in education. We spoke openly about what our purpose and vision is in education.

The conference had its benefits but was no where near the expectations that were set forth from the emailed agenda.

I left the conference a little frustrated that I have yet to attend an Educational Technology Conference that I have learned from. This may be an opportunity for myself to set the tone. Hmm... I will have to think about that for future endeavors.

¡Viviendo el Sueño! (Living the Dream!)
Mr. Anibal Soler, Jr.
http://www.anibalsoler.com
http://anibalsoler.blogspot.com

To Blog or not to Blog? That is the question.

2007-07-24T20:04:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since I have last written something in my blog. As an educational advocate and self proclaimed technological expert I can honestly say that blogs are an excellent tool, but are often not worth anything if no one is reading and collaborating with you. Hence probably why it has been so long since I have posted anything.

This "interactive audience" is an essential piece to a successful blog. Having an interactive audience is key. Without an audience one feels as if they are simply restating mental thoughts to themselves. The "interactive audience" is important because it in-turn helps create an engaged and highly motivated blogger.

Many times in instructional technology arenas there is always the conversation of the importance of creating blogs as part of an instructional approach to embedding technology into the curriculum. The reason most think blogs will be successful is because it would allow others to post comments or create discussions on or about class. Again, the emphasis on the role of an interactive audience.

In theory I think it is a great idea, but I begin to ask myself many questions that often are not discussed or investigated in the educational world, maybe it is because it is assumed that these other items will be in place. I think about the teacher and the role that that teacher has to play after class to make the blog worthwhile. Are teachers today ready to go beyond the traditional work day to connect with students? Are students ready to go home after being in school to log on to their computers and check out their class blog? How do you manage a blog and assign academic credit? and if you don't will students even bother? Are school administrators ready to go digital? Are they ready to continue the role of leadership in an online world? Are they ready to monitor how and what is being discussed?

I have many more questions and many more points of discussion. I hope that someday this blog will contain and have an interactive audience but until then I will continue to write as often as I can. I will also continue to try to comment on items in the world of education and in instructional technology as often as possible.

For those of you who continue to read this blog and comment when possible I thank you!!

Living the Dream!
Mr. Soler
www.anibalsoler.com

Charlotte High School Graduation 2007

2007-06-24T07:43:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was my first Graduation as a High School Vice-Principal. It was an overwhelming and fulfilling experience. It had been almost 20 years since the last graduating class had received a high school diploma. The last group from Charlotte High School was back in 1988.

The commencement ceremony took place at the University of Rochester's Strong Auditorium.

As I stood near the stage at my post there were many things that stood out in my mind. First, I began to think of how many of my students where going to become first generation high school graduates. Many of my students come from families who do not have a single high school graduate, much like myself.

The second thing that crossed my mind was the sense of pride all of the staff should have when looking at the current graduates. I wish that all teaching staff members were required to be in attendance. You may ask why? Well, I feel that if staff get to truly see why we work so hard on making sure our graduates get through they will understand or be reminded of their intrinsic responsibilities. The handful of staff members who were there will undoubtedly be inspired and moved for a long while. I look forward to seeing how this translates into next year as we now have our first official year as a full high school grades 7-12.

The other ultimate highlight was being able to take photos with the students afterwards. This is where you get to hug that student who you were nagging on the past nine months. This is also were you get to see how many students you impacted by the amount of photo requests you have.

I was only privileged enough to work and get to know these graduates for the past school year, 2006-2007. I hope during that time I have helped make an impact and demonstrate for them that, today all though a great day is not the end of the road. They need to make sure they continue on forward and live the dream!!

In closing let me say, CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2007!!

Living the Dream!!
Mr. Soler
www.anibalsoler.com

Mentoring

2007-05-31T22:09:00.000-04:00

Today on the Oprah Winfrey Show, she had a TV special focusing on the National Crisis occurring in our schools, the failure of many urban school children. She also had some influential guests who are making a difference in their areas. They are Geoffrey Canada (CEO & Founder of the Harlem Childrens Zone), Hill Harper (CSI: NY actor, author of Letters to a Young Brother: MANifest Your Destiny), three teachers from California who established the Village Nation, and Susan L. Taylor an Essence magazine executive.

The show was very inspirational and heartfelt. If you could get your hands on a copy of it please do so, and if not email the show and request a copy.

What really struck me about the show was the intention to get 1 Million Mentors signed up. Essence Magazine has launched an initiative, “Essence Cares” that they hope will enroll 1 Million Mentors across the United States. Essence understands the importance of working with today’s inner-city youth who more then likely do not have a positive role model in their life.

I commend and applaud them for going out and stepping up and looking to make this a reality.

Anyone who is out there and is reading this post please go out and sign up and make a difference in the life of a student. Far too many people do not think this problem of failing schools doesn’t affect them, well they are wrong it affects us all, as a city, state and country. We must address this issue now, or later may be too late. As many in education have stated, “Not on my watch!”

Living the Dream!!!

Anibal

High School Graduation Rates

2007-05-14T21:13:00.001-04:00

Recently it was reported by the Democrat & Chronicle that the Rochester City School District has a horrid 39% Graduation Rate the lowest of any of the Big 4 in New York. The Rochester City School District quickly refuted the claim and said that the number was inaccurate. The RCSD said their number is actually 53%. The RCSD did acknowledge that the number is still too low. Read the RCSD's response here.

As an Administrator in an urban school district I see all of the various issues educators and administrators face in educating our youth. I also see the difficult task in getting students to succeed and really understand the value of graduating from high school.

Our inner city youth live in a world where they need immediate feedback and affirmation. It is very difficult for most students to see the true rewards of a high school diploma and the doors which are opened from it. Many of them are worried and concerned about how they will make it through the day or night. Many of the students come from home structures that understand the importance of completing high school but do not reflect that in thier daily practices with their children.

I am not sure that there is one single thing that can be done to improve graduation rates other then building a solid foundation early in the educational career of a student. We need to invest a large amount of time and dedication to make relevant and engaging connections with our students. If we build these relationships with the students during their 9th and 10th grade years they are more likely to see it through till the end. When students have a vested interest in the school either through a teacher or a group of peers they are more likely to succeed and see themselves reach the end.

Waiting until they are in their senior year to try to get them to graduate is too late in my eyes. By this time they have already made a concious decision to put themselves in a difficult situation.

The work ahead of urban schools is difficult and rigourous, but I strongly believe that it will take everyone in the community to make a true difference in increasing graduation rates. Schools cannot be the only entity responsible for completing this task.

Graduation 2007

2007-05-06T22:08:00.000-04:00

This weekend was St. John Fisher's commencement ceremony. For me it was the official walk across the stage and final chapter to my graduate experience at St. John Fisher College. It was also the last time I would have the opportunity to see my peers from my Educational Administration Program.

Looking back it was a great 18 months spent together, there were a lot of ups and some downs during the program. I think everyone in the program grew and gained knowledge from one another. Another positive during our time was that a handful of us were fortunate enough to obtain administrative positions before completing the program and many are obtaining positions now.

At graduation only 15 of the 28 members of Cohort 10 participated. I was somewhat disappointed with the turnout I think it would have been great to see everyone together one last time. Our Cohort was also honored by having one of our own deliver the closing speech to all the graduate students.

In closing I want to remind everyone in my program, that I like the program have a lifetime guarantee!! If you ever need anything, or if I could ever be of any service please let me know. Good luck with your lives and careers I will be watching. Congratulations Class of 2006-2007!

Living the Dream!
Anibal

A difficult day...

2007-05-03T23:06:00.000-04:00

Today was one of the hardest days of my life... sometimes life seems so unfair to good people. I know it will take time to heal the wound but if anyone will make it in the end, it will be us. I can only hope God, has a bigger and better plan for my wife and I. I want to thank all of you for your support, encouragement and kind words.

Living the Dream!
Tracy & Anibal Soler, Jr.

Graduate Awards Ceremony

2007-05-03T16:33:00.000-04:00

Last night I was privileged enough to receive an award and attend the Graduate Student Awards Ceremony at St. John Fisher College. I, along with many of my educational administration peers recognized for various achievements throughout the program. I was selected an awarded the "Who's Who Among Students In American Universities & Colleges." I was very honored to have received this recognition.

While I was there I started to think about what is next for me, what will I do now that I have a Bachelors and two Masters degrees? Do I go forth with the pursuit of a Doctorate in Education? Do I focus on achieving my other goals such as guest speaking, writing a book, etc.? I am not 100% sure what life has in store for me, but whatever it is I will give it my all.

Living the Dream!
Anibal

Birthday Weekend

2007-04-29T22:37:00.000-04:00

Well my 30th birthday weekend has come to a close. It was a great three days that begun on Friday with a visit at school from New York State's, Department of Education. The State's Education Department was visiting our school as part of the process to help remove us from the "persistently dangerous schools" list. A list which any educational institution is not proud to be on.

In retrospect I felt that the visit went extremely well I was the first person on the agenda to present. I presented to the "team" from State Ed. our schools' Microsoft Sharepoint Intranet site. I mainly focused on how we as a school our using this to increase our electronic communication and collaboration as a school building. I emphasized the power of having a digital library of resources for staff to reference from our site. I also spoke about how we use it to post school news, events, meeting minutes and weekly bulletins.

The visit had other presentations and facets to it that I rather not go into detail about. I will end this piece by saying that the visitors were very cognizant of the realities of urban education. They understood the importance of our work and how difficult it is when you have a numerous amount of external factors that we cannot control going against us.

The highlight of my weekend was my birthday party. My wife spent a lot of time coordinating this event. As usual we had a plethora of food and entertainment. My gifts ranged from educational books to gift cards. The highlight of all my gifts was a shadow box my wife created for me. The shadow box was a snapshot of my 30 years of life. The shadow box is unbelievably amazing and I can't wait to hang it up in my office at work. I have included a photo for those of you who may never have a chance to see it.

Lastly the weekend ended better then I could have ever expected. I was able to spend time with those individuals who matter the most to me in my life. My wife, family and friends really know how to make every moment together enjoyable.

Thanks!

Living the Dream!

Anibal Soler, Jr.

The Lose of a Colleague

2007-04-24T21:29:00.000-04:00

It saddens me to say that the search of William “Bill” Thurston, a Rochester City School Vice Principal, father, and mentor has tragically ended. This afternoon Police Officials have revealed that they have found the body of Mr. Thurston.

I unfortunately did not have the opportunity and privilege to meet Mr. Thurston, but from the reactions of the students he served at John Marshall High School, and the information I received from fellow district administrators he was an amazing, loving and caring man.

I cannot imagine the pain and suffering that his family, students and dear friends will face. The road ahead of them must be filled with the positive thoughts, memories and influence that he had on their lives.

There are many questions still left unanswered.

I want to take this moment and send my condolences to the Thurston family. I want the students at John Marshall High School, although extremely difficult too continue to succeed in the name of Mr. Thurston. It is important that his legacy be never forgotten and that students demonstrate this through their positive attitude and success.

Mr. William Thurston, you will be missed! Rest in Peace.

Living the Dream,
Anibal
www.anibalsoler.com

Oprah's Town Hall

2007-04-17T16:06:00.000-04:00

I was priviliged enough to watch Oprah's two part Town Hall series courtesy of my DVR (digital video recorder).

Oprah Winfrey did a two part Town Hall special, focusing on Don Imus's comments and she invited a vast array of guest speakers as part of the committee. The focus was on the use of language towards women and women of color.

The show was very thought provoking and raised a numerous amount of questions in my mind that, I hope they will be answered with time.

My questions are:

What will actually be done to change the language in the music industry?
What will Oprah do to show some accountability on why she had created the forum in the first place?
What will be done in education with our students who view this hip hop culture as the proper way to speak and live in today's society?
Will there be any additional pressure placed on the government and community members to address the underlying issues of poverty?

Lastly, I think of my students. I think of the effect that hip-hop and rap have on them. My students always wear the latest fashions they see in music videos. My students always know the latest slang and street terminology. My students spend so much time and energy in reproducing the behaviors they see. If only the time and energy was spent equally on education. If only they realized that it was just music they were listening to, and not a right of passage.

The debate will continue, and I will end with saying this; When we take care of the social inequities that currently exist in place in our society, then rap artist and others will not have the right to blame their lyrics on society.

Living the Dream!
Anibal
www.anibalsoler.com

Tragedy in Virginia Tech

2007-04-17T15:58:00.000-04:00

Let me start out by saying my heart goes out to all of the students and families affected by this horrific tragedy. Who would have thought that this would have occurred at location that is designated for learning, sharing, growing and collegiality.

Although I am hundreds of miles away I feel the sorrow personally as I watch the convocation on television. I find myself misty eyed and saddened by this event as I continue to watch and hear the reports coming from CNN and various other news outlets.

I continously try to put myself in the shoes of the students who went through this event and ask myself what would I have done had I heard shooting outside my classroom. What would I have done had someone began shooting in my classroom? What would I have done had a been the School President? I am not sure what exactly I would do or how I would have handled the situation.

I do hope that those students who survived this mass murder, will share the stories of the classmates whose lives were lost.

As the day progressed, I began to think if my students at school would be affected by this tragedy. Would they come into school with questions or comments about what has occurred so far away from their surroundings?

What was quite ironic was that a lady did eventually ask me the question if my students at school would be bothered by this event. I thought about it briefly before responding and said, No. I don't think my students have a grasp of events outside of their community. Most of my students have a tough time realizing that life is larger than the block or neighborhood they represent. I continued to tell her that most of my students are so preoccupied with their daily struggle of survival that I doubt if this incident would really affect them.

I did say that I hope my teachers take the time to acknowledge the tragedy and share with the students the profound and disturbing effect that one man actions had on an entire community.

In closing I want to reiterate my sympathy for all of those affected in the Virginia Tech killings. My prayers are with you in this time of need.

God Bless you all!!
Anibal
www.anibalsoler.com

Eventful Weekend

2007-04-15T17:34:00.000-04:00

My Spring break is coming to a close. It has been an eventful last couple of days for myself. I have been working with three of my student athletes from my high school. These three boys are part of the high school basketball team at my school. They also play for an AAU travel team that I previously coached for and continue to endorse because of its high quality work with student athletes. The team is called East Coast Fusion and it is run by a good colleague of mine, Mr. Lemcke.

I spent the final days of my break with these three young men who I picked up, fed and cheered for during the weekend basketball tournament. One of the boys in particular is of great importance to me.

He reminds me a lot of myself and I have personally taken him on as my endeavor. I have been working with him daily with his basketball abilities and counseling him on planning for the future.

Next year is his senior year and hopefully my investment of time, money and love will pay off.

Living the Dream!
Anibal
www.anibasoler.com

"Teaching the Levees" a free resource...

2007-04-12T10:10:00.000-04:00

I just learned today that the, Teachers College at Columbia University through the generous support of the Rockefeller Foundation is developing a curriculum that will help teachers teach issues of race and class in America. The curriculum will be directly tied to the Spike Lee movie, When the Levees Broke.

As I have written before in a prior post about the significant injustice that I have witnessed in New Orleans. This curriculum well help remind us of this disaster and the amount of work that still needs to be done, but also make the situation a teachable moment. I recommend that every teacher and administrator sign up for this free resource.

Here is the web link to the official site Teaching The Levees

Living the Dream!
Anibal
www.anibalsoler.com

Spring Break, a time for reflection...

2007-04-09T22:14:00.000-04:00

I hope everyone is enjoying their time off from school and rejuvenating themselves for the final stretch of the school year. When I get these moments of downtime at work I often find myself reading literature that will continue to ignite my passion for what I do. I often go back and read a poem that was first read to me by one of my professors at St. John Fisher.

I remember the day very clearly when Mr. Bell stood up at the front of the class and read to my classmates and me, a poem by Michael Josephson entitled What Will Matter (c)2003. When Mr. Bell finished reading everyone's reaction was quiet and reflective. My observation of the class was stunned and inspired by what they just heard.

Let me be the first to warn you that the poem is very powerful and moving. It may cause you to make a lifestyle change.

I think everyone involved in education; parents, teachers, administrators, students,
politicians and community stakeholders should read and refer to this poem before making any global decisions. My rationale behind this suggestions would to be to make sure that stakeholders are truly, intrinsically doing what is right for our students.

Here is a link to a PDF version of the poem Click Here.
Here is a html version for those of you who would rather view the poem in your internet browser.

Living the Dream!
Anibal
www.anibalsoler.com

New Orleans, "The Big Easy" still recovering.

2007-04-01T19:28:00.000-04:00

My trip to Louisiana has come to an end. I was fortunate enough to spend a week down in the "big easy." The teacher recruitment trip was a great eye opening experience for myself. I was able to see a vast array of school districts and network with other school administrators and personnel.

The biggest highlight of my trip was the visit I took down to the "ground zero" area of New Orleans also known as the lower 9th Ward. I decided to take the trip along with one of my colleagues from Rochester and another recruiter who was a school Principal from California.

It has been 19 months since Hurricane Katrina has hit and 18 months since Hurricane Rita followed. My initial reaction to what I seen was very grim. I couldn't believe that I was in a once vibrant neighborhood. I stood near the newly repaired levee and I could see loads of empty fields that were once occupied by houses.

I walked around the area in amazement. I was baffled that something so tragic could occur nearly 2 years ago and yet there was very little improvement in the status of the area.

I drove by school buildings that were damaged and still closed. I began to think as an educator the significant implications on the development of children in the New Orleans area. It will take generations to recover from this natural disaster. The amount of student disabilities and classifications I am sure will increase exponentially. I was amazed but not surprised to find out that there student enrollment had dropped by almost 75%. I hope that the city officials really look at rebuilding up the schools first so that they could be hubs for the community. New Orleans public schools were already classified as one worst in the nation. This would be the right opportunity to change that classification.

I recommend that everyone who has not seen New Orleans first hand to see the movie/ documentary by Spike Lee, When the Levees Broke. This movie is a four hour documentary on what occurred with eyewitness accounts and images. Like many movies I enjoy it makes you think against the norm on what occurred and the actions taking by those in power.

I could go on and on, on what I have seen in New Orleans and my thoughts in regards to it. Let me end it with this. Since my visit I have a deeper appreciation on the luxuries of life that I have. I have a deeper understanding on what life is really about, living.

Living life to its fullest, remembering that what matters most is living a life that matters for all physical and material belongs can be taken away at a moments notice and what will be remembered is what you have done with your life.

Please look at the photos and videos I have posted from my visit.

Thank you New Orleans!!
Anibal Soler, Jr.
www.anibalsoler.com

New Orleans Mar.30, 2007

Teacher Recruitment in Louisiana

2007-03-27T19:01:00.000-04:00

I arrived yesterday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for a four day teacher job fair. The job fairs are occurring at LSU, ULL and Southern University. Later in the week we head to New Orleans for the final job fair. I am looking forward to seeing with my own eyes what the current rebuilding state is in New Orleans. I think we often forget how much damage was caused by the storm and the number of students, families and schools that have been affected.

In the past two days we have been fortunate enough to interview some highly qualified diverse candidates. What was initially surprising to me was the amount of other school districts who are also looking for the same type of highly qualified diverse teacher. Many of the Louisiana school districts face the same issues we in New York and other urban districts face, the lack of teachers who reflect the population we serve. I strongly believe that the minority population is only going to grow exponentially in this country and all school districts urban, suburban and rural. All school districts will begin to face the issue of finding teachers who reflect their students' ethnicity and culture.

One new thing that I have learned so far during my current trip is that school districts in Louisiana are called Parish's. This is directly related to the community having roots based from the French Government. When I hear "parish" I immediately go back to my Catholic roots.

I wonder how students back in New York would feel if their districts where now called parishes. Rochester City School Parish... hmm I don't know, I think it sounds a bit more sophisticated than district.

I look forward to the rest of the week. The food so far has been very enjoyable, especially if you enjoy seafood and Cajun. I will continue to post throughout the week please feel free to comment or email me.

Living the Dream!!
Anibal
http://www.anibalsoler.com

Welcome!!!

2007-03-16T19:28:00.000-04:00

I want to welcome everyone to my blogspot!! This will be my online location for expressing my various thoughts and feelings when it comes to all things education. I will look to address various topics that have to deal with education and in particular urban education. Please feel free to email me different topics for discussion.

I am always looking for opportunities to address school administrators, teachers, students and parents on various issues that are key for the success of students in education. You can also get more information about myself via my website, www.anibalsoler.com

Living the Dream!
Anibal