Elite Success

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

Good Luck Jasmine!

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

Jordan Major-Scholar Athlete

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

Color Matters?

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

Priorities or Livelihood?

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

UPDATE: A Call for help...

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

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

Tragedy in Virginia Tech

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