Middle School Students

About 96 percent of middle school students - that bridge between gradeschool and highschools comprised of grades 7 8 and 9 - believe that it is very important or somewhat important to make good grades. An awkward age, these students are between childhood and adolescence, experiencing the physical, emotional and cognitive changes associated with this stage of human development. Nine in ten (90%) said they felt prepared and expected to succeed.

I remember this age well, because it was before my time as a student at Xaverian High School in
New York. You can find more information on my interests in
educational trends at http://www.roccobasile.net/, where I list many aspects of my charity work via supporting the school's Joe DiMaggio Award Gala where we raise funds for the school. Xaverian includes one of New York City's only International Baccalaureate Programs. Xaverian attracts about 1,400 students annually, and in addition to its reputation for academic excellence, the school is renowned for graduating young men of strong moral character .

According to the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), Lumina Foundation for Education, Phi Delta Kappa International (PDK) and their KnowHow2Go campaign, commissioned Harris Interactive last March 2007 to conduct a poll called "Voice From the Middle." They polled 1814 seventh and eighth graders who shared their perspectives about current school experiences and expectations for high school. (Source: http://www.pdkintl.org/ms_poll/ms_poll.htm)

The middle school survey also found the following:
• 93 percent of students say there is “no chance” that they will drop out of high school and not graduate. (This is compared to the nearly 500,000 students who drop out annually as estimated by the NCES and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.)
• 83 percent of students know little or nothing about the classes they need to take to graduate from high school.
• About 32 percent say that they have “quite a bit” or “a great deal” of information about the classes they need in preparation for college.

Xaverian High school Honors Students: Rocco Basile Honored for Non-Profit Work

On June 20 Dr. Salvatore Ferrera, president of Xaverian High (Photo: Right) honored me for my community service and the non-profit work I do with the school, my alma mater, and other organizations at the President's Gala, attended by more than 300 people at the upscale Cipriani 23rd Street Restaurant in New York.

I am honored to have been able to assist this fanantastic school in its fund-raising efforts, and in particular for the school's annual Joe DiMaggio Award, which was established in 1999 by its chairman, Dr. Rock Positano '76, with the approval of the DiMaggio Estate, and in memory of the baseball legend. DiMaggio was a friend and generous supporter of the prestigious Bay Ridge college preparatory school, Xaverian High School, and was the first individual to receive Xaverian's highest honor, the Concordia Award, in 1997.

"Rocco is a great advertisement for Xaverian," said Dr. Ferrera. "Even a quick review of his high school record...as both a scholar (National Honor Society) and extracurricular activities (Intramural sports, Italian Club, hockey and soccer teams, and the Fishing Club) indicates... Rocco is a man who was comfortable with giving much time to his community as well as his school."

Here's how the Joe DiMaggio Award came about. When Joe died in 1999, Xaverian's Concordia Award was renamed the Joe DiMaggio Award to memorialize his life-long commitment to the health, education, and well being of America's youth. This award has been presented to international statesman Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, Maestro Luciano Pavarotti, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Regis Philbin, Paul Simon, James Gandolfini, John Bello, Boomer Esiason, Bob Costas,Tiki Barber.

Xaverian Higg also honors students from different eras for their outstanding achievements and dedication to their communities and country. The Exploration Honors Program at the high school is designed to cultivate the talents, interests and scholastic aptitude of its ninth and tenth grade students through an interdisciplinary approach to academic study.

Xaverian High School - President's Gala June 20, 2008

Education and Crime

I came across a website that lists some very interesting statistics on education and crime, and it reiterates how I feel about our schools. Every school should be a safe haven for teaching and learning, and it should be completely free of violence and crime. This is pretty depressing, but it is something that we need to be aware of so that programs can be put in place to make change.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, during school year 2005–2006 there were an estimated 54.8 million students were enrolled in prekindergarten through grade 12. Preliminary data show that among youth ages 5–18, there were 17 (14 homicides and 3 suicides) school- associated violent deaths from July 1, 2005, through June 30, 2006.

Among students ages 12–18 in 2005, there were approximately 1.5 million victims of nonfatal crimes at school, with 868,100 thefts and 628,200 violent crimes. Although there's some evidence that student safety has improved, the victimization rate of students ages 12–18 at school declined between 1992 and 2005. Violence, theft, drugs, and weapons continue to pose problems in schools.

These numbers are not pretty and it is why I am on the Board and work with charities like Children of the City. Our Executive Director Joyce Mattera has some great hopes and plans for 2008. She mentioned that the charity's after school program "is doing amazing well ... with several students in our program who were at risk in Junior High and are now doing fabulous in high school, and volunteering their free time back into the program."

It is through programs like this that we can help make a difference to mitigate crime. In fact, you can read more about Children of the City and the other charities I represent at my website -- http://www.roccobasile.org/

The State of American Education

This year on May 31, 2008, it will be a year since the following press release went out regarding the state of affairs over education in America entitled, "Report on the State of American Education Shows High School Students Taking More Advanced Coursework." It indicated that high school students in the United States have been taking more courses in mathematics and science, social studies, the arts, and foreign languages.

All of these statistics are according to The Condition of Education 2007 report released by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). It is a congressionally mandated report providing an annual statistical outlook on education in the U.S. 48 indicators cover various aspects of education, from student achievement to school environment.

Many of today's students are minority students who make up 42 percent of public school enrollment. Twenty percent of school age children speak English plus another language at home.
This report shows that the rate of college enrollment right after high school increased from 49 percent to 69 percent in the year 2005, and female college enrollment surpassed male enrollment starting in 1978 and continues to grow, widening the gender gap.

Last year this report showed that U.S. public school enrollment is becoming increasingly diverse and that more people are enrolling in postsecondary education. It also pointed out that more bachelor’s degrees have been awarded than in the past.

High school course taking results indicate that between 1997 and 2005, the number of students taking AP exams more than doubled to about 1.2 million. The numbers of blacks and Hispanics grew faster than those from any other racial or ethnic group. In the year 2004, Asian/Pacific Islander graduates were more likely than graduates of any other race or ethnicity to have completed advanced coursework in science, mathematics, English, and a foreign language.

Students who eventually dropped out of high school were behind their peers who graduated on time in the total number of credits they earned in their freshman and sophomore years, as well as the amount they earned in English, mathematics, and science courses. Year-to-year change shows that credit accrual declined for dropouts, putting them further behind. About three-quarters of the freshman class graduated from public high schools on time in 2003–04.

Interestingly enough, the number of bachelor's degrees awarded increased by 33 percent between 1989-90 and 2003-04. The number of associate's degrees increased by 46 percent. What's more, minority students have accounted for about half of the growth in associate's and bachelor's degrees.

Adults between the ages of 25 to 34 with a bachelor's degree or higher have higher median earnings than their peers with less education, and these earnings differences increased from 1980 to 2005. The average total price for one year of graduate education (full time) ranged from $21,900 for a master's degree program to $41,900 for a first-professional degree program.

For more information on educational statistics, and charities that help students get a better education, such as Children of the City, visit Rocco Basile's website at http://www.roccobasile.org/


Resource: The NCES is the statistical center of the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education.

The full text of The Condition of Education 2007 (in HTML format), along with related data tables and indicators from previous years, can be viewed at http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe.

Education Helps Mitigate Crime and Drug Use

I was reading the US Department of Education (ED) tagline, which states, "Promoting educational excellence for all Americans." This organization was created in 1980 and the ED mission is "to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access."

A $71.5 billion budget and about 4,500 ED employees are dedicated to establishing policies on federal financial aid for education, as well as distributing and monitoring those funds; focusing national attention on key educational issues; disseminating research; prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education; and collecting data on America's schools.

For example gang violence is just part of everyday life in places such as Brooklyn, NY. It’s amazing, but out of every three families lives below the poverty line and there are 17 thousand documented child abuse cases in this community.

Drugs, disease, gang violence, and crime contribute to about a thousand deaths annually. More and more people are realizing that the answer is education. There is a 48 percent drop out rate among high school students, so out of the 30 thousand students, 15 thousand are dropouts.

The good news is that there are a number of organizations that are bringing light and making a difference. With hundreds of people in need of intervention, kids in need of education, and families that could benefit from counseling, I truly believe in the work being done at organizations like Children of the City. It is a completely volunteer-based outreach program that connects people in need with basic services, educational as well as employment training, counseling, and even health care. I highly recommend and encourage people to go to their website and help by contributing time, resources, and donations.

My education taught me to be sympathetic to the needs of others, which has also helped me understand that I can change the world - like Gandhi said - it is important for us to be the change we want to see in the world.

Children of the City Toy Drive

This last weekend included the last night of gift wrapping parties for the Children of the City Toy Drive. It's been a great week - wrapping presents and giving out the gifts. We still will be giving out more presents this week. Some of the neediest families from the younger group that came in on Saturday will be able to pick up an additional presents, and the group will also be distributing more toys to after school kids this next Wednesday. Saturday was amazing! It was packed. The upstairs session included the 8-14 group of kids, while ages 2- 7 were downstairs.
As you can see, we got some great photos too! It was wonderful to see how good people felt by participating.

I spoke briefly with the charity's Executive Director Joyce Mattera who said that this has been a powerful time. She mentioned that the first floor fellowship hall was filled with parents and a woman who represented State Farm was there to speak with them. The parents were all talking about their challenges and getting encouragement, advice and much needed support from her, plus our staff, who all hail from silimlar backgrounds.

Some time this week we will know how many toys were raised, how many kids benefitted, and how many volunteers we had.

People who are interested in helping out or donating can go to ChildrenoftheCity.org

Rocco Basile: Spending Time with Children of the City

I went to Xaverian High School, which offers the very best in secondary education throughout New York State. The school primarily serves young men from disadvantaged backgrounds, and boys with learning disabilities. Approximately 10 percent of the Xaverian enrollment includes students with learning difficulties.

I spend my charitable time working on organizing The Joe DiMaggio Award Gala, the annual fundraiser for Xaverian High School. Proceeds of this event are shared for the greater good of the community. The school is rooted in Brooklyn, NY, and Xaverian primarily has a strong Italian-American swing.

I am also on the Board of Directors of Children of the City, where I recently helped with a food drive over Thanksgiving. Since 1981, Children of the City has been serving the underprivileged children in the inner-city communities of Southwest Brooklyn. Our team includes many certified professionals, along with 50 highly committed and trained volunteers who visit about one thousand children each month. During the year we maintain current information on over 500 families in the community, giving them encouragement and resources, and hoping to give them a better tomorrow.

Aside from working with my family, The Basile Builders, I have been spending more and more time with my charities in recent years. Why? Because I read a passage from Steven Covey's book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey asks you to begin with the end in mind and suggest that you imagine a funeral. Then as you approach the coffin, you realize that it’s your own funeral. Your friends and family will be giving eulogies. What will they say? Did you live a life that you could be proud of? What kind of father and friend were you?

The book also speaks of an emotional bank account and how when you do good things for others you are making deposits in the emotional bank accounts of others. As these deposits grow, your relationships grow. There may be times that you make a withdrawal, like a broken promise or a hurtful statement, but if your emotional bank account is full from past deposits, you will be forgiven. This concept has helped me repair my personal relationships and has changed the way I treat others. I firmly believes that educating our youth and serving as a role model gives them an understanding of this principal.