School Attendance and Crime

Have you ever wondered if more kids attended school, maybe there would be less crime? I have been researching many aspects of education and it's effect on a better life for our kids today, as you may have seen on my website http://www.roccobasile.com/. Studying the relationship between school attendance and crime goes back more than 200 years. Many people believe that rather than school, better crime control measures include vigorous police work, strict law enforcement, and allowing young people more choices in their education.

Crime and violence have been around for thousands of years, long before the compulsory school attendance statutes. In fact, violence and even references to youth gangs are all recorded in the Bible. But so have education, learning and achievement.

The American view about education and crime was referenced in the January 10, 1931 Literary Digest, in an article entitled "What We Shall Be Like in 1950" (pages 43-44). Predictions in the article state "definite prophecies made by the National Education Association" and adapted from a publication called Tomorrow's Business say, "Crime will be virtually abolished by transferring to the preventive processes of the school and education the problems of conduct which police, courts, and prisons now remedy when it is too late."

A number of experts believe school causes crime more than it prevents crime. This is not necessarily a new belief either. Check out what Henry Fielding said in his day! "Public schools are the nurseries of all vice and immorality." Henry Fielding (1707-1754).

Many people wonder if crime is closely related to drug use. In 2006, there was a study entitled, "The Monitoring the Future Study" which asked high school seniors, "On how many occasions, if any, have you used drugs or alcohol during the last 12 months?"

The answers may be surprising:
Alcohol - 66.5
Marijuana - 31.5
Other opiates - 9.0
Stimulants - 8.1
Sedatives - 6.6
Tranquilizers - 6.6
Cocaine - 5.7
Hallucinogens - 4.9
Inhalants - 4.5
Steroids - 1.8
Heroin - 0.8

The good news is that there are programs across the country that are helping prevent both drug use and crime. My work with Children of the City proves every day how they have helped students do better in school, and therefore I am certain, it has helped the community of Sunset Park in Brooklyn, New York prevent crime.

They have a program called "FutureSafe," a collaborative monthly event attended by around 500 kids. It's like a neighborhood block party, with food, games, singing, crafts, and other fun stuff. Attending one of these events is often a first step for children when it comes to engaging in structured afterschool activities where they are picked up from their homes and brought to the
community center. Children of the City provides a preventative element designed to deter children from drug abuse, delinquency, gang involvement, teen pregnancies, as well as teach them on important issues such as health and education.

The non-profit also organizes parent workshops at these events that gives parents the tools and support to help them be a better advocate for their children, to teach them how to combat social challenges. And at Christmas they provide toys and gifts for hundreds of children, most of who have proven over the last 23 years since the organization was founded, are NOT involved in crime.

--Rocco Basile

Future Forces Affecting Education

I found a really cool website called KnowledgeBase, which features a map, if you will, focusing on the the future of education, and in fact covers the years 2006-2016 . This Map of Future Forces Affecting Education, is from a company called KnowledgeWorks Foundation, and it is basically a forecast of what the coming years has in store for us in so far as education.

As you know I am deeply involved in education as reflected in my website http://www.roccobasile.org/.

Plus of course, my work on the Board of Children of the City, who started very successful grass roots localized educational programs years ago.

One of the collaborators of the Map is named Bob Johansen, who is the former president of the Institute for the Local Communities. He focused on experiments in sharing or "gift" economies, sustainable environments, and new civic processes, then wrote a book based on his theory is that local value grows economies of group connectivity, and that this combined with fears of globalism, political gridlock, and concern over dominance of big business will create a revival of localism.

In his book Get There Early: Sensing the Future to Compete in the
Present, Johansen, talks about some of the implications researchers from
the Palo Alto, California-based think tank discovered in working with the foundation to assess the future trends in education.

He said, "One of the dilemmas we identified is the tension between the marketplace for increasingly personalized learning and the social mandate of the public schools to provide foundational education to everyone — regardless of background or income."

Other thoughts covered in the book include economics, urban space expansion and the fact that society is starting to fragment into subcultures with strong belief systems. The map is being used broadly across the country to investigate what these trends could mean for education. It is definitely worth a look.

A Spike in Murders Could be Related to Education

A May 6, 2008 Wall Street Journal article called, "Murder Spike Poses Quandary" by Gary Fields talks about how criminologists are offering a number of explanations for April's increase in the murder rate in some cities. For example in Washington, in April there were 18 murders during a 13-day spurt of violence, 20 percent deadlier than a year ago in April of 2007.

Several cities around the country, including Chicago and Philadelphia had similar murder waves during the same period, which is leading criminologists to worry whether this signifies the beginning of a trend. The people who study crime say that there are no easy explanations for this rise, other than the usual usual reasons -- the economy, poverty, gangs and crews, and the ease of getting firearms.

According to the article the overall murder rate has dropped for years, but it has been inching up in the black community in recent years. African-Americans make up only 13 percent of the nation's population, but more are killed in the U.S. than any other racial group, accounting for 49 percent of all murder victims, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics.

Here's the interesting fact. One county medical examiner who has analyzed all the available data on his murder victims thinks that education -- or the lack of it -- is a vital component. O'dell Owens, the Hamilton County medical examiner in Cincinnati, studied the death certificates of his victims and found that over a five-year period, 60 percent of them had quit school.

In my work for charity organizations like Children of the City in Sunset Park, in Brooklyn New York, we already know these facts. You can read more about these kinds of statistics on my website http://www.roccobasile.org/. This group is changing the lives of more children, improving their quality of life by breaking the cyclical effects of poverty and giving them hope for their future.

In this community alone there is a 48 percent high school drop out rate. With 30 thousand children, that means 15,000 are dropping out. One in three families are under the poverty level. A culture of drugs and gang, 1000 deaths annually. Kids are into violent acts like selling drugs. The community was in need of hope and Children of the City is helping.
Check outthe educational video here.

The organization believes that the only way to fix the problems is through educating the kids, their families, and helping them learn. For more than two and a half decades, the organization has been working to make a difference. Its Create Success program is countering the near 50 percent drop out rate, instigating positive change. Almost half of the kids enrolled in the education program believe that it helped deter them from getting involved in drugs.

Redshirting in education and the Joe DiMaggio Awards Gala

According to a U.S. Department of Education report back in 2000 about 9 percent of first and second-graders started kindergarten one year late, and eight years later the experts are saying that this trend is continuing. There is usually an age gap within one class that is 16 months or more, posing challenges for teachers concerned that the older children may become bored.

Delaying a child’s entry to start kindergarten, or to repeat kindergarten, began with the ratcheting up of standards for third graders and above to improve the students’ performance on standardized tests. With greater emphasis on test performance, educators have noted a gradual escalation in academic demands has made its way down the grades – all the way to kindergarten. So that is why some parents opt to give their children a leg up by keeping them out of kindergarten a year beyond when they reach the entry age. It is called "redshirting" and many people and educators are wondering if it is a good idea.

Some people think that it is the students that are being held out that are the ones who need school the most. Another 2002 study by the National Institute for Early Education found that, on average, older children do not academically outperform their younger peers.

I see this often in my work for Xaverian High School, which offers amazing program for students with learning disabilities. The school has a tradition of serving young men from disadvantaged backgrounds, including students whose families are in financial need. In fact, if it were not for the generosity of alumni, parents and friends, many of these students would not be able to afford a quality, college-prep education.

We do a fund raiser every year, and I am on the Joe DiMaggio Committee that raises money at this premiere event known as the Joe DiMaggio Award Gala. He went to the school and supported it always ...

We also rasie funds through straight donations. If you are interested, you can make a gift in honor of the Joe DiMaggio Scholarship Fund, please print out this coupon and return it to: http://www.joedimaggioaward.com/donate/index_donate.htm

The Joe DiMaggio Scholarship Fund Xaverian High School
7100 Shore Road
Brooklyn, NY 11209

To find out more about the Joe DiMaggio Award Gala, please contact Dr. Salvatore Ferrera at 718-836-7100 ext. 112.
Make checks payable to: Xaverian HS / Joe DiMaggioScholarship Fund

What is poverty and how does it hurt our children?

The word "poverty" typically suggests a family with no food, clothing, or shelter. In the year 2005, a Poverty Pulse poll was taken by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). It asked the public this question: "How would you describe being poor in the United States?" A major portion of the responses focused on homelessness, hunger or not being able to eat properly. In addition not being able to meet basic needs was a factor.

The Census Bureau's latest annual report on poverty in the U.S. says that there were 37 million poor individuals living in this country in 2005. That number has not changed much in recent years -- as the report states 12.6 percent of Americans were poor in 2005. This number has been averaging between 11.3 percent to 15.1 percent of during the last 20 years or so.

I know for a fact that in Brooklyn, New York, there is a poverty problem, and one of the reasons why I am so involved in charitable organizations like Children of the City. But to understand poverty in this country, I believe that it is critical to take a look behind these kinds of numbers that are lingering in the Census Bureau's reports —to look at the actual living conditions of the individuals that our government claims are poor. You can find other statistics and informaiotn at my own website http://www.roccobasile.org/.

The real truth is that the poor are generally well nourished, but some poor families do experience temporary food shortages. 89 percent of the poor report their families have enough food, while only 2 percent say they often don't have enough to eat. Forty-three percent of what the government calls "poor" households actually own their own homes, and a car.

Perhaps what is even more important, according to Author Robert E. Rector, in his article entitled, "How Poor Are America's Poor? Examining the Plague of Poverty in America," is that poverty in the U.S. can be reduced further, particularly poverty among children. There are two main reasons that American children are poor: Their parents don't work much, and fathers are absent from the home.

He sites that the typical poor family with children is supported by only 800 hours of work during a year, which is only 16 hours of work per week. If work in each family were raised to 2,000 hours per year—the equivalent of one adult working 40 hours per week throughout the year— nearly 75 percent of poor children would be lifted out of official poverty.

This makes sense. Children of the City's website features an audio presentation that sites the fact that there are 17 thousand cases of child abuse or neglect every year, a 48 percent high school drop out rate and the fact that one in three families is living below the poverty line. It is all happening in our own back yard. These individuals needed hope and help to keep their kids off of drugs, and out of crime.

This is why Children of the City's prevention outreach services have evolved to include trauma intervention, counseling, after-school programs, social work, courtroom and legal advocacy, financial counseling, youth mentoring, and other services that are helping families and their children achieve success socially, at school and at home. Parents can get help financially and with their careers.

One of the charity's programs is called Future Safe -- a monthly event attended by about 500 children with a preventative element designed to deter children from drug abuse, delinquency, gang involvement and teen pregnancy. It is often a first step for children from poor families with no place to turn, and the program helps them engage in structured after school activities.

In the end I believe that with more programs like Children of the City, our communities could beat what our government continues to call "poverty in America."

Kids at Children of the City Excel

As a Board member of Children of the City, I often come across the interesting stories of those kids who are benefiting the most from our programs. Each child has his or her own unique story, that in some cases, brings tears to the eyes.

Here's one for example ... Jesenia was attacked by a savage pit-bull and left with scars. She also suffered from a brain hemorrhage, which left the doctors wanting to experiment. Three surgeries later, this little Hispanic girl had face reconstruction, and walked with her head down looking at the ground, afraid to look people in the eye because she was ahsamed of her scars.

When Mary, one of our Children of the City counselors began working with Jesenia and her family, she found out that her mother did not speak English -- so she accompanied them to the hospital and interpreted with the doctors and surgeons, then continued to work with the family and help them through the recovery process.

Jesenia also attended the Children of the City girl's mentoring group meetings, and today she walks with her head held high.

The charity has a number of programs, including educational as well as support programs like the one Jesenia attended. One program was started after Tuesday, 9/11 when Children of the City was one of the first programs to reach out to children who lost family members and loved ones, traumatized by visually seeing the attacks. The program was named, Heal New York, and we continue to counsel with these children and their families to this day. More than 600 children and youth have been served to-date through Heal New York, whereby counseling sessions have been provided in the homes monthly.

Children of the City expanded its Heal New York counseling program to a broader populace of children due to the large amount of pre-existing trauma and prevailing mental health challenges.

To learn more about educational programs like this please visit my Rocco Basile charity website.

Women and Bachelor's Degrees

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 33 percent of young women aged 25 to 29 had a bachelor’s degree or more education in 2007, compared with 26 percent of their male counterparts. A report called the Educational Attainment in the United States: 2007 showed that among adults 25 and older, men remain slightly more likely than women to hold a bachelor’s degree (30 percent compared with 28 percent). As the percentage for women rose between 2006 and 2007 (from 27 percent), for men, it remained statistically unchanged.

These tables also showed that more education continues to pay off in a big way in that adults with advanced degrees typically earn four times more than those with less than a high school diploma. Also noted is that workers 18 plus who have either master’s, professional or doctoral degrees earned an average of $82,320 in 2006, while those with less than a high school diploma earned $20,873.

The report also shows that in 2007, 86 percent of all adults 25 and older reported they had completed at least high school and 29 percent at least a bachelor's degree.

More than half of Asians 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or more (52 percent), compared with 32 percent of non-Hispanic whites, 19 percent of blacks and 13 percent of Hispanics.
The proportion of the foreign-born population with a bachelor’s degree or more was 28 percent, compared with 29 percent of the native population. However, the proportion of naturalized citizens with a college degree was 34 percent.

Workers 18 and older with a bachelor’s degree earned an average of $56,788 in 2006, while those with a high school diploma earned $31,071.

Among those whose highest level of education was a high school diploma or equivalent, non-Hispanic white workers had the highest average earnings ($32,931), followed by Asians ($29,426) and blacks ($26,268). Average earnings of Hispanic workers in the same group ($27,508) were not statistically different from those of Asian or black workers.

Among workers with advanced degrees, Asians ($88,408) and non-Hispanic whites ($83,785) had higher average earnings than Hispanics ($70,432) and blacks ($64,834).

Feel free to access my educational resource site known as www.roccobasile.org where I post information about charities such as Children of the City in Sunset Park near Brooklyn, New York. This organization has a dedicated team that includes many professionals, along with highly committed and trained volunteers who visit more than one thousand children every month.

During the year Children of the City maintains current information on over 500 families in the community representing approximately 2,000 children, using the information as a channel to serve them effectively via earning their trust and giving them the affirmation, encouragement and resoures they need.

SOURCE: Data is from the 2007 Current Population Survey’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement, which is conducted in February, March and April at about 100,000 addresses nationwide.

News Article on David Tyree and Children and the City

The April 3 edition of the local Home Reporter and Sunset News had a great article about the recent Children of the City gala with photos of Super Bowl XLII hero David Tyree who received the charity's Children's Champion Award at the benefit. Again the event was to erasie awareness of the educational needs and social challenges of underprivileged children in the Sunset Park community.

One quote from the organization's Co-founder and President Joyce Mattera reminds us, "With a 48 percent dropout rate in the inner city and one out of four living in abject poverty, we have to act now to ensure the viability of our next generation."

Top model, Selita Ebanks presented New York Giants Super Bowl XLII hero, David Tyree, with the Children’s Champion Award at the Children of the City Benefit hosted by Sopranos and Tonight Show celebrity, Steve Schirripa, along with New Jersey Net superstar, Richard Jefferson.

David Tyree was also photographed for the article at the Sunset Park outreach center reading with some of the children. He has done so much
for the organization since he started participating three years ago.

In fact, he was also interviewed last Saturday night on Access Hollywood, and he talked about how glad he was about working with our organization.

The programs have evolved to include advocacy, afterschool, and summer programs, counseling, legal guardianship, parenting support and more. If you want to read more about Children of the City drop by my website at http://www.rocco.basile.org/. Or you could also go to http://www.childrenofthecity.org/ or call 1-718-222-5819.

New Educational Pilot Program for Under Performing Schools

Today U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced she is going to take steps to ensure that all states use the same formula to calculate how many students graduate from high school on time, and how many drop out. Apparently the data wills be made public so thatPublish Post people can compare how students of every race, background, and income level are performing nationwide.

In another recent educational trend in the news, a March press release talks about the new NCLB Differentiated Accountability Pilot program on the U.S. Department of Education website. This is a pilot program to help states differentiate between under performing schools that are in need of dramatic interventions, and part of fulfilling the "No Child Left Behind" goals.

The press release outlines a speech made by U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings who said, "Thanks to No Child Left Behind, we have collected a wealth of information about where schools are falling short, where students' needs are not being met, and where more rigor is needed. We've built an appetite for change, and we've done a good job of framing the problem. The next step is to use this knowledge to customize our efforts to improve."

There is also a background Fact Sheet that provides the basics on Spellings' Building On Results Blueprint -- a blueprint for strengthening the "No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)" designed to provide additional resources and flexibility to our schools and educators to help achieve NCLB’s goal of every student reading and doing math at or above grade level by 2014. The Department called for differentiated accountability as part of this blueprint - to allow states to distinguish between those schools in improvement that are just missing the mark and those that need significant reform.

Once the states had developed the framework to capture the student skills each year, as required by law, they combined those stats to demonstrate progress over time. This method proved viable, and then all eligible states were invited to adopt the more sophisticated measurement system. Specifically states were helped in developing better ways to measure progress for students with disabilities and limited English skills

Damatic action is needed to help states improve underperforming schools, and Spellings believes this new "differentiated accountability" program will help -- then 10 states will be invited to create more nuanced ways of distinguishing between schools in need of dramatic intervention, and those that are closer to meeting goals. Spellings feels confident that this process will help educators nationwide learn more about helping the children acquire grade-level knowledge.

I am all for this kind of intervention. My website http://www.roccobasile.org/ talks about all my charities focusing on education and assisting kids in need, including Children of the City and Xaverian, where I went to school. Aside from working with my family at the Basile Builders Group, I spend time working on organizing The Joe DiMaggio Award Gala, a major fundraiser for Xaverian.

The funds raised at our last gala in January honoring Tiki Barber will go towards programs for Xaverian students with learning disabilities, and young men from disadvantaged backgrounds who are in financial need. If it were not for the generosity of alumni, parents and friends, many of these students would not be able to afford a quality, college-preparatory education.

Education Trend Includes Coaches in Classrooms

As you know I enjoy researching the very latest trends in education, so that I can keep my website www.roccobasile.org up to date. I found an interesting article on the Internet today, written by Emily McCormick, a teacher and curriculum facilitator at Fairlawn Elementary School in Evansville. Her article talks about the fact that today’s schools are now implementing of instructional coaches in classrooms. It is one of the fastest growing trends in education.

Why? Apparently because schools are faced with greater accountability than ever before and to meet this demand, many school districts are seeking new methods of supporting professional development among teachers to strengthen teaching practice and improve student learning. Some districts use coaches to help implement reform while others focus on particular critical areas such as mathematics, science and reading to support broad implementation of best practices in the classroom.

In some instances, like a pitching coach, these professionals narrow their focus to anticipate and support the unique needs that face a small group of players on the team. Trends across the nation also indicate that districts providing targeted assistance to certain populations of teachers, such as those within their first five years of teaching, have greater success with retention of quality employees and increased student achievement.

This reminds me of the fact that this is why our programs have been so successful for Children of the City. With 15,000 kids dropping out of school every year, our founder and president Joyce Mattera founded Children of the City in 1981 to reach out to kids in the Sunset Park community of Brooklyn, New York.

House-by-house, a small group of volunteers began visiting children weekly to assess their needs and invite them to various community programs, helping them by means of academic support, life skills training, family counseling, holiday dinners, Christmas gifts for hundreds of children each year.

Our volunteers include those who participate in the Create Success program which is constantly being evaluated for needs and even better success, and it is fast becoming a model sought after by other agencies for their own after school program sites. High priority is placed on student’s academic success with intense tutoring and daily personal homework help, and provides the student with counseling, advocacy within the social systems such as courts, plus age-appropriate group and individual mentoring.

Children of the City Gala Raised $100k plus

Our Children of the City gala last Thursday evening was a huge success, raising more than $100k for the non- profit organization based in Sunset Park, New York. There was a tremendous amount of press generated with the celebrities in attendance including David Tyree of the New York Giants, Steve Schirripa of the HBO hit series The Sopranos, who was Master of Ceremonies and New Jersey Nets Richard Jefferson, their second all time leading scorer.

The event was really fun, and there were lots of celebrities. David and I were each presented with the "Children's Champion" Award from Children of the City the at the charity's 4th annual Gala 2008 which was held in New York City at Tribeca Rooftop. This award celebrates all the work David has done in the last three years with the organization -- long before his SuperBowl fame.

Again, the real honor should go to my friends and colleagues who contribute to this wonderful organization so that we can be successful with programs such as our Create Success after school program that helps each student’s academic success via intense tutoring and daily personal help for the kids homework issues from volunteers. We've seen dramatic increases in each participating student’s reading and math levels. Plus it gives them healthy study habits and improved communications and better peer relationships.

You can read more about my philosophies about education for our youth on my website www. RoccoBasile.org

Tyree Deserves the Children of the City Award

There was an amazing article about David Tyree back on February 11 in a New York Times story written by that talks about why and how he decided that he needed to change his life after his arrest for drug possession in 2004. Now he is planning to write a book about the changes in his life after he was arrested, which he believes could have been the best thing that ever happened to him.

David Tyree with his wife, Leilah, and sons, Teyon, left, and Josiah. He and his wife run a nonprofit group that counsels teenagers. (Photo by Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times)

He is also involved with a variety of charities, including Children of the City, which helps children and their families overcome poverty in Southwest Brooklyn. The work he does offers such hope to the kids in this program, because they can relate to his real experiences as a teenager, when he was addicted to alcohol. Based in Sunset Park, the program has offered help and services to thousands of underprivileged inner-city children and their families to achieve success in education, social relationships, at home, in finances and careers through the dedication of many volunteers like David.

When I read the article, it reminded me that I too had some issues to overcome in my past, and thanks to the work I do with my charities, including being on the Board of Children of the City and the Joe DiMaggio Committee for Xaverian High School, my Alma Mater, life is so much more fulfilled.

The Times article said Tyree was a moonlighting drug dealer who became a born-again Christian ... a child who drank alcohol and smoked marijuana with his family who turned into a sober father and husband . Just like many of the families and kids at Children of the City, transformation is the key word here.

Tyree also made this statement in another article, "Since learning about Children of the City, I have admired the aggressive approach it has taken in helping our young people. I only seek to do my best in community service with an organization that operates in excellence."

One success story there is about Erica, who never goes anywhere without a book since joining Children of the City’s Create Success Program.

“I tell other kids how nice it is to get help with your homework and reading at Children of the City”, comments the soft spoken fifth grader," she said. After just a few months, her grades improved dramatically and she learned to love reading.

It is stories like this that is the reason David Tyree will be getting that award tonight at our annual fundraiser and gala. Here's yet another brief blurb Tuesday in the NY Daily News about it that appeared about the event yesterday, which I am truly honored to be part of.

"New York Giants Super Bowl hero David Tyree and local businessman and Bay Ridge resident Rocco Basile will be honored Thursday at the Children of the City's Night of Champions Benefit Gala." Currently Children of the City reaches over 2,000 children and youth in Sunset Park every year, but also serves 900 children monthly through home visits from volunteers.

New York Daily News Article on Children of the City Gala

There was an article today in the New York Daily News written by staff writer Gayle Dewees about our Children of the City event this Thursday March 13, hosted by the New Jersey Nets, Richard Jefferson, and with actor Steve Schirripa, who will serve as Master of Ceremonies.

"New York Giants Super Bowl hero David Tyree and local businessman and Bay Ridge resident Rocco Basile will be honored Thursday at the Children of the City's Night of Champions Benefit Gala." Our friend David Tyree has been a supporter of the Children of the City for three years, long before his recent Bowl fame.

The article said, "Rocco Basile helped establish the after-school program by securing resources and funding for the program. They will both receive the program's highest honor, the Children Champion Award."

I'm so honored to receive this. The real honor should go to all my colleagues and friends who contribute to this wonderful organization. I thank you all and truly appreciate your help in supporting my cause and giving the resources to make this dream come true. Your generosity during the holidays with gifts for our toy drive brought so much joy, and the funds have made so much of a difference in our Create Success program. You have helped so many children and their families.

Create Success is an after school and also a summer program focusing on each student’s academic success. There is intense tutoring and daily personal help from colunteers for the students' homework. There have been dramatic increases in each participating student’s reading and math levels. Plus it gives them healthy study habits and improved communications and better peer relationships. Click here to learn more.

Children of the City's Founder and executive Director Joyce Materra said that its a "tremendous opportunity to educate New Yorkers about the challenges these children have to face."

Children of the City, based in Sunset Park, New York has offered help and services to thousands of underprivileged inner-city children and their families for the last 27 years so that they could achieve success in education, social relationships, at home, in finances and careers through the dedication of volunteers and staffed professionals.

David Tyree to Get Children's Champion Award

I saw this article in a local paper here in New York regarding our up and coming Children of the City gala on March 13. Of course you all know about my affiliation with the charity as a board member.

GIANTS SUPER BOWL HERO DAVID TYREE TO RECEIVE CHILDREN'S CHAMPION AWARD AT CHILDREN OF THE CITY 2008 GALA ON THURSDAY NIGHT, MARCH 13, AT TRIBECA ROOFTOP IN NEW YORK CITY

Yes it appears as if our New York Giants Super Bowl hero David Tyree will receive the Children's Champion Award at our March 13 4th annual gala and fund raiser. This year the Sopranos star Steve Schirripa will be the Master of Ceremonies, while the Nets star Richard Jefferson will be a guest of honor. Tickets are $400 each, but the cool thing is that the event takes place at reknowned Tribeca Rooftop in the city.

For tickets and more information contact Joyce Mattera at 718 436 0242, ext. 18.

Tyree, who is from Montclair, NJ, will always be remembered for his miraculous reception of the Eli Manning pass on the Giants final touchdown drive en route to the Super Bowl championship this year.

Here's a quote from Tyree: "For the past three years since learning about Children of the City, I have admired the aggressive approach it has taken in helping our young people. I only seek to do my best in community service with an organization that operates in excellence. Children of the City touches my heart, and I am honored each time I can be a part of serving this community."

You can read more about Children of the City on my Rocco Basile educational website -- but basically Children of the City is a community based organization that has been serving disadvantaged children since 1982. The group's mission is to reach at risk children in the inner city with hope, guidance and resources, hoping to positively affect their lives.

Programs like this breaks the cycle of poverty and its effects. Children of the City's outreach provides disadvantaged children with prevention programs, crisis intervention, educational support and healthy activities. Just go to ChildrenoftheCity.org and read more about these programs that continually produce tremendous documented progress and results. I

Currently we are reaching more than 2,000 children in Sunset Park each year, and we serve 900 children monthly through home visits from volunteers and counselors.

The Success of After School Programs

Here's a really interesting item. The 7th Annual Afterschool for All Challenge which brings together youth and afterschool staff as well advocates and administrators from around the country in Washington DC on May 14 and 14, 2008 for two days of workshops, networking, meetings with Congressional offices and celebrations. This year's Afterschool for All Challenge is partnering with the National League of Cities and their National City Afterschool Summit. City officials, superintendents, school board members, and afterschool providers will have a chance to share ideas and strategies to help ensure the growth of afterschool programs.The event honors afterschool all stars and celebrates the 10th anniversary of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Initiative. Plus they all meet with members of Congress and the need for continued investment. Click here for highlights from last year's Challenge

Last ,year, more than 300 advocates, providers, parents and students participated in this year’s Challenge and they visited more than 200 Congressional offices delivering the message that afterschool is key to kids’ success.

I know for a fact that afterschool programs work well because of my work as a Board member of Children of the City. In fact, here's Rosa's story... She is 12 and lives in Brooklyn, New York. If someone dared asked Rosa to read, even a book as simple as one by Doctor Seuss a few years ago there would have been mayhem. In the midst of screaming and pounding fists, she was known to overturn her desk and send books flying across the room. School teachers gave up on Rosa, aiming to manage her tantrums rather than provide any instruction. In third grade, Rosa was still learning addition and subtraction.”

When Rosa began to attend an educational after school and summer program at Children of the City, she found the nurture and structure she needed to survive. She began doing her schoolwork, and she found a new home. Now Rosa is in sixth grade and doing well in school.

I have other information on my Rocco Basile website for anyone interested.

Could After School Programs Help Crime Prevention?

The recent news on February 15th about the gunman who shot 18 students from a stage before killing himself at Northern Illinois University (NIU) is devastating, and deserves our thoughts, prayers and condolences. Yet many of us dig deeper and wonder how could this have been prevented?

In the charity work that I do at Brooklyn, New York-based Children of the City, we are no strangers to how crime and violence affect children every day. But we also see how a community can help. Perhaps if there were more programs nationwide like this, tragedies like the one at NIU would have been prevented.

It is interesting that violent and property crime rates at our country's schools during the year 2005 were statistically unchanged from the year 2004 versus 2005.

According to a report released a year ago on December 2, 2007 by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics violent and property crime rates remained about the same in the year 2005 compared to 2004. They measured crimes such as rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, simple assault and also theft. Here are some of the highlighted statistics:

-- Older students, of the ages 15 to 18, were less likely than younger students, of the ages 12 to 14, to be victims of crime at school during 2005.
-- Older students were more likely than younger students to be victims of crime away from school.
-- Other serious violent victimizations were lower at school than away from school for every survey year from 1992 through the year 2005.
-- During the year 2005, 99 percent of the students aged from 12 to 18 observed at least one of selected security measures at their school; the percentage of students who observed the use of security cameras at their school increased from 39 percent in 2001 to 58 percent during 2005.
-- Of the students in grades 9 through 12 an estimated 43 percent reported drinking alcohol anywhere and four percent reported drinking at school during the 30 days prior to the 2005 survey.

The charity's programs including its FutureSafe program, which is is a collaborative monthly event attended by an average of 500 children. It's like a neighborhood block party, complete with food, games, singing, crafts, and other fun activities for children. Children are picked up from their homes and brought to a community center where they participate in this event. Children of the City provides a much-needed preventative element designed to deter children from drug abuse, delinquency, gang involvement, teen pregnancies, as well as teach them on important issues such as health and education.

Stay tuned for more information on this topic. Or check out my Rocco Basile Charity website.

The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) provides federal leadership in developing the nation’s capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice and assist victims. More information can be found at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/.

Education Historically Focused on Music, Math and History

Recently, along with my research on successful programs for students being done at Children of the City, I started researching the history of education in other parts of the world. In China, for example, formal education can be traced back to around the 16th century B.C. At that time, education was a privilege for the elite, and basically for the purpose of producing government officials. The studies included what was known as the “Six Arts”: Rites, Music, Archery, Chariot-Riding, History, and Mathematics.

I am sure glad that today’s gym teachers don’t have to worry about teaching chariot-riding!

But what I do find very interesting is that the basics are still the same – given music, history and math. These topics are to this day still quite challenging for some students, and why our Children of the City after school program called Create Success has been such a success. Many of the kids in Brooklyn come from ethnic families who do not speak English at home. One little Asian boy who started studying in the COC program is now reading books way above the standard level for a second grader. He sounds out the harder Latin based words with ease.

Create Success is an after school and summer program focusing on each student’s academic success with intense tutoring and daily personal help with homework. The program has shown dramatic results, increasing many students’ reading and math skill levels, and encouraging healthy study habits, communications, along with improved peer relationships.

By personally connecting with each child in their environment, Children of the City volunteers and staff are able to reach the children at home, at school, on the streets and playgrounds, and in their facilities. This builds strong relationships and from there we are able to teach, inform and counsel on various life issues and skills.

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/

Basile Builders Group Sponsors Seminar on Brooklyn Subprime Market

With all the latest information on the subprime market, the saddest news is how much it has affected the minority neighborhoods all over the U.S. They have been heavily targeted for risky high cost loans. That's why my family's company Basile Builder's Group, is joining a group of other specialists including Legacy Financial, the law offices of Daniel Boldi, Esq., L.I. Business Consultants, Amenity Appraisals and Ameraprise Financial to hold a free seminar on February 19 at The Knights of Columbus, Brooklyn , New York.

Why? Our community needs advice and guidance. With millions of Americans suffering from rising mortgage payments due to adjustable rates, balloon payments and other unscrupulous sub-prime programs, many folks have started to really panic as they hear about or know other family members and friends who are losing their homes. It's our goal to help answer questions.

Minorities are at the center of the subprime mortgage crisis, according to a study that was put out by United for a Fair Economy, a Boston-based economic policy group. The “State of the Dream 2008: Foreclosed” report evaluated subprime lending during the past eight years and projects a direct loss from defaulted subprime loans to range between $365 billion and $605 billion.

It's estimated that whites hold 55 percent of the bad subprime loans, while minorities hold the other 45 percent. African-American borrowers are projected to lose between $71 billion and $122 billion — about 20 percent of the total projected losses, while Latinos will lose $76 billion to $129 billion for the same period, about 21 percent of the subprime default burden.

It's pretty bad here in New York in places like Brooklyn. According to this January 26th Bloomberg subprime article, the communities of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights had a foreclosure rate of almost four times the national subprime figure of 6.89 percent, which was the highest since March 2003.

These sharp increases in subprime mortgage loan delinquencies and in the number of homes entering foreclosure do raise important economic, social, and regulatory issues.

For more information on the Feb. 19th free seminar, contact Jonathan at 516-404-5855.

Giants hero David Tyree to Attend Children of the City Gala

Being on the Board of a charity like Children of the City (COC) has its advantages. Sometimes we get to meet some totally amazing people. For instance, our big annual gala is coming up on Thursday March 13 . And New York Giants SuperBowl hero David Tyree will be coming as a special guest, for the third year in a row; along with Richard Jefferson of the New York Nets.

This year's 27th anniversary gala will be held at Tribecca Rooftop in New York City. The Master of Ceremonies is Steve Shirripa of the HBO series The Supranos. This wonderful organization serves the children and families of Southwest Brooklyn, helping families overcome welfare and poverty, and benefiting children and their challenges in life with education, and more.

It is only $5,000 to sponsor a child -- to provide a complete comprehensive plan for success for one child for a year, and get name recognition, and receive frequent updates on the progress of your sponsored child's development throughout the year. Then of course, if you happen to be with a major corporation and want to sponsor the event to the tune of $50k, you're company will get name recognition at all major COC events, in all communicaitons, publications and media coverage throughout the year including fundraising events, programs, activities and community gatherings.

Oh and just to attend the gala the tickets are $400 each. Anyone interested in a sponsorship can call Joyce Mattera before February 29th at 718-436-0242 X 18. Be sure to tell her you saw this on the Rocco Basile blog, and I also plan to mention it on my website at www.roccobasile.org where you will find out more about my charities and the importance of education.