MVBHS ALUMNI ALLIANCE TURNS 10!
by Steve Wilson '77
Back in the fall of 2012, MVBHS was in a tough way. Categorized as a failing school and threatened with closure due to its 46% graduation rate, the one bright light was the naming of a new principal, Sam Sochet. With his appointment, I had the belief that there was an opportunity to help support his turnaround plan. I created the Alumni Alliance with the notion that over the school’s then nearly 60-year history, with over 40,000 graduates, we could rally our alumni to step up and help make MVBHS better. Since then, we have introduced countless programs including Summer Search, Girls with Impact, The Animation Project and Let’s Get Ready, which have helped guide, educate, and motivate so many of our students. We are especially proud that one of our first cohort of Summer Searchers, Jordon Speese, is now teaching at the school. We have also helped bring about the MVBHS Food Pantry, revitalized the library, created our new language learning lab, and continue to support the Scholars program. We were also instrumental in the genesis of our bioscience DNA lab and multiple career days, forums, and mentorship efforts to share the many paths our students can take after they graduate.
In addition, we have sought to highlight our rich history by creating the school’s illustrious Hall of Fame and have begun honoring our teachers with the MVBHS Teachers Honor Roll. Presently, we are supporting our students to excel by funding the Syracuse University super chemistry program and are working with our current principal Deborah Nettleford to build a heath careers program. We have been a conduit for a variety of scholarships, allowing our students to continue to be challenged and succeed at the college level. We have published two cookbooks, raising over $100,000 to support our MVB families in need during the worst of the covid epidemic and, with our Back in the Day book project, we have raised a nearly equal sum that has allowed us to do so much more.
We are immensely proud that today our school has nearly doubled its graduation rate since a decade ago, but even more excited about what an energized and galvanized collection of MVBees can do in the future. Our legacy of incredibly accomplished alumni is worth celebrating, but more important is taking all this enthusiasm to celebrate our past in order to improve the present and positively impact the future of our school, and especially our current student and all those that follow.
Back in the fall of 2012, MVBHS was in a tough way. Categorized as a failing school and threatened with closure due to its 46% graduation rate, the one bright light was the naming of a new principal, Sam Sochet. With his appointment, I had the belief that there was an opportunity to help support his turnaround plan. I created the Alumni Alliance with the notion that over the school’s then nearly 60-year history, with over 40,000 graduates, we could rally our alumni to step up and help make MVBHS better. Since then, we have introduced countless programs including Summer Search, Girls with Impact, The Animation Project and Let’s Get Ready, which have helped guide, educate, and motivate so many of our students. We are especially proud that one of our first cohort of Summer Searchers, Jordon Speese, is now teaching at the school. We have also helped bring about the MVBHS Food Pantry, revitalized the library, created our new language learning lab, and continue to support the Scholars program. We were also instrumental in the genesis of our bioscience DNA lab and multiple career days, forums, and mentorship efforts to share the many paths our students can take after they graduate.
In addition, we have sought to highlight our rich history by creating the school’s illustrious Hall of Fame and have begun honoring our teachers with the MVBHS Teachers Honor Roll. Presently, we are supporting our students to excel by funding the Syracuse University super chemistry program and are working with our current principal Deborah Nettleford to build a heath careers program. We have been a conduit for a variety of scholarships, allowing our students to continue to be challenged and succeed at the college level. We have published two cookbooks, raising over $100,000 to support our MVB families in need during the worst of the covid epidemic and, with our Back in the Day book project, we have raised a nearly equal sum that has allowed us to do so much more.
We are immensely proud that today our school has nearly doubled its graduation rate since a decade ago, but even more excited about what an energized and galvanized collection of MVBees can do in the future. Our legacy of incredibly accomplished alumni is worth celebrating, but more important is taking all this enthusiasm to celebrate our past in order to improve the present and positively impact the future of our school, and especially our current student and all those that follow.
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support our mvbhs food pantry
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MARTIN VAN BUREN HIGH SCHOOL CONTINUES ITS
GIVE HOPE TO HELP GLOBAL INITIATIVE
Bigger and better than ever
this time we have more recipes, more stories, more countries, and more memories to share.
TRAVEL THE WORLD WITHOUT LEAVING YOUR KITCHEN
order now to get your printed copy THE MVB CHRONICLES; THE EARLY YEARS
just $30; use the form below
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back in the day, the early years 1955-1971
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the digital version of either is only $10.
THE PRINT VERSIONS ARE $30 EACH.
three easy steps
get your copy now
STEP 1: |
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step 2: |
If you are able and wish to make a donation to the MVB Alumni Alliance to help our community. Suggested donation for
each digital book is $10. Print copies are $30. Choose one of the following payment options: |
To donate by check, please make it payable to MVBHS Alumni Alliance:
mail to Lapides Asset Management, 500 West Putnam Ave, Suite 400
Greenwich, CT 06830
mail to Lapides Asset Management, 500 West Putnam Ave, Suite 400
Greenwich, CT 06830
STEP 3: click here to download either book
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Post pictures of your dishes on our Instagram page
Follow us on Twitter!
Subscribe to our You Tube channel, MVBHSAA,
and make your own! Send it to us and we will post them!
