Back in 2003, our alma mater, Martin Van Buren High School, was at a crossroads. The NYC Dept. of Education ended zoning restrictions, leading to a massive exodus of students to Francis Lewis, Bayside, and Cardozo and effectively gutting MVB’s student population until fewer than 1200 students were attending, with a 45% graduation rate. In recent years, other Queens schools facing similar circumstances—including Andrew Jackson and Jamaica—have been shut down and carved up into multiple-use facilities.
In 2012, a group of us joined together to form the MVB Alumni Alliance, working with the new principal Sam Sochet, to help get the school back on track. We recognized that we had over forty thousand fellow graduates who, working in concert with the school's staff, could help end the downward spiral and assist in the turnaround of the school. Our goal from the very beginning was to introduce a number of efforts designed to improve student engagement, offer guidance and leadership, extend a comprehensive community outreach program, and broaden the base of support for the academic, vocational, and extracurricular programs for the students.
We know many of you have given generously to your college alma maters over the years. We are asking you now to join us in this effort to support the High School that helped all of us achieve our goals. We recognize that this is just a start of what we as an alumni base of over 40,000 people are capable of accomplishing. It is our hope that, as we spread the word, we can tap into this vast and powerful network. We believe this is the first step in having a good number of us re-engage and collectively commit to working together to help the students, and the school, make progress.
We are reaching out to each of you in the hopes that many of you will contribute money to continue this process. We have made considerable progress to date at the school and our graduation rate is now 79%, an amazing accomplishment and now we are empowered to do even more. Our objective is to raise the funds which will allow us to impact many more students in a variety of ways. It is up to us, the alumni of the school, to make a real difference at MVB.
While money alone won’t meet all the school's needs it is essential to provide the enriching programming the Alumni Alliance has introduced into the school. Your contribution can help bring MVB back to where it was when we all walked the halls: a thriving, vibrant, academically-challenging school—among the best in NYC.
The time is NOW, and we believe essential, that we begin this process together. Anything you can do WILL make a difference. We hope to hear from all of you, and we very much appreciate any capacity in which you might support our efforts.
Please join with us to make MVB better.
Stephanie Hochman ’81
Jonathan “Bowzer” Bauman ‘64
Brian Greenspan ’89
Al Roth ‘69
Ilene Graff ‘66
Kirby Lindell ’73
Steve Wilson ’77
Jeanette Silver- teacher 1971-2001
Lori Rolleri ‘85
Anthony Pla ’98
Owen Rumelt ’77
Lloyd Fishman ’69
Frank Wilczek '67
Julian Philips '73
In 2012, a group of us joined together to form the MVB Alumni Alliance, working with the new principal Sam Sochet, to help get the school back on track. We recognized that we had over forty thousand fellow graduates who, working in concert with the school's staff, could help end the downward spiral and assist in the turnaround of the school. Our goal from the very beginning was to introduce a number of efforts designed to improve student engagement, offer guidance and leadership, extend a comprehensive community outreach program, and broaden the base of support for the academic, vocational, and extracurricular programs for the students.
We know many of you have given generously to your college alma maters over the years. We are asking you now to join us in this effort to support the High School that helped all of us achieve our goals. We recognize that this is just a start of what we as an alumni base of over 40,000 people are capable of accomplishing. It is our hope that, as we spread the word, we can tap into this vast and powerful network. We believe this is the first step in having a good number of us re-engage and collectively commit to working together to help the students, and the school, make progress.
We are reaching out to each of you in the hopes that many of you will contribute money to continue this process. We have made considerable progress to date at the school and our graduation rate is now 79%, an amazing accomplishment and now we are empowered to do even more. Our objective is to raise the funds which will allow us to impact many more students in a variety of ways. It is up to us, the alumni of the school, to make a real difference at MVB.
While money alone won’t meet all the school's needs it is essential to provide the enriching programming the Alumni Alliance has introduced into the school. Your contribution can help bring MVB back to where it was when we all walked the halls: a thriving, vibrant, academically-challenging school—among the best in NYC.
The time is NOW, and we believe essential, that we begin this process together. Anything you can do WILL make a difference. We hope to hear from all of you, and we very much appreciate any capacity in which you might support our efforts.
Please join with us to make MVB better.
Stephanie Hochman ’81
Jonathan “Bowzer” Bauman ‘64
Brian Greenspan ’89
Al Roth ‘69
Ilene Graff ‘66
Kirby Lindell ’73
Steve Wilson ’77
Jeanette Silver- teacher 1971-2001
Lori Rolleri ‘85
Anthony Pla ’98
Owen Rumelt ’77
Lloyd Fishman ’69
Frank Wilczek '67
Julian Philips '73
Martin van Buren High School-We are A NOBEL Institution
