MBK Community Network Spotlight: Lyons
We featured this MBK Community Network spotlight in our September 2019 newsletter.
On August 7th, Lyons School District, Wayne County's MBK, and Youth Advocate Programs Inc. of Wayne County held the second annual MBK convening and the first-ever Black August Poetry Jam event. The event took place at Lyons Senior High School and was a time to celebrate the progress of MBK and hear new perspectives. Lyons School District Superintendent, Donald Putnam, introduced the District's MBK Fellows, Seth Dejesus and Benjamin Kemp, and spoke highly of their roles as leaders in the community.
Nicole Brown and Kevin Coleman, Teacher Opportunity Corps (TOC II) participants from SUNY Oswego, shared their experiences in college and discussed how TOC II has given them opportunities to succeed. There were breakout sessions with Shawn William, spoken word poet; Jesse Cruz, local author from Newark, NY; and Arkee Allen, principal of Sodus High School. The event concluded with a panel discussion on the school-to-prison pipeline facilitated by NBA star John Wallace.