State Education Department Announces Recipients of 2019 Vice Chancellor Emerita Adelaide L. Sanford Scholarships

The Board of Regents today awarded the inaugural Vice Chancellor Emerita Adelaide L. Sanford Scholarship to My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) Fellow De’Andre Brown of Yonkers High School and Arleth Durand Mendoza of Brentwood High School, part of the MBK Community network, the State Education Department announced today. The Board of Regents and Vice Chancellor Emerita Sanford recognized Brown and Durand Mendoza at today’s meeting.

“New York’s MBK initiative is changing lives and opening doors for our students and we’re thrilled to recognize De’Andre and Arleth for their accomplishments,” Chancellor Betty A. Rosa said. “The growth and strength of this movement are reflected in these students who are ready to take that next big step, going to college, taking full advantage of every opportunity to succeed in school and life.”

“I am proud of the work we are doing through MBK to create exciting new pathways for our boys and young men of color and, indeed, all students,” Commissioner MaryEllen Elia said. “De’Andre and Arleth have worked hard to succeed and are passing on their knowledge by serving as mentors—truly the backbone of MBK. I congratulate them on this award and on their bright futures.”

“De’Andre and Arleth prove that our young people can go as far as their dreams and hard work will take them,” Regent Lester W. Young said. “The mission of MBK is to inspire, empower and connect young people to change the world and there are no better representatives of that vision than these students who are ready to move on to the next phase in their academic and life journeys.”

Vice Chancellor Emerita Adelaide L. Sanford said, “Historically, children and young adults have been pivotal in the often-brutal struggle for human and civil rights: the Birmingham children were jailed demanding educational equity; young Freedom Riders sought to erase the stigma of inequities in transportation; and young men and women gave their lives for the right to vote.  Today, education is our civil rights frontier and De’Andre and Arleth are participants at the forefront.  They have proven themselves to be community oriented and academically, culturally and spiritually connected. Welcome Freedom Scholars!”

Outstanding Scholarship Recipients

De’Andre Brown is a Yonkers MBK leader and MBK Youth Advisory President and a member of the inaugural class of MBK Fellows. As a dedicated student at Yonkers High School, he’s earned a 3.7 GPA. De’Andre plans on studying sports medicine at New York University (NYU). De’Andre participates in an impressive list of extracurricular and community activities including serving as the Yonkers Public Schools track team treasurer, the Yonkers Partners in Education Fellow and as a mentor and Big Brother to Yonkers Middle School 7^th and 8^th graders.

Arleth Durand Mendoza earned a 4.0 GPA at Brentwood High School and plans to study Biomedical Sciences at Farmingdale State College. She is a member of the National Honor Society, serves as Medical Society president and participates in Stony Brook University’s Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP), which encourages and helps prepare students for entry into scientific, technical, health and health-related professions. In addition to these academic extracurriculars, Arleth is a member of the Tri-M National Honor Society, a program of the National Association for Music Education, and is the photographer for the Pow Wow News, the Brentwood High School newspaper.

Vice Chancellor Emerita Adelaide L. Sanford

The Vice Chancellor Emerita Adelaide L. Sanford Scholarship is named after Dr. Adelaide L. Sanford, a long-time leader, scholar, activist, educator, community advocate and organizer. Dr. Adelaide L. Sanford is the former Vice Chancellor of the Board of Regents and served on the Board for more than 20 years. She is also Honorary Co-Chair of the Work Group to Improve Outcomes for Boys and Young Men of Color, in recognition of her unwavering leadership and ongoing meaningful contributions to this effort.

The annual scholarship is awarded to one MBK Fellow and one female graduating high school senior from a NYSED-recognized MBK community. Scholarship funds can be used to assist with tuition, fees and books and will be awarded annually over four years while the student is enrolled in college.

The New York State My Brother's Keeper Community Network includes 23 member communities that have joined the growing initiative to improve outcomes for boys and young men of color. The MBK Fellows Program provides authentic leadership opportunities in government, education and business. Fellows are part of a statewide MBK Fellows Workgroup, which has given them a chance to offer input on the creation and implementation of a statewide MBK Mentoring Network.

New York State MBK

In 2014, former President Barack Obama established the My Brother’s Keeper Task Force at the federal level. The Task Force was an interagency effort focused on closing and eliminating the opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color so that all young people have the chance to reach their full potential. With the adoption of the 2016–17 New York State budget, New York became the first state to accept the President’s challenge and enacted the My Brother’s Keeper initiative into law. The budget included a $20 million investment in support of the initiative to improve outcomes for boys and young men of color. 

In 2018, NYSED awarded more than $1.15 million in grants to five schools for the MBK Exemplary School Models and Practices program. Grant recipients partner with demographically similar Struggling or Persistently Struggling schools in another district within their region to replicate exemplary practices that demonstrate cultural and linguistic responsiveness to emphasize the needs of boys and young men of color.

Also in 2018, NYSED awarded nearly $750,000 in grants to 11 school districts for the MBK Native American Program, to increase the academic achievement and college/career readiness of Native American students, with an emphasis on boys and young men.

Since 2016, NYSED has awarded more than $18 million in grants to 45 school districts for the My Brother’s Keeper Family and Community Engagement Program. These grants support programs to increase the academic achievement and college and career readiness of boys and young men of color while fostering the development of effective relationships with families to promote the success of all students.

Since 2016, NYSED has awarded $20 million in MBK Challenge grants to 40 school districts. The MBK Challenge Grant Program is designed to encourage regions and school districts to develop and execute coherent cradle-to-career college strategies. These programs are aimed to develop and sustain effective relationships with families of boys and young men of color toward the goal of success for all students.

Also since 2016, NYSED awarded $9 million in Teacher Opportunity Corps II (TOC) grants to increase the participation rate of historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged individuals in teaching careers. NYSED awarded grants to 16 colleges and universities to help them bolster the retention of highly qualified individuals who value equity and reflect the diversity inside and outside of our classrooms, particularly in high-need schools with recurrent teacher shortages. 

Visit the Department’s My Brother’s Keeper website for details on the initiative.