Featured Resource: “Heart of a Champion” Middle School Character Curriculum
Posted on June 4, 2008
20/20 Vision is looking for 2-4 churches to join Citivision and Manhattan Bible Church in piloting the Heart of a Champion character curriculum in 5-7 public middle schools during the 2008-2009 academic year. Email Walter for more information.
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Are You
Old School?
Heart of a Champion invites you to join athletes and leaders across the
What is Old School? It has nothing to do with sweat bands or floppy socks. Rather, it’s your chance to give back to your Old School and affect the futures of thousands of kids. How? By providing a powerful character program to every student at your old middle school or junior high.
The Need
If you’ve checked out the news lately, it’s clear there is an overwhelming lack of character in our world. Tragically, too many kids lack an understanding of basic character principles, which leads to their futures being cut short. Instilling character in our nation’s youth has never been more critical. Unfortunately, there simply isn’t enough funding available to schools to bring in effective, quality programs. So, millions of young people never receive the foundation they desperately need.
The Solution
In 1997, the Heart of a Champion® Character Development Program was developed by leaders from the world of sports and business, including retired major leaguer Harold Reynolds. Since then, others like NFL owners Lamar Hunt, Clark Hunt, Bob McNair, Jerry Jones, and former NBA star/CBS talent Clark Kellogg have supported the program across the
The Goal
The Old School Campaign is seeking 2,000 Old School individuals who will help solve the crisis of character in our country. If each participant will underwrite the cost of the Heart of a Champion program just at their old school, we can reach over one million students, and impact the culture.
The Cost
Through the Old School Campaign, you will reach students at your old school throughout the entire nine months of the school year with consistent implementation of the most effective character development program in
RELATED
+ Download the HOC School Brochure (PDF)
» Filed Under character, pilot projects, curriculum, heart of a champion, case studies, Resources | 2 Comments
Why adopt schools: a parent reports
Posted on June 4, 2008
Christ Tabernacle, a 20/20 Vision partnering church, shared the following email from a parent at the Tony Evans event last week. For context, the parent coordinator of a local public elementary school asked the church for help acquiring school supplies for its students last summer. In response, the congregation launched “Operation Backup” and acquired new backups and supplies for every student at the school — almost 900 total — and presented them to the students the first day of classes. Nearly a full academic year later, on May 28 of last week, the mother sent them this note:
My children were so excited to see their brand new backpacks filled with school supplies. I was so touched and overwhelmed with emotion to see my children’s joy. My son, who was 6 at the time, asked me, “Mommy, who gave these to us?” and I responded, the people from a church” And my daughter, who was only 4 at the time, said, “But why? They don’t even know us.”As I searched for the words to explain to my children the kindness and generosity of total strangers, my son put it best as he said, “Those are some really good people.”
My daughter then asked, “Mommy, can you take us to see the good people?” My son chimed in, “Yes, Mommy! Please, I want to see the good people.” So I promised them that I would take them and I did.
From the moment I stepped into Christ Tabernacle, I felt something great. It was an indescribable feeling. I knew that the Lord was in this place. I’ve never felt his presence so strong in my life. And it just drew me and my kids in and we started attending services regularly. Christ Tabernacle has become such a big part of our new lives in Christ. My kids absolutely love the Just Kidz Ministry. They were in last year’s Christmas production. In January of this year, I took the CL-101 class for 6 weeks and became a proud member of Christ Tabernacle myself. In April, I was baptized.
I’ve found love, peace, strength and happiness that I never knew I was missing in my life until I found it at Christ Tabernacle. Yes, my children and I found the “good people” at Christ Tabernacle and more importantly, we found our Lord and Savior. So from the bottom of our hearts, Thank You and God Bless You.
» Filed Under operation backpack, christ tabernacle, resume of trust, case studies | Leave a Comment
Tony Evans Adopts 20/20 Vision: A Personal Diary
Posted on June 3, 2008
Jeremy Del Rio journals the happenings of May 29 here.
7-9 pm: Co-host and emcee the public meeting. Sit captivated by the stories of local churches that have begun adopting public schools (testimonies to follow); inspired by three rousing CT Choir numbers; and then mesmerized by a classic Tony Evans oration on what it means to be “salt” and “light” — metaphors Christ used to describe his followers’ role in society. Dr. Evans is truly one of the great American preachers of his generation, in the tradition of both Dr. King and Billy Graham, but with a style all his own. Even more special, he began his message with a five-minute, unequivocal and thorough endorsement of 20/20 Vision, and weaved 20/20 as an illustration throughout his sermon. Audio (and hopefully video) to follow.
Other highlights: the Campus Alliance’s video featuring 20/20 as a model strategy for regional public school engagement.
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Live from UYWI08: 20/20 Vision for Schools
Posted on May 17, 2008
Jeremy Del Rio co-presented “20/20 Vision for Schools: Transforming Public Education within a Single Generation of Students” with Curt Gibson of Lave Avenue Foundation and Church (Pasadena, CA) at Urban Youth Workers Institute on May 17, 2008. Here are the presentation materials.
Downloads
+ PowerPoint Slides
+ 20/20 Resources
+ The Concept
+ “20/20 Vision for Schools” article
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Tony Evans to endorse 20/20 on May 29
Posted on May 9, 2008
A night for all pastors, church deacons and elders, youth ministers, educators, community leaders, and congregants still uncertain about 20/20 Vision for Schools or not sure what to do next in adopting a local school. Come hear Rev. Dr. Tony Evans of the Urban Alternative, a nationally recognized faith leader and President of the National Church Adopt-a-School Initiative, share why public schools are the cutting edge of ministry in our city.
Pastors must RSVP by email for the 5 pm gathering.
The 7 pm gathering is open to all.
Watch what Dr. Evans is doing with the National Church Adopt-a-School initiative.
» Filed Under tony evans, events | 1 Comment
Upcoming 20/20 Events
Posted on May 9, 2008
+ Heart of a Champion
May 12, 2008
7-9 pm @ The King’s College (Empire State Building, LL, 34 Street and 5th Avenue)
The fifth in the monthly 20/20 Vision training series features Steve Riach (bio), a veteran film and sports television producer whose Heart of a Champion character education curriculum is being taught in public schools across America. Come hear his inspiring story and learn about an innovative collaboration between HOC and local 20/20 Vision churches. HOC, which Steve developed as a collaboration with professional athletes such as Harold Reynolds and Clark Kellogg, utilizes stories from the world of athletics to attract interest and communicate positive character themes. For more on HOC, visit http://heartofachampion.org.
+ Rev. Dr. Tony Evans
May 29, 2008
5-7 pm: Senior Pastors
7-9 pm: Pastors, educators, community and lay leaders
@ Christ Tabernacle, 64-34 Myrtle Ave, Glendale, NY 11385
A night not to miss, for all pastors, church deacons and elders, youth ministers, educators, community leaders, and congregants still uncertain about 20/20 Vision for Schools or not sure what to do next in adopting a local school. Come hear Rev. Dr. Tony Evans of the Urban Alternative, a nationally recognized faith leader and President of the National Church Adopt-a-School Initiative, share why public schools are the cutting edge of ministry in our city.
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Join the 20/20 Facebook Group
Posted on April 14, 2008
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About our Speaker: Evelyn DeJesus
Posted on April 13, 2008
REMINDER
April 14, 2007 Coalition Meeting
7-9 pm @ King’s College (Empire State Building, LL)
UFT executive Evelyn DeJesus joins Principals Union executive Ada Rosario Dolch reflecting on 20/20 Vision for Schools.
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Evelyn DeJesus* is the District 2 Representative for the United Federation of Teachers, the nation’s largest union local representing more than 200,000 members.
As District Two rep, Evelyn is in charge of more than 50 schools that she frequently visits, meeting with principals and with staff, troubleshooting and trying to work out solutions to problems.
She also serves on the UFT Executive Board, on the board of NYSUT’s Labor and Religion Coalition, she is a board of trustee of the UFT Elementary Charter School, an Executive Board member of the AFT Latino Caucus and is a member of the UFT ELL Task Force.
Evelyn began her career as an educator 22 years ago as a paraprofessional (educational assistant). She has earned two master’s degrees in education, one from Baruch College in Public/Education Administration, the other from Fordham University in Learning Disabilities and Curriculum Development. Her teaching certificates/licenses are in Common Branches, Early Childhood and she is a certified reading specialist in the reading recovery program. She also achieved a certificate in Labor Studies from Cornell University.
In recognition of her outstanding teaching, District Two selected Evelyn for the Aspiring Leaders Program (the institute for future principals.) She graduated with her master’s degrees from that program.
Evelyn is also a member of the AFT Human and Civil Rights Committee and the AFT Policy and Program Committee (which meets nationally to analyze and research education policies). She is also a member of the National Association of Bilingual Education.
Evelyn is married to Louis and has two daughters, Tiffany and Kristina. She is also a grandmother (diva nana) to Isabella, Angelina and Peter Louis.
She served as deacon at Abounding Grace Christian Center and served as a board member of Generation Xcel.
* Pictured: Evelyn DeJesus introducing UFT President Randi Weingarten at a 2005 National Day of Prayer gathering at Abounding Grace Church. Photo by Mike Mowery.
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Three Keys to School Reformation
Posted on April 13, 2008
- This article originally appeared in the April 2008 issue of the Tri-State Voice.
“Much of how we view our public schools comes out of a negative lens. We see them as our enemies and not as potential partners. The fact is, our kids spend at least thirty hours a week in schools as appose to six hours a week in our churches (if we’re lucky). Schools can become a place of discipleship for our kids if we are willing to take the time and engage the schools and its vision.”
In a city that houses over 2 million teens and just a handful of full-time youth pastors, the vision of seeing citywide transformation almost seems impossible to many.
Yet in the midst of it, there are those who know that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is still able to do the impossible. Here in New York City we are faced with the grueling fact of an under-resourced and under performing Department of Education. In fact, I believe some of it has to do with the neglect of the local body in our city. Don’t get me wrong, I know that churches pray for the schools, yet much of our prayers are generic and are geared to the restoration of an empty twenty-second prayer that really does not have an eternal effect on those who recite it or hear it.
Over the last year, I have found myself asking a tough question: What would happen if the 7100 Evangelical churches of New York City adopted the 1400 public schools? How would that look in the context of citywide transformation? As a result I have focused much of my time and energy in trying to see in the spirit what that would look like. The 20/20 Vision for Schools initiative conceived by the Coalition of Urban Youth Workers seeks to make this a reality.
But before I get into that I need to challenge you, the reader to begin doing something you may not be doing. That is PRAY! Pray for the restoration of the kingdom of God to be established in our school systems. Don’t just pray for prayer to be restored, but pray that through you God would come to the schools as well as through the students and our churches and our church members who work in the schools, God’ kingdom would be established.
For too long we have ask God to come in, yet we fail to understand that God will only come into our city if there are those who will be used by Him to usher in His kingdom. Through the power of prayer I believe we can see our school system reformed. I want to present to you three key areas of prayer that can become a catalyst for this reformation.
1- Pray for a redefined view of our schools. Much of how we view our public schools comes out of a negative lens. We see them as our enemies and not as potential partners. The fact is, our kids spend at least thirty hours a week in schools as appose to six hours a week in our churches (if we’re lucky). Schools can become a place of discipleship for our kids if we are willing to take the time and engage the schools and its vision. I believe our prayer should be “God open my eyes to see our schools as a missionary field in which I can sow seeds of love and mercy rather then division and contention.”
2- Pray for those who are in schools (principles, teachers, faculty, students, etc.) Many of our congregants work in schools as principles, administrators, teachers, staff, and some are even students. What would happen if they were empowered to view themselves as ministers rather than just being there because it was a job? Or because, by law, they had to attend? I believe we would see a different school system.
3- Pray that churches would engage schools for the purpose of holistic change. For some this might be a challenging due to fact most Christians believe in order to preach we MUST speak. I believe before any church would be given the right to share the gospel we must earn the right through our service to the schools. This is Luke 10:1-12 paints a wonderful picture of how a believer earns the right to share “The kingdom of God is near…” This is what we would call building a “Resume of Trust”. If we can begin to affect our schools through our service rather then our protest we would have gained much ground in reaching the kids whom we are called to serve.
I pray you and your church would consider adopting a school in your community for the purpose to changing lives. If you are interested in how to adopt a school or the 20/20 Vision project lead by the Coalition of Urban Youth Worker please go to www.2020schools.net or www.coalitionnyc.com.
- Rev. Edwin Pacheco, Jr. is the Co-Chair of the Coalition of Urban Youth Workers and youth pastor at Bay Ridge Christian Center.
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About our Speaker: Ada Rosario Dolch
Posted on April 7, 2008
Ada Rosario Dolch is co-presenting the April 14 20/20 Vision meeting. Her bio follows.
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Ada Rosario Dolch, wife of Norman, mother to Lauren 26, and Amy 21.
Ada Rosario Dolch served as principal of the HS for Leadership & Public Service, for 9 years. At present she serves as Executive Director for the Executive Leadership Institute, the professional development arm of the Council of Supervisors and Administrators (CSA). In addition to her professional work, Ada is very involved in her community.
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- 1st VP of the Bank Street College Alumni Association
- Advisory Committee Member of Student Venture, a faith based organization that serves to provide support to public school students
- Advisory Board Member and Facilitator for the NYC Chapter1 of the National School Leaders Network
- Member of the Ministry Team at Gateway City Church
- Advisory Board Member, American Diabetes Foundation: Feria de Salud por tu Familia (Health Fair for your Family).
The events of September 11, 2001, have afforded Ada the opportunity to present to school administrators at various forums throughout the United States, on the topic of Preparedness, Response, and Recovery. In July of 2006, Ada traveled to Herat, Afghanistan, for the ceremonial opening of a school and the dedication of the school’s garden to her sister Wendy, who gave her life for our freedom on 9/11.
She is one of the contributors to the book, Forever After, New York City Teachers on 9/11.
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