Start Lighthouse

Exciting news from Start Lighthouse’s Literacy Hub at PS 214! Last week, we had the honor of hosting Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose unwavering support, including securing federal funding, has elevated PS 214 to become our second thriving Literacy Hub in the Bronx. This hub is dedicated to offering students enriching daily literacy programs and the opportunity to cultivate their own home libraries. During her visit, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez actively engaged in an interactive reading session that helped deepen our students’ comprehension. She also explored our vibrant Literacy Hub and fostered meaningful conversations about the impactful ways we can bring about positive change in our communities. Her visit was a powerful celebration of literacy, education, and community empowerment at PS 214! Photo Credits: Nicole Millman Photos

This summer, Start Lighthouse successfully launched its summer programs at P.S. 214 and P.S. 161. Our dedicated site coordinators, Ines Purcell and Savannah Price alongside our program manager, Thomas Shaffer engaged with students multiple times each week, guiding them through long-term projects and enriching literacy activities. The programming was vibrant and diverse, offering students a variety of engaging experiences. They created life-sized drawings inspired by Beautifully Me, invented new civilizations after reading Weslandia, and explored global cuisines following Dragons Love Tacos. Additionally, students conducted research on the Olympics, culminating in our very own Start Lighthouse Olympics! It has been an absolute pleasure to collaborate with students, fostering their critical thinking and creativity. Here's to a summer filled with learning and joy! We eagerly look forward to continuing this journey in the fall with the launch of our new Literacy Hub.

Thrilled to announce our 2024 Milken Penn GSE Education Biz Plan Competition Finalists!! Honest Game, Hilight, trubel&co, SAY IT Labs, Games & Learning, Saturday Art Class and Start Lighthouse are changing the way we empower student athletes, inspire teachers, solve real world problems, support students with disabilities, leverage games for learning, develop young artists, and tackle our global literacy crisis. Join us on September 10 in NYC as these 7 purpose-driven founders compete for $250,000 in cash and prizes. Registration is FREE: https://lnkd.in/e34rRWgT #entrepreneurialmindset #penngse

We are thrilled to announce that Start Lighthouse has been selected as a finalist in the prestigious 2024 Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition! ?? Join us as we present our final pitch in New York City on September 10 during HolonIQ's Back to School Summit. This competition has awarded over $2 million in cash prizes since 2010, and winners have secured over $200 million in funding. We're honored to be part of this incredible journey! Congratulations to the other finalists including Games & Learning, Hilight, Honest Game, Saturday Art Class, Say It Labs, and trubel&co! Register to attend (and vote live for the Audience Choice Prize winner!): https://bit.ly/3W8NoZH #EdTech #Innovation #MilkenPennGSE #HolonIQ

?? We are thrilled to welcome our newest partner, Start Lighthouse to the Educating All Learners Alliance! Check out their work at https://lnkd.in/gXgpZrUA #EducateAll #EALAPartner

We are now 29 days away from our grand opening of our Literacy Hub at P.S. 161! Here's another sneak peek at our third Hub, set to open this September for the new school year. Our talented artist, Akeem, has just completed a second mural featuring one of our diverse book selections, "I Wish You Knew" by Jackie Azúa Kramer, illustrated by Magdalena Mora, and published by Macmillan. Previously, Start Lighthouse hosted Jackie and Magdalena at our partner site? at P.S. 214, where the kids enjoyed engaging with them and diving into their beautiful story. A central part of our mission is to transform abandoned, defunct, and underutilized library spaces within Title I public schools into vibrant, inclusive, and welcoming Start Lighthouse literacy hubs. These hubs are fully staffed by our dedicated team and serve students every academic year and beyond. We are thrilled to see Akeem Weston's artistry and talent bring our vision to life. Follow along as we prepare for the grand opening of our third Literacy Hub!

We are excited to partner again?with The Home Depot Foundation for the build out of Start Lighthouse’s Literacy Hubs! Thanks to their generous grant, we will be rehabilitating a defunct library into our third Literacy Hub at P.S. 161 for this September. In addition, they will provide a dedicated team of Team Depot Volunteers to help restore P.S. 161’s library into a Literacy Hub. Our new hub at P.S. 161 will support over 600 students from PreK-5 with daily literacy programs led by our amazing site coordinator, Ms. Savannah Price. Savannah will lead instruction during the day, after school, and throughout the summer.? We will host engaging workshops led by nationally recognized and award-winning? BIPOC authors and artists and support students in building their own multicultural libraries. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to The Home Depot Foundation for their incredible support of Start Lighthouse’’s mission.? We are honored to serve our community. Stay tuned for more updates as we transform P.S. 161’s defunct library into a vibrant Start Lighthouse Literacy Hub.

Here's a behind-the-scenes look at our third Literacy Hub at P.S. 161, which will open this September for the start of the school year. Our talented muralist, Akeem Weston, has just completed a mural featuring one of our diverse selection of books, Like Lava In My Veins by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Shawn Martinbrough and published by Penguin Random House. A central part of our mission is transforming abandoned, defunct, and underutilized library spaces within Title I public schools into vibrant, inclusive, and welcoming Start Lighthouse literacy hubs. Our dedicated team fully staffs these hubs, serving students every academic year and beyond. We are thrilled to see our vision come to life through the artistry and talent of Akeem Weston. Follow along as we prepare for the grand opening of our 3rd Literacy Hub!?

So cool to see the NY State Senator Luis Sepulveda holding and reading my book The Bronx Is My Home at Start Lighthouse because they are doing impactful and life changing work. I'm so honored to be a small part of their mission. . . . #glorianapresente #thebronxismyhome #platanosarelove #plátanosarelove #author #authorsofinstagram #authorlife #authorevents #authorvisit #schoolvisits #latinaauthor #latinxauthor #latineauthors #latinebooks #blacklatina #blacklatinaauthor #blacklatinabooks #blackauthorsmatter #dominicanauthor #readingmatters #afrolatinaauthor #afrolatinabooks #afrolatinx #puertoricanauthor #mentorship #blackauthor #afrolatineauthor #literacyadvocate #alyssaauthor

Start Lighthouse is thrilled to share that we have received?The Annabelle Foundation Sunflower Grant, awarded to nonprofits demonstrating outstanding success in growing their organizations. Our Literacy Hubs, where we have engaged with over 1,600 students in dynamic?reading activities and experiential learning,?are at the heart of our mission. We are committed to building a strong?literacy foundations to boost students’?reading abilities and critical thinking skills. This generous three-year grant will be instrumental in supporting the launch of our new hub at P.S. 161 in the Bronx, bringing us closer to our vision of providing every child with access to quality educational opportunities. We are profoundly grateful to The Annabelle Foundation for their support and belief in our mission to help close the literacy gap in NYC.