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Feb 05 2022

Academic Mentors Recruitment

The Boston Education Collaborative at Emmanuel Gospel Center is recruiting another round of volunteers to help schools and afterschool programs this school year. If people thought last school year was challenging, this school year has been even more difficult for schools and programs. A recurring theme is the fatigue of staff and parents and the loss/regression of social emotional skills of students.

What if the Church steps into this need and opportunity to bring Christ’s love and comfort to these school communities and programs? Our volunteers provide a source of encouragement to the staff and students in addition to academic mentoring help. And the impact goes both ways. While volunteers seek to be helpful, they also experience change in themselves.
Minimum requirement to volunteer is 1-2 hours/week. There are several in-person volunteer requests, but there are also some remote opportunities. See tiny.cc/BECtutors for more information. We could use volunteers to help in Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea and Brockton.
Please contact Ruth Wong, rwong[at]egc.org, for more information. If your church would like to be involved in mobilizing volunteers, we would love to speak with you.

Written by Andrew Walker · Tagged: Boston Education Collaborative, boston public schools, emmanuel gospel center

Jan 24 2020

Career Mentoring with High School Students Info Session Calls

Excel High School has partnered with the Boston Education Collaborative at Emmanuel Gospel Center and created a pilot mentorship program called Unlocking the Future: Career Mentoring for High School Juniors and Seniors. The goal of this mentorship opportunity is to create relationships with students at Excel that help equip them for life after graduation, specifically in envisioning opportunity for the future and career readiness. The time commitment is once a month. If you’re interested in learning more, please join us on one of two info session calls to hear more about the commitment and heart behind this opportunity! Please email Ruth Wong at rwong[at]egc.org to RSVP for this info session.

Conference Call Info:

Dial-in Number: (515) 603-3125
Access Code:    1072965#
Tuesday Jan. 28th, 12:30-1:00 PM
Tuesday Jan. 28th, 5:00-5:30 PM

Written by Andrew Walker · Tagged: Boston Education Collaborative, boston public schools, emmanuel gospel center

Sep 05 2019

September Church School Partnership 101

Come learn about church-school partnerships in greater Boston and begin to take the first steps in building a partnership with a school. There will be a presentation, but we will also provide time for leaders to dialogue and reflect on next steps that they can take to explore or start a partnership. It is ideal for churches/Faith-Based Organizations new to this to bring its lead pastor or organizational leader along with a staff or lay leader to the info session. Please RSVP using the Eventbrite link.

Written by Andrew Walker · Tagged: Boston Education Collaborative

May 24 2019

Church School Partnership End-of-Year Forum

This forum is dedicated to discussing and sharing the ways churches made and are making a difference through their church-school partnerships. We will explore how churches and faith-based organizations strengthen and support the educational system in Greater Boston through various ways, impacting the youth’s socio-emotional and/or academic skills for the better.

For more information or to register, click here.

Written by Andrew Walker · Tagged: Boston Education Collaborative

Feb 09 2014

Transforming Boston, One Child At A Time

Something extraordinary is happening in the Boston area: churches are partnering with schools. Ruth Wong, director of the Boston Education Collaborative at Emmanuel Gospel Center partners with the Boston Public Schools’ (BPS) Office of Community Engagement and Circle of Promise,  to help create these partnerships. Currently, 19 schools in the Circle of Promise have faith-based partners, and 24 more are looking for partners – could your church be next?

Rather than coming in with an agenda, churches simply come to schools asking, “What are your needs? How can we help you achieve your goals?” By going to serve, rather than to preach, people are beginning to see that the church is relevant and engaged in the community. In the words of former BPS Superintendent Carol Johnson, this is significant because “churches bring hope and schools need hope.”

These partnerships have taken many forms. Faith communities have provided schools with people resources, like mentors and one-on-one tutors. They have also supported families with material items, such as City Mission Society coordinating the donation of 500 coats to Russel School families. The Trotter School first invited Global Ministries Christian Church and Grace Chapel to simply clean the building. They also hosted teacher/staff appreciation dinners. But as trust has been built with the school, the two churches are seen as partners and are invited to celebrate together with the school for significant school events. Although school staff can be hesitant at first, gradually more and more are seeing the value of faith communities supporting the multifaceted underworkings of a school.

Some of these partnerships have transformed specific students academically, but it doesn’t end there. Ruth said, “When I hear about how a student or family is going through the struggles of life and a church is able to come alongside them, that’s what gets me excited and inspired.” At right, mentor match day at the Timulty with parents, mentors, and mentees

What would Ruth like to tell the Christian community in Boston? “As churches, we tend to create opportunities and programs to invite our neighbors to attend, but this is an opportunity to go and be invited into a school community to serve and love others in their space, to care for people who may never walk into the church doors on their own.”

Her dream is that each school in Boston would have at least one church partner. “There is an open door right now to partner with schools,” Ruth emphasizes. “This opportunity may come and go at any time, so in some ways, if churches would seize the moment and explore it, you never know what God could do.”

Many Christians speak about seeing their city transformed with the love of Christ. As you can see, church/school partnerships are an opportunity to make that dream become tangible.

Pastor Tom Griffith of River of Life Church asks, “What could be of greater value than to impact students? If you want to see change in Boston, this is the place to go.”

Next Steps to learn more about faith-based school partnerships:

  • Check out www.churchschoolpartners.org
  • Talk to your pastor and other people at your church to evaluate interest level
  • Attend the informational session at Grace Chapel on February 12th and RSVP here
  • Contact Ruth Wong at rwong@egc.org

Screen Shot 2014-02-09 at 7.24.57 AM

Written by jasonjclement · Categorized: Blog · Tagged: boston, Boston Education Collaborative, boston public schools, christianity, circle of promise, jesus, spirituality


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