WHO WE SERVE

Board member Dr. Jackie Pryce-Harvey on her visit to LIFE'S programs in Jamaica

COMMUNITIES WE SERVE

LIFE USA

LIFE  USA is the home for all of our programs in New York City including:

  •  "It's Never Too Late" program  in two elementary & middle schools  to decrease absenteeism and tardiness. Since 2015, a LIFE volunteer has worked with a team of social worker and guidance counselor 
  • NEW INITIATIVE 2017-18:Pre K model in Brooklyn consists of the STAR program helping Parents to Sing Talk And Read to their children as well as attending workshops.  

LIFE Jamaica

LIFE Jamaica is the home of  our literacy enhancing programs in seven schools in four rural communities in St. Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica, W.I. with plans to add two other primary schools during the 2018-19 academic year.  The Primary schools are Accompong,  Glen Stuart and Elderslie. The Infant Department/Basic Schools are Accompong, Elderslie , Glen Stuart and Whitehall. The Primary model's is a Literacy Resource Center, literacy teachers, 1 2 3 Books In the Home Lending Library, Parents in Action for Literacy and now  a Family Navigator to organize and encourage the parents to participate in their child's education in their home, at school and in their communities.  

WHY WE SERVE

"We make our impact in a community when we are able to harness the talents and gifts that human beings possess, create partnerships and deliver a product that will create a change that is sustainable"

Pat Rowe, LIFE's Founder and President

OUR TEAM---LIFE's BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Patricia I. Rowe RN, MA, Chairperson and President

has over four decades of clinical, managerial, administrative and executive nursing experience, focusing on the education of healthcare professionals both in academic and community settings. Ms. Rowe served on President Bill Clinton’s Council for Sustainable Communities representing small minority, women owned, businesses. She has developed multiple programs in health care that have advanced the practice of nursing including the innovation of cluster care where home health aides and nursing attendants delivered cost effective, quality care to  multiple home care clients living in the same or nearby living settings.  

Ms. Rowe has been an adjunct Professor of Nursing at Long Island University, Director of Nursing and Administrator of the Tri-State Licensed Home Care Agency in New York City and a Visiting Clinician at St. John's School of Nursing in Bangalore, India. Her years of experience in home care nursing gives her an advantage and a sensitivity to the disconnect between home and institutions.

Onalin Williams MBA Vice President

has over 17 years of experience working with large data and financial institutions on regional, national and international sales, management, team building, marketing and data best practices.  Since 2011, she has been a Financial Data Analyst for NCCI Holdings in Boca Raton, Florida, working closely with actuaries and financial data providers to assure data integrity, provide testing and validation support, and perform analytic research. She has championed the cause of underserved children for most of her adult life and is passionate about organizing resources for the education of children from underserved communities throughout the world. She is a graduate of Convent of Mercy Alpha Girl's school in Kingston, Jamaica, W.I.  and received her BA degree from Florida Atlantic University, majoring in finance and management, and her MBA from Nova Southeastern University. .

Fredrick T. Sherman MD, Secretary

has been practicing, teaching, and writing about the care of the elderly for over four decades. He was honored as “Teacher of the Year” by the Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, where he continues to teach medical students and practicing physicians. He has authored over 100 clinical publications in the care of the elderly and is the recipient of the prestigious Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism award, considered the Pulitzer Prize of the business press, for his editorials in Geriatrics.  He has been a Visiting Professor of Geriatrics at academic medical centers in the US, Canada, Taiwan and India. From 2009-2014, he was the Chief Medical Officer for Community and Managed Care Services at ArchCare in New York.  Dr. Sherman's many years of teaching, writing and non-profit board participation lend itself to the vision, mission and goals of LIFE.

Rosalind Wright-Williams, Treasurer

has been working as a Recreational Therapist for over 30 years at the New York Institute for Special Education, designing and coordinating recreational programs for studens with developmental disabilities and visual and auditory impairments.  Her career leads her to work in a special role with students who are preparing to gain employment in the vocational field. She heads up a mentoring program for interns and provides leadership for the student council, and assists recreation/vocation therapists in planning and implementing activities with children with emotional and leanring disabilities. 

Chrystina Russell PhD, Member

is Vice President for Global Engagement, Office of the President, at Southern New Hampshire University. Previously she  served as Chief Academic Officer of Kepler University in Kigali, Rwanda. She was the founding Principal of Global Technology Preparatory Junior High school in East Harlem, New York, where she led the school to the 95th percentile city-wide for student achievement, parental satisfaction and attendance. Dr. Russell brings to LIFE's Board diverse educational experiences from many different cultures and countries around the world.  Always keeping her focus on how children learn and what they need to do to improve their achievement level and advance through the educational system, Dr. Russell champions the value of parental involvement in their child's education.  She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and received  her PhD in Urban Education Policy at City University Graduate Center, New York.   Dr. Russell has co-wrote and secured significant grant funding in the educational field.

Jacqueline Pryce-Harvey PhD, Member

During Dr. Jacqueline Pryce-Harvey’s 15-year educational career in the New York City Department of Education, she has served as a special education curriculum developer and teacher, assistant principal and principal. She received he Master of Science degree from Fordham University and her PhD from the University of Tennessee. She is currently a national and international consultant on teacher training and educational strategies for children in kindergarten through 12th grade.  Her educational knowledge and expertise applies directly to the challenges of educating and empowering parents to improve their child's literacy in the home, at school and in the community

WHY WE SERVE OTHERS............................................. Patricia Rowe, Founder & President

I am often asked about my passion for literacy and education.  This passion was created and instilled as a family value that was articulated and demonstrated in our home by my father.  Despite the challenges of living with minimal financial resources, my father championed an intentional, structured educational path  for his four daughters.  No matter what the circumstance, he persevered, working long hours and multiple jobs, to ensure that all of us received an education.  My experience is supported by research that shows that parental involvement in a child's educational experience is the number one determinant of a child's educational achievement and NOT the family's socioeconomic status.   My father's untimely death occurred on my 21st Birthday. Just as I have championed for my son's education, so I have embraced LIFE's mission to assist parents and families of underperforming and special needs students to participate in their child's educational experience here at home and abroad.
I celebrate LIFE's talented Board of Directors and our advisors for their committment and  giving of their talent, resources, and time to oversight our mission and activities.  in partnering with LIFE to embark on this mission to address the educational needs of underperforming and special needs children living in under resource communities.  I also am cognizant that without resources there is no mission, and we thank our donors for their giving to advance and sustain LIFE's mission.
Literacy Is a Family Experience (LIFE), Inc. became a 501(c)(3) charitable organization in July, 2014, with the goal of  partnering with educators, parents, families, students and our donors to  address the educational needs of underperforming and special needs children. This will benefit the home, community, society and the world.  We envision a world where all underperforming and special needs student have a parent or family member to champion their educational experience.

MISSION

LIFE's MISSION is to partner with families, parents and educators from under-resourced communities to improve their child's literacy and educational experience by participating in their child's education in the home, at school and in their communities. LIFE partners with families, parents, teachers, principals, administrators and schools to achieve its mission of lowering the achievement gap.

VISION

LIFE ENVISIONs a world where all children living in underresourced communities who are under performing in academics will have family who partner with them to close the achievement gap by championing their child's literacy and education in the home, at school and in the  community.

GOALS

  • Raise family and parental awareness of the need for and the benefits of them being involved, both in the home and in school, with their child's literacy and education from Pre-K through 8th grade
  • Increase the numbers of family members (parents, grandparents, older siblings, aunts, uncles and/or caregivers) involved in their child's education
  • Narrow the achievement gap of children from selected under served neighborhoods by involving and supporting their families to assist their teachers in the child's educational experience
  • Identify a Family Educational Partner, a family member(s), who is committed to working with the child in the home and collaborating with their teacher to improve the child's literacy and numeracy performance in school  
  • Create a group of volunteer educators, called Learning Navigators, who will work together with the Family Educational Partner to understand the child's educational needs and develop an individual plan to enhance the child's educational experience in the home and in school 
  • Develop workshops called "Learning Works" to help each family navigate through the educational experience along with their child. 
  • Develop a Family Learning Tool Box filled with grade appropriate learning and teaching resources for improving the parent-child educational experience 
  • Develop a group of volunteers called Learning Coordinators who will assist and support the Learning Navigators and Family Educational Partners to achieve the child's educational outcomes
  • Provide a Learning Plan, consisting of the Family Learning Toolbox, workshops, and ongoing supervision by the Learning Coordinators, to insure the success of the child's educational future 

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