IBID Sponsored Internships & Workshops Help Students See “The Big Picture” at Ironbound Academy
March 12, 2010
The Ironbound Business Improvement District (IBID) has partnered with the Big Picture Ironbound Academy at Newark’s East Side High School to create a program designed to help students from the Ironbound community dream big dreams. The program, which includes workshops and internships, is designed to give motivated students an opportunity to experience life opportunities beyond the classroom firsthand.
Eunice Mitchell, Coordinator of the Big Picture Ironbound Academy, asked Seth A. Grossman, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Ironbound Business Improvement District (IBID) to design a workshop to help her students get the big picture. “The mission of the Big Pictures High Schools in Newark is to rigorously challenge the diverse Newark student population one at a time, as they forge relationships with the community and pursue their interests in the real world through internships,” said Mitchell, stating the Academy’s mission.
The Ironbound Business Improvement District is one of the sites for student interns. “We have high school interns from the Big Picture Ironbound Academy as well as interns from Rutgers University,” explained Grossman. “We currently have three interns, and a number of other volunteers that help us with our communications, marketing, and community development and partnership programs,” he added.
Grossman designed and taught a workshop on “Promises, Performance & Power” for the Academy’s students and faculty that emphasized the importance of making and keeping promises as a way of achieving positive results. Each student identified what was important to them, what stopped them in life, and made a promise to keep their word and work on a specific vocation of their choice such as businessperson, fireman, boxer, corrections officer, teacher or banker. “One student said it was the most interesting and powerful class he had ever taken,” noted Mitchell.
The Big Picture Ironbound Academy is one of three similar academies in Newark and is located at East Side High School with over 50 students from throughout Newark. The Academy is part of the Newark educational system’s alternative programs designed to support the various special interests of the City’s students. “We provide a highly personalized learning experience and guiding partnership among students, parents, teacher-advisors, mentors, colleges, and the community,” stated Mitchell.
The IBID is known for its development efforts on behalf of the Ferry Street area business district including the Ferry Street-Streetscape Improvement Project. “The Ironbound is in the center of a dynamic transportation, entertainment and cultural nexus,” said Grossman. “Our job is to promote the area and add value to our customers’ experience. Our greatest asset is the Ironbound community and people like the students at the Big Picture Academy. The IBID promises to be a world class retail, entertainment and restaurant district in the region, and with the support of the city and our community partners we keep that promise,” he concluded.