Our Program

The "I Have A Dream" approach is unique. We sponsor entire grade levels of 50-100 students in under-resourced public schools or housing developments, and work with these "Dreamers" from early elementary school all the way through high school. Upon high school graduation, each Dreamer receives guaranteed tuition assistance for higher education.

“I Have A Dream” programs operate year-round. Programming is designed to enhance Dreamers’ academic performance and social skills, and provide Dreamers with new experiences. To achieve this, activities include the following over the life span of the program, as appropriate to the Dreamers’ ages, interests, and needs:

• Academic programming
• Summer programming
• Community service activities
• Social and cultural enrichment activities
• Arts programming – visual arts, dance, drama
• Career awareness and employment
• Life skills education
• Health literacy
• Parental involvement
• Mentoring
• College preparation, visits, and application help

Academic Programming

The main goal of IHDF-NY is for Dreamers to graduate from High School and matriculate to college. In order to meet this goal, a large emphasis is put on academic programming. Some highlights include:

ScienceExplorers Program targets the pronounced challenge in science faced by underserved children: a large achievement gap in science between low income, minority children and other students and the small number of minority youth who pursue careers in science. The program is designed to address this challenge by engaging children in hands-on science, enhancing their knowledge of science and motivating them to pursue science in school and beyond. ScienceExplorers offers a multi-faceted approach to science based on current educational research, including unique highly-participatory lessons and experiments, access to a min-science library, science-related field trips, internships and visits by science professionals.

One-on-one tutoring program provides individual attention to Dreamers. Every attempt is made to match a majority of Dreamers with a professional who can assist during time dedicated to homework completion and also help during necessary periods such as test-prep, special projects and final exams.

Communication and collaboration with the schools and Program Directors includes conversations about homework schedules, projects, exams and academic challenges and concerns. Program Directors are also proactive in intervening should any behavioral or emotional issues arise. Ideally, Program Directors conduct regular conferences to discuss curriculum plans and Dreamer performance. This allows Program Directors to plan activities and events that will occur in tandem with the lessons during the regular school hours. Rather than introduce new lessons during after school hours, this complementary design reinforces lessons learned throughout the day.

Software for new computer lab. Most sites include or have access to computer labs, with state of the art computers, printers and software. Dreamers have special projects addressing valuable computer skills such as PowerPoint and Excel.

Summer Programming

IHDF-NY sites provide programming year-round for Dreamers. Summer provides a perfect time to review academic activities of the past school year and prepare for the coming school year. IHDF-NY programs provide a balance of fun summer activities such as camping and swimming with continued academic programming. Some examples of summer activities include:

Rutgers University TARGET Program - Led by four R.U. students and designed by Dr. Evelyn Laffey and Candeice White, a week on campus was adapted from the R.U. TARGET Program specifically for the Dreamers. Every day Dreamers studied building designs, created structures from simple materials (i.e. a building out of rolled up newspapers), and worked as teams to complete the detailed tasks. Dreamers also experienced the lives of real college students during the commuter (day) program, including: Working in R.U. classrooms, attending lectures with college professors, touring the campus and eating in the dining halls.

Field Day – All IHDF-NY sites gather for an afternoon of fun competition in Central Park. IHDF-NY sites are divided into teams which compete in three-legged races, relay races and hula hoop contests. This day gives Dreamers a chance to meet each other during a relaxing day in the sun.

Field Trips – IHDF-NY sites take advantage of their neighborhoods and travel opportunities during the summer months. Sites explore neighborhood businesses such as touring a local bakery and printing press. Other sites enjoy camping trips with tents, campfires and s’mores! Public pools and NYC museums are other popular trips as well as family days to local beaches and Coney Island.

Community service activities

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service – Dreamers across the country dedicate this day to serving their communities. IHDF-NY holds activities at all sites despite the vacation day from school. Dreamers gather to make peace bracelets for battered women’s shelters, create cards for senior centers, create banners to beautify their local schools and hold food drives.

Community beautification – Dreamers participate in projects that help them to connect with their surrounding community. IHDF-NY sites have helped to plant gardens in local parks, paint community centers and identify pedestrian hazards.

Social and cultural enrichment activities 

Museums – IHDF-NY sites are fortunate to be surrounded by many exceptional museums. Dreamers have participated in scavenger hunts through the Metropolitan Museum of Art, sleepovers at the Museum of Natural History, among many other museums.

Concerts – Dreamers take advantage of the vast musical opportunities throughout New York City. Through New York Youth Symphony’s “Get-On Music” program, Dreamers attend concerts at Carnegie Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center. They also attend Broadway shows such as In The Heights.

Arts programming – visual arts, dance, drama 

IHDF-NY makes a commitment to infuse arts and arts education into all our program sites serving. Some programs that are offered at various sites include:

Drama Literacy Theatre Program - Thirty-six second grade Dreamers are participating in a drama literacy program the conducted by a theatre professor and her class from the Eugene M. Lang New School University. At the end of the semester, the youth will present a performance for family and friends.

The New York Writer’s Coalition is sponsoring a creative writing workshop providing Dreamers with the basics of poetry and the opportunity to write their first poems.

Free Arts NYC, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing the healing powers of the arts into the lives of abused, neglected and at-risk children and their families, is working with a site on a number of projects including drawing, sculpting, tie dying and wood work.

The Talking Drum Theatre Arts Program provides teens with opportunity to share ideas, listen and think creatively using acting techniques, role play and group discussions. A Book Design Project is inviting each Dreamer to design a book that reflects their personality. There is no limit to the size or materials used as long as the final product is synonymous with their personality and reflects who they are. The books will be displayed for all to enjoy.

International Center for Photography @ the Point has provided programming to teach technical and artist aspects of photography, including: composition, developing and processing film, working in a dark room, and studio and street photography practices.

The Yendor Arts/C.A.S.T. Theater Program recently completed a feature length Dreamer documentary. The Dreamers at one site were interviewed and worked on final editing.

NYU’s “Kids Acting Out (KAO) Program” brings theater to the lives of underprivileged children in order to improve their social well-being and academic standing. Over a series of workshops this spring, KAO is introducing Dreamers to costuming, set design and construction, rehearsal and performance.

College preparation, visits, and application help 

With college matriculation and graduation as the ultimate goal of each Dreamer, IHDF-NY provides support and advice tailored to each Dreamer.

College Coach” Program - IHDF works with local businesses and volunteer services to pair Dreamers with a College Coach who will help navigate the college application and financial aid process. By encouraging Dreamers to develop relationships with their college coaches long before the actual application process begins, this relationship develops into a true partnership in which the College Coach becomes a true partner with the Dreamer and their family in the application process. The College Coach understands that there are different benefits, talents, strengths, challenges, and limitations for each Dreamer. The long-lasting relationships that Dreamers form with their College Coach allows them to express their aspirations and goals for high school and college while creating a plan for future success.

Health Literacy

Building WellnessTM is an innovative health literacy program created in partnership with the Eugene M. Lang Foundation to address the poor health status that remains with the Dreamers despite increased rates of graduation. IHDF-NY is the pilot site of this important initiative. Through experiential learning with games, activities and medical professionals as guest speakers, the six-year program endeavors to encourage and empower Dreamers to seek, question, process and integrate health information as to obtain the highest standard of health. With family and community support, the program seeks to support Dreamers’ self-efficacy and sense of well-being in conditioning their lives to extend their ambitions and fulfill their aspirations.

Ultimate goals of the program are:

• to reduce obesity rates;
• to reduce hospitalization due to asthma;
• to reduce alcohol and drug use and abuse; and
• to reduce accidental injury rates.

According to an “I Have A Dream” Foundation survey conducted with 77 Dreamers in middle and high school, most Dreamers have received some health education (formal or informal) but nearly 65% think this education has been insufficient. For example, while 76% have received at least some nutrition education, only 47% report knowing how to cook a healthy meal and nearly 50% are reportedly not familiar with the connection between diet and heart disease or Type II Diabetes. In the same survey, about one in four Dreamers reported having difficulty reading nutrition labels, more than one in three admitted to having problems understanding doctors, and nearly one in four Dreamers reported not having a physical in the last year. Thus, there is a need to address Dreamers’ health knowledge and ability.

As defined by the Institute of Medicine, health literacy is the degree to which individuals can obtain, process and understand the basic health information and services they need to make appropriate health decisions. The difference between health education and health literacy education is that while both involve the communication of health information and knowledge, only health literacy education incorporates the development of self-efficacy and personal agency which are necessary for the meaningful implementation of health knowledge.

Pre and post evaluations have shown an increase in Dreamers’ knowledge and ability concerning health issues such as personal values, health hazards, nutrition, and media literacy. The National expansion is planned for the fall of 2009.

Family Involvement
Dreamer families participate in workshop series in conjunction with Healthy Children Healthy Futures^TM and funded by Race with Purpose^TM.

Dreamers share their expertise on topics such as nutrition, physical activity, grocery shopping and cooking. Activities address health literacy skills for the whole family including label reading, recipe reading, total nutrient counts, diabetes information and many other topics. After informational activities that get the Dreamers and their families thinking and/or moving, Dreamers and their families come together to cook a delicious, nutritious meal to share.

Workshops are based on the 8 Habits of Healthy Kids^TM developed by Healthy Children Healthy Futures^TM. These habits encourage small, feasible changes to improve health and wellness of the whole family.

Community Service Activities

Our Dreamers complete many community service projects each year. These include our annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, as well as neighborhood beautification programs at the local sites.

In addition, one of the highlights of our programs in recent years has been our partnership with Community TeamWorks (CTW), a signature volunteering program of Goldman Sachs. Through this annual program, the company encourages every employee to spend a day out of the office and participate in projects that serve the local communities where we work and live. CTW embraces the firm’s long-term commitment to serving its communities worldwide. Goldman Sachs volunteers have recently worked with

IHAD Dreamers and staff on the following projects:

Ravenswood II: "My World and Me - Love Thy Neighborhood" - Gardening and park renewal project

Melrose I & II: “Melrose Makeover” - Painting and revitalizing the Melrose Center

DeHostos Wise: “DeHostos Makeover” - in which Goldman Sachs volunteers, IHDF-NY staff, Dreamers and parents spent the day painting and revitalizing the DeHostos-Wise Center. As a result, the center is bright, colorful place that reflects the personalities of the Dreamers and the culture of the program.