HISTORY OF ANCHOR
In 2001, ANCHOR was established as a non-profit organization in New York City dedicated to maximizing the academic and social potential of vulnerable youth from poverty stricken communities. ANCHOR grew out of the belief that underserved, low-income, youth often need more than a quality education in order to experience success. For many students, the challenge of balancing school work with the difficulties and obstacles they face in their own communities and homes is often impossible. ANCHOR developed a unique and comprehensive boarding school model that addresses the issues faced by these youth.
In 2002, ANCHOR partnered with Catherine McAuley High School in Brooklyn, NY to launch New York City's first boarding school program for low-income youth. ANCHOR's boarding model offers a highly structured, five-day urban boarding school program for low-income youth. The program is designed to help underperforming students achieve their full academic potential and prepares them to lead successful lives beyond high school. Boarders live on the school grounds in a dormitory during the academic week and return home each weekend and during the summer to be with their families. Students adhere to a set daily schedule involving extracurricular activities, a mandatory two-hour study hall, and residential responsibilities, therefore ensuring that all time out of the classroom is a supervised, productive, and a meaningful learning experience. This model is an integrated approach that provides a highly supportive twenty-four hour educational environment offering consistency with its structure, values, and goals while reinforcing positive study habits, behaviors, and achievement.
The boarders in the pilot achieved many successes and their accomplishments proved the effectiveness of ANCHOR's model. Each year, the students in the program have been recognized for both their academic achievements and community service. In addition, several of the boarders have held positions of leadership in school year after year. Since the program's inception, 100% of the nearly seventy-two graduates have been accepted to college with scholarships and financial aid. Some are the first in their families to graduate from high school; many will be the first to attend college.
ANCHOR's success with its pilot program at Catherine McAuley High School inspired a replication of its model at Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School in Brooklyn, NY. This new program opened in September 2006 and is currently serving twenty-five young male teens.
ANCHOR has touched the lives of hundreds of young people in New York City who have faced overwhelming obstacles to short and long term success. Through participation in ANCHOR's programs these students are now able to really thrive. They are achieving academically, exploring their talents and interests, and making meaningful contributions to their community. ANCHOR's work has not only prepared students for learning each day but has transformed the lives of urban youth by enabling them to reach their full potential and setting them on the path to a prosperous adulthood.
ORGANIZATIONAL UPDATE
Over the past few years, Boys Hope Girls Hope New York (BHGHNY) has assumed responsibility for the full management of the two boarding school programs established by ANCHOR. As of the fall of 2009, BHGHNY, a widely recognized non-profit organization serving academically capable children-in-need, is now serving sixty-five students between the boarding programs at the Catherine McAuley High School and Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School, both of which were originally launched by ANCHOR.
ANCHOR and BHGHNY share a similar mission and approach to bettering young people’s lives, and the joining of resources of each organization presents a valuable opportunity to ensure the continued success of these residential boarding programs while also supporting BHGHNY’s goals for expansion. As part of this integration, the majority of ANCHOR’s Directors have joined BHGHNY’s Board of Directors to lend their experience and expertise to the common goal of serving New York’s children-in-need. By combining the strengths of each organization, BHGHNY is now poised to achieve an even greater impact moving forward. BHGHNY’s goal for the future is to expand the program at Bishop Loughlin by increasing the number of students served to forty young men, and to identify and pursue opportunities to operate additional boarding residence sites in the years ahead.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For all inquiries regarding ANCHOR please contact Barbara Welles Iler at 646-248-8242 or by email at Barbara@anchor-nyc.org
For any inquiries regarding the boarding programs at Catherine McAuley High School or Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School please contact Chris Perry at 718-984-8466 or by email at cperry@bhgh.org
For more information on Boys Hope Girls Hope New York please check the website at www.bhghny.org or contact Executive Director, Chris Perry at 718-984-8466 or by email at cperry@bhgh.org
