New! Video about our extended-day music program

"I don't wanna fight with people" ..."It's really helping my grades go up."

Yes, music is doing all that and much more.

Kick back and relax as you hear from our students about how creating music helps them express themselves in a healthy manner, feel heard, and feel part of a group--such basic human needs, and you can do it all by creating some tunes.

This video is expertly produced and full of great beats and mature insights from young people finding themselves--take a break from your day to experience the talent we're nurturing at Domus Academy.

Rashid and his TFA teachers and mentor at the big dinner!

Rashid and Stephanie at the Teach For America dinner

Enjoy this great photo of Rashid and Stephanie at the annual TFA dinner, where they brought home the importance of dedicated, high-quality teachers who go the extra mile to transform lives.

Domus Academy shines at annual Teach For America CT dinner

This is a pretty terrible picture, but on the left on the big screen and on the right, brightly illuminated, you can see former Domus Academy student Rashid Whitley addressing the 500+ guests at the annual Teach For America CT dinner at the Greenwich Hyatt last night. TFAer and 2nd-year DA teacher Stephanie Sun also wowed the crowd with an inspiring and funny speech about what it was like to start a school from scratch. (Hint: Very interesting!)

But it was Rashid, more than another other speaker (sorry, Governor!), who brought home what transformational education is all about. Rashid started Domus Academy as "Ra-Ra," as he was known: lacking confidence and not interested in being known for academic success. Ra-Ra was not exactly on the path to big success. But with the persistence of DA staff, Ra-Ra realized he had it in him to be successful. He became highly focused on his grades, "stuffing [his] pockets with review sheets." He became Rashid: a student recognized for high academic achievement who believed in himself and knew he had a future.

Rashid reminded us why schools like Domus Academy and efforts like Teach For America are not just important but vital.

We must reach every student.

Every student can be reached.

We must never give up.

If we don't, we will miss turning Ra-Ras into Rashids, and Rashids can change the world. 

Good stuff coming up!

This Friday is Good-Standing Trip Day, with five of our students attending a fun movie outing in recognition of their hard work to keep their grades up. Many of our students, despite being intellectually capable, have not experienced school success, so treats like this serve to recognize their hard work, motivate them to push through tough times, and show other kids there are benefits to focusing on school. If you want to donate movie tickets or a few games of bowling to congratulate our students, they'd love that!


RED ALERT: On October 27th, our student will roll out, for the very first time, two songs they've written during our extended-day program. They're presenting their songs at Family Night--we'll post them after their premier. Help us grow our music production program by donating any instruments you have at home; a Stamford music store has offered to repair them for free!

"Give me one word which describes Domus Academy."

These were the instructions I put to our students at lunch. Some of their responses were really surprising, and funny, and interesting...some took their time, mulling over their thoughts, while others instantly had a word for me.

Shaquila, Public Ally

A *what*?

Public Allies is a nonprofit organization which develops the next generation of leaders. They place these leaders in other nonprofits to help us achieve our goals. An AmeriCorps program, PA has a "track record of results and impact" which has "led to recognition and honors from the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, The Bridgespan Group [our faves!], McKinsey & Co [another fave!], Fast Company, and others."

Domus has two Allies: Christine, who's working as an educational advocate in our group homes in Stamford, and Shaquila (above), Domus Academy's attendance outreach worker. She works with kids to make a plan so they're at school (and on time!) every day and supports parents and caregivers in their role making that happen. 

You'd be surprised at the barriers which exist for students being timely. What if you're staying with a friend or family member because your family had to give up your apartment? What if staying with someone else meant your school bus wouldn't come get you at your temporary place since you're not on the lease? (true story) What if you can't get a ride and you don't have money for bus tokens? What if your only option for a ride is at 9:30am?...Do you just accept you'll always miss first period?

Bottom line for students: If you're not at school, you're not learning. So Shaquila calls some students at 6am every morning to make sure they're awake and getting ready. She rides the city bus with one every day. She drives to get a young person if he or she hasn't show up at school. She calls moms and caregivers every morning to make sure *they're* up and getting their kids ready--and while she has them on the phone, she talks about job openings if they're unemployed, or skills workshops happening in the city, or upcoming cultural opportunities.

Then she helps everyone--parents and students--make and stick to a plan for getting to school on time, every day.

No blame (what does that solve?)--we just figure it out so students are in school and ready to learn. We're thrilled to partner with Public Allies to have more help in educating a group of talented, bright students who need a different environment in which to succeed. 

Cute kids!

Can't write a whiny post and not give you a taste of what's happening at school...

Kids and staff have a serious discussion after lunch

Hey, what's the deal?

We've been at it (the blog) since June, and only one comment? (No complaints about that one--a big cheer for Maurice!)

But we'd love to hear from you...we know you're out there (we see all the hits--we know you're reading). So tell us what stories you like, which are just meh, and what you'd like to see, and *please * comment on stuff you like.

Like we teach the kids, constructive feedback is good. Don't worry, we can take it. :)

Maybe, to get you started, we'll throw out a list of possible story topics, and you can tell us which sounds good:

• a profile of a family advocate and what his/her day is like
• a profile of a new student
• what our reading specialist does all day
• our Wish List (hint: We help families with Christmas...let us know if you'd like to adopt a child in a family struggling to make ends meet)
• a profile of a returning student
• our approach to extended-day programming and what we do it that way

Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!

Music to their ears

When you're surrounded by dozens of children who love music and who also need to believe in their ability to do great things, what do you do? Well, a lot of things, but one thing you definitely do is start a band! We have some very talented musicians in our student body who are itching to start producing their own music. Luckily, we also employ some talented musicians who've volunteered to help the kids get their musical venture off the ground.

So, we have talented kids and dedicated staff members...but no equipment. Do you have an instrument you can donate? Do you know someone who is connected to a band or music store? Even a few instruments can get us started! Thanks for your help in developing the talents of our young people.

2 to 3 bass guitars
2 to 3 electric guitars
1 to 2 bass amplifiers
1 to 2 electric guitar amplifiers
1 to 2 keyboards
1 to 2 keyboard amplifiers
2 drums sets with hardwear
guitar stands
PA system

You never know what motivational tool will do the trick to help a child push through her academic struggles...often times, it's passions such as music or art. Let's not take the chance we're missing the opportunity to help a student find the one thing in life that can get him through tough times.