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Thanks to joint funding by the City and private grants, we are bringing our most effective community-building work to 50 more schools in New York City through Crew Initiative.

Crew Initiative is a New York City Council initiative supported by Speaker Adrienne Adams and Education Committee Chair Rita Joseph and adopted by the Adams Administration in their FY23 city budget. Schools that are part of Crew Initiative work ​with NYC Outward Bound Schools to build the capacity to successfully embed a Crew program and culture in their school communities​.

Crew Initiative Schools:

  • Work with NYC Outward Bound to assess their needs in the areas of social-emotional learning and community-building
  • Develop a data-driven plan to determine what success looks like at their school
  • Receive one-on-one training from a dedicated NYC Outward Bound Schools Crew Coach to meet goals that align with the success plan
  • Join a collective of schools that have similar needs and are in similar places in their Crew implementation process
  • Engage in cohort-based activities with other partner schools both virtually and in-person to help model what Crew looks and feels like

For more information about Crew Initiative, contact Jessica Bardy, Director of Strategic Partnerships at [email protected] or (718) 706-9900 x130.

Watch a video about Crew Initiative Schools:

Is Crew Initiative right for your school?

Here’s what we look for in our applicants:

The Bandwidth/Resource Allocation

  • The willingness and capacity to take on a partnership with NYC Outward Bound Schools.
  • The schedule, staffing and space to support approximately 100 minutes per week of Crew time per student.
    • We work with schools that have existing advisory programs and with schools that don’t. We tailor our partnerships to meet schools where they are.
  • A staff member with the availability and support to lead this work and serve as Crew Guide.
    • This person will:
      • Train one-on-one with an NYC Outward Bound Schools coach to lead implementation of the Crew program.
      • Attend all cohort-wide convenings (which are scheduled periodically through the year).
      • Work with leadership and colleagues to help Crew come alive at their own school.

The Buy-In

  • A school-wide commitment to the “Crew not passengers” ethos, which prioritizes caring for one another, supporting one another and working toward a common goal.
  • The need and desire for growth in the areas of social-emotional learning and community-building.
  • Staff who believe that supporting positive social-emotional outcomes is equally as important as supporting positive academic outcomes, and that the two are intertwined.
  • Shared leadership structures in place (teachers who are used to learning and collaborating together).
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