15th Anniversary Celebration at the de Young Museum
On May 21, 2009, Partners in School Innovation celebrated its
15th anniversary with an evening event at the de Young Museum
in San Francisco. Sponsored by Wells
Fargo and Ventana
Vineyards, the event brought together more than 250 PartnersSI
alumni, educators, donors and supporters from the community to
celebrate in the organization's achievements and future vision.
PartnersSI's
Chair of the Board, Gary Steele, set the stage for inspiring speeches
from outgoing Executive Director, Becky Crowe Hill, and incoming
Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Derek
Mitchell.
Crowe Hill paid tribute to PartnersSI's co-founders, Julien Phillips
and Kim Grose, for the birth of a vision that has led to the organization's
success today: "They imagined something that others hadn't done
before and perhaps couldn't conceive of -- the potential to use
the national service movement to partner with low-income public
schools in ways that would lead to transformational change for
every child and adult in the building."
Dr.
Mitchell moved the crowd with a speech that traced back to his
roots growing up in an all-black neighborhood in Chicago. In describing
the educational disparities which he experienced and understands
so deeply, Dr. Mitchell emphasized the core need for higher quality
teaching and how Partners in School Innovation addresses this
need. "Right there, in that interaction between the child in need,
and struggling teacher, in that gap, where an adult's demoralization
leads to a child's disassociation, firmly stands Partners in School
Innovation." Dr. Mitchell also described his enthusiasm to lead
PartnersSI to new heights. "I am so excited to be here at the
start of this next phase of PartnersSI's journey. Julien's vision,
Becky's heart, and the staff's hard work have set us on the path
to extraordinary results for kids."
Brandon
Santiago, poet and Program Associate from Youth Speaks, delivered
beautiful spoken word about his life story and illustrated the
power of education to empower young people to find their voices
and change the world. Finally, PartnersSI unveiled a new video
that features its alumni, staff and testimonials from its partners
in schools and the philanthropic community.
Outside the program, guests enjoyed jazz music by the Danny
Heines Trio and viewed school children's artwork from the
Young at Art exhibit co-sponsored by The Visual and Performing
Arts Office of the San Francisco Unified School District and the
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
On behalf of everyone from Partners in School Innovation,
thank you to all our supporters who came out to celebrate with
us.
Thank you to our sponsors:
More photos from the event
PartnersSI staff gather for a group shot
Guests stroll and enjoy children's art from the Youth at Art
Exhibit
PartnersSI's
Chair of the Board, Gary Steele, set the stage for inspiring speeches
from outgoing Executive Director, Becky Crowe Hill, and incoming
Dr.
Mitchell moved the crowd with a speech that traced back to his
roots growing up in an all-black neighborhood in Chicago. In describing
the educational disparities which he experienced and understands
so deeply, Dr. Mitchell emphasized the core need for higher quality
teaching and how Partners in School Innovation addresses this
need. "Right there, in that interaction between the child in need,
and struggling teacher, in that gap, where an adult's demoralization
leads to a child's disassociation, firmly stands Partners in School
Innovation." Dr. Mitchell also described his enthusiasm to lead
PartnersSI to new heights. "I am so excited to be here at the
start of this next phase of PartnersSI's journey. Julien's vision,
Becky's heart, and the staff's hard work have set us on the path
to extraordinary results for kids." 
Brandon
Santiago, poet and Program Associate from Youth Speaks, delivered
beautiful spoken word about his life story and illustrated the
power of education to empower young people to find their voices
and change the world. Finally, PartnersSI unveiled a new 
