Ms. Cathy for Team New City

In our city schools last year, only 44% of African-American children in grades 3-8 passed both their reading and math end-of-grade tests. Did New City students fare any better? They did! 93% of our students were working at or above grade level at the end of last year. Even more important, however, is that New City students embrace learning with great enthusiasm, and are discovering that their lives have value and purpose. Upon learning that the school would be adding 4th grade in the fall, one of our students grabbed her Mom's arm and asked, "Does that mean that I get to STAY here?" After responding "Yes!", Mom and daughter both began to cry. This fall we hope to be serving 50 students in grades K-4, with the eventual goal of offering pre-K through 8th grade, right in the midst of a neighborhood better known for drug use and gang violence than for academic excellence. I have volunteered for this wonderful school for 5 years, watching these children grow in their ability to love God, themselves, and others, and seeing the emergence in them of the knowledge, confidence, and hope that New City seeks to impart as its mission. Help me keep this wonderful opportunity alive for some of the most vulnerable children in Asheville!