Students of Cecil H. Parker Elementary School in Mount Vernon recently got to experience life in the real world—except this new, fully equipped boardroom is just for them exclusively, and it’s right in their own school.
The Henry Allen Educational Foundation solicited funds to create a new resource room geared towards science, math, and technology, which will allow the children to grow intellectually in a clean, modern environment. Anticipation ran high and emotions ran deep as Henry Allen inaugurated the grand opening of the technology room at the end of June.
As an alumnus of the Cecil H. Parker Elementary School, Allen was eager to give back through his educational foundation. The school’s principal, Patricia Clayton-Meed, told Westchester Magazine, “As you know we are in a community that needs so many things and Mr. Allen came to this school and said, ‘Mrs. Meed this is what I would like to do,’ and I was so thrilled.”
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Before the renovations |
The new space is set up with a large oval table as the centerpiece in which twelve new laptops sit. Two large flat screen television sets are mounted on one wall, and a smart board equipped for simultaneous use by three students at a time sits on the opposite wall. The boardroom style of the room immerses students in a realistic corporate setting at a young age and the new equipment can give them the platform to exceed in the corporate world in the future while taking part in exciting learning programs in the here and now.
“The thought pattern was when I went to school, there was nothing to motivate me. Now the world has changed in that these young people will run the country,” Allen said. “So why not have them have the thought pattern of going to work in a corporate environment and become the CEO or CFO of these companies instead of going in on the ground level. Shoot for the stars, if you shoot for the stars and you miss, grab the moon—then you’re okay.”
The speakers visiting the students in the new room will range from meteorologists discussing weather patterns, financial experts explaining the stock exchange, and even bankers showing students how to set up bank accounts in order to prep the students about the career opportunities that could lie ahead. As Allen cut the red ribbon that hung across the resource room door, his excitement was contagious. As the teachers gave up trying to enforce a line, the students rushed inside.
“Those are the faces that will be sitting in that room using the technology,” Mr. Allen said. “The possibilities of what they can become are endless.”
