LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the Begin-
ning with Children Foundation, Inc.

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize and pay
tribute to those individuals and organizations who are committed to
enhancing the quality of education in the State of New York, and which
enable our schools to offer excellent educational programs in the most
efficient manner; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the 20th Anniversary of the Beginning with Children Foundation,
Inc., to be celebrated on Thursday, June 17, 2010; and
WHEREAS, Founded in 1989 by Joe and Carol Reich, the Beginning with
Children Foundation (BwCF) advocates for high academic standards and
accountability in public education to ensure that low-income, histor-
ically underserved children receive the quality education they deserve;
the Foundation is the institutional partner to two charter schools in
Brooklyn--Beginning with Children Charter School (BwCCS) and Community
Partnership Charter School (CPCS); both schools provide responsive,
nurturing and challenging academic environments for the children and
communities they serve; and
WHEREAS, The Beginning with Children Foundation is closing the
achievement gap that divides minority children in non-affluent communi-
ties from their more affluent peers by supporting the development of
projects and programs that use best practices in teaching, learning and
organizational design to foster high academic achievement; and
WHEREAS, More than 1,300 children have benefited from the schools'
unique learning environment, where personalized instruction, dynamic
teaching strategies, and analytical assessment help students master a
rigorous academic curriculum and develop a life-long love of learning;
the success of the schools' strategic approach is clearly validated by
results on city and state standardized tests, in which BwCF students
have consistently outperformed both neighboring schools and schools
city-wide; and
WHEREAS, When BwCF launched the Beginning with Children School in
1992, which eventually became Beginning with Children Charter School in
2001, its mission was not merely to establish a school providing a qual-
ity education to children in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, it
was also intended to have a far-reaching impact on all children in the
public school system, by becoming a model of how a school could offer
the highest quality academic environment to a diverse body of students;
and
WHEREAS, Its conversion to charter status was at the request of the
Chancellor of the City of New York, making it one of the first K-8
public charter schools in New York State; and
WHEREAS, BwCF's mission took another leap forward with the launch of a
second school, the Community Partnership Charter School, which opened in
Brooklyn's Fort Greene section in 2000, and later moved to the nearby
Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn; modeled after the first school's
successful formula, CPCS was the fruit of a partnership with local
parents and chartered by the Trustees of the State University of New
York; and
WHEREAS, Because the Foundation deliberately chose different authoriz-
ers to charter its schools, the two schools together provide a wealth of
data on what structures, qualities, and characteristics contribute to
high quality education; that particular information forms the basis for
BwCF's roadmap for change in the public school system as a whole, as the

Foundation mentors, inspires, and advises other existing and prospective
charters; and
WHEREAS, With just cause and true purpose, this Legislative Body is
pleased to recognize the significant contributions that the Beginning
with Children Foundation has given to education in the State of New
York; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the Beginning with Children Founda-
tion, Inc.; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Joe and Carol Reich.