Senate Resolution No. 2263

BY: Senator PARKER

COMMENDING Learning & Educational Solutions, Inc.,
upon the occasion of hosting its 10th Anniversary
Community Block Party on June 6, 2026

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize and
pay tribute to those organizations of high purpose and worthy
accomplishment whose enduring commitment to educational equity, crisis
intervention, and the empowerment of at-risk youth has enriched the
civic life of the State of New York; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
commend Learning & Educational Solutions, Inc., (L.E.S., Inc.) upon the
occasion of hosting its 10th Anniversary Community Block Party on
Saturday, June 6, 2026; and

WHEREAS, Learning & Educational Solutions, Inc., founded in 2016, is
a Minority Woman-Owned Business and 501(c)(3) nonprofit that specializes
in non-pedagogical intervention services for at-risk, over-aged, and
under-credited students and their families, operating under the mission
of "ROADs: Removing Obstacles and Achieving Dreams - one family, one
student, one community at a time"; and

WHEREAS, L.E.S., Inc., serves as an Educational Crisis Team,
partnering with schools across New York City to identify and address the
root causes of the obstacles that prevent students from graduating and
utilizing their signature ROAD 2 Model to guide students toward
self-efficacy, graduation, and a future beyond the dropout crisis; and

WHEREAS, At the heart of L.E.S., Inc., is its Founder and Executive
Director, Tawana Butler-Batts, an MPA-credentialed, MWBE-certified
leader who has spent more than 20 years developing and overseeing
out-of-school time programming in New York City's most underserved
communities; and

WHEREAS, A former paraprofessional, in-house substitute teacher, and
school and community liaison, Tawana Butler-Batts has served as a bridge
among schools, families, and the communities they call home throughout
her career; as the co-founder of Be Seen Being Green, Inc., and the
architect of community initiatives, including Well Done, New York City,
the Leaders of Tomorrow forum, and the Together We Can Health Street
Fairs, she has received proclamations from the Mayor of Miami-Dade
County and the Honorable Mayor Bill de Blasio in recognition of her
extraordinary community impact; and

WHEREAS, Today, through her Road 2 Graduation Program, Tawana
Butler-Batts continues to be, as she has always been, a staple in the
community and a force in the ever-changing educational system; and

WHEREAS, The 10th Anniversary Community Block Party is a celebration
of ten years of this extraordinary work - ten years of students kept in
school, families supported through crisis, and futures made possible
through the stubborn insistence that giving up is not an option; and


WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is proudly moved to honor L.E.S.,
Inc., its founder, Tawana Butler-Batts, and its staff, students,
families, and community partners whose decade of service stands as proof
that when an organization truly believes in young people, those young
people rise; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend Learning & Educational Solutions, Inc., upon the occasion of
hosting its 10th Anniversary Community Block Party on June 6, 2026, and
to extend heartfelt congratulations to Tawana Butler-Batts and the
entire L.E.S., Inc., family for ten years of "Removing Obstacles and
Achieving Dreams"; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Tawana Butler-Batts, Founder and Executive Director, and
the leadership, staff, and community of Learning & Educational
Solutions, Inc., in recognition of their decade of dedicated service to
the students and families of New York City.