Actors, Directors, Athletes, and CEOs Report to the Principal's Office and Go Back to School on Principal For A Day

NEW YORK, Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 700 New Yorkers will experience firsthand the achievements and challenges of New York City public schools and their principals during PENCIL's (Public Education Needs Civic Involvement in Learning) 12th Annual Principal For A Day. Private sector volunteers from a wide array of New York City businesses will shadow and support principals at schools in all five boroughs.

This year's focus on recruiting business people to visit schools in boroughs outside of Manhattan paid off, with 75% of Principals for a Day serving in public schools in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.
During the day, "PFADs" will greet students; read morning announcements; attend classes, assemblies, and operational meetings; and most importantly, discuss school needs, ideas and plans for developing year-long partnerships with their school principals. This day marks the first step in the creation of hundreds of commitments between New York City business leaders and their partner principals.

Partners collaborate on projects and activities in a variety of areas, including capital improvements, career awareness, curriculum development, fundraising, leadership development, parental involvement, and technology.
"The hundreds of business/school partnerships that have been developed through PENCIL's efforts are critical to giving all our City's students the quality education they need and deserve," said Chancellor Joel Klein. "I am especially pleased with the diversity of this year's group of Principals for a Day -- from all parts of the City, from many different kinds and sizes of businesses.

This human capital -- provided through the Principal for a Day's resources and expertise -- is the most valuable gift that can be given to our students."
For more than a decade, Principal For A Day -- organized annually by PENCIL, in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education and sponsored by Merrill Lynch and Citigroup -- has been a primary vehicle for private sector engagement in New York City public schools. The program has evolved from a one-day awareness event to an agent for creating school-based partnerships with the private sector.

"Education is at the heart of any successful business enterprise," said Eddy Bayardelle, president of the Merrill Lynch Foundation. "So, it makes sense for businesses to connect with public schools and the students. We commend PENCIL for designing one the most efficient, successful and sustainable ways of involving business in education.

Those who have seen Principal For A Day know that the volunteers don't just spend a day at their school -- they stay engaged long-term to provide invaluable ongoing support to the schools and students."
"PENCIL is so pleased that so many of our City's business leaders are making a commitment to a public school," said Programs Director Gayle Villani. "Our organization is in a unique position to provide the private sector with the support and technical assistance that will help these partnerships flourish throughout the school year.

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* Maryam Banikarim, Chief Marketing Officer of Univision Communications Inc., at Science Skills Center High School, 49 Flatbush Avenue * Frank Bisignano, Chief Administrative Officer of JP Morgan Chase, at * Actress Lorraine Bracco, "Dr. Jennifer Melfi" on HBO's The Sopranos, at her alma mater, McKinley Park PS 127, 7805 7th Ave, Brooklyn, NY * Bob Catell, Chairman and CEO of Keyspan, at the New Utrecht High * Frank Comerford, President and General Manager of WNBC, at PS 102, 211 * Brooklyn Industries Founder Lexy Funk, at the International Arts * Earl Graves, Founder and Publisher of Black Enterprise Magazine, at his alma mater, the High School for Youth and Community Development at * Actor and Director Spike Lee, at JHS 113, 300 Adelphi Street, * Author Jonathan Lethem, at the Urban Assembly of Arts and Letters, 225 * Lisa Price, Creator and Founder of Carol's Daughter Inc.

, at MS 57, * Silda Wall, Founder and President of the Children For Children Foundation, at PS 108, 200 Linwood Street, Brooklyn, NY, 11208 * New Jersey Nets CEO Brett Yormark, at the ACORN Community High School, * BET commentator Julissa Bermudez, at PS 123, 145-01 119th Ave, South * Designer Dana Buchman, at PS 219, 144-39 Gravett Road, Flushing, NY * Kim Fennebresque, CEO of SG Cowen Securities, at PS 129, 128-02 7th * Jeffrey Gural, Chairman of Newmark Knight Frank, at PS 45, 126-28 * David Neeleman, Chairman and CEO of JetBlue, at Beach Channel High * Abbe Raven, CEO of A E Television, at Humanities and the Arts Magnet * Suzanne Wright, NBC, at PS 255Q, 158-40 76th Road, Flushing, NY 11336 at York College, 94-50 159th Street, Jamaica, NY 11451 * Jeffrey Aronsson, CEO of Donna Karan International, at IS 10, 2581 * Disney's Cheetah Girl Adrian Bailon, at PS 15, 333 E 4th Street, * June Beckstead, Vice President of Design for Sears Holding, at Fashion * Frank Bennack, Chairman of Lincoln Center, at the High School of Arts, Imagination and Inquiry, 122 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10023 * Paul Caine, Publisher of The PEOPLE Group, at IS 117, 240 East 109th * Lisa Caputo, President of Women and Co. at Citigroup, at PS 198, 1700 * Jeffrey Edwards, CFO of Merrill Lynch, at Stuyvesant High School, 345 * Michael Gould, Chairman and CEO of Bloomingdale's, at PS 59, 228 E. * Lew Leone, Vice President and General Manager, Fox 5/My 9, at Vanguard * Robert Sillerman, Founder of SFX Entertainment and owner of the Elvis Presley estate, at PS 290, 311 East 82nd Street, New York, NY 10028 * E.

Scott Beattie, Chairman and CEO of Elizabeth Arden, at MS 142, 3750 * Peter Boneparth, CEO of the Jones Apparel Group, at the Global * Bobbi Brown, CEO of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, at Jane Addams High School, * New York Knick Jamal Crawford, at PS 58, 459 E. 176th Street, Bronx, * Donny Deutsch, Chairman of Deutsch Inc., at Hospital Schools, 3450 * Jay Cross, President of the New York Jets, at the Pablo Neruda Academy for Architecture, 1980 Lafayette Ave, Bronx, NY 10473 * Robert Friedman, CEO of Loehmann's, at Pelham Preparatory High School, * Author Fran Lebowitz, at IS 254, 2452 Washington Ave, Bronx, NY 10458 * Jeff Berardelli, WCBS Weatherman, at IS 34, 528 Academy Ave, * John Caltabiano, Director of the Staten Island Zoo, at IS 24, 225 * Addy Manipella, Director of the Staten Island Children's Museum, at * Heather Miller, Marketing Manager at Time For Kids, at PS 22, 1860 If you are interested in shadowing a Principal For A Day, please contact Nastassia Lopez at PENCIL.

The day will conclude with a "Principal For A Day Celebration," at 1:30 pm at Tavern on The Green. Both Principals For A Day and principals will be in attendance to share future partnership goals and objectives.
PENCIL (Public Education Needs Civic Involvement in Learning) was founded in 1995 to galvanize and coordinate meaningful civic involvement in New York City public education to improve student achievement.

Its flagship program, Principal For A Day, has paired over 7,000 New Yorkers from the private sector with the city's schools. This and other PENCIL programs foster hundreds of long-term partnerships with schools, and generate millions of dollars worth of donations of cash, goods, and services for schools and school districts. PENCIL's programs serve as national and international models of private sector engagement in public education.