Nearly 400 New York City business and civic leaders kicked off the 2009-10 PENCIL Partnership Program today by participating in a New York tradition-PENCIL's Principal For A Day event.

"For the past fifteen years, PENCIL has been proudly leading the movement to actively engage the private sector in public education," said PENCIL President Michael Haberman. "On Principal For A Day, our community of Partners sends a clear message: together we can create real change in our public schools."

PENCIL's Partnership Program inspires innovative solutions to the challenges facing public schools by building and supporting customized, long-term relationships between private sector leaders and principals. Each of the Partnerships launched today will work to address the needs of an individual school by leveraging the unique knowledge and expertise of a private sector leader or company team. Throughout the year, PENCIL supports Partners in their efforts to help principals become stronger leaders, build school capacity in such areas as technology and parent engagement, and enhance student learning.

"New York's private sector has been a crucial partner in our efforts to raise achievement and expand opportunities for our students," said Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein. "The hundreds of private sector leaders engaged in PENCIL Partnerships are helping to provide educators, parents, and especially our students with the support they need to succeed. I thank PENCIL and its network of Partners-who year after year, prove to be one of the most powerful resources for New York City principals and their schools."

With 90% of participating principals recently reporting that their PENCIL Partnership has resulted in positive change in their school, demand for the program is higher than ever. Lead sponsor Bank of America Merrill Lynch, along with CA, Scholastic and UPS, support PENCIL's Partnership Program, which has grown to include nearly 400 active Partnerships in New York City, 65 in Rochester, NY, and a select group soon to be launched in Baltimore, MD.

"Building a strong foundation for our children's education is one of the most valuable investments we can make-not just through dollars, but through time, skills, and compassion," said Jeff Barker, New York City President, Bank of America. "As a sponsor and a Partner, Bank of America is proud to support the PENCIL Partnership Program. For all of us, helping to improve our schools is an opportunity we can't afford to waste."

Principal for a Day participants will also celebrate their Partnerships at a luncheon to be held today at Guastavino's in Manhattan, hosted by CNN Anchor and Special Correspondent Soledad O'Brien. Both O'Brien and Guastavino's Executive Chef John Stevenson have school-based Partnerships through PENCIL.

Examples of the hundreds of business leaders participating in PENCIL's Partnership Program at schools throughout the five boroughs include:

Bronx
E. Scott Beattie, Chairman & CEO, Elizabeth Arden Inc.
Jon Klein, President, CNN
Leslie Frank, Partner, Frank & Stern
Brandon Steiner, CEO, Steiner Sports
Michelle Weston, Co-owner, Selling Style, Inc.

Brooklyn
Frank Bisignano, Chief Administrative Officer, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Amy Stursburg, Executive Director, Blackstone Charitable Foundation
Michael Fleisher, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Warner Music Group
John Reinhardt, President & CEO, Fillmore Real Estate
John Lyons, President, Focus Features

Queens
Matthew Higgins, Executive Vice President of Business Operations, NY Jets
Abbe Raven, President & CEO, A&E Television Networks
Jerry Goldman, General Manager/Executive Chef, BR Guest Inc. & James Hotels
Clayton Banks, President, Ember Media Corporation
Joseph Gabriel, Partner, Gabriel & Katsarelis Architects

Manhattan
Terry Lundgren, Chairman, President & CEO, Macy's Inc.
Carla Hendra, Chief Executive Officer, Ogilvy North America
John Stevenson, Executive Chef/Owner, Stevenson Culinary Works
Norma Kamali, Designer/President, Omo Norma Kamali
Liam O'Neil, Managing Director, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Soledad O'Brien, Anchor and Special Correspondent
Dave Barger, President & CEO, JetBlue Airways

Staten Island
Philip Altheim, Principal, Belway Electric
Thomas Thatcher, General Manager, Con Edison Inc.
Anita Sabatino, Managing Director, IBM
Dolores Morris, VP, Family & Documentaries, HBO
William Goetz, Resident Vice President, CSX

To find out how you can get involved in PENCIL's Partnership Program, call 646-638-0565 or visit www.pencil.org.

More information about additional participants and their Partnerships is available upon request.

PENCIL

PENCIL

The nonprofit organization PENCIL (www.pencil.org) inspires innovative solutions to the challenges facing New York City public schools by building and supporting customized relationships between business leaders and principals.

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