New York, May 14, 2005-- Students of the I-LEAD program (the Institute for Leadership, Excellence, and Academic Development) at Bank Street College of Education will spend a day performing community service by cleaning up areas of Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx.

On Saturday, May 14th starting at 10:30 a.m., five groups composed of roughly twenty students each will take part in "It's My Parks Day" at Pelham Bay Park. Work will include:

• Beach Clean-Up
• Planting of a Butterfly Garden
• Removal of Invasive Plant Species
• Restoring a trail

These one hundred I-LEAD students are performing this community service as part of their commitment to their participation in the I-LEAD program. Additionally, students will be educated by Park employees on various ways to assume leadership roles to help improve our environment. One concept that will be introduced to students is how we can compost some of our daily garbage so it can be recycled into rich soil used for planting.

Background: A group of highly motivated youngsters drawn from six inner-city Catholic high schools, the I-LEAD students participate in a special college preparatory program run by Bank Street College that readies them for admittance to top-tier colleges and universities. A major I-LEAD goal is to help them acquire the skills to become future leaders in their respective communities. Established by the Goldman Sachs Foundation, and based at Bank Street College of Education, the I-LEAD program selects students from Aquinas, Cardinal Hayes, Rice, Cardinal Spellman, All Hallows, and Mount St. Ursula high schools, using a lengthy and rigorous nomination and application process.

The I-LEAD program aims to enlarge the pool of young people who can take advantage of the rigorous education needed to succeed in a global economy. I-LEAD provides its students with opportunities they might not have had otherwise. These include, but are not limited to, travel abroad, enrichment programs, Saturday and summer workshops and activities, and intense one-on-one counseling and guidance.

"I-LEAD enables our students to expand their horizons and develop their creativity,≈ says Bank Street≠s Richard Rivera, the Director of the program. ≥The new limitations on affirmative action make it increasingly more difficult for inner-city youngsters to achieve their potential. Programs such as I-LEAD simply help level the playing field. Our young people are given the opportunity to work hard to achieve their goals. They understand that with all these opportunities comes the responsibility to give back to their communities. We selected a park in the Bronx because that≠s where our kids come from."

###