Tyeress Manley, a 10^th grader at In-Tech Academy MS/HS 368 in Marble Hill, recalled hearing about Paint Club from a couple of friends. They had visited one of his classes and had told him that the club was a great way to relieve stress, and at the same time, have fun. He decided to go to the first meeting.

 

The club ended up exceeding Tyeress’s expectations. He told Norwood News, “My expectations were to finish painting one project within five weeks,” the student said. “We ended up doing that in less time.”

 

Paint Club is a gateway, introductory program run by Publicolor, an innovative, educational, youth development organization that empowers students facing immense life challenges for academic and career success, through a multi-year, project-based continuum of programs. One of these programs is Paint Club.

 

According to Publicolor’s website, up to 100 students from a number of struggling City schools participate in the 10-week, after-school program for 18 hours per week, where they transform their school’s public spaces from cold and institutional to warm and inspirational. The objectives of the program are to transform the school’s environment, learn commercial painting skills, develop project management skills, learn transferable work habits and dive into community building.

 

Tyeress said one day during the program stood out from the rest. “I went to Publicolor on a Saturday,” he said. “I decided to come in regular clothes. I got to do [a] workstation. I had the best time! I spilled so much paint on myself that I looked like a paint monster!”

 

On March 30, District 11 Councilman Eric Dinowitz presided over an awards ceremony at the school to honor the 40 local students, including Tyeress, who graduated from the paint club program. Through the City educational initiative, Cultural After School Adventures (CASA), as part of the funding for fiscal year 2022, Dinowitz’s office allocated funding to Publicolor to run the program. The CASA initiative brings high-quality arts partnerships to New York City public schools, particularly in underserved communities.

 

According to the latest available Community District Profile for Marble Hill which is based in Community District 8, along with Kingsbridge, Spuyten Duyvil, Fieldston, Riverdale and North Riverdale, less than half (40.3 percent) of the residents of the district aged 25 and over have attained a Bachelor’s degree or higher, while the median household income is $47,000. The district profile also shows that 15.8 percent of residents have incomes below the New York City poverty threshold. [The district profiles are due to be updated in 2022 to take account of the latest 2020 census data.]

 

Maritza Santana, dean of Grades 9-12 at In-Tech Academy, confirmed the school received the grant from Dinowitz’s office for the program. As part of the grant, she said the school was given several options for how to spend the money. One of those was working with Publicolor on their learning continuum. “I saw what the mission was and I thought it would be a great opportunity for our students,” Santana told Norwood News.

 

After operating under a remote learning environment for over a year due to the pandemic, Santana said she recognized the positive effect Paint Club had on the school. “It provided some normalcy for the kids, a great opportunity for them to have fun with art and paint and reconnect in person,” she said.

 

The awards ceremony took place in the school’s auditorium, located at 2975 Tibbett Avenue, and was hosted by Publicolor, which operates citywide. Irma Nepomuceno, director of school and community relations at the nonprofit, said the program started on the week of January 10 and ended on April 1. The Paint Club after-school meetings were held at In-Tech Academy on Tuesdays through Fridays from 2:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. as well as on Saturdays.

 

Over the 10 weeks, middle school and high school students, between the ages of 12 and 18, painted the walls of the guidance counselor’s office, parts of the cafeteria, and the staircases from the first floor to the third floor. Dinowitz said he had actually attended one of the Paint Club meetings on a Saturday over the course of the program. “When they go to high school and college, and then get a job, they aren’t going to remember what their score was on the ELA [English Language Arts] exams,” he said of the program. “They are going to be deeply impacted by the experiences they had here.”

 

He went on to emphasized why the awards ceremony was perhaps more important to them than how they performed on their English Language Arts (ELA) exams. “You are here today celebrating not a test score,” Dinowitz said. “You are here today celebrating that you made your school and community better. You improved the community. Now, when people walk up the stairs, they feel good. They feel excited!”

 

Nepomuceno invited Sarah Warner, site leader for Publicolor, as well as Javier Pena and Joel Rivera, both alumni of Publicolor, onstage during the ceremony to help hand out the awards. During her remarks, she thanked all the students for what they had accomplished. “I could be brought to tears with the amount of hard work, dedication, and perseverance you have all demonstrated in the past 10 weeks,” she said. “Painting in school is a big job. You wanted to make a difference. I felt it. Our staff felt it.”

 

David Weissberg, principal at In-Tech Academy, echoed those sentiments. “I am super proud of every one of you,” he said. “You guys are so committed to the values we have: commitment, growth, teamwork. Thank you so much for your time and dedication!”

 

Every day In-Tech Academy students attended a Paint Club meeting they received a point. Students who attended on Saturday were given an extra point. Anyone who went above and beyond, by taking up leadership roles or spending extra time helping the Publicolor team, also received extra points. Nepomuceno announced the names of the students who had received between 10 and 30 points during the awards ceremony.

 

Students who met that criterion later walked up on stage to receive their certificates. Nepomuceno then read the names of the students in the top five. These students had accumulated over 50 points by attending every Saturday meeting, as well as receiving extra points for taking on greater responsibility. Tyeress Manley ended up finishing in third place.

 

Reflecting on his experience in the Paint Club, Tyeress acknowledged that it made him more than just a better painter. “I learned to be a better person, and not judge someone based on the first appearance,” he said. “I met a lot of people who seemed very nervous at first. I would say that they are close friends now.”

 

The accomplished student said he had a message for future Paint Club participants. “Work a little bit more to your limits,” he said. “I feel like a lot of people try to hurry up a lot with the painting. It becomes more fun when you express your feelings and paint slowly and give it your soul.”

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.