Last month, Novelette Peterkin, executive director of the Carver Foundation of Norwalk, drove down to Virginia State University to personally congratulate “Jasmine,” one of the graduates of the Class of 2014. “It was a very humbling and emotional moment for me because Jasmine”™s determination and achievement were extraordinary given her background,” Peterkin recalled.
Jasmine joined Carver”™s after-school program as a young high school student. It was a difficult time in her life. Her father died when she was 5 and her mother struggled with substance abuse. “From the beginning, I could see how determined Jasmine was to succeed,” Peterkin said. “She came to class every day by taking the bus from Stamford and she excelled in our classes. There was no question she wanted to go to college and she earned the grades to do so.”
When the time came to consider colleges, Jasmine confided in Peterkin that Virginia State University was the school she wanted to attend. Assisted by a scholarship from Norwalk Community College, Jasmine graduated with honors and a semester ahead of schedule from Virginia State. She will pursue a master”™s degree, with a career in teaching or social work on the horizon.
Jasmine”™s success story is one of several that Peterkin has witnessed during her 10-year tenure at Carver. During that period, the nonprofit has significantly expanded to become Norwalk”™s largest provider of free after-school programs for economically challenged and academically at-risk middle and high school students. Currently, there are 817 students in the program. About 25 percent come from Norwalk”™s middle school population.
Classes are held at both Carver”™s Norwalk facility as well as at the schools within the district and are taught by a faculty of 150 part-time teachers and assistant teachers.
“We have been recognized by the state Education Department as a model program,” she said. She called Carver a “win-win” for the community. “By helping students to perform better, they go on to become productive and income-producing members of the community,” she said, specifically citing the tax base benefits. “At the same time, Carver has become a vitally important partner of Norwalk”™s public schools in the shared mission of raising students”™ academic performance.”
Last year, Carver celebrated its 75th anniversary. It was founded in 1938 as a neighborhood community center, named after George Washington Carver, the scientist, educator and inventor. Under Peterkin”™s direction, Carver”™s youth development program expanded in 2008 in the Carver Community Center and in Norwalk”™s four middle and two high schools. The program includes tutoring, instruction in math and science, robotics, literacy, life skills, creative writing and SAT and other college prep instruction.
Carver”™s client base has about doubled over the past three years, from 435 students in 2010-11 to more than 800 today. Continued incremental growth is planned toward achieving the 2020 goal of 90 percent of all Norwalk public school students graduating on time and college ready.
The Carver method works. “Since 2005, every high school student we have worked with has graduated, some becoming the first generation in their family to go to college like Jasmine,” Peterkin said.
Carver emphasizes close bonding with teachers, a relationship that Peterkin knows firsthand based on her experience of growing up in Jamaica. “My sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. McKenzie, inspired me to become a leader,” she said. “She did that by empowering me to take the initiative like standing in front of and addressing the class.” Mrs. McKenzie”™s influence was so pivotal that the two of them have maintained a close relationship since Peterkin and her family came to the U.S.
Peterkin”™s mother also helped to shape Peterkin”™s future. “She said I could be what I wanted to be no matter what.” She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Mercy College and an MBA in management from the University of New Haven. Prior to working for Carver, she served for nearly 10 years as assistant director of residential services for Andrus Children”™s Center in Yonkers, N.Y.
Peterkin sees her role primarily as a cheerleader, encouraging students to pursue their dreams. “I tell them that their achievement is solely their own because they did the work.” Similarly, she salutes Carver”™s many supporters for their generosity that has enabled the organization to fulfill its mission.
Under Peterkin”™s leadership, Carver was recently named “Nonprofit of the Year” by the Norwalk Chamber of Commerce.
The Winners Circle profiles successful businesswomen and successful attorneys, both men and women.
We would like to get a copy of the actual Journal; where can we find one?