Ithaca, NY — New Roots Charter School in downtown Ithaca is excited to welcome Katie Church, Patrick Lynch, and Terrance Vann as staff leaders in EarthForce, the school’s Sustainable Workforce Development Program for Youth.
Supported by organizations such as Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Energy Warriors Program, the Park Foundation, the Town of Ithaca, and the Tompkins County Community Recovery Fund, EarthForce addresses long-term, critical needs for job training in the growing green jobs sector, seeking transformative outcomes for our youth and our community as we adapt to the impacts of global climate change.
Katie Church will serve as our inaugural EarthForce Program Manager with resources provided by the Tompkins County Community Recovery Fund. This role supports the distinctive climate-centered programs at New Roots which include the school Farm, the Cayuga Wetlands Restoration project, the very popular Youth Entrepreneurship Market (YEM), and the school’s green-job focused student internships and work-based learning credits. Katie is a lifelong Ithacan, and comes to New Roots after 15 years of leadership at the Youth Farm Project. She brings extensive experience in community engagement, not-for-profit leadership and land-based education.
“I look forward to supporting New Roots students in making a strong, positive impact on our community,” says Church. “EarthForce offers students the vital experience of engaging in collaborations with the community and each other to address the very real issues that are facing their generation. From caring for berry bushes that feed the community to restoring wetland species that clean our lake water, they are putting into practice critical thinking and real-world problem-solving.”
A cornerstone of the EarthForce program is the Roots of Success curriculum, developed by Dr. Raquel Pinderhughes at San Francisco State University, recognized as a leader in green economy and green workforce training by the federal Department of Labor.
Patrick Lynch is the Environmental Literacy & Work Readiness Educator at the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) of Tompkins County, and teaches the Roots of Success course as an adjunct instructor at New Roots. Lynch has experience working in program management and public service, as well as in secondary education. He previously worked in 4-H Youth Development in the role of Rural Youth Services program manager at Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County.
Roots of Success is a required course at New Roots. Through the curriculum Lynch provides essential education to all New Roots students in environmental literacy, setting the table to prepare them for over 100+ environmental jobs and career pathways, and earns each student an “Environmental Specialist” certificate from the Federal Department of Labor as an approved Pre-Apprenticeship Program and six college credits through TC3’s CollegeNow program.
Muralist Terrance Vann will lead creative efforts for youth to promote awareness of EarthForce through digital media and mural projects. Terrance studied at the School of Visual Arts in NYC and then at the Art Institute in Philadelphia, where he also developed as a designer and graphic artist. His vividly colorful work uses education as a focal point in his practice. (Google him!)
At New Roots Terrance curates First Friday Gallery Nights, opening the school to the community. The community is invited to join us in December for a student and staff Art and Music Night, where everyone in the school body is invited and encouraged to share something they have created – visual art, music or sculpture. “I’m grateful to be present at New Roots to offer creative opportunities for students to discover their abilities and potential to make something special,” said Vann.
Terrance also oversees the school’s social media and marketing, and together with the art team he will guide students in designing and creating multiple small EarthForce-focused murals around the school and a larger, public mural in town this coming Spring.
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New Roots Charter School is a tuition-free public charter school serving grades 9-12 that is open to any young person who is eligible to attend high school in New York State. Offering a private school education at a public school price (free to students!), young people prepare for lives of passion and purpose as they prepare to create and embrace new 21st century life opportunities through career and college preparation. Visit newrootsschool.org to learn more.
For more information, contact Michael Mazza, Director of Community Engagement at New Roots Charter School, at mmazza@newrootsschool.org.