An Evening with Author Katherine Kinzler
Dear Families and Friends of the Hurley School,
The Neighborhood Parents for the Hurley School (NPHS) wants to offer you our sincerest thanks for your continued support during this unprecedented and challenging year. The pandemic brought many changes to how we live, learn and experience community. Like so many organizations, we at NPHS were left questioning our best path forward. Facing two years without ¡Tropicaliente!, our annual spring gala and largest fund-raising event, we decided to offer a series of scaled down, more intimate gatherings.
Thanks to your generosity we have raised over $16,000 and had a lot of fun seeing everyone online as we cooked, tasted and created together! However, we are still hoping to raise the additional funds necessary to sustain the services, supplies and infrastructure improvements we provide each year to the Hurley School. For this reason, in lieu of ¡Tropicaliente!, we are asking you to join us for one final fundraising event to reaffirm our purpose as a multicultural, dual-language community.
On Thursday, May 13th at 7pm, we are honored to host an evening with Katherine Kinzler, Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago and author of the new book, How You Say It: Why You Talk the Way You Do and What It Says About You. Prof. Kinzler has been called “one of the most brilliant young psychologists of her generation” thanks to her groundbreaking research regarding speech, identity and bias. How You Say It explores the ways language, accent and dialect influence our identities, perceptions and behavior towards others. Prof. Kinzler demonstrates how humans are innately partial to those with similar speech and yet linguistic discrimination is often overlooked as an important element of social justice. Join NPHS and Prof. Kinzler to learn about her findings and to understand how early exposure to multiple languages can help children transcend prejudice and bridge cultural divides.
While we cannot celebrate in-person this spring, we can meet virtually for a lively discussion about a thought-provoking book that touches on our core values as a school. In the words of Professor Kinzler, “language can divide us, but it can also bring us together.” Please join us! While this event is being offered free to Hurley families and staff, we encourage those who are able to donate to NPHS so that the Hurley School might continue its important work.
The mission of NPHS is to bridge the gaps in funding that the Hurley receives from Boston Public Schools. In past years, 80% of our annual budget was covered by ¡Tropicaliente!; its loss has greatly impacted our budget. Over seventy percent of students at the Hurley are living in high poverty and a large portion are English language learners. Your donations help to ensure that every student has the resources necessary to succeed in their current environment and thrive in their future.
Literacy Interventions and Special Education Support
$1,000 will provide for our students who need an extra level of support. NPHS funds literacy intervention sessions for students needing guided reading practice in English and Spanish, and provides materials for special education teachers and school therapists.
STEAM Programing
$500 will help cover the costs of providing materials and technology to ensure our students have what they need to succeed in the classroom.
Improve our Outdoor Playspace
$250 will build a fund for NPHS to invest in the Hurley schoolyard to promote safety, learning, and healthy play.
Professional Development
$100 helps NPHS fund continuing education for our outstanding teachers.
Arts
$50 will help support our music partnerships with both Handel and Haydn Society and the Community Music of Center Boston, providing music classes for the lower grades and a song writing course for the upper grades.
Best,
Frances Blair Avida Michaud Emily Pierce
Co-President Co-President Vice President
Milica Golubovic Jane Farrington
Secretary Treasurer
Neighborhood Parents of the Hurley School Board
NPHS is an entirely volunteer-run organization, and has no offices or central phone number. For questions or concerns, please email us at [email protected].
NPHS is a registered non-profit organization under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3), and as such, the cash value of all donations is tax deductible. Our tax ID number is 20-5196270.
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