DREAM Charter School will serve children and families from East Harlem, the community where its institutional partner, Harlem RBI (www.harlemrbi.org), has worked for 17 years. Harlem RBI began in 1991 when a group of local volunteers transformed an abandoned, garbage-strewn lot into two baseball diamonds for the youth of East Harlem. Since then, Harlem RBI has transformed from a spirited start-up into an established community presence that serves more than 700 youth with comprehensive year-round educational and enrichment programs.

DREAM Charter School will open in September 2008 with 50 Kindergarteners and 50 First Graders. The school will grow one grade (50 students) each year until it reaches capacity with grades K-8 and a total of 450 students.

DREAM Charter School embraces the call to meet all students’ needs within its regular educational program. Our target student population is the traditionally underserved children of East Harlem. To meet the various needs of our students, including children with disabilities and English Language Learners, DREAM will partner each general education teacher with a teacher certified in either Special Education or English as a Second Language. This will provide two co-teaching teams on each grade level.

The school is founded on the belief that student success is based on the instructional effectiveness of the classroom teachers, and that schools that are experiential, collaborative and inclusive will best engage and inspire children to learn. The leadership team will create and maintain an educational climate in which teachers consistently develop learning environments where all students: (1) achieve success, (2) understand their strengths and weaknesses and (3) develop the self-discipline and confidence required to excel in any environment.

At DREAM Charter School, Health and Wellness Education will be a fundamental component of the overall curriculum and the overarching importance of maintaining a healthy mind and body will be woven deeply into the school’s culture and educational philosophy. Given the particular health challenges present in East Harlem – which include epidemic levels of childhood obesity, asthma and diabetes – DREAM views this as a vital and unique aspect of its program.