Harlem Educator Honored
Delores Roberts, CFES liaison at Wadleigh Secondary School in Harlem, was honored with the Mario Pena Award at the 2010 National Conference. The New York Amsterdam News profiled her in a recent article by Jasmin K. Williams. Check it out below:
Delores Roberts, a teacher at Wadleigh Secondary School, located at 215 West 114th Street in Harlem, was one of three outstanding educators recently honored with the Mario Pena Award at the College For Every Student (CFES) National Conference for their efforts in helping underserved students get into college.
Mario Pena was a founding board member of CFES, which started in the early ’90s. The award is given annually to two to three educators who work in the CFES program. Approximately 140 schools and more than 200 colleges located throughout the five boroughs and upstate New York are in the program.
Roberts goes above and beyond the call of duty to make sure her students use every opportunity to make their college dreams a reality.
Noah Feder, program director and coordinator for CFES, said Roberts has been the CFES liaison at Wadleigh. He spoke of her dedication to her students.
“Delores Roberts motivates her students, sometimes riding the bus for five hours for a college tour. She’s been doing this for eight years, building relationships with colleges. She travels all over upstate New York and New England. Students have gone to public and private colleges throughout the region. She has helped thousands of students make the successful transition to college. I’ve had a chance to work with her over the past two years, seeing her dedication and how much her students appreciate what she does. Her students call her ‘Mama Roberts,’” he said.
Roberts talked to the Amsterdam News about her important work in inspiring and helping underserved kids in our community realize that college is the way to go.
“Wadleigh moved from a school in need of supervision to a CFES school. The first group graduated 2006.
“We started a campaign for 100 percent college acceptance,” said Roberts. “We worked to develop a state of mind with our kids with just 10 leaders. After that, we came up with Better and Beyond, with graduates from Syracuse University, Binghamton University, University of Vermont and Skidmore College.
“We got our ball players involved. We’re proud of that. We were able to reach all our kids and let them know, ‘You can do this,’” she said. Read complete story at College For Every Student