Dear Friends, Family, and Colleagues,

On November 4th, I will be running the New York City Marathon. For the past few months, I have been training for the 26.2 miles that I will run on race day - a task that has not only been physically exhausting, but has also proven to be both emotionally and mentally draining. While there are less than 2 months to go and a tremendous amount of work to do, I have been able to keep a positive attitude by taking it one day at a time: focusing on each run I complete, each mile I finish, each step I take. I'm excited to see what happens in the next few weeks as I continue to train for one of the biggest challenges I've ever faced.

This is, however, more than just about me: I will be running with the Success Academies team and will be running on behalf of Success Academy Harlem 1, the school I've had the pleasure of working at since November of 2011.

I am running on behalf of our students. Everyday, from the second they enter the classroom at 7:30AM to the moment they leave at 4:30PM, our kids are working nonstop to raise their reading levels, sharpen up their mental math skills, and refine their ability to think critically. For the 9 hours that they are in school, they are working hard to close the achievement gap that is so prevalent in New York City and the rest of the country. I am also running on behalf of their families - those relatives and guardians who wake up at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning everyday to get their kids to school on time or stay until 5:30 or 6:00 when they need extra help at the end of the day. All of my 4th graders and their families have their eyes set on college and I truly believe that they will get there.

It is because of this believe that I am proud to be running the 2012 NYC Marathon. I hope that you will support our students as I train for this event - your donations will help them accomplish their goal of one day becoming a college graduate.

The following is the link where you can directly donate to my page: http://www.crowdrise.com/2012SuccessAcademyMarathon/fundraiser/fernandofiorentino

My fundraising goal is $3,000. I know that with your help, we can hit that mark and even surpass it by November 4th.

I can't wait to keep you updated as continue to raise money and train for the big race!

Thanks,

Fernando

Success Academy Charter Schools wrote -

Welcome to Mission Control for the 2012 Success Academy Charter Schools Marathon Team!   

Please consider supporting our runners who are giving up their summer to train and run on behalf of 5000 New York City school children.

Your Money = Their Future.  

At Success, we currently operate 9 high-performing public charter schools in NYC and we're growing!  

Our goal is to provide world-class education to our scholars and we are constantly  innovating to ensure we are employing the absolute best and most financially efficient methods of educating them. Every day we work to create an a rigorous and joyful learning  environment for our own scholars while pushing for education policy reform so that ALL children have access to education they deserve.   And we are incredibly proud of what our scholars have achieved! They are among the brightest, highest-achieving students in the state of New York thanks to the support of our dedicated teachers, staff and parents, as well as the preparation provided by our comprehensive curriculum and school model. Importantly, while attaining stellar test scores is certainly wonderful, it is not our primary focus. Rather, our objective is to prepare our scholars with a best-in-class education foundation that sets them up for success in college and beyond.  

If you are interested in learning more about our results please visit our website at:   successacademies.org