Sarah Benjamin Honored as Outstanding Instructor by NAEHCY
Posted on December 2, 2008
Teacher Liaision Sarah Benjamin was recognized by the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) at their award ceremony in Washington D.C., receiving the Outstanding Instructor Working in a Program award.
Eastern Suffolk BOCES is proud to announce that Teacher Liaison Sarah Benjamin from the Eastern Suffolk BOCES Mobile Outreach – Parent Child Home Program (MOPCHP) was selected by the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) to receive the 2008 NAEHCY Outstanding Instructor Working in a Program award. The award ceremony was held at the 20th Annual NAECHY Conference at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, November 2, 2008. Ms. Benjamin was commended for her outstanding efforts in providing service to homeless children, youths, and their families on Long Island.
For eight years, Ms. Benjamin has worked tirelessly advocating for early-childhood education in MOPCHP. This was the first program in the nation to serve homeless families. Through this research proven home-visiting model, Ms. Benjamin prepares at-risk young children for success in school by increasing language and literacy skills, enhancing social-emotional development, and strengthening parent-child relationships.
She said, “At first I was embarrassed about being nominated, because I feel honored to just be a staff member of Eastern Suffolk BOCES and to do this work with homeless families every day. I was subsequently grateful for the award as a teacher and was able to speak in front of over 500 people on behalf of these young homeless children, beseeching the audience to put every effort to reach these needy children in their early years when it counts so much for later in life.”
Ms. Benjamin resides in Greenport but her ESBOCES home base of operation is at the Roanoke House in Riverhead. The Mobile Outreach program serves all the Suffolk County school districts and assists over 40 families a year. “In the last year I was able to coordinate with Feed the Children, Inc. from Oklahoma, and received 960 backpacks filled with school supplies for homeless children that were distributed all over Long Island. We also were instrumental in receiving 2,400 diaper bags, filled with snacks, diapers, children’s books, and other needed items for children ages birth to 5 years old and distributed them to young homeless parents all over Long Island,” said Ms. Benjamin.
The National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY) is dedicated to supporting the education of children and youth experiencing homelessness. NAEHCY equips educators, service providers, and advocates from across the nation with the knowledge, skills, information, and inspiration they need to remove barriers and help ensure that every child and youth experiencing homelessness is successful academically, personally, and socially.
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