IGNITING THE SPARK FOR RHODE ISLAND STUDENTS: FIDELITY AND WATERFIRE PROVIDENCE CELEBRATE TEACH FOR AMERICA ON AUGUST 14

PROVIDENCE, RI—WaterFire Providence, the award-winning sculpture by artist Barnaby Evans, announces the next full lighting of the 2010 season on Saturday, August 14. The full lighting is sponsored by Fidelity Investments and Amica Insurance. The fires will be lit shortly after sunset at 7:47 p.m. on August 14 and will remain lit until just after midnight.
 
Fidelity Investments and WaterFire Providence are excited to welcome Teach For America to the Rhode Island community with a special ceremony during the WaterFire lighting on Saturday, August 14, beginning at 9:10 p.m. at Starry, Starry Night display in Memorial Park near Hemenway’s off South Main Street.

The Teach For America – Rhode Island corps members will begin by each inscribing a wish for the future and then adding their wish stars to the constellation hanging in the grove.  Then they will continue in a celebratory torch procession with members of the education community to the TD Bank Ballroom at Turk’s Head Plaza on Westminster Street.  From the main stage the corps members will be recognized and welcomed to Rhode Island by Providence Mayor David Cicilline and Rhode Island Foundation President and Chief Operating Officer Neil Steinberg.

For the 2010-11 school year, Teach For America will be expanding to Rhode Island and provide 34 top college graduates to teach in some of the state’s highest-need schools. This year, Teach For America teachers, also known as corps members, will lead classrooms in the Providence Public School District, and at Democracy Prep Blackstone Valley charter school, Segue Institute For Learning, and Trinity Academy for Performing Arts.

Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity.

“Thank you to Fidelity and WaterFire for welcoming our 34 teachers to the state of Rhode Island and for their amazing support for our launch efforts.  We look forward to the special events planned on August 14,” said Heather Tow-Yick, the founding executive director of Teach For America – Rhode Island. Tow-Yick is a Providence native and Brown University graduate who began her tenure with Teach For America as a corps member, teaching in the South Bronx, New York.

The August 14 ceremony is sponsored by Fidelity Investments, a corporate partner of Teach For America at the national and regional level.

“Fidelity is pleased to support Teach For America and welcome the new corps members to the Rhode Island community,” said Holly Jensen, senior manager of community relations at Fidelity Investments in Rhode Island. “We know the corps members will arrive at their schools with great energy and enthusiasm and will ignite student learning and help further decrease the achievement gap. It’s an exciting time for education in our state.”

There is a whole world of special events to discover this weekend at WaterFire.  Please see www.waterfire.org/Saturday-August-14th-2010 for a detailed listing and description of the twenty three featured events for the night and up-to-the-minute weather reports.  The weather forecast for August 14th is for a perfect evening, but remember that WaterFire is weather dependent. The event will go on during occasional showers or passing thunderstorms.