Oppenheimer Funds Northeast Initiative



OppenheimerFunds Northeast Initiative
After years of investing in high school entrepreneurship and business education through its Future Enterprisers’ program, OppenheimerFunds extended its commitment to the K-8 age group with a cutting edge, five-year investment in MICROSOCIETY for expansion in the North East region. A visit to a nearby New Jersey MICROSOCIETY elementary school convinced company managers of the potential an investment in this age group would have on the nation’s future workforce. After spending an afternoon observing young business owners on-the-job discussing topics such as business strategies, management and personnel challenges, and the pros and cons of licensing and inspection regulations, they were quickly convinced of these young people’s ability to understand complex human, business and economic issues and to offer fresh perspectives and creative solutions. Two years into the initiative, the number of MicroSociety sites in the Northeast has more than doubled!

Since OppenheimerFunds’ generous support, the number of MicroSociety programs have more than tripled. And we expect significant growth again this school year. Through the firm’s  Future Enterprisers program, thousands more children are making the critical connections between the classroom and the real world at these schools and after schools:

Connecticut:

  • HALS Middle School, New Britain
  • Naylor School, Hartford

  Delaware:

  • Spartan Success at Chipman Middle School, Harrington

  Maryland:

  • Child First Authority at Bay Brook Elementary School, Baltimore
  • Child First Authority at Dr. Bernard Harris Elementary School, Baltimore
  • Collington Square Elementary School, Baltimore

  New York:

  • Barkley Magnet Elementary School, Amsterdam
  • Eugenio Maria de Hostos MicroSociety Elementary, Yonkers
  • New Millennium Business Academy, Bronx
  • SafeSpace at PS 30, Jamaica, Queens
  • Trinity School, Buffalo

  New Jersey:

  • REAL Learning Center, Laurel Springs
  • Simmons Elementary School, Clayton

  Pennsylvania:

  • Cora Services at Thurgood Marshall Elementary, Philadelphia
  • Southeastern Middle School, Fawn Grove

In addition, OppenheinmerFunds- sponsored regional events have benefited teachers and other staff working with the MicroSociety program. These events are provided free of charge to the staff of all our MicroSociety schools and teachers in the Northeast region of the country. Past events have included:

  • First Annual MICROSOCIETY/OppenheimerFunds Regional Forum at the MicroSociety Museum Magnet School in New Haven, CT
  • First Annual MICROSOCIETY/ OppenheimerFunds AFTERSCHOOL Regional Forum at the Thurgood Marshall School in Yonkers, NY
  • Third Annual MICROSOCIETY/OppenheimerFunds Regional Forum at the Noah Webster MicroSociety Magnet School in Philadelphia, PA
  • Second Annual MICROSOCIETY/OppenheimerFunds Regional Forum at the Eugenio Maria de Hostos MicroSociety Magnet School in Hartford, CT

OppenheimerFunds Ambassador Sites
The OppenheimerFunds regional expansion design calls for the identification and development of Ambassador schools and after school programs that qualify as Three-Star MicroSociety programs. For excellence in leadership and quality teaching and learning practices, three MicroSociety sites have been awarded the OppenheimerFunds Ambassador status. Congratulations to:

  1. Noah Webster MicroSociety Magnet School, Hartford, CT
  2. Safe Space After School at PS 215, Far Rockaway, NY
  3. Vance Village Elementary School, New Britain, CT