The Port Richmond Partnership

Mission

The mission of the Port Richmond Partnership is to encourage sustainable relationships among members of the Port Richmond and Wagner College communities to enhance student learning and raise civic awareness, while also supporting collaborations that address significant challenges and establish measurable impacts in five high need areas: arts, education, health, economic development and immigration.

Vision

The Port Richmond Partnership seeks to develop collaborative programs that contribute to school improvement, economic growth, health care enhancement, and immigration reform; play a significant role in advancing research and inquiry about pressing community issues; and build mutually beneficial curricular and co-curricular placements for Wagner College students to broaden their experiences and strengthen a wide variety of community-based services.

History

The Port Richmond Partnership was first broached by community leaders in 2008, as a way to augment Wagner’s highly successful Civic Innovations Program. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in the spring of 2009, officially establishing the Partnership. Based on an agreement between Wagner College and leading organizations and institutions in Port Richmond, the Partnership was designed to extend Wagner’s commitment to learning by doing and to rejuvenate an economically distressed community. Recently, Port Richmond has experienced a large growth in its immigrant population, especially from Mexico. This rapid influx has deeply influenced the social and economic fabric of Port Richmond and has created complex ne

eds in the areas of health care, education, arts and culture, housing, and employment.

Since its inception, the number of partnership organizations has doubled, and through regularly scheduled meetings, partners have worked together

closely to tap into existing community assets by continuing to build significant, sustainable, and increasingly ambitious partnerships. To date, 40% of Wagner College undergraduate students have at least one community experience in which they work with and learn from the residents of Port Richmond.

The Port Richmond Partnership offers the following opportunities:

• Curricular and co-curricular based placements for Wagner College faculty, students, and staff

• Professional development activities for area students, teachers, educational personnel, and organizational leaders

• Cooperative programs to forward arts initiatives, school improvement, economic development, immigration reform and health promotion efforts

• Research, data collection and dissemination

• Each of the participating organizations brings special strengths and expertise to the collective body. Local schools such as Port Richmond High School, PS 19, and PS 20 open their classrooms and lend assessment strategies to supporting health and literacy programming and promoting college readiness. El Centro del Inmigrante, the North Shore’s leading immigrant settlement center, offers strong advocacy on behalf of immigrants and aids partnership members in understanding immigration reform from both the local and national perspective. Project Hospitality and Community Health Action provide expertise about the medical and social needs of the underserved, as well as disseminate statistics and other important information relevant to the community. The list of partners continues to grow steadily and totals nearly 30 organizations that are now activity collaborating with each other and Wagner College.

Currently, Bonners are involved as PRPLA Mentors at the Port Richmond High School.

Founded in 1928, Port Richmond High School has a strong tradition of academic excellence and service to the community.  Port Richmond strives to create a warm, family atmosphere where each student is welcomed as a valued member of a small learning community. Each student chooses a course of study pertaining to a small learning community that interests the learner in areas such as culinary arts, performing arts, visual arts, medical technology, Honors & Advanced Placement classes, Army JROTC, Legal Studies and more.