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Contact:
Office of Council Member Pierina Sanchez
Media team: d14media@council.nyc.gov
(347)590-2874

Council Member Sanchez Announces Major Capital Investment at I.S. 117

New York City, NY- September 19th, 2024 – Today, Council Member Sanchez and the administration of I.S. 117 rang in the new school year with a multi-million-dollar capital investment announcement at I.S. 117’s Back-to-School Night. With the support of Speaker Adrienne Adams, Council Member Sanchez secured $22.5 million dollars that will be invested toward the construction of a new multimedia center at I.S. 117, addressing the long-standing challenge of tech accessibility in the Bronx’s public schools.

“Access to technology is critical in public schools across the Bronx as students and teachers embrace a new era of digital learning. According to a study conducted by the Community Service Society in 2022, over 25% of Bronx families reported difficulties with accessing technology and internet services in their homes. Additionally, four out of every ten low-income residents indicated that a lack of access to technology and internet services barred them from completing online schooling. As our students continue to adapt to a digital learning environment, we must ensure that the necessary technological resources are made available both on campus and at home. I am proud of the school community’s advocacy for this project, and to have been able to secure this $22.5 million dollar investment toward a new multimedia center will help address the lack of access to technology for my district’s students and provide educators and students alike with access to new tools to engage in digital learning,” said Council Member Pierina Sanchez.

“In the early Fall of 2023, Principal Eisenberg, Carlos Castillo – BEACON Director, Radayza Montas – Community School Director and I, Dr. Caron Martin, came together to try and solve the fact that the school campus did not have a functioning library. Principal Eisenberg and I committed to one another very early on when I became Principal of Wade Academies, that we would address this challenge together and agree to share the funding for a School Librarian. We discussed our wants and needs for a new Media Center that would be focused on not only serving our 1000 students and staff, but also the Community. After collaborating on our vision, we invited Ms. Samantha Cardenas and Council Member Sanchez to come visit the school to hear our proposal. We were simply asking for $1 million dollars for our Media Center. The Council Members’ team committed to helping us bring this dream for our communities to fruition and delivered above and beyond. With the advocacy of the Council Members’ office, and support from Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, we have received $2.25 million dollars to create this foundational safe and inspiring space for our campus and community,” said Caron Martin, Principal of I.S. 117.

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