Providing academic enrichment programmes, as well as health and wellness services which empower students and address community needs, is the goal of a New York City school that is working to break the cycle of poverty.

Fifth-grade students from the Gregory “Jocko” Jackson School of Sports, Arts and Technology in Brownsville, Brooklyn, were at the UN on Thursday to take part in a ceremony commemorating the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Before ambassadors, UN officials, parents and other young people, they delivered a powerful message calling for adults to make sure that they have access to quality education so they can grow up safely and succeed in life.

Alexandra Teitel is the Community School Director through an organization called Partnership with Children. She spoke to Dianne Penn about the students’ first-ever visit to UN Headquarters.