About Us
Street Beat, Inc. (SBI) provides a fresh perspective to the concept of learning that most people do not experience. Students need more than just school and academics to be all around successful; we discovered they need a new culture. SBI does this through the arts — something that most students love.
SBI discovered over several years of programming and research, that many children, in particular boys, are very creative in their approach to learning, who are primarily “right-brain learners”. Most schools used an approach that benefits “left- brain learners” (rote learners, individuals who learn by using recall, remembering what the teacher has explained). Instead of continuing to rehabilitate, why not approach them according to their true learning style? Hence, SBI believes in this approach and continues to be obedient to this incredible revelation.
SBI has had tremendous impact on the lives of the young people and their families. In 1997 we began to offer after-school arts programming for elementary school age children, ages 5 to 12. The following year, we expanded to serve elementary and teen populations and were very successful at engaging our participants in activities that were both exciting and meaningful.
In 2000, SBI begin to expose its teen participants to areas outside of their immediate surroundings. For that entire decade (2000-2010) participants traveled, performed and represented SBI in several trips to Jamaica, W.I. where SBI-Jamaica was eventually launched in the Parish of Kingston. Other trips were taken to the Bahamas, California, Washington, D.C., London and a highlighted performance in the 2005 Super Bowl halftime show in Miami, FL. The power of exposure continues to be a strong component of what SBI offer to the participants and their families, as most residents have not traveled outside of their immediate living area. The most amazing thing about the exposure is that all of the participants graduate High School and often receive scholarships in arts-related disciplines. However, only a few accept the arts scholarship because other scholarships are made available to them, academic and athletic.
Starting in 2016, Street Beat has shifted its focus and began our Mentoring & Arts Program. The primary goals of this refocus will be highlighted with training 5 to 18 year- old individuals in hope of achieving self-reliance, moral sensitive, critical thinkers and overall productive members of society.
OUR VISION
Street Beat Incorporated seeks to establish a culture for high performance, where the program participants are exposed to professional artists’ instruction and ongoing local, national and international trips to visit people, places and things causing them to see their world more clearly and to establish worthwhile personal goals.
PHILOSOPHY:
At Street Beat, we believe:
Every child has a genius; Every child can succeed and has the potential for greatness; Every child has a purpose; Every child is a diamond in the rough; Every child should be loved, regardless of race or beliefs.
Street Beat Executive Board of Directors:
- Mr. Kenneth Jackson, Board Chair
- Mr. Wayne Messam, Secretary
- Mrs. Matletha Fuller-Bennette, Attorney
- Mr. Taurus Lovely
- Mr. Juan Pyfrom
Street Beat Administrative Team:
FOUNDER & BOARD CHAIR
“The Difference Maker”
Kenneth K. Jackson, Jr.
FOUNDER
The Late, Nerissa Jackson
SENIOR ADMINISTRATOR
“Organizational Catalyst”
Rita Marie Reyes
PROGRAM & MARKETING STRATEGIST
“Ambassador of Buzz”