Ellington Poets Perform At Inauguration

Councilman Jackson and distinguished speakers give the thumbs up to audience as Mr. Cantu (right - front) sits with his daughter, the Ellington Poets and student performers.

A recent tweet from the Honorable Robert Jackson, State Senator of New York State District 31, showed how thrilled he was with a performance by our very own Ellington Poets!  The Ellington Poets performed at City College's Great Hall, on Sunday, January 13th, to an audience of hundreds of community members who celebrated the senator's inauguration.

Councilman Jackson makes a promise to honorably represent the citizens of District 31.

This is the 3rd time Councilman Jackson has been re-elected to represent District 31. When he was first elected to the City Council in 2001, he helped create more than 4,000 new Pre-K spots, fought against teacher layoffs, and helped start the Drop-Out Prevention Initiative. He also served as chair of the Education Committee and co-chaired the Black, Latino, and Asian Caucus. He is a leader in our community and our poets were honored to celebrated his re-election to the United States Senate.  For more information about the councilman, click here.

The Ellington Poets Society perform at the inauguration of Councilman Robert Jackson.

Leading up to the performance, Mr. Cantu was with his Ellington Poets in the green room and shared  the magnitude of the moment and the powerful dignitaries that were present on the stage. He reminded them that they had worked so hard and with such conviction, and that they needed to share their wonderful work with the world.  After the performance, Mr.  Cantu said, “today is a wonderful day for The Duke Ellington School. You all have raised the bar of PRIDE and excellence for the entire PS4 school community and beyond. I am incredibly proud of you."

Congratulations to the Ellington Poets Society, under the direction of Mr. Cantu. Bravo!