ESI Update
DOUBLE ISSUE!
Weeks of May 12 and May 26
Principals and ESI Team Members,
The Expanded Success Initiative is focused on increasing the number of Black and Latino young men who graduate from high school prepared to succeed in college and pursue positive and productive career pathways. Through ESI, starting in 9th grade, our young men have been exposed to colleges and university as a result of the many college fairs and visits to college campuses. This enables the young men to see themselves in a lecture hall and on a college campus in a few, short years. Sometimes, however, it’s more difficult for our young people to see the importance and relevance of the education that they are receiving when it comes to a career. An easy way to help them make the connection between their education and a career is to bring professionals to the school and allow them to talk to the young people about their experiences. A number of ESI schools have hosted a career day/fair to help with this process. (See highlights from East Bronx Academy’s Career Day in the School Spotlight below.) As we are thinking about and planning for Year 3, the ESI Team encourages our schools to think about ways to increase career readiness and expose our young men to various career pathways.
In this issue you will find the following features:
- News and Updates: PSAT Exam Ordering Deadline, ESI Liaison Meeting and June 12 ESI Symposium!
- Opportunities: College Board Advisory Panel, Beat the Odds Scholarship Program, Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council Program, NYS STEM Incentive Program!
- School Spotlight: East Bronx Academy!
- Operations Corner: Important Budget News!
- Student Voices: Luis Troncoso from Central Park East!
- Inside ESI Schools: More scenes from East Bronx Academy!
- Resources: Building a Beloved Community report from Open Society Foundations and White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics’ ¡Gradúate! Financial Aid Guide to Success!
News and Updates
*This feature is intended to keep you up-to-date on what’s happening in ESI.
Order PSAT Exams
As noted in the April 23 edition of Principals’ Weekly, all grade 10 and 11 students may take the PSAT on October 15; the DOE will cover the cost of exams for students who take the exam on this date.
The deadline for ordering PSAT materials is June 30.
Note: Schools will receive PSAT/NMSQT Student Guides for orders placed by the deadline. The College Board will host an SOAS workshop specifically for ESI schools to assist in interpreting the score results and implications for practice in February 2015.
DEADLINE: June 30
For further questions, contact Grace Gonzalez.
ESI Liaison Meeting May 29
This year’s final ESI Liaison meeting will take place on May 29 at Open Society Foundations. During this session, participants will get a peek into the topics that ESI will focus on in Year 3 – a) Infusing a culturally responsive lens throughout the curriculum, b) Eradicating the school-to-prison pipeline and c) restorative practices: an alternative to suspensions approach.
Liaison meetings are an opportunity for ESI Point Persons to meet, collaborate, and share best practices across ESI schools. All ESI Point Persons/School Liaisons are expected to attend.
Where: Open Society Foundations, 224 W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019
When: Thursday, May 29th
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Breakfast and lunch will be provided
RSVP for the June 12 ESI Symposium
During this year’s ESI Symposium, participants will reflect on the work and strategies that have been implemented in Year 2 and teams from each ESI school will meet and discuss the vision and plans for Year 3. There will also be musical selections from our students and words of inspiration from a young man who is graduating from one of our schools.
Come out and join us for this annual celebration. Click here to RSVP.
WHERE: Brooklyn Law School
Subotnik Center – 10th Floor
250 Joralemon Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
WHEN: Doors open at 3:45 p.m.
Refreshments will be served.
Opportunities
*Check out these exciting opportunities for students and staff members! Please note: If you or your students take advantage of any of the opportunities we spotlight, take a moment to let us know.
For Students
College Board Advisory Panel on Student Opportunity
The Advisory Panel on Student Opportunity (APSO) is seeking representatives from the New England, Middle States, Midwestern, Southern, Southwestern, and Western Regions.
The APSO enables students to provide their valuable perspective on the College Board’s programs. The panel members have varying levels of experience with College Board programs and services such as Advanced Placement®, SAT®, PSAT/NMSQT®, and College Board Search.
Nominees should be active members of their school and community, with a special understanding of and commitment to educational opportunity and postsecondary preparation options for all students. These students should be comfortable interacting with peers from varied backgrounds, interests, and perspectives. They should be able to think locally and globally, and collect, analyze, and synthesize material and information quickly and concisely.
Selected participants must be able to travel independently while maintaining academic and extracurricular responsibilities. All travel and lodging expenses will be arranged and paid for by the College Board.
Eligibility
Each member school may nominate only one student.
Nominated students must be high school juniors in the 2014-2015 academic year.
Nominations forms for the 2014-2015 cohort will be accepted from schools in the following College Board regions: Middle States, Midwestern, New England, Southern, Southwestern, and Western.
Nominated students must have health insurance.
Selected students and their parent are required to sign code of conduct, insurance, and model release forms.
Responsibilities
APSO panel members are expected to:
Attend two meetings in their first year of service and up to four meetings in the subsequent two years of their term. (Students should allot two to three days for meetings, plus travel time.)
Participate on panels at major conferences that include teachers, counselors, administrators, and faculty.
Give feedback to departments at the College Board on enhancing products or services.
Be willing to speak in public.
Application and selection process
The nomination form has three parts, to be completed by the student, a counselor or teacher, and a parent or guardian. See complete instructions on the APSO Nomination Form.
A number of factors are taken into consideration to ensure that panel members represent a diversity of activities, school environments, and backgrounds. It is important to note that selection is not solely determined by academic achievement; other criteria include counselor input, student interests, and current regional vacancies.
Deadline and submission
Completed nomination forms must be mailed, faxed, or emailed (in PDF format) and received by 5 p.m. EDT, Friday, June 6, 2014.
Submit an APSO Nomination Form by:
Email
Fax: 770-225-4064
(Attention: Cathy Brusko)
Mail:
Cathy Brusko
The College Board
3700 Crestwood Parkway NW
Suite 700
Duluth, GA 30096
For additional questions about the Advisory Panel on Student Opportunity, send an email.
Beat the Odds Scholarship Program
The Beat the Odds Scholarship Program (BTO) provides social and academic college readiness programming to high school students that are working hard to overcome tremendous obstacles in their personal lives, who demonstrate academic achievement, and give back to their community. In addition, the program also offers scholarship opportunities and support services to aid scholars throughout their college career; including ongoing mentoring, internship placements and career guidance.
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Five juniors will be selected from the nomination pool. All five junior Beat The Odds scholars will have the opportunity to apply for scholarships provided by the Children’s Defense Fund- New York during their senior year.
Ten sophomores will be selected from the nomination pool. All ten sophomore Beat The Odds scholars will have the opportunity to apply for scholarships provided by the Children’s Defense Fund- New York during their senior year.
While in the New York Beat The Odds Scholarship Program, all scholars will receive the following:
- One-on-one college counseling, career guidance, SAT preparation, opportunity to tour colleges, life skills & leadership development;
- Support services throughout their high school and college career; including ongoing mentoring, internship placements and career guidance;
- Opportunities to participate in CDF-NY policy and programs; CDF Freedom Schools, Young Advocate Leadership Training (YALT) and internships; and
- Membership to an extensive BTO alumni network.
All nominees must agree to share their story on camera. Videos of the 2014 Beat the Odds honorees can be found on www.cdfny.org.
TO APPLY
Complete the CDF-NY Beat the Odds Scholarship Program application. There are two ways you can apply.
1. Click here to complete the online application.
2. Print the application, once completed email a scanned copy to jflores@childrensdefense.org. You can also fax the application to (212) 697-0566 or mail it to:
Children’s Defense Fund – New York
Beat The Odds Scholarship Program
15 Maiden Lane, Suite 1200
New York, NY 10038
APPLICATION DEADLINE
By 5:00PM on Friday, June 13, 2014.
Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council Program
Coro New York Leadership Center, New York City’s premier civic leadership training program, is recruiting for its 4th cohort of the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council Program (MYLC). The MYLC, in partnership with City Hall and the Department of Education, will develop the leadership skills of a diverse group of New York City public high school students to serve as an advisory resource to decision makers at City Hall.
Coro is now accepting applications from students that will be in the 10th or 11th grade the fall of 2014 that have demonstrated:
- commitment to their community
- leadership experience
- good academic standing
- interest in exploring social issues and city governance
Nominated students should be directed to www.coronewyork.org to apply online and learn more about the program. All applicants must have a written recommendation from a nominator. Because of the rigorous nature of the MYLC schedule, we ask that nominators choose students that are able to commit to all of the program dates listed on the website. Applications and letters of recommendations are due on May 30th. Please contact José Dobles, Program Director, at 212-248-2935 ext. 323 or via email at jdobles@coronewyork.org with any questions regarding the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council.
NYS Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Incentive Program
New York State has announced the creation of a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Incentive Program which provides full tuition scholarships for students who graduate in the top 10% of their schools’ senior class, pursue an approved-STEM major at CUNY or SUNY, and commit to living and working in NY State in an approved-STEM career after graduation for five years. Students should visit the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) website to see all requirements and to initiate an application. As with other scholarship and opportunities, students should be advised to carefully review the terms and conditions of the agreement before applying.
Students who wish to apply for the program will need proof from their schools that they are in the top ten percent of their class. (To determine which students are in the top ten percent if your school does not finalize rank in STARS, see this guidance.)
For more information on the scholarship, see the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HSEC) website. For questions about ranking your students, contact your network academic policy point person. For other questions, contact Sugeni Pérez Sadler at sperezsadler@schools.nyc.gov.
For Staff Members
Technical Assistance Center on Disproportionality’s 2014 Summer Institute
The Technical Assistance Center on Disproportionality (TACD), in partnership with the New York State Education Department, invites you to attend TACD’s 2014 Summer Institute Equity in the Era of Common Core: Igniting Student Learning by Fostering Transformative Teaching.
Time: 8:30am – 5:00pm
Cost: Free
Location: NYU’s Kimmel Center, 60 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10010
Click here for more information and registration.
2014 Schomburg Summer Education Institute in Partnership with the Expanded Success Institute
ESI is thrilled to partner with the education department at the Schomburg Center this summer during their 2014 Schomburg Summer Education Institute (July 14th through July 18th)! This year’s topics include: Freedom Summer, American Maroons and Resistance to Slavery, The Motown Sound: A Voice for Freedom, The History of Education in NYC, Book Arts and the Black Experience, The Civil Rights Act of 1964, Hip-Hop History, Abolitionism in Brooklyn, and more.
Educators will gain valuable content knowledge and learn inquiry-based approaches to teaching history across the grades and across disciplines with the Schomburg’s rich primary resource collections, scholar lectures, interactive workshops, curriculum labs, curator talks and community walks. Each teacher will take home books and extensive resource materials for their classrooms. Teaching and learning activities at Black History 360° exemplify the Common Core State Standards and support the Danielson Framework for Teaching.
The ESI Team is supporting staff at our schools who are interested in attending the week-long institute by covering the $500 registration fee. The first twenty-five (25) staff members who commit to attending the Schomburg Summer Education Institute will attend for FREE! Please email Paul Forbes (pforbes@schools.nyc.gov) with your name and school if you are interested.
