ESI Update

Week of January 6

 

Happy New Year, Principals, ESI Liaisons, and ESI Team Members!

We hope you had a wonderful vacation and holiday season with friends, family, and loved ones. At the last ESI Liaison meeting, former chancellor Dennis Walcott came and encouraged us to continue the valuable and historical work that is being done in ESI schools to improve outcomes for all young people but especially for our Black and Latino young men.

As we move into a new year, the NYC public school system welcomes a new chancellor, Carmen Fariña, who is a former teacher, principal, superintendent, and deputy chancellor. In her introductory email, she said, “We can best serve the children of this city by communicating with every constituent, supporting the hard work of every educator, and encouraging every person who wants to take this journey with us to do so. We have the capacity to do just that – together.” It is with that same spirit that the ESI Team looks forward to working with you and your school community. By learning with and from you, together, we will ensure that all of our young people will graduate, college and career ready.

In this issue you will find the following features:

  • News and Updates: January 30 Liaison Meeting!
  • Opportunities: FREE SAT Prep Program, SEO Scholars extension, and Scholarship Opportunity!
  • School Spotlight: Mott Hall Bronx High School
  • The Halls of ESI Schools: School for Human Rights
  • Shout Outs: H.S. for Law Enforcement and Public Safety, George Washington Carver, and East Bronx Academy!
  • Operations Corner: Per Session and Reimbursement Reminder!
  • ESI in the News: Brooklyn High School for Law and Technology and Collegiate Institute for Math and Science

News and Updates

*This feature is intended to keep you up-to-date on what’s happening in ESI. 

ESI Liaison Meeting January 30

The next ESI Liaison Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, January 30th at Open Society Foundations. All ESI Point Persons/School Liaisons are expected to attend. Liaison meetings are an opportunity for ESI Point Persons to meet, collaborate, and share best practices.

Please bring your completed Data Worksheet (included in the folder you received at the December liaison meeting).

Details are as follows.

Where: Open Society Foundations, 224 W 57th Street, New York, NY 10019

When: Thursday, December 19th

Time: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Breakfast and lunch will be provided

 

Opportunities

Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) Scholars

The deadline for applicants at ESI schools has been extended. 

Good luck and good work to the 14 ESI schools who submitted 44 applications of Black and Latino male 9th graders to Sponsors for Educational Opportunities (SEO)! (Special Shout Outs to Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction with 9 candidates, New Design HS with 7 candidates, Eagle Academy with 6 candidates, Manhattan Bridges with 4 candidates, and Central Park East HS with 4 candidates!)

As has been mentioned in previous ESI Updates, SEO Scholars is an eight-year academic program that, starting in the ninth grade, prepares low-income public high schools students for admission to the nation’s most competitive colleges–and supports them through college graduation.

SEO admission officers are still accepting applications from ESI schools for potential SEO Scholars. Specifically, they are looking for additional Black and Latino 9th grade young male applicants. Applications to the program must be received no later than Wednesday, January 15. All items may be submitted online through the online application and any supplemental documents can be faxed (917-688-2437) or emailed (nycadmissions@seo-usa.org).

Please contact Cristina Velez, Program and Recruitment Manager, at CVelez@seo-usa.org or 646-442-3859 with any questions.

Just as a reminder, applicants need to have the following submitted in order to have their application reviewed for a potential interview:

  1. Application, which can be accessed at http://www.seoscholars.org/studentsfamilies/applynow (Note: It says applications are closed but the link is still accessible at this address)
  2. Most recent report card or progress report
  3. Teacher recommendation
  4. 3 written responses (these are submitted online with the application; one is an essay of 250 words and the other two are short responses)
  5. Estimate of family income (also within the application; we will ultimately need income verification but this can come later)

Expanded Horizons Spring SAT Prep Program

An SAT prep opportunity for high school Juniors: Expanded Horizons College Prep program is currently recruiting juniors for their last FREE Spring SAT Prep Program of the school year instructed by Revolution Prep. Their SAT Prep Program begins February 6, 2014 through May 15, 2014.  Classes are scheduled for Thursdays from 4:15 pm – 6:15 pm at 301 Henry Street. Juniors who participate in the program will be prepping for the June 2014 SAT.

The eligibility criteria for SAT Prep includes current 11th graders to have a CUMULATIVE GPA of 78% or above and attend High School or live in Community District 3 (CD3), which includes the Lower East Side, Chinatown, and the East Village. Students that are not from Community District 3 may still apply but priority will be given to students who live in or go to school in CD3.

In order to participate in the program students must:

  • Submit an application by Friday, January 17, 2014. Applications MUST be submitted in person or via US Mail to 301 Henry Street, NY, NY 10002. SCANNED OR FAXED APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED!
  • Submit documentation for income verification. Family income verification is MANDATORY. It must be attached to your application. Acceptable documentation for income verification are: 2012 Tax Return, 1040, Free or Reduced lunch letter from high school, or letter from employer indicating pay rate.
  • Submit a Transcript. (This is MANDATORY.)
  • Attend a mandatory Parent Orientation Meeting on Wednesday, January 29, 2014 at 6 p.m. and provide a reimbursable deposit of $75.
  • Must be aware that joining the SAT Prep program means you will be linked to obtaining at least one of the following services: tutoring services, college counseling, opportunities to attend FREE Overnight college trips, or participation in the Henry Street University 2014 Summer Program etc.

The application DEADLINE is 3pm on Friday, January 17, 2014. Please be advised that submitting your application does not guarantee a seat in the class. Spaces are given on a first come, first served basis.

For more information, please contact Judith Belliard, Program Manager, Expanded Horizons College Prep Program via email, or at 212-254-3100 ext. 203.

Scholarship Opportunity at Salve Regent University

The Aquidneck Island Multicultural Scholarship opportunity is available to accepted students at Salve Regina University. This scholarship is awarded every year to a select group of qualified students who demonstrate an academic potential for success, show a strong commitment to diversity, and have a clear financial need. This scholarship covers full tuition minus Federal and State Grants, and is renewable up to four years (maintaining good academic standing).

In order to apply for this scholarship, students must apply to Salve Regina University. Interested students can go to www.commonapp.org to begin the application process.

Please keep in mind that our February 1st application deadline for the Common Application is quickly approaching. The AIMS Scholarship deadline is March 1st. Please note that the AIMS application must be received by March 1st. Any application received after the deadline will not be considered for the 2014 award. For more information about the scholarship, click here.

 
 

School Spotlight

*This feature is intended to give you insight into what is happening in other ESI schools. We hope you enjoy your “visit”!

Mott Hall Bronx High School

Location: South Bronx, Bronx

Principal: Kathryn Malloy

Total student enrollment: 367 

Percent Latino/Latina: 74%

Percent Black: 24%

Contracted Providers 2012-2013: Blue Engine

Promising Practices: Imagine a nurturing space where high school Juniors and Seniors guide their younger peers in a process that allows them to make a smooth transition from middle school to high school. Imagine a whole cohort of ninth and tenth graders being supported to learn how to succeed in high school, to communicate better with their parents, to take leadership in their school and community. Imagine those same Peer Leaders working with parents to facilitate better communication between them and their children attending school. This is exactly what transpired at Mott Hall Bronx High School through the Peer Group Connection (PGC) program that they have implemented.

Peer Group Connection has a long track-record of supporting schools to create environments that nurture young people and help them graduate from High school. On December 11th, Mott Hall hosted an event for students, their parents and family, and members of the community to highlight the Peer Group Connection program that they have implemented as part of their ESI programming. As part of the event, attendees watched a creative enactment of a “typical” family dinner, a skit that allowed the performers to highlight the breakdowns in communication that can occur between parents and their kids. The Peer Leaders were great actors, using wit and humor to convey some of the potential pitfalls in communication between family members. Parents were riveted and wanted to learn more about how to effectively communicate with their kids.

After the skit, parents were ushered into different rooms for peer facilitated fishbowls in which parents and young people got a chance to participate in answering questions they often ask of each other as well as issues young people face in their lives. The process created a safe environment in which young people could share their opinions, questions, and insights with each other and in turn, parents were invited to do the same. Even Mott Hall Principal, Kathryn Malloy, participated.  It was an impressive demonstration of young people’s capacity to support each other when supported and trained by caring adults; members of the Mott Hall Bronx staff manage the implementation of the PGC program at the school.

To learn more about this promising practice and other ESI strategies that are being implemented in Year 2 at Mott Hall Bronx High School, please contact Shanya Hunter and Jacob Prosnit.

 

  

ESI in the News

Read all about it: Check out these ESI schools whose work has been featured in the press.

Brooklyn High School for Law and Technology featured on News 12.

Collegiate Institute for Math and Science featured on News 12.

 

  

The Halls of ESI Schools

This is a new feature that spotlights the bulletins and displays in the hallways of ESI schools that enlighten, inform, and engage students as part of a college-going culture.

These images from the School for Human Rights.

We encourage you to send us pictures of bulletin boards and displays in hallways, classrooms, and college offices that feature and highlight college-going displays.

 

  

Shout Outs

Shout Out to East Bronx Academy for the Future (EBA) for being awarded a 2013 Community Schools Grant from the NY State Education Department!

East Bronx Academy and Phipps Community Development Corporation have partnered to receive a $500,000 Community Schools Grant from the NY State Education Department to provide supports for students, alumni, and families with the goal of increasing student achievement, family engagement, and community well-being.

Shout Out to students Dominic Favors and Bryan Baldeo at the High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety for their acceptance into the NYC Urban Ambassadors Program!

Congratulations to these students and to Principal Laura Van Deren and the staff at Law Enforcement and Public Safety!

Shout Out to Ariana Watson and Ashley Walters, Seniors at George Washington Carver High School for the Sciences for their acceptance into the Posse Scholars program!

The Posse Scholars program is one of the most comprehensive and renowned college access and youth development programs in the United States. Founded in 1989, Posse identifies public high school students with extraordinary academic and leadership potential who may be overlooked by traditional college selection processes. Posse supports Scholars from their senior year of high school, throughout college and into the workforce. Congratulations to Principal Dr. Janice Sutton and the staff at George Washington Carver!

Do you have a strategy, teacher, or program at your school that you wish to highlight? If so, send an email to rhaynes6@schools.nyc.gov for inclusion in our ESI Weekly Update.

 
 

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”

–Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

 

 

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