New Visions for School and Community
The Bronx and Brooklyn, New York
An American Youth Policy Forum Field Trip — June 8-9, 1995
The trip took us to some of the neediest neighborhoods and communities in New York. Yet wherever we went, we found hope, collective action and dynamic individuals focused on reclaiming these communities; bringing back jobs, businesses and even trees; and creating safe, nurturing havens for youth. In addition to the talent and commitment at the community level, many of the programs were supported through strong collaborations among public agencies, other institutions in the community and the private sector.
The trip included visits to sites as diverse as public schools involved in reform and the development of comprehensive school-to-work approaches; Beacons providing extended (after- school and weekend) enrichment activities and support to children and families; an alternative public high school program, City as School, is for students who have not experienced success in large, impersonal school settings and who seek more experiential and personalized approaches to learning; a state Department of Labor Youth Opportunity Center providing career and college counseling; and two community-based organizations, one providing vocational preparation opportunities for community residents, the other providing an alternative publicly-supported New Visions (charter) school for neighborhood youth. Each was created in response to a specific community need. Together, these sites represent a panorama of responses to the needs of New York City's children and youth.
Walks of Life (P.S./M.S. 95 and Walton High School)
Our first visit was to a Walks of Life elementary, middle ( P.S./M.S. 95) and high school (Walton) in The Bronx. These schools form a feeder school continuum, grades K-12.
Walks of Life is a cooperative effort of industry, education, labor and government designed to improve student preparation for the demands of today's workforce and address the needs of employers for knowledgeable and work-ready young people. The program is distinctive in that it (a) pulls together several successful models and resources; (b) helps schools implement a comprehensive career preparation system for all students; (c) and simultaneously addresses three critical school-to-work components (improved academic performance, employability skills and developmentally appropriate career education for all students). With support from private foundations and the New York State Department of Health, the program operates in nine public schools in Brooklyn and The Bronx.
The models and resources that comprise the Walks of Life experience:
- Ventures in Education [1], addresses the need for improved academic performance by providing staff development and technical assistance in state-of-the-art curriculum and instructional techniques.
- KAPOW (Kids and the Power of Work), develops employability skills by introducing young people to the world of work. KAPOW coordinates a unique business-education partnership with schools specifically designed for elementary-level children. Partnering companies provide volunteers for in-class lessons and hands-on experiences for students at company sites. In P.S./M.S. 95, the KAPOW curriculum is used in grades 2, 4 and 5/6.
- WAVE (Work, Achievement, Values, Education) focuses on older children and teaches 6th through 12th graders practical, work-related skills and attitudes. Effort is being made to infuse the WAVE curriculum into the regular curriculum.
- Junior Achievement, for kindergarten and first graders, is designed to acquaint them with the free enterprise system as part of the world of work.
- Community Service and Service Learning through partnerships with the National Helpers Network (for 5th graders).
- Walks of Life Industry Coalition, which provides in-class presentations, company trips, community service opportunities, and job shadowing for targeted grades at all school levels; and the Walks of Life Career Paths Program that offers high schoolers internships, research projects, special seminars, etc. relating to three broad career paths--business/management; science and technology; and arts, communications and humanities.
Principal Welber attributes much of the school's growing reputation for excellence to Walks of Life. Our group met Dr. Barbara Green and other staff of the Walks of Life projects in the school's library, which until two years ago was an unused store room but has now been restored to its original use--fully stocked and furnished through private sources (DeWitt Wallace-Readers' Digest Fund).
Through staff development, Ventures enables teachers to develop successful strategies and change their role from "authoritarian holder of knowledge" to "facilitator of learning" in the classroom. Through the purchase of moveable tables (gone are the parallel desks nailed to the floor) and area rugs for informal meetings, discussions and group work, the program has helped to transform classrooms and the nature of learning. One teacher extemporaneously announced to our group and to her class, "For the first time in 21 years of teaching, I do not welcome the coming of the summer vacation." Through the support from Ventures and the atmosphere for change and restructuring created by the principal she is becoming a much more effective teacher--a fact she stated proudly!
During our visit, we
- observed the integration of the WAVE curriculum, which addresses decision- making and values within a social studies class curriculum;
- listened to students describe their visits to a nursing home, activities with the seniors and the nursing home staff, and how these experiences have changed their view of older people;
- reviewed mock resumes created by fourth graders for careers they had carefully researched; and
- saw Junior Achievement implemented in a kindergarten bilingual class as children counted and rolled pennies, completed bank deposit slips, and discovered the rudiments of banking and finance.
For ninth and tenth graders, the Walks coalition of industries provides in-class presentations and site visits to increase awareness about job possibilities and improve student involvement in education. These activities are designed to help students select a career path at the end of the ninth grade.
The WAVE curriculum for grades 9 - 12 emphasizes values clarification and employability skills via behavior modification and team building. It provides a mechanism for teachers to team across subject areas to reinforce standards of student and employee expected behavior. Over 90 staff members are directly involved in infusing the WAVE curriculum across subject areas.
The Community Service component of WAVE allows for development of a Work Service Record geared to track and provide credit for service done through the entire high school experience.
The Ventures component focuses on development of higher, critical thinking skills and an interdisciplinary curriculum. A major emphasis is on staff development for problem-based learning--a cooperative, research-discovery approach to instruction. Ventures also provides A.P. course workshops for teachers in Calculus, Biology, English and History; scholarships and grants for students and teachers; and practice PSATs for students.
Finally, Career Paths provides one-semester unpaid internships for all qualified students in the junior year (seniors may participate in advanced internships). Participating students attend school four days a week and are at their internship sites one day a week after which they participate in classroom debriefings. Before their internship assignment, students participate in special classes designed to prepare them for industry interviews. They develop a professional resume and cover letter, and receive specific guidance that prepares them for the work site by reinforcing general work readiness skills. Students are interviewed by the Career Paths staff and by the participating firms prior to the internship placement. During the junior year, students begin a two-year research project designed to combine workplace experiences with academic preparation. The project is multi-disciplinary and designed to expand student interest and knowledge about specific industries and careers. The activity results in a "road map" for personal advancement and success. Career Paths are available in Arts and Humanities; Science and Technology; and Business and Management fields.
Banana Kelly
Banana Kelly is one of the nation's best-known community development corporations and social service agencies. Their model of service delivery for inner-city neighborhoods has become a focus of interest to policy makers at the national level.
Banana Kelly was organized in 1977 as a community response to the problems of crime, drugs, poverty, the withdrawal of vital neighborhood services--health care, police protection, firehouses, social welfare--by city agencies, and the eventual flight of individuals and businesses from the South Bronx. Through housing renovation and developing the capacities of neighborhood people, it has assumed many of the essential functions of government in this part of the South Bronx. Many of its employees live in Banana Kelly housing and are integral members of the community.
In over 15 years, Banana Kelly has rehabilitated 2,000 apartments, weatherized over 8,000 other apartments, and provided needed social services linked to ambitious neighborhood development projects. It currently owns or manages 47 buildings.
We visited a weatherization site that had been rehabilitated by Banana Kelly, an after-school day care center, and a Youth Building Maintenance/Construction training program designed to enhance young people's personal, educational, vocational and social development. Youth participate in leadership development activities and are encouraged to start their own businesses.
In the past, Banana Kelly has received JTPA funds for its training program. The administrators with whom we spoke found JTPA much too limiting to fully address the needs of young people in their area. Among the criticisms:
- Once a young person leaves a training program (for whatever reason), he/she cannot re-enroll in another JTPA program for one year. Therefore, young people who have not experienced success in other programs must wait to access programs at a time when they are most in need.
- The program period is too short. A longer time is needed--at least one year to fully address the needs of participants.
- Income and education guidelines are too restrictive.
- The program does not allow for a more comprehensive approach to youth and community development.
MOSAIC Beacon
MOSAIC (Maximizing Opportunity, Service and Action in the Community) Beacon program is a multi-service community center based at CES 11, the host elementary school, in the Highbridge section of the South Bronx. With core funding support from the New York City Department of Youth Services [2], it was developed by the Highbridge MOSAIC Coalition--a working group of neighbors, community leaders, Bronx Community College, and a number of New York City agencies and organizations. Membership is open to anyone who lives or works in the Highbridge section.
Open six days a week, 16 hours a day, this Beacon serves as an important neighborhood and community resource providing culture, sports and recreation, education and training (e.g. tutoring and homework help, literacy/basic skills training, academic prep and college planning), and family education and health seminars to residents of the most disadvantaged Congressional district in the United States. Where there was once a garbage dump, there is now a vegetable garden. Where there was once no safe after-school haven for children, they can now participate in a range of stimulating youth development and cultural activities (e.g., spirited karate classes; step competitions). We were told, "In this part of The Bronx, we are the only game in town."
The next day we went Brooklyn to observe another set of sites.
Brooklyn Job and Career Center
The New York City Job and Career Center is a private organization formed in partnership with the New York State Department of Labor (NYDOL), private industry and the city Board of Education. The Center provides hands-on displays of career opportunities and college recruitment information for young people, as well as job training and placement. Technology provides for two-way communication with employers. DOL staff are on site in 25 high schools and in the city colleges to help youth and counselors with career development information. The Centers provide materials and resources to school counselors.
City as School (CAS)
City as School is a public alternative high school founded in 1972. Students earn a high school diploma by completing internships available at more than 1,000 businesses and public agencies [3]. Credits are awarded based on the time and work that the student does in the internships. More than 1,200 students are enrolled at three CAS sites and in the Executive High School Internship Program, a special six-month internship for high school seniors. [4]
Students select one or more internships combined with a weekly seminar and a choice of in-house and/or college classes for a unique 27-32 hour or longer weekly program. Students are supported by resource coordinators (each is assigned 40 students) in the field and by in-house advisors who monitor and coach students as they complete their learning experience assignments and fulfill their high school requirements.
To enter the program, students must have completed 10-15 credits and seek a learning experience unlike that offered in a traditional high school. The student body is 5% Asian; 40% Hispanic; 37% African American; and 18% Caucasian. Seventy-five percent of students are Title I eligible. The dropout rate for the class of 1992 was 7.9% compared to a citywide rate of 12.2% for that cohort. More than 75% of students continue their studies in postsecondary institutions upon graduation.
We visited several resource sites, providing vastly different work exposure opportunities. These included:
- Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Amid the fabulous facilities and gorgeous plants of the almost century-old gardens, we spent time with the Garden's educational director and a CAS facilitator, both high motivated, extremely energizing individuals and two tudent interns. One student, coming from a difficult home environment, had apparently found his life's calling in horticulture. We marveled at the work he had proudly performed with roses and learned of his special talents as a teacher of younger children.
- Prospect Park Wildlife Center (the renovated Brooklyn Zoo). At Prospect Part Wildlife Center, CAS student interns gain credits in animal science and biology through work activities. One student also gains experience in animal and child safety in his job of supervising young children who visit the cows in the working barn.
- Duffields Children Center.
- Animal Clinic of Bay Ridge.
- D&S Silk Screening Factory. This is a small husband-and wife-run business providing a very homey, nurturing experience for one student who is exposed to all aspects of the business.
Students and teachers accompanied us to the resource sites and answered many questions regarding CAS as a whole. One question referred to the transferability of CAS grades in academic subjects to colleges. We were told that while colleges often accept the applied grades, there has also been resistance among some colleges. This is particularly true with colleges outside the New York City area. One technique used to overcome this problem has been to have students take a few traditional classes at commumity colleges. We also learned that resource site facilitators are regular public school employees, enjoying full salary and benefits, unlike the employees of most CBOs who scrape by with sub-standard working conditions.
El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice
The El Puente (The Bridge) community youth development movement was initiated in 1982 in response to an unprecedented wave of violence and murders among youth in Williamsburg's south side (Brooklyn). According to El Puente's Director, Luis Garden Acosta, "Williamsburg had become a killing field. Needed was a holistic approach to youth development that was not problem-centered, but which created bridges of hope and social action." El Puente currently provides a range of community services, including a family clinic, arts and culture center, youth employment and sports/recreation programs, and more recently, a New Visions high school. The Youth Leadership Center operates between 3:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. each day and offers the most comprehensive Latino multi-cultural center in the city.
During the day, the site houses the Academy for Peace and Justice, one of New York's New Vision High Schools. Now in its second year, it has 90 ninth-and tenth-grade students and provides a project-oriented program that links real life experiences with conceptual learning and that uses the Williamsburg community and other city resources as its campus.
The New Visions initiative is a partnership of the Fund for the City of New York and the New York City Public Schools to create small, innovative, community-developed schools with personalized learning environments and high academic standards. The Academy received start-up funds plus the basic student education allotment for public school students. Because the Academy seeks to keep student/staff ratios low (10 or 12:1), it must raise a considerable amount of its funds from private sources. The Academy will expand one grade a year until it offers a full four-year program.
We walked through the neighborhood and observed students at study sites in the community. An English class was meeting in a reclaimed vacant lot--once a garbage site, now a future herbal and medication garden. Other student activities have included the planting of trees and certification of students to do the requisite tree pruning and maintenance. Our final activity was a school assembly where individual classes gave presentations of projects completed that week. Projects included poetry on issues of social justice, gazebo models and plans for the medication garden, and samples of horticulture activities.
Summary Comments and Conclusions
We left enriched by the variety and intensity of programs we visited. We also left with a number of lingering concerns and questions. Among the more salient impressions of the trip were:
- A general absence of basic business, public and social service infrastructure in the communities and the role of community-based organizations like Banana Kelly, El Puente and the Beacon school in trying to address this void. There were other examples of voids being addressed through community and private sector action, such as the Ventures work in school reform and staff development; foundation support for school facilities; and the Walks of Life effort to create a continuum of school-to-work activities for children and youth.
- The need to provide alternatives to large, impersonal schools and the ways these alternatives are being created within the existing school system and through new arrangements of schools and communities. Several participants were still unclear whether the various alternative programs visited could provide a comparable educational experience to that found in more traditional programs, particularly in the critical content areas.
Contact Information
Walks of Life:
James Welber
Principal
P.S./M.S. 95
3961 Hillman Avenue
Bronx, NY 10463
(718) 796-9200
Nicola Genco
Principal
Walton High School
2780 Reservoir Road
Bronx, NY 10468
(718) 364-7400
Banana Kelly:
Harry Robles
Director
Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association
863 Prospect Avenue
Bronx, NY 10459
(718) 328-1064
Mosaic Beacon:
Bill Yakowicz
Director
Mosaic Beacon Program
1257 Ogden Avenue
Bronx, NY 10452
(718) 590-0101
City as School:
Judith Polish
Manager
New York State Department of Labor
250 Schermerhorn Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 852-9484
City as School Main Office
Long Island University
The Brooklyn Campus
1 University Plaza
Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 488-1000
Luis G. Acosta
Director, El Puente
Frances Lucerna
Principal, New Visions High School
211 South 4th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11212
(718) 599-2895
[1] Ventures in Education is an independent, not-for-profit organization headquartered in New York City. Its mission is to lift the academic performance of minority and economically disadvantaged students, enabling them upon high school graduation to be accepted for postsecondary educational programs and to successfully gain employment.
[2] Four years ago, the New York City Department of Human Services started ten Beacons as part of a coordinated anti-drug strategy to create safe havens for children, youth and families and to stand as a symbol of hope and opportunity in the neighborhoods most affected by substance abuse, crime and violence. Today, there are 37 Beacons operating city-wide in response to local community needs. All have local community councils made up of parents, representatives of city agency representatives and other youth-serving organizations. Together they serve about 66,000 children, youth and adults. The Beacons receive $450,000 a year in core support through the Safe Streets, Safe City Program, with the support of the New York City Council and the New York State Legislature. The range and intensity of supports requires co-locating and integrating funds from many federal, state and local government sources and private corporate and foundation supports.
[3] The school's primary objective is to link students with resources (learning experiences) throughout the community. A resource is a "learning experience that takes place at a site external to the school building." It is distinguished from job shadowing and mentoring in that students take a hands-on role at the site, are guided by curriculum specific to each site (called Learning Experience Activities Packets or LEAPs) and are supervised by teachers during site visits.
[4] Through the National Diffusion Network, a number of CAS sites have been set up throughout the country.
This information is from an American Youth Policy Forum field trip to New York, NY held from June 8-9, 1995. Reported by Glenda Partee.