Chancellor Fariña Announces First 100 High Schools to Implement College Access for All in 2016-17
100 schools will receive over $3.5 million in direct funding, as well as ongoing support from a college-planning coach and training to build a college-going culture. Part of City’s reforms to increase equity and excellence across all public schools
College Access for All is one of the initiatives in Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Fariña’s Equity and Excellence agenda, and will ensure that every New York City high school student will graduate with an individualized college and career plan by the 2018-19 school year. For 2016-17, the cost of supporting these 100 schools as part of College Access for All – High School will total about $6.8 million, including over $3.5 million in direct funding for schools.
“When we talk about equity and excellence in our schools, there’s nothing more important than making college and careers available to every student, regardless of what neighborhood they live in or their background,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “With College Access for All – High School, 100 schools are going to have the resources to make college and careers part of the vocabulary and expectations for all students, and give students the support to make it a reality.”
“As the first person in my family go to college, I understand the importance of creating a schoolwide college-going culture and giving students individualized support to get to college,” said Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña. “With College Access for All – Middle School and College Access for All – High School, we’re engaging families and students around the idea of what comes next and giving them unprecedented support. This expansion is an exciting opportunity for the 100 selected schools, and I’m looking forward to seeing this initiative reach all our high schools.”
The 100 high schools were targeted for College Access for All based on their lower postsecondary enrollment rates, demonstrating a need to strengthen college and career planning. They include 31 schools in the Bronx, 33 in Brooklyn, 20 in Manhattan, 15 in Queens, and one on Staten Island. The support they’ll receive includes three major components:
- Summer College Access Inquiry Institute: A five-day summer training for school teams – including at least one administrator, counselor or college advisor, and a teacher – to develop plans to build a schoolwide college and career culture and provide additional college and career support to students. This work builds on the 100 high schools that have attended the Institute and implemented schoolwide college and career plans since the Institute started in 2012.
- New college planning coaches: The DOE is hiring 11 college planning coaches with expertise in college and career advising and access, and, starting in July, each coach will support about 10 schools over the course of the 2016-17 school year in implementing their schoolwide college and career plans.
- Funding for college access work: Starting in October, the 100 schools will be able to access a share of over $3.5 million in direct funding to enhance their college and career culture. The funds can be utilized for partnerships with nonprofit college and career access organizations as well as internal expenses like part-time staff or college trips. Allocations will be based on the size of the school and their specific college access plans. Coaches will work with their schools to review and approve applications for funding.
College Access for All schools will also receive support in using data tools – including the FAFSA data portal released earlier this year and the Progress to Graduation Tracker – to monitor students’ college application, financial aid, and college exploration activities and assist them in developing their postsecondary plans. Over the coming year, DOE will continue to develop and implement additional data tools, and roll out additional programming under College Access for All – High School, to support college access and success.
Participating high schools will continue to receive support from a college-planning coach and direct funding after the 2016-17 school year, and new cohorts will be selected based on need until the 2018-19 school year, when every high school will be part of College Access for All.
The College Access for All – High School initiative will build a continuum with the new College Access for All – Middle School initiative, which will ensure that every middle school student has the opportunity to visit a college campus by 2018 and also provide new college workshops for students and families. Together, the initiatives will work to promote a college-going culture that encourages students to consider a range of postsecondary options and gives them the support they need to thrive after high school.
“The College Access for All – High School initiative is strategically focused on training college advisors, counselors, and school staff to build systems that will help students make good decisions about college and careers,” said Mandy Savitz-Romer, Senior Lecturer and Faculty Director of Prevention Science and Practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. “New York City is leading the way with this investment in college access and planning systems, and the research shows that an investment in college access is an investment in college retention and success. I look forward to seeing this initiative in action, including the use of data tools to better capture and support students’ progress towards college.”
“By attending the Summer College Access Inquiry Institute, developing a school-wide college and career plan, and partnering with college access organizations, we’ve transformed the ability of our students to navigate the college process,” said Daryl Blank, principal of The High School of Fashion Industries in Manhattan. “College Access for All will ensure schools have the funding and support to make this work a priority and better serve their students. I look forward to seeing more schools across the City embedding college awareness throughout the building, utilizing research-based models like Youth Leaders and Bridge Coaches, and putting more students on the path to college enrollment and success.”
“I’m excited to join College Access for All – High School, and strengthen our work around college and career awareness and planning,” said Johanie Hernandez, principal of the Bronx School for Law, Government, and Justice. “This is an opportunity to build our schoolwide college-going culture, and support our teachers in infusing college and career planning into their classrooms every day.”
“The new College Access for All initiative is going to help us guide students and families who face enormous challenges in their daily lives and who are not familiar with the college process,” said Melanie Katz, principal of Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School in Brooklyn. “My students have amazing drive and potential – by starting college planning earlier and giving them more support at every step along the way, I believe we can turn that drive and potential into greater college enrollment and retention and long-term success.”
“I am so excited that Science Skills Center will be part of College Access for All – High School. The new resources will help us better prepare our kids for college and careers, from understanding all the options available to them to developing a thoughtful plan for life after high school. My school has also been one of the pilot schools offering the SAT for free during the school day, and I look forward to all high schools across New York City benefiting from the SAT School Day next year,” said Dahlia McGregor, principal of Science Skills Center High School for Science, Technology, & the Creative Arts in Brooklyn.
More details on upcoming College Access for All – High School opportunities will continue to be released directly to schools this summer and fall.
The 100 College Access for All high schools are:
BRONX
International Community High School
Bronx Design and Construction Academy
Urban Assembly Bronx Academy of Letters
Health Opportunities High School
Pablo Neruda Academy
Millennium Art Academy
Archimedes Academy for Math, Science & Technology Applications
Antonia Pantoja Preparatory Academy
Validus Preparatory Academy
New Directions Secondary School
School For Excellence
The Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice
Frederick Douglass Academy III
Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy
Theatre Arts Production Company High School
The Bronx School of Law and Finance
International School for Liberal Arts
World View High School
KAPPA International High School
High School for Teaching and the Professions
Crotona International High School
Academy for Scholarship & Entrepreneurship
High School of Computers and Technology
Bronx Academy of Health Careers
Astor Collegiate Academy
Harry S Truman High School
High School of Language and Innovation
Bronxwood Preparatory Academy
Metropolitan High School
Explorations Academy
Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation
BROOKLYN
Brooklyn Community Arts and Media High School
Science Skills Center High School for Science, Technology & The Creative Arts
George Westinghouse High School
The Green School
PROGRESS HS
Lyons Community School
Frances Perkins Academy
The Brooklyn School for Global Studies
Secondary School for Journalism
The Cobble Hill School of American Studies
South Brooklyn Community HS
Brooklyn High School for Law and Technology
Brooklyn Academy of Global Finance
P-TECH
The High School for Global Citizenship
HS for Youth and Community Development
Brooklyn Theatre Arts High School
Victory Collegiate High School
FDNY High School
High School for Civil Rights and Law
Performing Arts and Technology High School
World Academy for Total Community Health High School
Transit Tech CTE High School
Academy of Innovative Technology HS
Brooklyn Lab School
Maxwell HS
Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School
William E. Grady HS
Brooklyn Studio Secondary School
Professional Pathways High School
Teachers Preparatory School
EBC HS for Public Service
Bushwick Leaders’ High School for Academic Excellence
MANHATTAN
Henry Street School
Marta Valle High School
Cascades High School
The Facing History School
Urban Assembly School of Business for Young Women
Emma Lazarus HS for English Language Scholars
The High School for Language and Diplomacy
Leadership and Public Service HS
Manhattan Academy for Arts and Language
Unity Center for Urban Technologies
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School
Urban Assembly New York Harbor School
High School for Arts, Imagination and Inquiry
Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction
Urban Assembly Media HS
Global Learning Collaborative
High School for Law, Advocacy & Community Justice
HS of Arts and Technology
Urban Assembly School for the Performing Arts
Gregorio Luperon HS
QUEENS
Newtown High School
Grover Cleveland High School
Queens Vocational & Technical HS
Queens Academy High School
Frederick Douglass Academy VI High School
Queens HS for Information, Research, and Technology
Rockaway Collegiate High School
High School for Law Enforcement and Public Safety
Queens Preparatory Academy
Excelsior Preparatory High School
Preparatory Academy for Writers
Mathematics, Science Research & Technology High School
William Cullen Bryant High School
Information Technology High School
Newcomers High School