Imagine a racially and ethnically diverse inner-city public school . . . where children get violin and swimming lessons, learn computer coding, meet astronauts, visit university science labs, and learn about nutrition by planting fruits and vegetables . . . where courses are shaped by the nation鈥檚 leading education experts . . . and where children are screened and helped onsite to serve their physical and emotional health needs.
Eight years ago, leaders at 成人抖阴 sat down with residents of the Manhattanville section of Harlem to imagine just such a school. The College had several goals in mind:
- First, to serve and strengthen the community. 鈥淎s neighbors with Harlem, we have the responsibility to work with our community,鈥� said 成人抖阴 President Susan Fuhrman, who believes that excellent public schools lie at the heart of thriving communities.
- Second, to demonstrate that 鈥渢he cutting-edge knowledge that we have here can be infused into regular public education,鈥� says Dr. Nancy Streim, 成人抖阴鈥檚 Associate Vice President for School & Community Partnerships.
- And third, to demonstrate that universities in general, and education schools in particular, are natural partners for local public schools. 鈥淲ith graduate students in social work, education and other areas, we can cost-effectively provide the wrap-around services schools need,鈥� says Fuhrman. 鈥湷扇硕兑魿S, and 成人抖阴 in general, are demonstration sites for the future of education in this country. Can you imagine the improvement we would see in public education in America if every university worked in concert with local schools and communities?鈥�
Eight years later, 成人抖阴 Community School (成人抖阴CS) has emerged as a national model for community schools and university鈥損ublic school partnership. Since 2011, 成人抖阴 and Columbia together have provided 成人抖阴CS with more than $5 million in supplemental funding for curriculum, staff development, after-school programs, and much more. The school has received generous support from Enid and Lester S. Morse Jr., E. John Rosenwald Jr., Laurie M. Tisch, and Susan Bram.
成人抖阴CS looks remarkably like what its planners envisioned. It is robustly diverse: 39 percent of its students are African American, 25 percent are Hispanic, 22 percent are white, 7 percent are Asian, and 6 percent are multiracial. It offers a dynamic learning environment, reflecting the input of 成人抖阴 faculty who offer the best research and teaching in math, science, music, psychology, nutrition, reading and writing, physical education, art and other fields. Half of the classroom teachers are 成人抖阴 alumni. They are supported by 成人抖阴 student teachers, who every day put into practice the effective teaching methods they learn from our faculty. 成人抖阴 students serve in a variety of roles at the school. They are specialty and pre-service teachers, afterschool instructors, literacy interns, and classroom assistants. For example, 成人抖阴 math education students have introduced Professor Herbert Ginsburg鈥檚 technology-based program to help children build understanding of complex math concepts. And Professor Lori Custodero and her students have designed and implemented a music curriculum that teaches musical concepts and self-expression, , and performance.
The College contributes comparable energy and expertise to the teachers themselves through professional development in literacy, social studies, and science, including the , a preeminent literacy curriculum now used throughout the world.
Remarkable levels of family engagement are reflected in the spot programming instigated by the school鈥檚 active and engaged parents. In January 2014 they brought NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, whose experiences included a spacewalk that loosely inspired the film Gravity, to speak to the students.
Underlying our commitment to helping every child excel is a focus on meeting every child鈥檚 physical, emotional, and learning needs. During the school鈥檚 first two years, coaches from the 成人抖阴 worked with the faculty and staff to help establish norms for positive student behavior. We have school counseling interns on site who perform education, psychological, and developmental assessments, and provide interventions and counseling on site. And through our programs in Education, Health, and Psychology, we鈥檝e setting up referral pipelines for 成人抖阴CS and our other partnership schools to on-campus clinics and services at Columbia and 成人抖阴.
During the last three years, Dr. Pam Koch of the has guided 成人抖阴 students as they've developed and delivered a curriculum focused on healthy eating and cooking through interactive lessons offered during the school day and after school. And 成人抖阴 hired and funded a PE teacher, an art teacher, and a librarian when the school lacked sufficient resources during its first two years.
No wonder 成人抖阴CS parents embrace their school, and especially cherish the individualized instruction and attention every child receives. Not surprisingly, 成人抖阴CS now receives among the most applications of any regular public school in New York City.
But there鈥檚 much more to the story. As a model of comprehensive educational opportunity, 成人抖阴CS anchors 鈥擱aising Educational Achievement Coalition of Harlem鈥攖he College鈥檚 partnership with a group of local pre鈥�12 Harlem public schools, which is supported in part by the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. This consortium leverages the resources of 成人抖阴 and Columbia University to provide comprehensive academic, social, and health services that are critical for children to reach their potential in school. Our key partners include: the Columbia School of Social Work; the School of Engineering & Applied Sciences; the Mailman School of Public Health; and numerous community and arts organizations.
成人抖阴鈥檚 Office of School and Community Partnerships was awarded nearly $2.6 million in state and city funds to advance family engagement and health-related efforts at two REACH schools, bringing the total combined philanthropic and public support of 成人抖阴CS and our other partnership schools to $15.6 million.
Now, as New York City embarks on an ambitious effort to turn around 94 struggling schools by supporting them with a range of services, it has turned to 成人抖阴 to promote learning and expand parent activities and professional development for teachers at two of those schools.
A great university-assisted school such as 成人抖阴CS alone will not transform public education or solve the myriad problems confronting urban public schools throughout the country. But if every university with a school of education and other professional schools were to partner with their local school districts鈥攁nd in doing so create hubs of academic excellence, professional development, and family and community engagement鈥攖hen we would generate a rising tide of education excellence and opportunity that would lift all boats.