Download PDF - Education Update

Education 26 Update Graduate AdCOLLEGES2012_Layout 1 5/4/12 12:33& GRADuatePM Page 1Schools ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ MAY/JUN 2012Borough President Diaz, MercyCollege & Truman HS Form TheGRADUATE STUDIESBronx Achievement PactCOLLEGE OF STATEN ISLANDCREATING LEADERS, CHANGING LIVESMASTER OF ARTS AND SCIENCEBiology (MS)Business Management (MS)Cinema and Media Studies (MA)Computer Science (MS)Education (MSEd)• Childhood Education• Adolescence (Biology, English,Mathematics, and Social Studies)• Special EducationEnglish (MA)Environmental Science (MS)History (MA)Liberal Studies (MA)Mental Health Counseling (MA)Neuroscience, Mental Retardation,andDevelopmental Disabilities (MS)Nursing (MS)• Adult Health• Gerontological718.982.2019masterit@csi.cuny.eduwww.csi.cuny.edu/graduatestudiesPOST-MASTER’S AND ADVANCED CERTIFICATESLeadership in Education (Post-Master’s)• School Building Leader• School District Leader• School Building Leader andSchool District Leader (Dual Certificate)Nursing (Post-Master’s)• Adult Health• GerontologicalNursing (Advanced Certificate)• Cultural Competence• Nursing EducationDOCTORAL PROGRAMSThe College of Staten Island offers Doctoral programsjointly with The CUNY Graduate CenterBiochemistry (PhD)Biology (Specialty in Neuroscience) (PhD)Computer Science (PhD)Nursing (DNS)Physics (PhD)Polymer Chemistry (PhD)Clinical Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT)By Lauren GelosoThe Bronx Achievement Pact, is an innovativenew educational initiative that aims to raisehigh school graduation rates, enhance collegereadiness and maximize college enrollment.“This innovative program has the potential tochange the way we prepare our students forcollege not just here in the Bronx, but acrossthe entire City,” said BronxBorough President Ruben DiazJr. By leveraging the resourcesof colleges and universitiesand collaborating with existingpublic high schools, theBronx Achievement Pact isa comprehensive and scalablesolution to the educationcrisis. Educational indicatorsin the Bronx are the lowestin New York City, with just59 percent of Bronx studentsgraduating from high schooland only 17 percent considered “college ready”by the New York State Education Department.“A quality education is the critical factor inachieving economic success, personal satisfactionand social stability,” said Mercy CollegePresident Dr. Kimberly Cline.“The Bronx Achievement Pact will improveeducational outcomes for Bronx students andsecure a better and more prosperous futurefor generations of Bronx residents. We areexcited to undertake this revolutionary initiativewith our committed partners, and welook forward to further collaboration withadditional partners as we move ahead.”The Bronx Achievement Pact uses a comprehensivestrategy that integrates successfulhigh school and college experiences:• Early College Program: Offering students30 hours of transferable college creditsduring the regular high school day, withthe option of completing an additional 30credits to earn an Associate’s degree duringsummers, weekends and school breaks,Rockefeller Universityall at no cost to students or their parents• College and Career Exploration: Buildingawareness about all aspects of the collegeprocess and various career pathways• Learning Excellence: Facilitating focusedtutoring and mentoring relationshipsbetween high school and college students• Summer Support: Engaging struggling studentsby sharpening skills in literacy,math and critical thinkingand exposing them to college• Parent and CommunityEngagement: Providing parentswith the knowledge and skillsto support their children on thepath to and through college.“Student success in school—both in achievementand aspiration—is largelyPresident Kimberly Cline, a function of the dedicationof the adults guidingMercy Collegethe students: the teachersand the parents,” said Mercy College Schoolof Education Dean Alfred S. Posamentier.“The Mercy College School of Education isdedicated to producing first rate teachers andadministrators for the Bronx Achievement Pact,as well as establishing a Parent Center at ourBronx campus that will serve the entire boroughand should be a paradigm for the rest of the City.”The pilot, Bronx Achievement Pact, willlaunch in September 2012. It will expand toinclude one additional high school in September2013, and then will continue to expand into2-5 schools each year until all Bronx highschools with a graduation rate below 70 percentcan join the Bronx Achievement Pact.“The Bronx Achievement Pact is the bridgethat students need to make a successful transitionfrom high school to college,” said Harry STruman High School Principal, Sana Q. Nasser.“Bronx students will be fortunate enough tohave the support that they need to gain acceptanceinto college, but also to flourish as lifelongscholars.” #continued from page 27summer but often increased for middle and upperclass children, which he attributed to stimulatingsummer activities. Parental socialization of children,such as reading and talking to them, affectIQ. By age three, middle class youngsters haveheard 30 million words while their lower classpeers have been exposed to 20 million words.Some computer programs help improve memory,but most computer games have not been shown toimprove intelligence.Citing the great gap between socioeconomicclasses in this country and the “toxic” and “handicapping”affects of poor environments, Nesbittsuggested policy implications of his findingsinclude enriching programs for the poor and providing“the very best education for the neediest”starting form birth through ninth grade. Pre-Kprograms that include intellectual material andelementary school interventions have proven successfulin improving skills. Involving parents ina child’s education is recommended. Nesbitt saidresearch has yet to be done on whether enrichmentscales up but, he declares, “Some programshave proven to be highly effective” and, “If wedon’t know all the answers, it’s worth trying tofind out.”Dr. Nesbitt’s talk was part of a free seriespresented by Rockefeller University’s Parents &Science initiative, a program designed to helpparents “understand science as it affects children’shealth and well-being.” For more information,visit www.rockefeller.edu/parentsandscience.#