University Connections

The school addressed this gap by creating a seventh house, College Now, a partnership between New York City's high schools and Lehman College, part of the City University of New York (CUNY). The goal of CN is to provide underrepresented and low-income students who are in the middle of the bell curve with the extra support and skills they will need to meet high school graduation and college admissions requirements, and to rise to the academic demands of a college curriculum.

College Now students begin focusing on college immediately upon entering ninth grade. A faculty liaison from CUNY visits the high school weekly, offers university resources to teachers, teaches side-by-side with them in classrooms, and introduces key aspects of college life to students. CN students participate in a variety of activities and events on the CUNY campus including workshops, lectures, films, theater productions, athletic events, and a Summer Arts Academy.

Many CN students are children of inner-city parents who never attended college. When these students begin the CN program, the thought of college may be overwhelming and nebulous. Yet, because they begin attending events and participating in activities on the Lehman College campus as soon as they enter ninth grade, college very quickly becomes a very real and reachable goal for them.

Funding from the U.S. Department of Education's Smaller Learning Community Implementation program made it possible for the CN program to include:

• Longer school days (an extra period each day)
• Reduced class size
• Common teacher preparation periods
• Reduced loads for guidance counselors
• Block programming and extended class periods (84 minutes)
• Interdisciplinary connections between classes
• After-school clubs and activities
• Weekend programs

The intent is to keep students connected to one another and protected from possible negative influence. Students have all their classes with one another and eat together in the cafeteria. Staff members have a common preparatory period to plan events and activities, share ideas, and discuss any issues or concerns about individual students. To extend student learning beyond the school year, a six-week summer Bridge program was created. While not mandated, the program is a way for students to earn extra credits toward high school completion. For example, during a recent summer, 33 students enrolled in an intensive Spanish course through the Bridge program, completing the equivalent of at least one yearlong Spanish class.