Cover 042406 5/3/06 1:15 AM Page 1 INTRO 042306 5/3/06 10:06 PM Page i James De La Vega 2005 INTRO 042306 5/3/06 10:06 PM Page ii Copyright©2006 INTRO 042306 5/3/06 10:06 PM Page 1 ENLACE – Family to Family Guide to the Small High Schools in The Bronx ENLACE – De Familia a Familia Guía de las Pequeñas Escuelas Secundarias en El Bronx INTRO 042306 5/16/06 8:10 AM Page 2 Acknowledgements ENLACE – Family to Family: Guide to Small High Schools in The Bronx could not have come to fruition without the support of many friends who care about education and share our vision for equity and justice. There is not enough space or words to thank everyone but below are a few key people who played a major role. We apologize for anyone who may have been overlooked - as it was not intentional. This project is the product of the parent engagement initiative of the Kellogg-funded Bronx Institute ENLACE (Engaging Latino Communities in Education) project. We want to offer special thanks to Miguel Satut, Program Director of ENLACE at the Kellogg Foundation. We also thank Allen Gomez, Vice President and Corporate Giving Manager, Northeast Division of Washington Mutual for additional support. Reconocimientos Esta obra ENLACE - De Familia a Familia: Guía de las Pequeñas Escuelas Secundarias en El Bronx, no hubiera sido posible sin la ayuda de muchos amigos que se preocupan por la educación y comparten nuestra visión sobre la igualdad y la justicia. No tenemos espacio suficiente para mencionar a todos los que merecen nuestro agradecimiento, pero aquí mencionamos a algunas personas clave que jugaron un papel importantísimo en la preparación de esta guía. Pedimos perdón a cualquier persona que haya sido olvidada por error. Esta Guía es producto del proyecto de comprometer a los padres de los estudiantes. Auspiciado por la Fundación Kellogg y ENLACE (Comprometiendo la Comunidad Latina en la Educación). Le damos las gracias a Miguel Satut, Director de programas de ENLACE, dentro de la Fundación Kellogg. También, agradecemos a Allen Gómez, Vicepresidente y Gerente de Donaciones Corporativas, de la División Noroeste de Washington Mutual por su apoyo adicional. 2 ENLACE – Family to Family Guide to the Small High Schools in The Bronx Prepared by: Bronx Institute at Lehman College – CUNY INTRO 042306 5/3/06 10:06 PM Page 3 Special Gratitude We thank the members of the Bronx Institute of Lehman College: Professor Herminio Martínez, -Executive Director, Naomi Barber, Director of ENLACE. Special mention to the following individuals who went above and beyond: Martha Atencio,Francis Echevarria, Linda Astacio, Dominic Esposito, Hector Mirabal, Elsie Padilla-Ayala, Kevin Anthony, and Sandra Lerner, Special Assistant to President Fernandez of Lehman College. Particular recognition to Madeline Perez for her leadership of the Steering Committee and for her major coordinating role. Jesús Almonte played a major role in the editing and preparation of this Guide. We thank the Family-to-Family Parent Steering Committee who met consistently for months to shape the vision of this project: Maritza Albina, Yvette Armstrong, Linda Astacio, Raquel Aguasvivas, Josefina Felipe, Patricia Hylton, Alicia Martinez, Cristobal Mota , Rosa Ortiz, and Estelle Vargas. We thank Lynn Herndon for providing support and feedback. Michelle Cahill, Senior Counselor on Education Policy and NYC Department of Education. The staff from the small schools that completed profile forms, answered our questions, allowed us to visit and provided us with pictures of their school. Our ENLACE Student Video Documenters and video editors: Ramone Davis, Ayesha Depay, Sarfo Kyai and Stacey D. Vargas. Without them, we could not have documented our planning process and have it as a resource for other parent-led initiatives. Ron Chulisan, Vice President, Programs; Jennella Young, and Kyla Ginsberg from New Visions for Public Schools. Saskia Levy from The Urban Assembly. Don Bluestone and Tanya Dale-Pineiro from Mosholu Montefiore Community Center Family Choice Project. Our Supporters and Advisors in Education: Jean Anyon and Michelle Fine, Professors from the Urban Education PhD Program at the CUNY Graduate Center; Norm Fruchter, Director of the NYU Institute for Education & Social Policy. Jaquie Wayans and Tom Huser from InsideSchools.org and Advocates for Children for their support and for sharing school data with us. Alberto Méndez, Graphic Designer, Francis Echevarria and Gretchen Polanco, Spanish-language translation; Jorge Ayala, from El Diario La Prensa; and Nuyorican artist James De la Vega for his beautiful artwork. Agradecimiento Expresamos nuestro agradecimiento a los miembros del Instituto del Bronx en Lehman College, dirigido por el Doctor Herminio Martínez, Director Ejecutivo y Profesor de Educación Intermedia y Secundaria y a Naomi Barber, Directora de ENLACE. En especial a: Linda Astacio, Martha Atencio, Francis Echevarría, Dominic Esposito, Hector Mirabal, Elsie Padilla-Ayala, Kevin Anthony y a Sandra Lerner, Asistente Especial del doctor Ricardo Fernández, Presidente de Lehman College. Además, un reconocimiento muy en especial para Madeline Pérez, por su Liderazgo del Comite Steering y por su trabajo de coordinación. Jesús Almonte, jugó una parte muy importante editando y preparando esta Guía. Agradecemos también a De Familia a Familia: Comité Directivo de Padres, quienes se reunieron durante meses para darle forma a esta Guía: Maritza Albina, Yvette Armstrong, Linda Astacio, Raquel Aguasvivas, Josefina Felipe, Patricia Hylton, Alicia Martínez, Cristóbal Mota , Rosa Ortiz y Estelle Vargas. Agradecemos además, a Lynn Herndon, por su apoyo y recomendaciones, Michelle Cahill sobre Política Educativa del Departamento de Educación de la Ciudad de Nueva York. Al personal de las Pequeñas Escuelas Secundarias del Bronx, por completar los diferentes formularios, contestar nuestras preguntas, permitirnos visitarlos y proveernos del material necesario para esta Guía. A nuestros estudiantes de ENLACE, por su labor en la documentación y edición del Video: Ramone Davis, Ayesha Depay, Sarfo Kyai and Stacey D. Vargas, sin ellos no hubiéramos podido documentar el proceso de planificación y tenerlo como un recurso para otros proyectos dirigidos por los padres. Ron Chulisan, Vice-Presidente de Programas, Jennella Young y Kyla Ginsberg, de Nueva Visión para Escuelas Públicas. Saskia Levy de la Asamblea Urbana, Done Bluestone y Tanya Dale-Piñeiro, de Proyecto de Opciones para las Familias del Centro Mosholu Montefiore. A nuestros Defensores y Consejeros en Educación: Jean Anyon y Michelle Fine, Profesores del Programa de doctorado de Educación Urbana, en el Centro de Graduados de CUNY, Norma Fruchter, Directora del Instituto para Educación y Política Social de la Universidad de Nueva York. Jaquie Wayans y Tom Huser, de Organizaciones dentro de la Escuela (InsideSchools.org) y Defensores de los Niños para su Apoyo, por compartir información sobre las escuelas con nosotros. Alberto Méndez (Diseño Gráfico), Francis Echevarría y Gretchen Polanco (Traducción al Español), Jorge Ayala (de El Diario La Prensa) y al artista James De la Vega (de Artistas Nuyoricans) por su precioso trabajo artístico. 3 ENLACE – De Familia a Familia Guía de las Pequeñas Escuelas Secundarias en El Bronx Preparado por: Bronx Institute en Lehman College – CUNY INTRO 042306 5/3/06 10:06 PM Page 4 Dear Families ENLACE – Family to Family: Guide to Small High Schools in The Bronx was developed through a collaboration between the Bronx Institute of Lehman College (CUNY) and Bronx public school parents. Our hope is that this guide will be a useful tool for families to explore the educational options that are available for their middle school children as they apply to high school. We also hope that the guide will serve as a vehicle for schools- particularly new small high schools - to inform communities about the unique learning opportunities these small High Schools offer to students. In this guide, you will find information about navigating the high school admissions process as well as profiles of the small high schools in the Bronx. What makes this guide different from the others? Well, in part, us! This guide is not only for parents but also structured with par- ents. We met regularly from December 2004 until October 2005 to discuss why this guide is important and shared our own successes and struggles with trying to obtain the best educa- tion options for our children. You will find quotations from us through out the guide- as though you were reading notes left to you by a friend. Another unique aspect of this guide is that schools were able to describe their own strengths and areas for improvement. Many schools filled out our Family To Family School Profile form and shared their insights with us. The form not only requests for the school leaders to respond but also requests the insights of teachers, community partners, students and their families. Many of the small schools were created by a team made up of all these different stakeholders. Therefore, we wanted to turn to all of them to describe their school. As parents, we shaped the school information that should be highlighted and the most important ques- tions to ask in order to determine a match between students and schools. (See our School Profile in the appendix). Although we are proud to share this resource with you having this information is only one step. Information needs to be updated each year. To best use this guide, please remain in constant communication with other parents, the schools and of course your children. Also be aware of Parents Rights, as per the Chancellor’s Regulations. (See www.nycboe.net for more informa- tion). Your rights include, but are not limited: the right to be given access to current information regarding services provided by the school system; the right to be accompanied by a friend, advisor or interpreter at any meeting or activity; and the right to be treated with courtesy and respect by all school personnel.