Education Philosophy and Mission
The Early College School for the Study of Cultural Heritage—a 6-12 Early College Secondary School in collaboration with Queens College—will make higher education more accessible, attainable, and affordable to New York City students by bridging the traditional gaps between middle school, high school and college.
The Early College School for the Study of Cultural Heritage will be a place where the ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity of the borough of Queens are emphasized—and even celebrated. The school will enable a diverse population of students not traditionally considered college-bound to do the rigorous writing, reading, and critical thinking essential to success in a liberal arts college and in the modern information-based economy. The faculty and administration at Queens College have embraced this project, recognizing—and taking advantage of—the reality that the borough of Queens is a wonderful backdrop for multicultural education.
The school will enroll students who are representative of New York City’s school population and especially the population of Rego Park, Forest Hills, and Maspeth (the intersection of District 24 and 28)—home to many of the City’s most crowded schools. Although many of the students are under-prepared for middle school and high school, the new school will enable them to do more than graduate from high school on time. By relying on a community of caring adults and students and a curriculum attuned to the individual needs of students, the middle school years will be used to lay a strong foundation and the high school years will be used to build a school of high-level achievers who can succeed in college-level work and the world beyond.
Through the deep connections and collaboration between Queens College and the new secondary school, students will be immersed in a seven-year, enriched learning environment that: (1) supports their acquisition of broad and deep content area knowledge as defined by the New York State Learning Standards, (2) enables them to acquire up to two years of fully transferable college credit, and (3) nurtures their emotional and intellectual development into strong, successful, and self-confident adults who contribute to their families and communities.
In the ethnic and linguistic diversity of its people, the Borough of Queens is a microcosm of the America of tomorrow. Over 100 different nationalities, ethnicities, and linguistic groups are represented in Queens. While this glorious mosaic is exciting, rewarding, and invigorating, it represents an educational challenge. For many students, even those educated entirely in Queens high schools, English is a second, third, or even more distant language. Others may never have had formal education in their heritage language(s) and may indeed be functionally illiterate in them. Such students may experience particular difficulties in making the transition from high school to college, with its emphasis on writing and analysis, and fail to succeed in college. The result is that over half of those who enter college do not graduate. This great loss of talent is one of the major challenges facing contemporary higher education.
Recognizing the need both in the community and the borough as a whole, Queens College proposes to work hand-in-hand with The Early College School for the Study of Cultural Heritage to address the issue of rigorous academics and English language fluency simultaneously. The design of this school caters expressly to families for whom English is not their native language and offers them the opportunity for post-secondary education where their language ability won’t preclude their college success rate.
School Design
The Early College School for the Study of Cultural Heritage will blend middle school, high school and college into a coherent educational program. The school is committed to:
The curriculum will be inquiry-driven. For example, students will conduct research and fieldwork on ethnic communities in Queens, on cultural issues using interviews or on economic questions. The research activities will provide opportunities for these linguistically diverse students to develop their English language writing and oral communications skills. At the same time, developing linguistic abilities and critical thinking skills are important steps for college level work. Students will be able to handle more complex material as they grow and mature.
Specific college level courses that may be particularly appropriate for the students in the new school will include languages, mathematics, and the field-oriented sciences. Multiple literacies will be included, with a writing- and reading-intensive curriculum of research and inquiry in contextualized fields, including literature as part of language instruction. Students’ character, creativity, imagination, critical thinking skills and emotional literacy will be developed through grade appropriate, interdisciplinary projects and courses of study.
Block scheduling will permit more effective use of team teaching, small group and individualized instruction, and work on group projects. Students will be grouped flexibly during block periods to differentiate instruction. Teachers, professors and staff will have regular time to discuss student work, and there will be a continual assessment of individual student progress toward performance expectations. These interactions will also facilitate synchronicity of content and language instruction, keeping instructors informed, and will assist in teaching and learning improvement. Special education students would be included in general education classes. For those students requiring instructional support services, there will be “push in” programs.
The Early College School for the Study of Cultural Heritage will offer college courses that will be taught either at the school or on the college campus. Secondary school and college services, resources and facilities will be available and welcoming to students, including laboratory and arts facilities, academic support centers, information resources/libraries and technologies. Partnerships with New York City’s cultural institutions and community-based organizations are integral to the implementation and enrichment of the school curriculum.
With faculty and advisor approval, all students will formulate an academic plan, commit to it, and assume growing responsibility for their own learning. Students will demonstrate adequate academic progress through multiple measures of performance, such as standardized tests, performance assessments, portfolios and real-world tasks. The Early College School for the Study of Cultural Heritage will have clear criteria regarding completion of high school and college credits. Placement testing policies and college-level expectations for reading, writing and math will be public and clear and will meet state and national benchmarks.
Professional development will enable teachers, professors and other staff to continually reflect upon practice, improve instruction and student learning, and expands their own learning. Additionally, candidate teachers in the college’s education programs will use the School for the Celebration of Cultural Heritage as a practicum location and a professional development school.
Students will complete high school requirements while earning up to two years of college credit and will be expected to graduate with an understanding of how social, political, economic, and cultural influences are reflected within the ethnic diversity of Queens. The curriculum will enable students to forge connections with higher learning while still in secondary school, rather than having to discover them post facto in the more pressured college environment. The school intends to make heavy use of language and writing practice, to develop writing and critical inquiry abilities throughout high school and early college academic work. By smoothing the transition to college in this way, more students, especially those at-risk, will not merely enter, but succeed in, college, persisting to greater academic achievement and graduation.
Educational Need
Queens is nearly a world unto itself. More languages are spoken in its 109 square miles than anywhere else in the country. The top ten most common languages are English, Spanish Chinese, Korean, Italian, Greek, Russian, Tagalog, French, and French Creole. Additionally, many of the newcomers live below the poverty level. Yet, recent articles claim that for non-native English speakers “achievement levels are still extremely low, parents are often misinformed about their children’s options, and that often those options are limited.” (NYT, 10/6/04) The faculty of Queens College and The Early College School for the Study of Cultural Heritage plan to significantly improve the college success rate of this population in particular.
A college education means greater opportunities for economic and personal success. A four-year college graduate earns two-thirds more than a high school graduate does. An Associate’s degree translates into earnings about one-quarter higher than earnings from a high school diploma alone. However, far too few youth successfully continue their education after high school. Although nearly three-quarters of high school graduates begin some form of further learning, over half who enter a two-year or four-year college fail to complete a degree; one-third never even persist though the second year.