District Administration - June 2009 - (Page 18)

Bronx LaB SchooL, new York citY PuBLic SchooLS DistrictProfile NYC’s Smaller Schools Movement By Ron Schachter It’s easy to mIss evander Childs High school in the north Bronx these days. although the hundred-yearold building fills an entire city block, its four floors are shrouded top-to-bottom in a dark mesh curtain covering the scaffolding from which workers are replacing the exterior brick by brick. But the massive renovation pales in comparison to what’s taking place inside the school, which once held 3,000 students and as recently as 2004—its last year of operation—had a 19 percent graduation rate. on a warm spring morning, students converge at the entrance from the east and west along Gun Hill avenue, squeeze through a bank of metal detectors manned by nyC police officers, and disperse to six smaller schools—the new tenants of what’s now called the evander Childs Campus. about 430 of the ninth- through 12th-graders peel off for the fourth floor, where they enter the lime green hallways of the five-year-old Bronx Lab school, a shining achievement in Chancellor Joel Klein’s aggressive program of creating new, small schools, almost 400 of which have opened over the past seven years. “It’s unprecedented anywhere in america,” says eric nadelstern, nyC’s chief school’s officer. “It’s much more productive to create something entirely new instead of throwing money at failed schools.” Bronx Lab—which shares the building with similarly sized schools focused on areas such as computers, technology and aerospace—defines itself as one of the city’s college prep schools, and although 81 percent of the student body falls under title 1, 95 percent graduated in 2008, and 83 percent entered college. 18 June/July 2009 Chancellor Joel Klein speaks at the 2008 high school graduation of seniors from Evander Childs Campus, with Bronx Lab principal Marc Sternberg to his right. even the hallway walls are papered with future sat words such as “hyperbole,” “throng” and “articulate.” Small Is Big There’s nothing usual either about the school’s founding principal and co-director, thirty-something marc sternberg, who arrived with a B.a. from Princeton, an m.B.a. and ed.m. from Harvard, and plenty of freedom. “I have absolute Bronx Lab School New York City Public Schools Principal/Co-Director: Marc Sternberg, since 2004 Grades: 9-12 Staffing ratio: 54 teachers and staff/430 students Percentage of students who qualify under Title 1: 81 percent Per-pupil expenditure: $7,558 Web site: schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/11/X265/default.htm autonomy on budgeting, teacher selection, pedagogy and programming,” he says. In short, he continues, Bronx Lab and nyC’s other small schools offer all the advantages of a charter school, while remaining district schools that employ union teachers. “There’s been a natural tension between charters and traditional superintendencies around the country,” he observes. “That has really dissolved in new york City.” down the hall from sternberg’s 8-by-8-foot, glass-enclosed office, 16 seniors in front of computers work at revising and reading their creative writing presentations in an english seminar that meets eight hours a week, including a four-hour block on Wednesdays. This course—as well as alternative senior seminars in history, physics and calculus, and art—provides a “a bridge to college,” explains teacher Chris Bernard, noting that everything from the reading, writing and communication skills to the sheer practice of staying in a classroom for an extended period of time provide valuable preparation. District Administration http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/11/X265/default.htm http://schools.nyc.gov/SchoolPortals/11/X265/default.htm

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - June 2009

District Administration - June 2009
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Stimulus Monitor
District Profile
Admin Profile
Crisis Response
Tech Disruptions
A Deeper Shade of Green
The New School Lunch
Business Brings Sustainable Lessons to School
A Netbook for Every Student
Vision Videos Empower Students
New Books
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
New Products
Problem Solution
Online Edge

District Administration - June 2009

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