Schools

Rough Riders bring recognition and victory in West Side Newark Debate Academy High School Tournament

On Saturday, October 17, 2015 West Side High School hosted a debate tournament that included Newark Public Schools own Barringer, East Side, Science Park, University and Newark Early College High Schools as well as out of district schools Newark Academy, North Star High School, West Orange High School, and Mount Vernon High School. Out of the 140 participants, West Side High School won first and second place and ultimately won the competition outright.

“Our students were not known to the judges, but blew them away through their preparation, powerful speeches and arguments”, said Mr. Brent Farrand, Mr. Farrand, the Debate Director for West Side High School. “Confronted by some teams that were 20 strong, our students held their own and brought it!”

Congratulations to the West Side High School debate team members, Michael Lawrence, Rouwaida Nitiema, Kasson Chapman, and Michelle Bamidele. These “Rough Riders” brought recognition and victory to West Side High School and helped perpetuate the notion that as “Rough Riders”, they are not afraid to take on any challenge.

At Arts High School, a good day starts with breakfast

Christina Giannantonio | The Star-Ledger | Email the author | Follow on Twitter

Arts High School students Sarah Goncalves and Yeimy Castillo grab breakfast in the school’s newly restyled cafeteria. (Photo courtesy of Star-Ledger)

NEWARK — Students at Arts High School now have an opportunity to start each school day with a healthy meal in the school’s newly restyled cafeteria.

The district was able to expand the school’s breakfast service to include grab-and-go breakfast kiosks and a “breakfast in the classroom” program thanks to a grant from the School Superintendents Association.

The food service improvements at the school include a redesign of the old cafeteria with a grant from the American Dairy Association and the New York Jets’ Fuel Up to 60 Play Program. The cafeteria received a new color scheme along with new furniture, merchandising equipment and new signage that gives information on nutritious food choices.

The new cafeteria was officially opened Sept. 30 during a ribbon cutting ceremony held at the school.

What about supporting us, Newark girls ask

Barry Carter | The Star-Ledger | Email the author | Follow on Twitter

Marisa Sanderson is familiar with the stare of disapproval when someone thinks she’s doing something wrong.

That someone is usually her mother. But on Tuesday, the woman looking at her could was stepping into a new role in Marisa’s life.

Marisa, a 16-year-old sophomore at Weequahic High School in Newark, likes to talk and that’s what she was doing during a program for girls in the gymnasium.

A group of women were there, promising to be mentors, but Marisa was chatting away with a friend and trying to avoid that motherly glare from Flohisha Johnson.

Every time that Marisa looked up, she saw Johnson, a Newark parent, looking right back. The scene was an example of nonverbal communication at its best.

“She kept making eye contact with me, but, in my heart, I felt like she was reaching out to me,” Johnson says.

So Johnson started walking toward Marisa. She was talking loudly, pointing at the girl with each step. You thought she might scold her until everyone heard Johnson say, “You’re going to be my baby.” She was picking Marisa as a student to mentor.

Johnson sat down beside Marisa and gave the kid a hug that only a mother could give as everyone looked on.

She did it so the girls could understand that the contingent of nearly 30 women were serious about being a part of their lives.

Many of the girls say it’s about time an effort like this was geared toward them.

Since the start of the school year, they noticed the fellas getting a lot of attention: Mayor Ras Baraka has visited the school to talk to the boys. Representatives from his My Brother’s Keeper mentoring program were there, too. Then a crowd of men showed up at the start of a school day to greet the boys and speak with them.

It’s all part of Baraka’s campaign to get men involved with young Newark males — to change a culture of violence that many of them get caught up in.

The girls say they understand what the boys are up against, but, hey, being a teenager cuts both ways in their minds.

“Girls need help, (too),” says Hana Covington, a 16-year-old junior.

She and several friends, including Myesha Green, 17, and Kenyetta Baker, 16, approached principal Lisa McDonald and wanted to know what was in store for them.

McDonald says the girls at Weequahic need just as much support as the boys. There’s bullying and molestation, abusive relationships and social isolation when they try to fit in. Some kids are teen mothers, others are homeless or they’re dealing with mental illness.

“We’re reacting to it as a school, but at the end of the day, whose really talking to them to really get them through it?” she says.

That’s where the women come in. Rev. Louise Scott-Rountree, manager of Newark’s Office of Clergy Affairs, heard from the school that the girls felt left out. She got the women together — and there they were at 8 a.m. Tuesday, doling out enthusiastic encouragement at the school’s entrance.

Myesha Green got a hug and a kiss, and described the welcome as sweet and sincere.

Heartfelt stories shared by the women helped the girls to appreciate the visit even more. Among the many messages of inspiration that the women told the girls was to love themselves and that the past doesn’t determine their future.

The girls seemed to be convinced after listening to Valerie Seymoure, of East Orange, who told them of how her father molested her when she was a child. At one point, she explained that she was on drugs, too, but turned her life around through faith. Seymoure now runs “Beauty for Ashes,” a nonprofit community organization that helps the homeless and people with HIV/AIDS.

“So many of them (girls) are being molested and they aren’t telling anybody,” Seymoure says. “If I can help one of them, then may be they can tell their counselor.”

Standing in a small circle of girls after the program, Kisha Baldwin explained how she’s now pursuing her doctorate, despite not being able to read well when she was 13 years old. She is now the executive coordinator of the mayor’s My Brother’s Keeper program.

Alexis Trusty, with tears in her eyes, apologized to the girls — saying the women should have come long before now to be with them. She told them how she once ran the streets of Newark with the wrong crowd, but overcame her difficulties and now serves as a city youth coordinator.

“I love you she,” she told the girls. “You are a reflection of me.”

The girls were looking for this kind of truth, a prerequisite they needed to open up and share their stories.

After being singled out, Marisa says she would like to hang with Johnson. Who wouldn’t? That day in gym was Marisa’s birthday and Johnson had everybody singing to her.

Plus, Johnson kept her word that she would stay in touch.

She called Marisa’s mother yesterday morning to introduce herself and to promise she would always be in the young girl’s corner.

View this story on nj.com.

How Early College High Schools Improve Higher Ed Completion

BardGrad-DeepDave-interior
University of California, Berkeley student Deep Dave is a double major in computer science and economics who has completed 68 college credits. What’s so unique about Deep? He’s only 18 years old.

Deep is a graduate of an innovative early college high school that allowed him to earn a tuition-free associate’s degree and enter the University of California, Berkeley with 68 transferred college credits. He holds a Bard College Associate in Arts degree, which he earned at no cost to him or his family from Bard High School Early College Newark (BHSEC Newark), an early college high school operated as a partnership between Bard College, a selective nonprofit liberal arts college, and Newark Public Schools.

“When I got to Berkeley, I realized that I had been doing this type of work all along,” said Deep. “I was extremely fortunate to have built this platform at Bard High School Early College Newark, which has truly launched me and prepared me for what lies ahead.”

BHSEC Newark opened in 2011 through a partnership between Bard College and Newark Public Schools and with the support of then-Mayor Cory Booker and the Foundation for Newark’s Future. The Foundation for Newark’s Future was established to distribute Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s $100 million gift intended to dramatically improve educational outcomes in Newark.

The school’s graduates are continuing on to four-year colleges and universities, including Rutgers University, Bard College, Wesleyan University, University of California, Berkeley, Rochester Institute of Technology, Seton Hall University, and Fairfield University. This is in a city where the high school graduation rate in 2014 was 68.6% and only 13% of the population holds a bachelor’s degree or higher.

BHSEC Newark – like its sister Bard Early College campuses in New York City, Cleveland, New Orleans, and Baltimore – offers students the transformative opportunity to earn up to 60 transferable college credits and a tuition-free associate’s degree within the four years of high school.

BHSEC Newark—one of the bright spots in Newark’s recent history of education reform—is based on the premise that many high-school-aged students are interested in and capable of taking a rigorous college course of study, and that doing so in a supported, tuition-free environment, will help students complete college degrees without crippling loan debt.

Deep’s class, the BHSEC Newark Class of 2015, demonstrated the validity of this proposition. Seventy two percent of this inaugural class earned associate’s degrees from Bard College alongside their high school diplomas; 94% of the class earned high school diplomas and college credits.

The school’s graduates are continuing on to four-year colleges and universities, including Rutgers University, Bard College, Wesleyan University, University of California, Berkeley, Rochester Institute of Technology, Seton Hall University, and Fairfield University. This is in a city where the high school graduation rate in 2014 was 68.6% and only 13% of the population holds a bachelor’s degree or higher.

The more than 300 early college high schools across the country are improving student achievement at the secondary school level and addressing some of the most difficult challenges facing our higher education system, specifically around college readiness, access, affordability, and completion.

A recent study conducted by Metis Associates found that Bard High School Early College students completed bachelor’s degrees at a 31% higher rate than comparison students who attended traditional public high schools. Studies on other early college models, including an American Institutes for Research experimental study, have yielded similarly impressive results.

Innovative approaches to postsecondary education like early college high schools are needed if we are to move the needle on college completion and workforce preparation in the United States and make the American Dream a reality for the next generation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Clara Haskell Botstein is Associate Vice President, Bard Early Colleges.

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Mini-Pitch Grand Opening with the New York Red Bulls, MLS WORKS, Adidas, Southern New Hampshire University, the U.S. Soccer Foundation, Newark Public Schools and After School All-Stars: To celebrate Major League Soccer’s 20th season, adidas, MLS WORKS, Southern New Hampshire University and the U.S. Soccer Foundation have partnered with the New York Red Bulls, Newark Public Schools and After-School All-Stars to create a new safe place to play at George Washington Carver School.

The new space will officially open on September 24th and members of the Red Bulls front office and team will meet Newark community members and youth to celebrate. Click here for more information about the 20th anniversary initiative to transform communities across the nation. You can help change a child’s life and bring a new safe place to play to an underserved community by visiting: www.ussoccerfoundation.org/donate.

Newark Public Schools’ Teacher & Students to Present Film at 2015 Newark Comic Con Saturday


Newark, NJ – September 11, 2015 – Newark Public Schools congratulated East Side High School film teacher Andrew Teheran along with current and former East Side students on the official premier of their fantasy adventure film at the 2015 Newark Comic Con this Saturday, September 12. Mr. Teheran and East Side High School’s New Media Studies Magnet Program students and alumni have worked on the film, The Flight of the Arrowhead, for over five years.

The film was created in the summer of 2009 by a group of East Side film students. The Flight of the Arrowhead was written and directed by current and former students of East Side High School’s New Media Studies Magnet Program, an award winning and internationally recognized program that provides students the opportunity to participate in a state-of-the-art course curriculum. Students also lent their acting talents to the film, and created all of the music, costumes, and miniature sets featured in the film, which was shot in front of a green screen.

“I continue to be amazed by the talented teachers and students who are doing such impressive work in our classrooms,” said Superintendent Chris Cerf. “All of Newark’s parents, students, and teachers should be proud of the East Side High School students who have dedicated their time and energy to see this innovative project through to completion. These young men and women are pursuing their dreams, and have created a true work of art that will hopefully inspire other young people to do the same.”

Mr. Teheran, who has taught at East Side High School for nearly 18 years and founded the celebrated New Media Studies Magnet Program, said that the project involved more than one hundred students over the years. “This film is the culmination of years of creative work from truly gifted young adults that have come through our New Media Studies Magnet Program at East Side High School. This program continues to motivate young adults to a pursue careers in film and new media technology.”

East Side High School is known for its diverse student population, and according to Mr. Teheran, students who worked on the film often referred to themselves as a cast and crew from five different continents.

“The funny thing is that I learned just as much as the students learned in this process,” recalled Mr. Teheran.

One student in particular, Joao Tarouco, returned to his alma mater as a graduate mentor to direct the film and train other students about 3D animation and composition. Tarouco is now studying Media Technology at Essex County Community College and continues to pursue his interest in film and new media.

“This has been a great learning experience. It has been wonderful still being involved in this film even after graduation. I get to go back and work with current and former students to finish this film. We have learned so much together over the years,” said graduate mentor Joao Tarouco.

Andre Marques, a student animator on the film, was one of the students Tarouco mentored. “With the help of Mr. Teheran, Joao, and all of the other students involved in this film, I was able to learn so much about 3D animation and the filmmaking process,” said Marques. “Collaborating with my classmates and learning by doing is what made this fun and so successful, and helped us see this through to the end.”

A preview of the film can be found here, as well as a breakdown of some of the work that went into creating a scene from the film here. In addition, the East Side High School New Media Studies Magnet Program has created a promotional video that can be found here outlining some of the innovative work that is being done in the program.

About East Side High School’s New Media Studies Magnet Program
The New Media Studies magnet program is one of the premier offerings of East Side High School. The award winning and internationally recognized program provides the opportunity for students to participate in a state-of-the-art course curriculum that prepares them for the twenty-first century communications work place. Completely computer based, the graphic design, video production, and animation program that has been developed for over 12 years by teachers, students, and administrators committed to its success. Each year the students produce original, creative, and engaging films, animations, and graphic materials. These projects frequently win awards in state and national film festivals. The program has gained international recognition being featured in the French periodical “Le Nuveau Observator” and by participating in European film festivals that feature student films from around the world.

The New Media Studies magnet program leads with its focus on cross-curricular and interdisciplinary structure. Instructors from various departments and subjects, including: English, History, Journalism, Foreign Language, Speech, Music, and Law join with the Graphic Arts and Video teachers to develop connections and create strategies to illustrate the relationships between these areas of study to students and design curriculum that coordinates projects between the subject areas.

Attracting and recruiting students from across Newark, the New Media Studies magnet program has the full support of the faculty and staff at all levels. It provides the youth of Newark with a rigorous, relevant, and visionary course of study that will be the model of education in the coming decades.