News and Speeches

Four Schools Designed to Model New Approaches and Innovations in Career and Technical Education

09/21/2009

Follows Recommendation by Mayoral Task Force to Create Instructional “Demonstration Sites” That Prepare Students for 21st Century Careers

    Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein today announced four “demonstration site” schools that will model innovative practices in Career and Technical Education (CTE), integrating new instructional ideas with rigorous academics to prepare graduates for success in the 21st century workplace. The schools are City Polytechnic High School of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology, in Brooklyn; The Urban Assembly School for Green Careers, in Manhattan; Quest to Learn, in Manhattan; and Grace Dodge Career and Technical High School, in the Bronx. City Polytechnic, The Urban Assembly School for Green Careers, and Quest to Learn are new schools that opened for the first time earlier this month. Grace Dodge High School opened in 1925. The creation of schools as demonstration sites for innovation is a central recommendation of a task force commissioned by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in 2008 to ensure that Career and Technical Education offers students a pathway to postgraduate success. The demonstration site schools are also part of the NYC21C initiative, a research and development project dedicated to preparing secondary school students more effectively for higher education and career success. Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development Dennis M. Walcott, Mayoral Task Force co-Chair and former New York Life Insurance Company Chairman and Chief Executive Sy Sternberg, City University of New York (CUNY) President Matthew Goldstein, Partnership for New York City President and Chief Executive Officer Kathryn Wylde, and United Federation of Teachers Director of Health and Safety Sterling Robeson joined Chancellor Klein for the announcement, which was held in the Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School campus in downtown Brooklyn.

    “These demonstration site schools will not only help improve the quality of Career and Technical Education in our City, they will also pilot innovations that will help us see beyond a model of educating high school students that has little changed in more than a hundred years,” Chancellor Klein said. “When they receive their diplomas, students graduating from these schools will have skills that our global economy demands. I want to thank the Mayor’s task force for their recommendations and the demonstration site school leaders for leading the way in this exciting initiative.”

    “This September marks the fulfillment of the Mayor’s pledge from the 2008 State of the City. After more than a year and a half of work, the launching of these four demonstration schools is the culmination of a vision to transform Career and Technical Education into a highly-desired pathway that provides students with top-notch, diverse options to ensure that they not only graduate but are truly prepared to succeed in post-secondary life, whether that be in college, in the workforce or a combination of the two,” Deputy Mayor Walcott said. “We are grateful for the support and partnership of the State Education Department in this work and are excited to see these schools develop and thrive in the coming years.”

    Each of the schools will innovate within a particular instructional approach, maintain academic rigor that prepares students for post-secondary success, and teach technical competency in emerging industry areas.

City Polytechnic Academy of Engineering and Technology (City Poly) is the City’s first school where students can earn both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree through a comprehensive five-year course of study in partnership with New York City College of Technology (City Tech) of The City University of New York (CUNY). A new school that opened for the first time this year, City Poly uses a trimester calendar that allows students to accumulate high school credits at an accelerated rate, earning a high school diploma after three years. Curriculum at this school integrates academics with technical subjects and is supported by the National Academy Foundations—a non-profit organization that connects a network of CTE schools across the country. Students at all grade-levels will have access to City Tech’s facilities and professors.
The Urban Assembly School for Green Careers is a new school this year that divides students into three learning labs—the clean and renewable energy lab, the green design lab, and the urban environment and landscape lab—instead of grouping students by grade level. Students move through the lab curriculum at their own pace, continuing to the next learning lab only once they demonstrate content knowledge and mastery of the requirements for a particular lab.
Quest to Learn is a new school this year that uses game-like missions to frame learning for students in grades six through twelve. Supported by Institute of Play—a research-based organization that uses games as the context for learning—and New Visions for Public Schools, teachers function as facilitators encouraging problem-based learning among students who conduct research, gather data, develop and test hypotheses, create games, and become fluent with digital media and design in order to complete the missions. At the end of each eight-week mission, students produce a culminating project that demonstrates gained knowledge.
Grace Dodge Career and Technical High School is a large high school where students organize into four career and technical small learning communities—the School of Health Sciences, the School of Business and Technology, the School of Professional Beauty Care, and the School of Legal and Criminal Studies. Grace Dodge was selected as a demonstration site based on a recommendation from the task force that a large existing high school pilot improvements and innovations as a model for what could be done in other existing CTE schools. Grace Dodge serves a student body that is representative of students who have historically been least likely to attend college. Every student at Grace Dodge is eligible for free or reduced lunch, 98 percent of students are Black or Hispanic, 19 percent of students are learning English, and 16 percent of students require special education services. Nearly 100 teachers at Grace Dodge will be linked this year by new technology that facilitates greater collaboration within a large school.

    As instructional innovations are piloted and developed at these schools, the City will work with New York State to ensure that the curriculum meets high academic standards. University and college partners will collaborate with school leadership to ensure that students are prepared for college-level work upon graduation. Industry partners will provide regular feedback to schools about the skills needed to have a successful career with growth opportunities. Through the NYC21C initiative, schools will have opportunities to share practices and disseminate promising innovations.

    “The task force was very clear about its intention that these demonstration schools offer a first-class education to students from all backgrounds across the City,” task force co-Chair Mayor David Dinkins said. “We are pleased to see that vision achieved not only in the types of students who are attending these schools but in the exciting and varied educational options at their disposal.”

    “A key goal of the task force was to forge a stronger relationship between industry and the Career and Technical Education community,” task force co-Chair Sy Sternberg said. “It is gratifying to witness the incredible partnerships enjoyed by these schools with various industries as they strive to ensure their students learn the skills they need to excel in the today’s job market. This collaboration establishes a solid foundation for strong economic growth in our City.”

    “This is an expansion of Career and Technical Education with a new, modern, and forward-looking chapter in educational opportunities for students in New York City,” New York State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said. “I commend the Chancellor and his team for infusing such exciting options into the educational portfolio of the City.”

    “New York City will be well served by these new schools, which recognize the connection between career readiness and college readiness,” CUNY Chancellor Goldstein said. “At CUNY, we greatly value working with our partners in the Department of Education to develop a workforce with strong critical thinking, communication, and technological skills, and we look forward to continuing our productive collaboration.”

    “Enormous progress is being made to reform and expand New York's Career and
Technical Education programs, so that our students are well prepared for jobs in growth sectors of the global economy,” task force member and Partnership for New York City President and CEO Kathryn Wylde said. “Employers have welcomed the opportunity to help the Department of Education develop more relevant and rigorous programs to make sure our students gain skills that are relevant to the evolving workplace.”

    “Career and Technical Education is a win for everyone. Students get hands-on, real-world experience and do better in school,” United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said. “Additionally, CTE helps create the 21st century workforce the City needs to move our economy forward.”

    The task force also recommended that the City continue to open additional CTE schools and increase the number of State-approved CTE programs citywide. Since the task force first convened, the Department of Education has opened eight new CTE schools, including three of the demonstration sites. Additionally, 22 existing CTE programs demonstrated the technical education rigor required by the State, and the City has developed a comprehensive process for submitting all eligible programs for State approval over the next three years. Also based on the recommendations of the task force, the new five-year capital plan covering school construction through 2014 commits to invest in CTE resources such as labs and technical equipment for both new and existing CTE schools and programs.

    Last year, approximately 130,000 New York City students were enrolled in Career and Technical Education, either in stand-alone schools or programs, or in elective courses at their high schools. About 30,000 of these students were enrolled in the City’s 26 CTE schools. This year, there are 30 CTE schools, including the demonstration site schools.

    The Fund for Public Schools raised more than $1.8M in private dollars to support CTE innovations, including a generous gift from the Tortora Sillcox Family Foundation to support one of the demonstration sites—City Polytechnic High School. The NYC21C initiative, which includes the four CTE demonstration sites, has received initial funding from Cisco Global Education. Cisco also supports more than a dozen schools across the City—including George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School, where strides are being made toward meeting the City’s goal for Career and Technical Education—with Cisco Networking Academy programs.

    The task force held its first meeting in March 2008 and released a report with recommendations for Career and Technical Education innovation in July 2008. Prior to the report’s release, task force members researched the challenges of existing CTE schools and programs and surveyed best practices in CTE throughout the State, nationally, as well as internationally. The task force, whose members are a cross-section of private, public and nonprofit professionals, also hosted and collected public comment on a preliminary draft of their recommendations.

About Us Academics Choices & Enrollment Schools in the Community Offices & Programs Media Relations News and Speeches Media Consent Forms Contact Us Rules & Policies Student Support, Safety & Activities Performance & Accountability	News and Speeches Four Schools Designed to Model New Approaches and Innovations in Career and Technical Education 09/21/2009 Follows Recommendation by Mayoral Task Force to Create Instructional “Demonstration Sites” That Prepare Students for 21st Century Careers Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein today announced four “demonstration site” schools that will model innovative practices in Career and Technical Education (CTE), integrating new instructional ideas with rigorous academics to prepare graduates for success in the 21st century workplace. The schools are City Polytechnic High School of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology, in Brooklyn; The Urban Assembly School for Green Careers, in Manhattan; Quest to Learn, in Manhattan; and Grace Dodge Career and Technical High School, in the Bronx. City Polytechnic, The Urban Assembly School for Green Careers, and Quest to Learn are new schools that opened for the first time earlier this month. Grace Dodge High School opened in 1925. The creation of schools as demonstration sites for innovation is a central recommendation of a task force commissioned by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in 2008 to ensure that Career and Technical Education offers students a pathway to postgraduate success. The demonstration site schools are also part of the NYC21C initiative, a research and development project dedicated to preparing secondary school students more effectively for higher education and career success. Deputy Mayor for Education and Community Development Dennis M. Walcott, Mayoral Task Force co-Chair and former New York Life Insurance Company Chairman and Chief Executive Sy Sternberg, City University of New York (CUNY) President Matthew Goldstein, Partnership for New York City President and Chief Executive Officer Kathryn Wylde, and United Federation of Teachers Director of Health and Safety Sterling Robeson joined Chancellor Klein for the announcement, which was held in the Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School campus in downtown Brooklyn. “These demonstration site schools will not only help improve the quality of Career and Technical Education in our City, they will also pilot innovations that will help us see beyond a model of educating high school students that has little changed in more than a hundred years,” Chancellor Klein said. “When they receive their diplomas, students graduating from these schools will have skills that our global economy demands. I want to thank the Mayor’s task force for their recommendations and the demonstration site school leaders for leading the way in this exciting initiative.” “This September marks the fulfillment of the Mayor’s pledge from the 2008 State of the City. After more than a year and a half of work, the launching of these four demonstration schools is the culmination of a vision to transform Career and Technical Education into a highly-desired pathway that provides students with top-notch, diverse options to ensure that they not only graduate but are truly prepared to succeed in post-secondary life, whether that be in college, in the workforce or a combination of the two,” Deputy Mayor Walcott said. “We are grateful for the support and partnership of the State Education Department in this work and are excited to see these schools develop and thrive in the coming years.” Each of the schools will innovate within a particular instructional approach, maintain academic rigor that prepares students for post-secondary success, and teach technical competency in emerging industry areas. City Polytechnic Academy of Engineering and Technology (City Poly) is the City’s first school where students can earn both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree through a comprehensive five-year course of study in partnership with New York City College of Technology (City Tech) of The City University of New York (CUNY). A new school that opened for the first time this year, City Poly uses a trimester calendar that allows students to accumulate high school credits at an accelerated rate, earning a high school diploma after three years. Curriculum at this school integrates academics with technical subjects and is supported by the National Academy Foundations—a non-profit organization that connects a network of CTE schools across the country. Students at all grade-levels will have access to City Tech’s facilities and professors. The Urban Assembly School for Green Careers is a new school this year that divides students into three learning labs—the clean and renewable energy lab, the green design lab, and the urban environment and landscape lab—instead of grouping students by grade level. Students move through the lab curriculum at their own pace, continuing to the next learning lab only once they demonstrate content knowledge and mastery of the requirements for a particular lab. Quest to Learn is a new school this year that uses game-like missions to frame learning for students in grades six through twelve. Supported by Institute of Play—a research-based organization that uses games as the context for learning—and New Visions for Public Schools, teachers function as facilitators encouraging problem-based learning among students who conduct research, gather data, develop and test hypotheses, create games, and become fluent with digital media and design in order to complete the missions. At the end of each eight-week mission, students produce a culminating project that demonstrates gained knowledge. Grace Dodge Career and Technical High School is a large high school where students organize into four career and technical small learning communities—the School of Health Sciences, the School of Business and Technology, the School of Professional Beauty Care, and the School of Legal and Criminal Studies. Grace Dodge was selected as a demonstration site based on a recommendation from the task force that a large existing high school pilot improvements and innovations as a model for what could be done in other existing CTE schools. Grace Dodge serves a student body that is representative of students who have historically been least likely to attend college. Every student at Grace Dodge is eligible for free or reduced lunch, 98 percent of students are Black or Hispanic, 19 percent of students are learning English, and 16 percent of students require special education services. Nearly 100 teachers at Grace Dodge will be linked this year by new technology that facilitates greater collaboration within a large school. As instructional innovations are piloted and developed at these schools, the City will work with New York State to ensure that the curriculum meets high academic standards. University and college partners will collaborate with school leadership to ensure that students are prepared for college-level work upon graduation. Industry partners will provide regular feedback to schools about the skills needed to have a successful career with growth opportunities. Through the NYC21C initiative, schools will have opportunities to share practices and disseminate promising innovations. “The task force was very clear about its intention that these demonstration schools offer a first-class education to students from all backgrounds across the City,” task force co-Chair Mayor David Dinkins said. “We are pleased to see that vision achieved not only in the types of students who are attending these schools but in the exciting and varied educational options at their disposal.” “A key goal of the task force was to forge a stronger relationship between industry and the Career and Technical Education community,” task force co-Chair Sy Sternberg said. “It is gratifying to witness the incredible partnerships enjoyed by these schools with various industries as they strive to ensure their students learn the skills they need to excel in the today’s job market. This collaboration establishes a solid foundation for strong economic growth in our City.” “This is an expansion of Career and Technical Education with a new, modern, and forward-looking chapter in educational opportunities for students in New York City,” New York State Board of Regents Chancellor Merryl Tisch said. “I commend the Chancellor and his team for infusing such exciting options into the educational portfolio of the City.” “New York City will be well served by these new schools, which recognize the connection between career readiness and college readiness,” CUNY Chancellor Goldstein said. “At CUNY, we greatly value working with our partners in the Department of Education to develop a workforce with strong critical thinking, communication, and technological skills, and we look forward to continuing our productive collaboration.” “Enormous progress is being made to reform and expand New York's Career and Technical Education programs, so that our students are well prepared for jobs in growth sectors of the global economy,” task force member and Partnership for New York City President and CEO Kathryn Wylde said. “Employers have welcomed the opportunity to help the Department of Education develop more relevant and rigorous programs to make sure our students gain skills that are relevant to the evolving workplace.” “Career and Technical Education is a win for everyone. Students get hands-on, real-world experience and do better in school,” United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew said. “Additionally, CTE helps create the 21st century workforce the City needs to move our economy forward.” The task force also recommended that the City continue to open additional CTE schools and increase the number of State-approved CTE programs citywide. Since the task force first convened, the Department of Education has opened eight new CTE schools, including three of the demonstration sites. Additionally, 22 existing CTE programs demonstrated the technical education rigor required by the State, and the City has developed a comprehensive process for submitting all eligible programs for State approval over the next three years. Also based on the recommendations of the task force, the new five-year capital plan covering school construction through 2014 commits to invest in CTE resources such as labs and technical equipment for both new and existing CTE schools and programs. Last year, approximately 130,000 New York City students were enrolled in Career and Technical Education, either in stand-alone schools or programs, or in elective courses at their high schools. About 30,000 of these students were enrolled in the City’s 26 CTE schools. This year, there are 30 CTE schools, including the demonstration site schools. The Fund for Public Schools raised more than $1.8M in private dollars to support CTE innovations, including a generous gift from the Tortora Sillcox Family Foundation to support one of the demonstration sites—City Polytechnic High School. The NYC21C initiative, which includes the four CTE demonstration sites, has received initial funding from Cisco Global Education. Cisco also supports more than a dozen schools across the City—including George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School, where strides are being made toward meeting the City’s goal for Career and Technical Education—with Cisco Networking Academy programs. The task force held its first meeting in March 2008 and released a report with recommendations for Career and Technical Education innovation in July 2008. Prior to the report’s release, task force members researched the challenges of existing CTE schools and programs and surveyed best practices in CTE throughout the State, nationally, as well as internationally. The task force, whose members are a cross-section of private, public and nonprofit professionals, also hosted and collected public comment on a preliminary draft of their recommendations.