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Opening Doors
to Opportunity: Queens High Schools and Southampton Graduate Campus Collaborate
SOUTHAMPTON,
NY -- "Today was a celebration and an opportunity," said June Orchanian,
Principal of John Bowne High School in Queens, at the close of a
day-long collaborative workshop between Southampton Graduate Campus of Long
Island University and three Queens High Schools. Her remarks were
greeted with enthusiastic applause.
More than 100
faculty members, administrators and students from the high schools
spent Tuesday, November 7 at the College as an outgrowth of an ongoing
partnership between Beach Channel High School and Southampton Graduate Campus
that is designed to smooth the path of inner-city high school students
toward higher education. Beach Channel High School in Rockaway Park,
John Bowne in Flushing, and John Adams in Ozone Park all participated
in the day's activities.
The latest development
in the partnership is the College's announcement that it will offer
full-tuition, four-year scholarships to the top two students Ð the
valedictorian and salutatorian Ð at all 35 Queens high schools starting
next fall.
"The scholarship
is tangible evidence of the value we place on this partnership,"
Provost Tim Bishop told the group during a luncheon meeting in Chancellors
Hall. "It speaks to what our college and university are all about
Ð access, diversity, supporting students and providing opportunities."
Bernard Gassaway,
Principal of Beach Channel, outlined the achievements of the collaboration
between the college and the secondary school since the partnership
began 18 months ago through a mutual interest in oceanography and
marine science. At the first meeting of the two groups, Gassaway
said, "We planned to meet for 20 minutes, but ended up talking for
an hour and a half, and we were still thinking of ways we could
collaborate," he said.
Among the accomplishments
reported during the day-long meeting
- Beach Channel
English teacher Amy Regis described how she co-taught a creative
writing course last summer with a graduate student in Southampton's
MFA in Writing program. "I did just as much learning as the students"
she said. "It was an incredible opportunity for me." She also
took two graduate courses in the MFA program.
- Beach Channel
student Paul Kirchgaessner talked about his experience in a one-week
summer marine biology program at Southampton. "We did field research
and studied ichthyology. Each day was filled with learning," he
said. "I also learned about college life and how to deal with
roommates."
- Andrea Valentin,
last year's salutatorian at Beach Channel, offered highlights
of her freshman year as a marine science major at Southampton
College made possible through a scholarship and the collaboration.
"The science classes require lots of studying and research, but
if you need help the faculty make themselves completely available,"
she told the group at a meeting in the Avram Theater.
Michael Brophy,
Southampton's Associate Provost, explained that the student and
faculty exchanges, mentorships, diversity retreats, summer workshops
in web design, writing, photography and marine science, and the
creation of two Accelerated College Enrichment (ACE) courses at
Beach Channel have helped the College learn more about the living
and learning needs of urban students while opening new doors for
the high school students' college preparation.
The collaboration
began through a chance encounter between Gassaway and Manhattan
Architect Paul Broches, when Broches was tapped to serve as "Principal
for a Day" at Beach Channel in May of 1999. Broches, a partner with
Mitchell/Giurgola, is well acquainted with Southampton Graduate Campus having
designed Chancellors Hall, its new academic center. After learning
about the high school's program in oceanography, Broches told Principal
Gassaway about Southampton's top-rated marine science program and
offered to connect the two institutions.
Since then,
Gassaway and Brophy have worked together to forge the partnership,
making numerous trips back and forth between Beach Channel High,
located in urban Far Rockaway on Jamaica Bay, and Southampton Graduate Campus,
70 miles to the east on Shinnecock Bay in the midst of the world-renowned
Hamptons beach resort. In the process, the two administrators have
become friends, as have various students, faculty and administrators
at the two institutions. Last April, administrators began presenting
the collaborative model to other Queens high school principals.
Both Southampton
and Beach Channel administrators hope their efforts will inspire
other universities and high schools to form similar partnerships
for the benefit of students.
"All the participants
in the collaboration have been energized by the possibilities generated
whenever dedicated educators meet," said John Marcus, Vice Principal
at Beach Channel and a key member of the team. "Both communities
have contributed from the head and the heart, and the result is
inspiring."
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