Press Releases

College is Awarded Grant to Establish Program for Disadvantaged High Schoolers

Southampton, NY - Southampton College has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the N.Y. State Education Department to establish a collaborative program for 90 disadvantaged students at Beach Channel High School in Queens.

The five-year grant, from the state's Liberty Partnership Program, will enable the college and the high school to develop a collaborative program aimed at dropout prevention through improving academic skills, attendance, and career/college preparation. The program will be modeled on Long Island University's successful "LIU Plan" for its undergraduate students that emphasizes, cooperative education, hands-on learning, career development and counseling. "This grant is a wonderful opportunity to cement a partnership between Southampton College and Beach Channel High school that has been several years in the making," said Associate Provost Michael Brophy who has spearheaded the Queens-Southampton partnership along with Beach Channel Principal Bernard Gassaway. "It will provide high school students with experiences that will enrich their lives and open up areas of interest that might not have occurred to them." Among the plans for the students in the program are:

• Special classes that include academic advising,tutoring, career exploration, mentorship and apprenticeship experiences

• Visits to the high school by selected Southampton College faculty and staff to work with students and teachers

• Regular trips to Southampton College by Beach Channel students to explore academic and career options and develop learning/mentoring relationships.

"This is a chance for our students to be exposed to college-level programs while still in high school and to look farther afield as they plan their post-high school years," said Gassaway. Plans include the establishment of a full-time director for the program at Beach Channel High School, and year-round activities and programming at both schools. More than 24 per cent of Rockaway's population falls below the poverty line, compared to 20 per cent citywide. More of Rockaway's children live in poverty than anywhere else in the borough of Queens or the rest of New York City. The collaborative program between Southampton College and Beach Channel High school began in 1999. Although the two seaside communities are located nearly 70 miles apart, they were initially drawn to each other because they both have marine science and oceanography programs. Since then, Gassaway and Brophy have worked closely together to forge the mutually beneficial partnership through faculty/student exchange programs, mentorships, diversity retreats, summer workshops in web design, writing, photograph and marine science and the creation of two Accelerated College Enrichment courses at the high school. The partnership helps the College to learn more about the living and learning needs of urban students while opening new doors for the high school students' college preparation.

The partnership has broadened to include initiatives and exchanges with other Queens high schools. The College hosted a retreat July 16-18 for 35 Assistant High School Principals from Queens schools. Funded by the New York City Board of Education, the conference brought young administrative leaders from the city's schools to Southampton College for training. In August the College will hold a special week-long college preparatory program for Bucharian-Jewish immigrant students from Forest Hills High School. The program is funded by the Jewish Child Care Association.