$50,000 grant to Syracuse University will enable 32 NYC high school students to earn six credits of college-level instruction for free through Summer College in New York City

$50,000 grant to Syracuse University will enable 32 NYC high school students to earn six credits of college-level instruction for free through Summer College in New York CityJune 30, 2008Patrick Farrellpmfarrel@syr.edu

Syracuse University and the Friends of the High School for Leadership and Public Service announced today that the Charles Hayden Foundation has awarded the institutions a $50,000 grant to help fund the innovative Summer College in New York City Program. The program is designed to give New York City public high school students a chance to experience college-level courses and earn college credit during the summer before their senior year.

The Charles Hayden Foundation seeks to promote the mental, moral and physical development of children and youth ages 5-18 in the New York and Boston metropolitan areas. Its focus is on those institutions and programs serving youth most at risk of not reaching their full potential, especially youth in low-income communities.

“We’re enormously pleased that the Charles Hayden Foundation selected Syracuse University, the Friends of the High School for Leadership and Public Service and the Summer College in New York City Program as the recipient of this grant,” says SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor. “Because of the foundation’s generosity and deep commitment to developing New York City youth, we will be able to provide 32 New York City high school students with a solid foundation for future success.”

SU offers a six-week summer program that provides two college-level credit-bearing courses to public high school students between their junior and senior years of high school in New York City. The 32 participants in this year’s Summer College in New York City program were selected from a field of applicants from the city’s public high schools who completed the 11th grade with a cumulative average of 85 or better.

The program offers six credits of college-level instruction and is taught at the High School for Leadership and Public Service in Lower Manhattan by SU School of Education professors and instructors from the Writing Program in SU’s College of Arts and Sciences.

“Syracuse University’s Summer College program exemplifies the mission of the Charles Hayden Foundation,” says Kenneth Merin, president and CEO of the Charles Hayden Foundation. “We’re encouraged by the commitment of Syracuse University and the Friends of the High School for Leadership and Public Service to provide New York City high school students with opportunities to experience and succeed in higher education.”

In addition to the credit-bearing courses, the program includes a career-awareness element to encourage talented students to consider careers in the public service professions, including education. Over the course of Summer College in New York City, students will learn about issues of youth, schooling, popular culture and leadership, and emphasis will be placed on improving their literacy capabilities and developing their college-level learning skills.

The High School for Leadership and Public Service, a small, themed public high school co-founded by Syracuse University, is hosting the program. The University has maintained a robust relationship with the High School for Leadership and Public Service through The Friends of Leadership, an influential New York City-based SU alumni club.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with the Charles Hayden Foundation on this unique program,” says Jane Present, president of the Friends of the High School for Leadership and Public Service. “This program provides students who may not have had a chance to get ahead on their collegiate education the possibility to do so. We hope this helps to level the playing field.”