EHTP Announces Approval of East Harlem Scholars Academy Charter School
For Immediate Release
May 11, 2010: New York – East Harlem Tutorial Program (EHTP), the 52-year old community-based nonprofit which has provided after school education to 15,000 East Harlem students and their families, announced today that the EHTP East Harlem Scholars Academy charter school has been approved to open in East Harlem. One of six (6) charters – and the only one in Manhattan – approved by the State University of New York Board of Trustees, the school will open in August 2011.
Located in Community School District 4 (East Harlem), the East Harlem Scholars Academy charter school will provide a rigorous and responsive educational model for a community of children and families it knows well. Designed to serve 300 students in Kindergarten through 5th grade during the initial five-year charter term, the school will provide year-round, extended day (7:30 am – 5:30pm) programming, small classes with two teachers, and a host of educational interventions and services aimed at ensuring academic achievement for all students in its community, including students for whom English is not their native language.
EHTP has a long-standing track-record of success with K-12 students in East Harlem, as highlighted by its 95% college matriculation rate over the last two years, in a district where less than 25% go on to college.
“As we head into our next 50 years in East Harlem, we renew our commitment to ensuring that every student in our neighborhood has access to the same opportunities they’d have living 20 blocks south. Working collaboratively to open a high-performing school by and for the East Harlem community is a vital step toward that vision,” says Jeff Ginsburg EHTP Executive Director and member of the charter school’s Board of Directors.
“One of the things I look for when I meet with lead applicants and proposed school board members is representation from the community the school hopes to serve,” said Dr. Pedro Noguera, SUNY Trustee and Chair of the Trustees’ Charter Schools Committee. “This school’s partnership with East Harlem Tutorial Program, which has deep roots in the community, offers much promise.”
“We commend the EHTP team for their careful planning and strong community outreach,” said Jonas S. Chartock, Executive Director of the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. “While there is much hard work ahead for this group, their successful completion of SUNY’s rigorous application review process positions them well to provide a high quality education to hundreds of East Harlem students. We wish them every success.”
Over the next 14 months EHTP will devote countless hours to realizing its vision beginning with conducting a nation-wide search for a school leader.
About East Harlem Tutorial Program
Founded in 1957, EHTP annually serves 500 students, ages 5-19 (grades K-12), and their families year round through innovative and comprehensive academic and social enhancing activities, including, reading, math, Robotics one-to-one tutoring, arts, Family Literacy classes, and social counseling. Together these programs make on-time high school graduation and college a reality. In 2009 100% of EHTP’s high school seniors graduated from high school on time; 90% of 8th graders were accepted to their highest choice high schools; and 95% of K-5 participants successfully advanced to their next grade. See www.ehtp.org for more information about EHTP’s programs.
About SUNY Authorized Charter Schools
SUNY is the largest charter school authorizer in New York State and the largest university-based charter school authorizer in the country. The Charter Schools Institute (see www.newyorkcharters.org) was created by the SUNY Board of Trustees to help it carry out its responsibilities under the Charter Schools Act. Guided by the rigorous standards set by the SUNY Board of Trustees, the Institute’s oversight of SUNY authorized charter schools is comprehensive. Students at SUNY authorized charter schools out-performed those at all public schools (charter and non-charter) on last year’s mathematics and English language arts exams.
New school applications submitted to SUNY undergo a thorough review by the staff of the Charter Schools Institute and a panel of nationally renowned experts from the fields of education (charter and traditional schools), school administration, charter and traditional school policy, finance, and curriculum. The Institute interviews the lead applicant and founding trustees for all submitted applications and conducts its own due diligence to verify its capacity to provide the proposed services, and ensure educational, fiscal and legal soundness. Additional details about SUNY’s application review process are available on the Institute’s website at: http://www.newyorkcharters.org/openAppKit.htm.
