As the public debate swirls back and forth around the issues of equity and access, our kids have been working diligently to gain admission to New York’s finest high schools.
To recap - in the fall of 2015 we launched our pilot program in a church basement on the Upper East Side to prepare 7 students for the Hunter College High School exam (HCHS).
We are proud of our progress to-date and appreciate your support.
In 2017 we began our first year-long 7th grade enrichment program, with goals of improving retention of students and building foundations not only for admissions tests but for success in demanding high school environments. With our first full class entering 8th grade in 2018, we began SHSAT test prep and counseling on the broader high school application process. This fall we have made our first steps in building out mentoring and other supports for students as they begin high schools across the city.
Our program has now expanded to over 120 (5th – 8th
grade) students annually and we are holding classes on Saturdays at Hunter College's Silberman School of Social Work in East Harlem. The building has classes equipped with state- of-the-art technology and is conveniently located for the community we serve. Additionally as we have grown, we have increased our educator talent base to include experienced classroom teachers from some of the best schools in the city.
Our results have been strong, with ESPI scholars now enrolled at Hunter(6), Bronx Science(3), Brooklyn Tech(2), Bard(2) and Trinity(1), among other great schools. Additionally, they have been accepted into other acclaimed programs such as Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics, the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth, Prep for Prep, Oliver Scholars, and the TEAK Fellowship. This year’s cohorts are poised for even greater success.
Two of our students who gained entry this year into Bronx Science actually live in the Bronx – which in itself is quite a success! Many come from the South Bronx, an area which is the second poorest congressional district in the country. Brannon, who you may have seen on our
ESPI video
, is one of those students. When we met him as a fifth grader he told us he wanted to go to one of NYC’s best high schools, Bronx Science, to realize his dream of becoming an inventor and someday working for NASA to create an “earth protector”. He is now working hard and committed to learning the ropes at the school of his dreams and still coming back to our program every Saturday to take advantage of our alumni study hours. A critical program goal for 2020 is to build effective support for our students at these schools.
Our annual budget has grown from under $50,000 to over $300,000. We now provide over 300 hours of the highest quality tutoring, teaching, and enrichment per scholar per year, and we are building our network of parents, alumni and friends…
Your contributions are critical to ESPI scholars’ success and as you consider your year-end giving, we hope you will include us. We also invite you to visit the program either on a Saturday during the school year or on a week day during our intensive summer program
Thank you!
