Steady Learning During Uncertain Times |
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Dear Friends,
We hope this late fall season finds you safe and healthy in spite of challenges posed by the election, pandemic, economy and social unrest. And while it seems that uncertainty is the new normal, we at ESPI - our teachers, teaching fellows, college interns and administrative staff - endeavor to continue to provide a consistent source of learning, skills building and intellectual exploration for our students. I’m happy to report on ESPI’s success with virtual classes. We began in March when schools closed, and we finished off at the end of the spring semester. Then, in response to the needs of our students, our typical month long summer program expanded to 10 weeks(!) and we added two rounds of SHSAT prep, virtual field trips to museums, and a documentary filmmaking class conducted by students from Swarthmore.
We segued right into our current fall semester, our class offerings increased and we expanded our Wednesday midweek sessions to include full classes and valuable one-on-one office hours with our teachers. We have a remarkably consistent attendance rate of 95% and above for our 90+ middle school students in three grades, who attend over 50 different New York City public schools. As I tour the virtual classes each week, I look for the things we are doing right as an organization and also for the things we can improve. While attendance rate is a basic measure of success, so are student engagement, enthusiasm, homework turned in, quality of writing assignments, creative math problem solving skills, and questions asked during class. As educators, we continually assess our curriculum, and our teaching staff. On all of these fronts, I am pleased to report ESPI and its students are thriving! Our challenge is to maintain and improve our work and change with the times to address the needs of our students, while maintaining academic excellence in our curriculum.
Great news highlights include significant institutional grants awarded to ESPI, giving validation to our young program and inspiring us to press on.
Event Alert! I am excited to alert you to our first virtual fundraiser, which will take place soon (date to follow). This will be a great event that I promise will make you smile.
Finally, any school administration, whether public or private, will tell you that maintaining high academic standards for students while online is very hard work. But it can be done - with smaller classes, extra classroom teaching staff, shorter lessons, longer semesters and of course, wonderful teachers. ESPI has that winning formula, so please help us keep it! Now more than ever, ESPI needs your help. Please consider donating.
Thank you in advance for your continued support,
Vizhier Mooney
President, ESPI: City Smart Scholars
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New Series!
ESPI Teacher Profiles:
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Dr. Robert E. Mason and “The Toolbox”
One of the pillars of ESPI’s multi year program is the full year of algebra/geometry studies taught by acclaimed teacher, Dr. Robert E. Mason IV. Dr. Mason is a math educator who spent 42 years in teaching and who came out of retirement to volunteer his time to teach math again to our 7th graders. As the former seventh grade House Advisor and math teacher at The Dalton School, nicknamed “Doc” for his PhD in Mathematics, he introduced the idea of “the toolbox” as well as other innovations in the teaching of mathematics to middle and high school students. Doc himself was a legend at Dalton, known for the high expectations he had for students and the understanding of high-level concepts the students took with them upon finishing his class.
Dr. Mason has carried the toolbox concept over to our ESPI scholars, who in the seventh grade create their own mathematical “toolboxes”. These are notebooks each student devises and uses as a resource throughout the year, as the notebooks provide the “tools” the students will need to solve challenging problems. In it are notes and a record of important terminology, rules, and procedures. Some students express their organizational skills and artistic flair with their toolboxes by color coding different sections and organizing their work on the page in creative ways. “Open Toolbox” quizzes are given periodically throughout the school year where students are free to use their notes as a resource; knowing they will be allowed to use their toolboxes gives students even more incentive to be detailed in their notes. Keeping a thorough and organized toolbox also helps prepare students for the note taking they will do throughout their middle and high school careers. Additionally, students are required to bring their toolbox to each ESPI class, which fosters their developing independence and sense of responsibility.
Prior to his time at Dalton, Dr. Mason taught math, science and robotics for 17 years at Hunter College Elementary School. In addition to teaching, he has authored several books on math pedagogy. His classes are challenging but the methods he uses help students build good problem solving skills by prioritizing the learning of math fundamentals, and then relying on these concepts to solve ever more difficult problems. We believe his work has been instrumental in the success of our students on the SHSAT and in preparing them to excel at higher level math work. (Click on the photo to learn more about him and take a peek into his ESPI classroom, pre-Covid times).
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Virtual Learning Continues, Additional Midweek Sessions Added |
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ESPI’s fall semester is in full swing and enrollment is 100 students; thirty-four 6th graders, thirty-three 7th graders, and thirty 8th graders all meet on Saturdays for full day virtual classes. In addition, we have begun “office hours” for ESPI alums who are now in high school at schools including Hunter and Bronx Science, where they are supported by our college interns.
In our 6th through 8th grade programs, we divide each grade into three classes to allow for the smaller group sessions that we have found to be most effective for virtual learning.
Our 6th graders are continuing their pre-algebra math studies led by Dr. Orit Gwirceman, and are currently reading “A House on Mango Street” with English teacher Michelle Smalls. Our 7th graders are focused on exploring literary works, practicing their writing skills and continuing to shore up on their core math skills. They are reading Trevor Noah’s autobiography, “Born a Crime,” with teacher Greg Farrell and continue to work on algebra with Dr. Mason and instructors Tiffany Ramos and Lizzie McCord. This semester both 6th and 8th graders are exploring the poetry of Robert Frost with teaching fellow Story Ponvert. This is not a “test prep” class, but we are noticing strong improvement on the poetry readings that comprise one sixth of the English Language Arts section of the Specialized High School Admissions Test. And of course, test prep sessions for the 6th and 8th graders continue for the Hunter College High School admissions test and the SHSAT, although because of the pandemic, the test schedule this year is still undetermined.
We have been very happy with the popularity of our midweek virtual sessions, which arose as a direct result of the pandemic and work from home orders. Students are able to check in with their teachers, mentors and teaching fellows, as well as get extra help where needed and keep their Saturday learning fresh through the week. To this midweek program we added small group classes in essay writing, math and additional SHSAT and Hunter test prep. While we will be delighted when we are able to meet again in live classrooms, these midweek sessions have been such a success, we will be making them a permanent feature of ESPI programs even after things return to normal.
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Andrew Sherlock joins ESPI Associate Board |
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We are excited to announce Andrew Sherlock as the newest member of the ESPI family and Co-Chair of our Associate Board. Andrew who will be joining Tiffany Ramos on the Associate Board graduated as a Mathematics and Economics double major at Yale University after graduating from HCHS in 2012. He is passionate about improving access to schools like Hunter and Yale for all kids. Sherlock sees ESPI's City Smart Scholars Program as a way for students who otherwise are at a disadvantage to have "an advantage in life," and believes ESPI can help prepare them to excel and gain entrance to institutions of higher education. "I want kids who lack those resources to still have a fighting chance on the pivotal high school entrance exams." He hopes to bring his analytical background in finance, at present as an investment analyst at Night Owl Capital Management, to contribute to the fundraising and sustainability efforts at ESPI. Welcome, Andrew!
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Grants: Gaining Support from some of New York’s Esteemed Institutions |
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Thanks to the tireless work of founder Andy McCord, ESPI was awarded grants from the Capital One Impact Initiative, The Lauder Foundation, The New York Community Trust, HCHS Alumnae/i Association and more.
As an organization that sprung from a grassroots effort, and only in our fifth year in existence, we are grateful for their support. This is much needed funding and we are truly humbled by the recognition these grants signal. The grantors all understood how the major aspects of our program broadly benefit the citizens of New York City, bolster upward mobility among underserved communities, and specifically address the issue of diversity among NYC’s exam schools.
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