CUNY Prep: A School to Drop Back In

By Ulises Gonzales

Bronx Journal Staff Writer

It’s a place built on the idea that people deserve a second chance, a Bronx spot for potential losers to become winners, a school for dropouts to drop back in.

It’s CUNY Prep, a unique program created by the City University of New York to help out-of-school youth return to classes, pass the GED  (high school equivalency) exam, enter college and get a degree. It is a collaborative effort between the university and New York City’s Department of Youth and Community Development and Department of Education.

“You have to give people a chance to succeed,” said CUNY Senior Vice Chancellor Jay Hershenson, one of the main figures behind the initiative. “If it was not for this program these people would have to go to the underground economy. These are the types of programs that have to be available. If you do not provide incentives and alternatives to the people, they have to find other ways to survive.”

At a small building on White Plains Road, more than 300 New York City students are getting back on the track that leads to a college education. Those from 16 to 18 years old attend daytime classes and those 19 and over take nighttime courses.

“If it wasn’t for this program I would probably be on the street doing stupid stuff,” said William Narvaez, 18. “I’m still doing a lot of stupid stuff but probably I would be doing a lot more than now.”

Narvaez wants to get a college degree because he wants to be a motorcycle designer. He dropped out “because I was getting in a lot of fights at the high school,” he said. Going back to study “was difficult because I had to get back in the rhythm of coming to school and everything.” But he believes CUNY Prep is a better experience than high school. “It is smaller and you get to know everybody,” Narvaez added.

The program, which started in 2004, graduated 36 students in its first year, 120 students in 2005, and 164 in the past year. And it’s success is not only based on producing high school graduates; more than 60 CUNY Prep alumni are currently attending college.

And the future looks bright for the unique school. For each of the next three years, CUNY Prep will receive $3.5 million from the New York City Commission on Economic Development.

“We have single-handedly changed the public policy debate about what to do with out-of-school youth,” said CUNY Prep Principal Derrick Griffith. “Prior to CUNY Prep, most people either wrote them off as losers, as people who could not cut it, or people who should go out and get a job. We are giving these kids the opportunity to

improve their lives and change their communities by graduating with a GED and going to college. Education is economic empowerment,” Griffith added.

After very intensive admission interviews, three times a year, CUNY Prep students enter a one-year program that not only provides them with intensive training to pass the GED test, but also gives them the orientation and tools to apply for scholarships and financial aid, and to finish college successfully. Students are also eligible to take courses with CUNY College Now, a program that allows them to begin taking college courses, and earning college credits, while they are still in high school.

At CUNY Prep, full-time students take classes in humanities, science, mathematics, college survival, writing and health/physical education.

The students are encouraged to participate in special-interest clubs such as photography, dance, journalism or writing.  Some of these clubs are designed to improve their literacy at the same time.

Although the program is very strict about conduct and attendance, it currently has a waiting list of more than 100 students.

“It is their choice to be here. If they are not ready, we tell them to come back in a couple of months,” said Eve Bois, the school’s assistant director for curriculum and instruction. She insists that attendance is very important to succeed in this program.

“Attendance is always an issue” said humanities teacher Cindy Spector, noting that at CUNY Prep “there is a higher standard than in high school, there is a higher expectation of behavior.”

Griffith agrees. “I tell the faculty and the staff, all the time, that we must be concerned about teaching academic content and skills,” he said. “But even more important we have to be concerned about teaching attitudes of success. We are going to give the student an opportunity to grow, but we are going to set the standards higher than what you would see in any other place.”

Among the secrets of CUNY Prep’s success are small class sizes and dedicated teachers. “The students were disillusioned with school, the schools failed them, but here the teachers are very responsive, passionate and dedicated to them, said Jamal Mantin, coordinator of the night program. “That is very refreshing to the students. Everybody cares about them, from the administrative assistant to the principal.”

Some faculty members truly understand the experience of returning to school after having dropped out. “I was a high school dropout,” says humanities teacher Rondi Silva. “I took the GED two years later. When I decided to go to college, the first time it did not work for me. Then I dropped out from college.”

But she went back. And when she graduated from college she taught at various New York City schools, until she found what she calls her “dream job” at CUNY Prep.

The program even offers the students supervision and guidance for a year after they graduate. CUNY Prep’s goal is not just for students to finish high school, but to get a college degree.

“I still have graduates who return for tutoring even if they are taking classes in college,” says Frantz Barbier, a math professor who also works with members of the photography club, in a project that combines creative writing and photography.

At CUNY Prep, the expectation is that at least 75 percent of its alumni will graduate from college. From the first graduating class of 30 students, 10 of them are getting associate degrees this year.

And even if life is still difficult for some graduates, CUNY Prep educators say the program has been a lifesaver for many of New York’s out-of-school youth who otherwise may not have been able to re-start their education.

“I got pregnant and dropped school to have my baby,” said Katherine Perez, 18, who enrolled at CUNY Prep to get to college and study journalism. “If it was not for the program, maybe I would be on the streets and taking care of my baby.”

Samantha Ramirez, 18, said CUNY Prep has motivated her to pursue a degree in fashion. “I was in Puerto Rico and then I came here and I was out of school for two years.” she said. “Without this program I would be home all day. Motivation, for me, it’s hard to do it by myself. Now I have to be here at 9 a.m. This is easier for me.”

Griffith said he is not surprised by that need for supervision. “Young people want more structure and more discipline in their lives than adults will ever imagine,” he said. “So, they come to this place, and, for once, they are in a place where we mean what we say.”

And the work CUNY Prep is doing is beginning to draw attention. Foundations and policy makers have started to come from other parts of the country to look at this experiment and to use it as a model for similar programs in other cities. A few months ago, a commission from Chicago came to New York to try to copy the CUNY Prep model to help the 20,000 youths who drop out of Chicago schools every year.

“For the Bronx, CUNY Prep means that we have less people on the streets with the opportunity to get in trouble,” Griffith said. “We are laying down the foundation for a stronger community. There is a resource, a jewel, here in the Bronx for people who drop out of school for whatever reason.”

Because of CUNY Prep, Adonis Cockfield, 16, now believes he will be able to fulfill his dream of getting a degree and going to Hollywood to become an actor. But if it wasn’t for this very unique school, “I would probably still be on the streets,” he said, “roaming.”

For more information on CUNY Prep, go to www.cunyprep.org