Columbia in the Community

Collaboration with Public Schools

Lisa Mata, Columbia staff member reads every Friday with her P.S. 125 elementary student during Columbia Power Lunch.

As an academic institution in New York City, various segments of the University have become involved with the New York City Public Schools. The following gives a sense of the breadth and depth of that involvement.

Collaboration with area school districts: A number of new Columbia initiatives have been launched to enhance existing public school outreach and support. Many are forming as the University lays the groundwork for the new Columbia University School, a K-8 lab school that will contribute to the enhancement of area public schools. While the school is still in the planning stages (opening fall 2003 to 650 students), it is the University's hope that the relationships formed now will serve to link area public schools with Columbia-developed educational materials and academic expertise thereby enhancing teaching and learning in area public schools. To date a number of new initiatives have been established between Community School Districts (C.S.D.) 3, 5 and 2.

A collaboration between C.S.D. #3 and Impact II, a non-profit organization with a 15-year history of successful professional development in New York City is expected to lead to a substantial private donation to C.S.D. #3. This gift will be used to fund an extensive faculty development program in the area of using new media in the curriculum. The Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning and/or the Institute for Learning Technologies will play a major role in the faculty development program. Website: http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/
A new Columbia-developed Internet tool called the Columbia Analyzer, which enables students to collect multi-media from the internet in an electronic portfolio to later organize into formatted research-style documents, will be shared with the teachers and students of any school in the C.S.D. #3 when it becomes available fall 2001. This collaboration includes teacher training by Columbia's Center for New Media Teaching and Learning and a help line for user support.
In response to Superintendent of Community District #5, Columbia assisted uncertified teachers to prepare for the teacher certification exam summer 2000 and will administer additional sessions in the future.
The planning team for the Columbia University School is working with principals from C.S.D. #3 to define and design additional University programs that could provide needed support to neighborhood schools, including the possibility of a formal partnership between the University and one or more schools in C.S.D. #3.
In response to a request from Bronx Science High School for a university affiliation, the Planning Team for the Columbia University School is working to strengthen ties between the two institutions through a number of new initiatives:
Twenty-five Bronx Science seniors were admitted without charge to a Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science introductory Electrical Engineering course for spring 2001 semester and will receive undergraduate credit upon admission to Columbia. Columbia has organized an advisory committee to Bronx Science High School under the leadership of Dr. Raphael Kasper, associate vice provost at Columbia, whose mission is to work with the school and school district to identify cooperative programs to support the high school. Planned programs include Bronx Science student and faculty access to Columbia courses, a mentoring program between Columbia faculty and Bronx Science faculty and students and free access to services, such as Columbia libraries, laboratories and new media resources.
The University School hopes to act as a portal for area public schools directing those interested to programs, materials and services provided by the University. In addition, after school/summer programs for all local residents and other programs to be defined mutually by the School and area public schools have been suggested and plans are under development.

Teachers College and New York City Public Schools: Over 20 Teachers College (TC) programs benefit supervisors, principals, novice teachers and students of New York City public schools. The following is a sampling of some of these current programs:

The Principals' Institute: A year-long training at TC for exemplary supervisors and assistant principals
The First Year Teacher Program: Connects novice teachers with TC faculty as mentors
The Reading and Writing Project: Helps teachers in NYC and nation-wide to improve students' reading and writing skills
The Eiffel Project: A program that strives to integrate digital learning into the curriculum of 46 public schools in six districts in New York City, directly benefiting 30,000 students from minority, immigrant and economically disadvantaged families in the New York metropolitan area
Project Synergy: A cooperative effort between TC and Community School District 3 in Manhattan designed to identify and serve economically disadvantaged, potentially gifted kindergarten students in the NYC public schools.
The Capstone Program: Gives current/former TC students teaching experience by working with 10th – 12th grade students in alternative schools in New York City.

Convening of Community School District Superintendents: Assistant Vice President and Director of Government Relations and Community Affairs Larry Dais has inaugurated a forum for all Manhattan community superintendents to discuss common concerns and to plan areas for future collaborations between the public schools and the University.

Support of Child Care Centers: For over 50 years, Columbia has responded to the needs of parents in the community by financially supporting child care organizations in the neighborhood. At present, Columbia contributes to the operational costs of six child care centers, each open to Columbia-affiliates and non-affiliates alike. With funds raised by Columbia Community Service, financial aid for neighborhood parents and Columbia employees in need of tuition assistance is provided. This support means thousands of dollars in annual scholarships for low-income families in the area. At present one third of the students enrolled are non-Columbia affiliated. To further support area parents, a directory of other child care providers is published as a community service. A website has also been developed by The Provost-appointed Task Force on Child Care, providing a virtual environment where parents can connect with one another and gather information on schools, events, other community news. See http://www.columbia.edu/cu/provost/childcare

Two elementary students who attend Columbia-supported after school programs.

The Collaborative Public School Improvement Project: The Office of Community Affairs over the past several years has sponsored this project, which has contributed toward the improvement of local schools in School Districts 3 & 5. This comes from a multi-year commitment to one school where services are orchestrated based upon a needs assessment utilizing Columbia faculty and students. The program also provides enrichment services and in service training for teachers. Through this project, the University has contributed to the long-term improvement of public schools in its surrounding communities, particularly Morningside Heights and Harlem, and has maintained and strengthened these cooperative relationships.

Everybody Reads Power Lunch with P.S. 125: Over 130 Columbia University administrators, faculty, staff and students currently volunteer as reading partners to children from a nearby Harlem elementary school. Each Columbia volunteer has been matched with a single student and dedicates one hour per week during their lunch hour to read to or listen to them read. While students benefit from additional help with reading and a potential adult mentor, volunteers walk away with a sense of purpose and engagement in our surrounding community.