Grant Summary
$300,000 over 36 months to the Children’s Aid Society (CAS) and New York University’s Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools to jointly engage and support students of Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School based in the South Bronx. This program features summer and academic year activities on-campus at NYU as well as on-site at Fannie Lou Hamer. During the four-week summer EXCEL Academy, rising juniors travel to NYU to participate in courses on language, composition, and philosophy (ethics and logic) taught by NYU professors and graduate students. During the academic year, the program facilitates “uptown/downtown” exchanges that take place uptown at Fannie Lou Hamer and downtown at NYU. These monthly gatherings include cultural outings, panel discussions, writing exercises, campus tours, and open forums with career professionals and community leaders. Students are supported in the college application process over the academic year by NYU undergraduate and graduate mentors and staff at Children’s Aid Society.