Grant Summary
$90,000 over 12 months to support the program “EXCEL in Writing, Thinking, and Inquiry (EXCEL at NYU)” for the students of Fannie Lou Hamer High School based in the South Bronx. This cohort-based intervention includes: intensive academic work and college preparation activities; access to college-level curricula and lectures; and exposure to a prestigious higher education institution, campus life and the surrounding neighborhood culture. For four weeks during the summer, students participate in courses on NYU’s campus focusing on composition, literacy, writing, ethics, and logic. In the summer before their senior year, they also participate in a “boot camp” with college readiness programming managed by CAS staff. To prepare the next cohort of participants, high school juniors will also be invited to engage in visits and tours of NYU, participate in writing exercises and seminars, and get introduced to the college application process. NYU and CAS will work toward sustainability planning for the future of their collaboration.