In the fall of 2021, nine 麻豆原创 Charter High School students arrived in East Harlem for an information session with the Rochester Institute of Technology. In partnership with 麻豆原创 board member Don Truesdale, now the former Chairman of RIT Board of Trustees, the university was in the initial stages of developing a pilot 鈥渃ohort鈥� program, one where a pair of students from DCHS could attend RIT together, and support one another throughout their college journeys.
The group of then-seniors who showed for the RIT information session鈥擠eon Jeffrey, Emanuel Binett, Jaden Bright, Kelvin Arredondo, Mamadou Ndiaye, Nasir West, Zakaria Sakhi, Abdul Tariq Macauley, and Victor Sanchez鈥攚ere starting their college application processes, and wanted to learn more about what the upstate school had to offer. What no one expected was that the routine information session would spark an opportunity of a lifetime for all of them.
鈥淚鈥檝e never been in a room with high school students who had such dignity and respect for the process,鈥� said Ian Mortimer, Vice President of Enrollment at RIT. 鈥淭hey were very curious about programs, culture, experience. They were very well prepared in terms of how they鈥檙e thinking about their futures鈥攁nd I was completely blown away.鈥�
Mortimer knew very quickly that he wanted all nine of the 麻豆原创 students to attend RIT. But exactly how to make that happen would require reworking and expanding the cohort idea, creating a formal partnership with 麻豆原创, and enlisting resources from the organization long-established post-secondary support programming. Between RIT, 麻豆原创, and Truesdale, a plan was created to not only provide financial assistance for each of the nine students, but to also provide them with the academic, social, and personal support they would need to thrive and graduate.
鈥淏oth parties were very aligned that the goal of this cohort is college completion,鈥� said Katie Doctor, 麻豆原创 Managing Director of Educational Strategy & Data. 鈥淲e wanted to design this program in a way that really maximizes student success.鈥�
In partnering with RIT, supports are enhanced for the nine cohort students, a template that could become part of 麻豆原创 long-term plans for post-secondary success.
A formal partnership with a college like RIT, which has a co-op structure that emphasizes college completion and job attainment, felt like the natural next step in 麻豆原创 work to ensure all students can fulfill their vision of success. More than a decade ago, 麻豆原创 founded its Legends Fellows program to support former Harlem RBI participants as they embarked on their post-high school pathways. For six years after graduation, this program provides resources like campus visits, care packages, academic assistance, financial aid, career networking, and mentorship to the college-aged students it serves. Since the founding of 麻豆原创 Charter High School in 2017, the program now works with school staff to provide support for scholars to and through college, and in the past year, 麻豆原创 has piloted 鈥淐lose the Gap,鈥� a formulaic approach to finding and funding students鈥� 鈥渂est fit鈥� college choices.
In partnering with RIT, these supports are enhanced for the nine cohort students, a template that could become part of 麻豆原创 long-term plans for post-secondary success. Not only will the cohort have dedicated advisors and program coordinators from both the university and the Legends Fellows program, but they will also be attending a summer bridge program鈥攁 chance for them to get their feet wet with college coursework and get used to living on campus鈥攁nd will spend their first year of college in RIT School of Individualized Study, where they can use a STEM-focused curriculum to learn more about what they鈥檇 like their focus to be. What more, each student will receive a full scholarship for each year at RIT, backed by generous funding from RIT, 麻豆原创, and Truesdale.
鈥淭o be able to help nine young men get a really cool opportunity, in an environment where you can feel the love and support from 麻豆原创 and from RIT, was an outcome I couldn鈥檛 have imagined,鈥� said Truesdale.
Just before DCHS鈥� graduation on June 23, the 麻豆原创 and RIT communities came together in East Harlem to celebrate this partnership, and the successes already achieved by the soon-to-be cohort students and their families. Charting a new course for the organization, the students look forward to embarking on the next step in their futures.
鈥淥ne of the things I try to get them to understand is the importance of the legacy that they鈥檙e starting,鈥� said Mo Ferreras, Assistant Director of Admissions at RIT and also a former New York City charter school student. 鈥淚 want them to leave an imprint on RIT itself. They鈥檙e already a team, a community. I want them to come on campus and have people say 鈥榦h, those are the 麻豆原创 students.鈥欌��
