Cobble Hill HS receives grant from NY Life Foundation

Cobble Hill High School for American Studies is one of three Brooklyn high schools that will receive additional educational programs as part of a two-year, $400,000 grant to Classroom, Inc., a nonprofit that develops digital curricula that utilizes educational game technology in order to improve digital literacy.

The other two high schools are the High School for Sports Management in Bensonhurst and the High School for Medical Professions in Canarsie.

The funded curriculum explores “fast-paced, true-to-life workplaces [with] real-world consequences” to work decisions, in 10 career fields, including finance, healthcare, media, broadcasting, nonprofits, the environment, the arts, and law. There are three programs involved:

1. Transition Programs for Youth offers struggling New York City middle and high school students a summer-through-school-year transition program using Classroom, Inc.’s computer simulations and curricula.  This program builds on a New York Life Foundation $300,000 grant made in 2010, which launched the organization’s high school transition program.
2. Reading in the Real World: Beginning in 2014, this new suite of learning programs for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders will reach 6,000 middle school students in the New York City area during year one, and will double that number by year two.  These web-based literacy programs will take place in real-world industries (e.g., banking, media, law), while also being aligned with the new, widely-adopted Common Core State Standards.
3. Completion of Classroom, Inc.’s new strategic plan: The new plan involves strengthening the senior management level of the organization, including hiring a new vice president and a chief officer of education partnerships, who is charged with increasing the number of schools with which the organization works and deepening its existing relationships.