New Fall 2013 Schools: The Urban Assembly School for Emergency Management The Urban Assembly School for Global Commerce Mayor Bloomberg highlighted the Urban Assembly School for Emergency Management and Urban Assembly School for Global Commerce during his April 2nd press conference announcing new school openings. Principals Rodolfo Elizondo and Erin Gehant were present at the gathering, and Elizondo was featured on NY1. Watch and read more about the school and initiative here. Seeking Exceptional Partnership Coordinators The Urban Assembly network of successful public secondary schools is hiring for two (2) unique school-based positions at the forefront of public-private sector collaboration in urban education reform. Read more. Literacy Achievement Breakthrough One of the weakest links in public school systems across the nation is middle school. We at The Urban Assembly believe the central problem is very poor literacy skills. To address this, The Urban Assembly has piloted a teaching practice that is a radical departure from the traditional classroom approach. The practice is called Learning Cultures, and it is a creation of New York University Professor and Urban Assembly partner Cynthia McCallister. [READ MORE...] Bridge to College Summer 2012 Research suggests that as many as half of low-income students who are accepted to college will not attend in the fall. Bridge to College, a program of The Urban Assembly, CUNY At Home in College, and CARA, is designed to support first-generation college-bound students to matriculate into college. This summer, nearly one fifth of the high schools throughout New York City - 80 schools - will have a Bridge to College Coach. Bridge to College was born at The Urban Assembly. Five years of experimenting with ways to support our seniors on the road to college has grown into a model that yields results. At UA, last year's participating schools saw an increase in college matriculation rates across our network from 65% to 74% in 2011. The 2012 Urban Assembly Bridge to College Coaches, Ana Jimenez, Treston Rudder, Quantasia Islam, Bianca Genao, Alpha Francois (kneeling), Tachrina Ahmed, Ritu Sen (UA's Director of College Readiness), Shana Taylor (kneeling), Keron McCalla, Alejandra Garcia (kneeling), Daisy Flores, Jennifer Ulysse, Annell Vidal, Raymond Duran (not pictured). This summer, a group of 12 UA College Coaches, all proud UA alumni, have been working with the new Class of 2012 from their alma maters. This group of exceptional college students is led by returning coach, now BTC Coordinator, Shana Taylor. As the program comes to a close, our coaches are gearing up to return to their own colleges at campuses ranging from Smith College to SUNY Buffalo. Please join us in thanking our College Coaches for all of their hard work this summer, and wishing all the best to the class of 2012! To learn more about The Urban Assembly's Bridge to College program, please contact Director of Development Jeremy Gough at jgough@urbanassembly.org. The New Urban Assembly Unison School in the News! The Urban Assembly is proud to announce the opening of UA Unison School, its newest middle school in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn (13K351).   This is the spearhead of a network initiative to implement the successful Learning Cultures curriculum model created by NYU education professor Cynthia McCallister, featuring coherent, high quality instruction that promotes independence, high achievement, and a nurturing community for all students.    For more information, visit www.uaunison.org The Urban Assembly now has an official tumblr account! Follow us here: theurbanassembly.tumblr.com The Urban Assembly is a non-profit organization that creates and serves a growing network of New York City public secondary schools. We are dedicated to empowering underserved students by providing them with the academic and life skills necessary for college and career success. During the 2013-14 school year, we will be reaching 8,500 students in 23 schools from under-resourced neighborhoods across The Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn. To sign up for our mailing list, click here