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The West Brooklyn Way: Getting In is Just the Beginning
To qualify for a coveted spot at West Brooklyn Community High School students must meet several basic eligibility requirements: they must be at least 16, behind in their academic credits, have a...
View ArticleHow Paid Work Keeps Students in School
For high school students with a history of failing grades and poor attendance, the drive to earn a diploma is hard to inspire without first giving them a taste of success, showing them they can perform...
View ArticleLow Graduation Rates Inspire a High-Tech Prize
Only about 30 percent of students at CUNY's community colleges earn a degree, or transfer to a four-year program, after three years. With this in mind the Robin Hood Foundation is trying to entice the...
View ArticleOpinion: No Sympathy Needed. My School is One of the Good Ones
When people learn I work at a transfer school they often respond with sympathy, saying something like “so you really have it tough!”Yes, teaching is a difficult craft, and managing a classroom full of...
View ArticleHow a Brooklyn School Steers Teens from Absent to Graduate
When Paula Dinh, 19, transferred to West Brooklyn Community High School in 2010, she had only accumulated 4.5 course credits of the 44 needed to graduate high school. That's after spending two full...
View ArticleOpinion: Five Ways to Keep Struggling Students in College
Access to college for low income and first generation students is a hot topic these days. The White House recently launched a new initiative called Reach Higher. The College Board revised the SAT. The...
View ArticleSchool Counselor Relies on Message That Worked for Him
Bernard Greene is an advocate counselor at West Brooklyn Community High School, a school co-founded by Good Shepherd Services and New York City’s Department of Education. What sets him apart from his...
View ArticleNYC Student Tackles the Last Test Standing Between Her and a High School...
When Radio Rookie Danielle Motindabeka came to the United States at age 13, she didn’t speak English. By the time she was in high school, Danielle had mastered the language well enough to pass six...
View ArticleDetermined to Graduate: 'You’re Going to See Me on That Stage'
Thursday is the last day of school in New York City. Most high school graduation ceremonies happened days or weeks ago. But not at West Brooklyn Community High School. Here, the annual ceremony is set...
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Radio Rookie Danielle Finds Out Her Regents Exam Results
Radio Rookie Danielle Motindabeka reported this week that she was taking the US History Regents exam for the fourth and final time. It's the one thing standing in the way of her getting her high school...
View ArticleRadio Rookies Surprises Danielle With A Graduation Ceremony at WNYC
Radio Rookies hosted a surprise "graduation" ceremony for 2014 high school graduate Danielle Motindabeka at WNYC. Current and past Radio Rookies from as far back as 2004 came to celebrate along with...
View ArticleDropping Out
A year and a half ago, I dropped out of school. The teachers didn't have enough books to give us, there were too many kids in classes, and some teachers gave me a hard time. Sometimes we'd come out...
View ArticleHip Hop Therapy Boosts Attendance at Bronx High School
J.C. Hall, a social worker at Mott Haven Community High School, was busy after school this year with a group of students who wrote rap music. He coached them through writing rhymes, voicing them,...
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