CSI/CUNY News Release
	For Immediate Release

High School for International Studies
to open in September at College of Staten Island
Admissions policy will feature a prioritized lottery for students wishing to enroll

Staten Island, NY – February 2, 2005 –  The College of Staten Island (CSI), a senior college of The City University of New York (CUNY), with its partners, Region 7 of the New York City Department of Education and the Asia Society, today announced the application and admission process for the inaugural ninth-grade class of its High School for International Studies.

The new high school, scheduled to open September 2005, will be the focus of information sessions to be held in Brooklyn and Staten Island. The school will also be featured in new school fairs to be held in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Applications are expected to far exceed the school’s first ninth-grade class capacity of 108, with the freshman class ultimately chosen by lottery. Eighth-grade students wishing to enroll must attend one of the information sessions or new school fairs, as well as update their school choices with their guidance counselors before March 1 to be prioritized in the lottery process.

“There is a lot of interest in the school from parents and prospective students, and we are expecting an overwhelming response,” said Dr. Francisco Soto , CSI’s Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The school was originally conceived in 2003 by CSI’s President Marlene Springer , as she was seeking new ways to extend the resources of the college to the larger Staten Island community. The school will be initially located on the first floor of CSI’s ‘5N’ building in the Willowbrook neighborhood of Staten Island .

Dr. Springer, immediate past chair of the executive committee of the College Consortium for International Students and a member of the Professional Development committee of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, said she chose international studies and foreign language education as a focus of the school because CSI's faculty is strong in those areas, and CSI is a "flagship" site for international exchange programs with CUNY.

“CSI is a strong and active leader in international education. We are home to the CUNY China Program and offer international study abroad programs in 35 countries around the world,” she said.

“The high school’s hallmark will be the extensive professional development of its teachers though the college’s Discovery Institute, a city-wide model of professional development dedicated to an interdisciplinary, ‘discovery’ based teaching methodology that empowers teachers,” continued Dr. Springer.

“The high school will greatly benefit from the talent and resources of the College,” she added, noting that college faculty will work collaboratively with the high school teachers on curriculum development, as well as offer additional lectures and seminars.

“The new small high school at CSI is a premiere example of the city-wide and national trend that finds educators increasingly looking to small high schools as an alternative to the more traditional large high school,” said Dr. David Podell, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at CSI. “This new approach to education will improve young people’s preparation not only for college, but for entering an increasingly global world.”

The CSI High School for International Studies will offer a curriculum that encourages inquiry-based instruction and integrates international content across all subject areas. It will receive support from national and community sponsors, provide opportunities for student and teacher international travel and exchanges, and feature four years of intensive world language study.

The school will be part of a nationwide network of 10 small schools supported by the Asia Society through a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

“The CSI High School will join a prestigious community of affiliated institutions that will benefit from each other’s experience and expertise in international educational instruction,” added Dr. Soto , saying that those experiences may include “rich curricular materials, international exchanges, and multimedia resources.”

Aimee Horowitz, an Assistant Principal in Social Studies at Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn and a graduate of CSI’s post-master’s program in Educational Leadership, has been selected as project leader until the school’s principal is officially named.

"These new, small international studies schools will become beacons of excellence by establishing creative, rigorous ways to prepare the City's youth as informed global citizens," said Michael Levine , Executive Director of Education at the Asia Society. "In the 21st century, international knowledge and skills are no longer a luxury for a small number of diplomats and business leaders--they are a necessity for every student."


To find out more about the new CSI High School for International Studies, prospective students should attend area events, visit the school’s Web site at www.csihighschool.org or call (212) 327-9311 for more information.

Region 7 Information Sessions

When:
Tuesday, February 8; 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Where:
IS 259, 7301 Ft. Hamilton Parkway , Brooklyn


When:
Thursday, February 10; 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Where: Petrides Complex, 715 Ocean Terrace, Staten Island


When:
Monday, February 14; 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Where:
IS 49, 101 Warren Street , Staten Island


When:
Tuesday, February 15; 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Where:
College of Staten Island , 2800 Victory Blvd. , Staten Island
Williamson Theater, Center for the Arts


New School Fairs

When:
Saturday, February 5; 10:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Where:
Martin Luther King Jr. HS Campus , 122 Amsterdam Ave., Manhattan


When:
Sunday, February 6; 10:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Where:
Martin Luther King Jr. HS Campus , 122 Amsterdam Ave., Manhattan


When:
Saturday, February 12; 10:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Where:
Brooklyn HS of the Arts, 345 Dean Street, Brooklyn


When:
Sunday, February 13; 10:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Where:
Brooklyn HS of the Arts, 345 Dean Street, Brooklyn
 

The College of Staten Island (CSI) is a senior college of The City University of New York (CUNY), the nation’s leading urban university. CSI offers 35 academic programs, 15 graduate degree programs, and challenging doctoral programs to 12,000 students.

The 204-acre landscaped campus of CSI, the largest in NYC, is fully accessible and contains an advanced, networked infrastructure to support technology-based teaching, learning, and research. For more information, visit www.csi.cuny.edu

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