Press Releases

Broadway Comes to Harlem to Celebrate First College Board School in Manhattan

09/11/07

New York—Harlem will welcome The Academy for Social Action (ASA), New York State’s 10th College Board School and Manhattan’s first, with an afternoon ceremony featuring a mixture of performances, multi-media presentations and words of inspiration.  Scheduled entertainment includes a musical selection by Broadway actor Shavar McIntosh (“Young Simba,” The Lion King); a rendition of Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street by The American Place Theatre; and assorted performances by ASA students and staff.  Crystal Simmons, ASA principal and Helen Santiago, executive director of College Board Schools, will offer remarks and encouragement to an audience of students, administrators, local leaders, neighbors and friends.  This special assembly takes place on Wednesday, September 12 at City College Harlem Stage, 138 Convent Ave. (West 135th Street and Convent Ave.) at noon.  The event is open to the public.

“The College Board is pleased to partner with the office of Portfolio Development at the New York City Department of Education in support of opening the Academy for Social Action,” says Santiago. “Our shared values of scholarship, leadership and fellowship, the heart of this school’s culture, resonate extremely well with our own here at the College Board."

"This event is designed to underscore this school’s commitment not only to academic excellence, but also to providing a healthy school environment that nurtures character,” says Simmons.

College Board Schools are public schools grades 6-12, developed as the result of a unique partnership with urban school districts and supported with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.  College Board Schools are one of two projects developed by the College Board and supported with foundation funding, the other project being the EXCELerator™ Schools reform initiative.  Committed to helping all students reach their full academic potential and prepare for success in college, the College Board Schools and EXCELerator Schools projects work in schools that serve predominantly low-income and minority students.   The first College Board Schools were opened in 2004 and to date there are 14 schools throughout the metropolitan New York area and in upstate New York.   The EXCELerator Schools program, launched in 2006, is currently being implemented in 27 high schools in five large urban districts: Chicago, Denver, Washington, D.C., and Duval and Hillsborough counties, Florida.

The College Board: Connecting Students to College Success
The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity.  Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 5,200 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations.  Each year, the College Board serves seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,500 colleges through major programs and services in college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning.  Among its best-known programs are the SAT^®, the PSAT/NMSQT^®, and the Advanced Placement Program ^® (AP^®).  The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities and concerns.

For more information, please contact Sheila Jamison in the Communications office at(212)713-8167 or by email at sjamison@collegeboard.org.