Secondly, the new venture seems to be a public-private collaboration which, we believe, is an excellent way to establish worthwhile learning-by-doing programs.
Thirdly, the admissions office is open to juniors and seniors in Brooklyn who want to be there, no testing requirements need be met.
Let's see what happens next.
Betsy Combier
betsy.combier@gmail.com
Editor, Advocatz.com
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, New York Court Corruption
Editor, National Public Voice
Editor, NYC Public Voice
'First Of Its Kind' STEAM School Opens In Brooklyn Navy Yard
More than 200 students moved in a week ago to the new center, which is one of only two schools in New York City set up in a workplace.
By Anna Quinn, Patch Staff | Feb 12, 2019 11:34 am ET | Updated Feb 12, 2019 2:01 pm ET
FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — A new technical high school that began as a "wild idea" four years ago officially opened this week in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, offering students the opportunity to learn everything from computer science, culinary arts and construction in the space they might be hired when they graduate.
The Brooklyn STEAM Center — which stands for science, technology, engineering, arts and math — offers up to 300 juniors and seniors from eight local high schools the chance to spend half their school day in the hands-on 30,000-square-foot facility. It is the first school of its kind in the city and only the second to teach students inside an actual workplace.
For students like 11th-grader Bryana Bonner, it has meant getting out of the traditional classrooms in her Bedford Academy High School and learning everything from how to use power tools to getting the OSHA certification she needs to start visiting construction sites she may work at one day.
"When you're here you get to be treated as the young adult you are as well as meet people who see what you have to offer to their companies," said Bonner, who is in the construction technology pathway at the center.
The school's students come from two high schools in Bed-Stuy, one in Clinton Hill, two in Crown Heights, two in Downtown Brooklyn and one in Flatbush.
This past week was the first time the students, who had been working from two temporary locations, were able to use the new space at the Navy Yard, including its full professional kitchen, computer labs, soundstage and construction zone.
Bonner said it has been amazing to know they are the first ones to try out the school.
"We're paving the pathway for other kids to come here and fulfill their dreams," she said.
Including construction technology, students are offered five pathways at the school — computer science, design and engineering, culinary arts or film and media.
Students in all five pathways have already started meeting with businesses in and around the Navy Yard to fold into their lessons at the new center, the Navy Yard's Vice President of workforce development Katie Beck Sutler said on a tour Tuesday.
Culinary arts students got the chance to replicate recipes from nearby restaurants and film and media students made their own commercials based on a pitch from the Navy Yard's Picture Farm Productions.
The new center also includes space for ideas down the line like a construction technology project to build tiny houses, drone or robot races in the common area or pop-up restaurants run by culinary arts students, Sutler said.
The $17 million project, first envisioned by its principal Kayon Pryce, was the first partnership of its kind between the Navy Yard, city Department of Education and Brooklyn Borough President's Office, who invested $5 million in the idea.
Borough President Eric Adams said Tuesday that the school ensures Brooklyn's children aren't left behind as the borough continues its rapid growth. The school puts Brooklyn at the start of a "new education system in the city," forged by innovative educators like Pryce, he said.
"Let's get out of their way and give them what they need to move these children to the next generation," he said, noting that politicians should support ideas from those with education expertise.
Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen said the school will ensure the city has a new generation of workers it needs to continue to build the city, which she said was recently named the number one city for technology in the country.
"How do we get the kids of New York City directly involved in all this excitement that's happening (at the Brooklyn Navy Yard)?" Glen said. "Let's be real — we have to train our kids for the jobs of the 21st century."
Photos of Jordan Gomes, Andy Morales and Diana Trinidad working in the construction studio and a student writing on the center's white board by Anna Quinn/Patch. Other photos contributed by the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation.
Brooklyn STEAM Center: Technical Training High School Opens At Brooklyn Navy Yard
BROOKLYN NAVY YARD – The Brooklyn Navy Yard held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday morning to celebrate the opening of the Brooklyn STEAM Center, a new 30,000-square-foot facility offering technical training to students from eight local public high schools.Last October Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza took a tour of the Center, which focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math (STEAM), while it was still under construction. Occupying the third floor of the Navy Yard’s recently renovated Building 77, the Center will bring 300 high school juniors and seniors interested in pursuing careers in the culinary arts, computer science, construction technology, design and engineering, and film/media onto a campus filled with tenants specializing in these industries. The program will help students develop skills in their field of interest and develop relationships with potential future employers based at the Navy Yard.
“NYC is the country’s best city for tech entrepreneurs – and we’ll keep it that way by educating the next generation of innovators,” NYC Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development Alicia Glen said in a statement. “The STEAM Center gives students hands-on experience with the most exciting, boundary-pushing companies in New York City.”
Classes at the Center started approximately two weeks ago, according to the New York Times. Though students apply to the program, no minimum grade point average or test scores are required. Nearly 93 percent of the participating students are black or Hispanic and 74 percent are eligible for free or reduced lunch, according to the Times.
The Brooklyn Steam Center features professional work spaces for each of the disciplines it focuses on, such as a professional kitchen, sound stage, computer labs, and fabrication shops. Students will take two-year programs, alternating time between their high school classrooms and the Center where they’ll take courses taught by experts in their fields of interest. The students will also build relationships with industry professionals on the Navy Yard campus through interviews, tours, and internships.
Upon completing the program, students will receive industry-specific certifications and will be prepared with experience, connections, and portfolios to pursue work in their chosen field or to continue on with their education.
A partnership between the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation and the NYC Department of Education (DOE), the Brooklyn STEAM Center was funded with $12 million from DOE and $5 million from the Office of Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams.
See also:
Brooklyn Navy Yard Opens State-of-the-Art STEAM High School