Summit Academy got good news from the New York State Board of Regents in May.
Earlier in the spring, the future of Red Hook’s Summit Academy Charter School (grades six through 12) was unknown, but a new partnership with the Center for Education Innovation (CEI), a self-described “non-profit education organization and recognized leader in advancing meaningful reforms in public education,” has earned Summit a five-year charter extension.
“We were thrilled to get the five-year, and we were thrilled to be renewed because we know how much this school brings to this community,” Summit founder and executive director Natasha Campbell said.
A five-year renewal is the longest contract granted to charter schools in New York. Campbell reported that she’s excited to be able to continue to build responsible young adults and support families at Summit Academy.
Despite rising test scores since its establishment in 2008, Summit hasn’t outpaced standard public schools in the district in student performance – a requirement for New York charter schools. In order to avoid closure, the administration agreed to a restructuring process, with a new organization at the head.
According to Chief Academic Officer Alice Bartley, New York-based CEI has operated for more than 30 years with a mission to help schools in urban districts, chiefly in the United States as well as Chile and Puerto Rico. “We have the pleasure to come to Summit with the founder, Dr. Campbell, and to support her vision around the school and what we believe is best for scholars who are in grades six through 12,” stated Bartley, who will temporarily serve as Summit’s principal.
CEI’s signature program is Building Options and Opportunities for Students (BOOST), which creates access to cultural enrichment, academic guidance, test prep, and community service. CEI will also bring robotics and coding classes and an e-sports club to Summit.
Bartley envisions the e-sports club having many benefits besides just the gaming.
“Students are really interested in it,” Bartley, who has been involved in education for many years, said. “While we like it a lot because it meets the student where he or she is in their desire to be a gamer, it also infuses curriculum for them, content based, as well as character education and social and emotional learning.”
She pointed out that the e-sports gaming, which has really taken off around the country in the last few years, will teach the students sportsmanship and how to lose without getting overly frustrated.
The gaming technology will be brought to the school and the scholars will be brought to Long Island City to the NBA2K studio for competitions.
“We took some kids to the NBA2K studio this summer to experience it,” Campbell said. “Their mind was blown.”
To prepare soon-to-be graduates, CEI offers virtual college tours as well as trips to actual college campuses and SAT test prep. “We have changed a lot of students minds [about college] through that program,” Bartley said.
Campbell likes what CEI does and thinks it’ll be a natural fit for Summit.
“We have been taking kids on college tours; now we get to expand that program,” Campbell said. “Our kids performed on Broadway with [theater director Tremaine] Price; now we are able to expose more kids to those opportunities. It’s an enhancement to our school community, and that’s what we are most excited about.”
Summit typically has between 330 and 350 students and expects the same number again this year. But Campbell has plans for expansion.
“We have all these things that we believe are going to attract more families, so the goal is to grow our school and enrollment,” Campbell said. “That comes with showing the community and families that we have something special to offer.”
For example, based on research showing that school attendance drops when kids don’t have clean clothes to wear, Campbell secured a grant during the 2018-2019 school year to install a washer and dryer on school premises.
“We went so far as to purchase laundry bags that look like book bags, so they will not be stigmatized, but they can get a need met in the school building without others knowing about it,” Campbell noted.
Through New York State, Summit offered free dental services to students last year, and will again this October. Campbell hopes to establish a food pantry in the future for scholars. On September 28, Summit will have its ninth annual health fair, with free fruits and vegetables donated by Fairway.
Bartley believes that CEI’s resources will allow Summit to offer even more “wraparound services” to kids who need additional support outside the home. At the same time, Summit works with students’ families through monthly workshops – the Confident Parent Series, administered with PS 676 – which helps parents navigate their kids’ homework assignments.
This year, there are some teachers who are new as a result of the CEI partnership and many who are returning.
“The partnership brought with it a load of people who have had a great two weeks of professional development working with teachers around planning and curriculum mapping and preparing for leadership in the classroom so that we are able to have what we believe is the best group of teachers we could present to the scholars.”
“We are really shoring up the professional development, so that teachers in the building are 21st-century ready and innovative for the students,” Bartley said.
About half of Summit’s students live in Red Hook, and the rest come from all around the city, with a few who live outside city limits. There have been many athletes who have been drawn to the school.
The girls and boys basketball teams both had successful seasons last year, advancing in the playoffs. Campbell is excited that the volleyball team will now be coached by Summit’s first college graduate, Destiny Jennings, a former player.
In the class of 2017, there was a girl from Long Island and in the same graduating class there was a basketball player who lived in Westchester County. They are drawn to the school through Summit’s strong academic program and the top notch coaches that the school has, which gives scholars the whole package.
According to Campbell, in order for scholars to be eligible for competition in the sports teams, they need to demonstrate a high level of character based on the Summit Academy Charter School Code of Conduct. Their grades in the classroom must be up to par or else they will be ineligible to participate.
“They must maintain at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA,” Campbell said. “If at any point a scholar athlete’s GPA drops below the minimum level, they are ineligible to compete until they have raised their GPA to a 2.5 or higher.”
Campbell had a few core values that were in place at Summit before the CEI partnership and they will still be central to the school this year and the years to come. Their whole mission is preparing the scholars at Summit to be accepted to and excel in and graduate from college, and their school pillars help the students do so.
The first pillar is the master of core subjects. Dr Bartley, new middle school assistant principal Stephanie Douglas and new high school assistant principal Edgar Mera are focused on this academic first pillar.
The second pillar at Summit Academy Charter School is character building.
“That is everyone’s focus,” Campbell said. Through the social justice program and our advisory program, we work with scholars to make sure they have integrity to be successful.”
The third pillar is community leadership. There is an emphasis on community service, and this has been a key factor since the school was founded 10 years ago.
“They will give back in the Red Hook community as well as their home community,” Campbell said.
Middle school students are expected to complete 10 hours of community service and high school students are expected to complete 25 hours per year.
Campbell has high hopes for this year for the school to perform well in many different facets.
“I think this is going to be a great year,” Campbell said. “Athletics and arts are going to be our standouts, but we also are aiming to make our performance on all of the state assessments, whether it be Regents or state assessments in middle school, to be outstanding as well so that we become a model school.”
