Gateway to Higher Education (program)

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The "Gateway Institute for Pre-College Education", begun as the Gateway to Higher Education program was started in New York City in 1986. Its initial goal was to prepare high school students from demographics underrepresented in science, medicine, and technology, for higher education in those fields. The institute relies on mentoring and a proprietary curriculum. It was initially run through New York's City University, and began with students at 11 high schools. In 2007, preparations have been made to implement a similar program in Roxbury, Massachusetts, a neighborhood of Boston.

Contents

[edit] Early program history

[edit] Program administration

According to a program report published in 2000, under directors Morton Slater and Elisabeth Iler, the Gateway program cost $1,600 more per student than the mean per pupil cost of public school in New York City, and relied on careful selection of teachers for the program.

[edit] Requirements for admission

Students had to meet certain basic criteria to be accepted into the program. They had to:

  • score above the 50th percentile both in New York City’s Seventh Grade Math test and in its Degrees of Reading Power test,
  • have regular attendance,
  • generally have grades above 80 on a 100-point scale

[edit] Students and results

Between 1986 and 2000, some 3500 students passed through the Gateway program. The majority were African American and Latino. During the 1999-2000 academic year, for instance, it involved 801 students, 60% of whom were African American and 25% Latino; 62% were female.

Students in the program had significantly higher Biology AP scores, SAT scores, graduation rates, and college acceptance rates than national means. As of 2005, over 100 graduates are attending medical school or already practicing medicine.

[edit] Later developments

In 1997, the project received a Sloan Public Service Award from the Fund for the City of New York.

More recently, the program has inspired the development of similar programs in other districts.

[edit] Other Gateway programs

In 2005, Howard Hiatt, former Dean of Harvard's School of Public Health, backed a proposal to roll out a Gateway program in Boston. The program would involve 50 students in Roxbury's John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics & Science. The proposal is to take effect in April 2007.

[edit] External links

[edit] Sources

  • A summary of two key reports:
    1. "Science and Technology Entry Program: 1999-2000 Final Report", an informal report (Morton Slater and Elisabeth Iler, 2000)
    2. "Make It Possible for Students to Succeed and They Will: An Evaluation of the Gateway to Higher Education Program", a study via the Education Development Center (1997)
  • Boston Globe article on the Boston expansion, March 17, 2007
    "A boost at O'Bryant High", Boston Globe, March 26, 2005. An older editorial on the proposed Gateway program at the O'Bryant School.
  • Announcement of the Gateway program's receipt of a Sloan Public Service Award (1997)