DREAMChasers NYC Inc

New York has the most segregated public schools in the country. Nowhere is this more apparent than in admissions rates for New York City's specialized high schools. Specialized high schools are public high schools that offer an accelerated learning curriculum and serve the needs of students who excel academically. However, even though two-thirds of all New York City public school students are Black or Latino, last year, only 9.0% of students accepted into a specialized high school were Black or Hispanic. For top schools like Stuyvesant High School, the numbers are even worse. Of the 762 students accepted this year, just 20 were Latino and 8 were Black. At DREAMChasers, we're... read more New York has the most segregated public schools in the country. Nowhere is this more apparent than in admissions rates for New York City's specialized high schools. Specialized high schools are public high schools that offer an accelerated learning curriculum and serve the needs of students who excel academically. However, even though two-thirds of all New York City public school students are Black or Latino, last year, only 9.0% of students accepted into a specialized high school were Black or Hispanic. For top schools like Stuyvesant High School, the numbers are even worse. Of the 762 students accepted this year, just 20 were Latino and 8 were Black. At DREAMChasers, we're trying to make a difference. We offer students from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds free tutoring and mentoring to help them prepare for the New York City specialized high schools exam. Students attend classes on Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings during the school year. In the summer, they attend a four day boot camp where we provide additional tutoring in math, English and reading comprehension. By the end of the program, all students will have received over 300 hours of support, plus mentoring from a young professional in a career of interest to the student. In addition to academic enrichment, we match students with a mentor who motivates them to keep believing in themselves even when the going gets tough. We're also bridging the digital divide by teaching our students how to code. As part of the summer bootcamp, students are taught coding basics and how to build their own mobile apps. While our program is small, we're breaking barriers. Of the ten students who participated in our inaugural class five years ago, several not only got into schools, but are now on their way to attending amazing colleges such as Morgan State, Duke, Notre Dame and Yale. Last year, we have 20 amazing students who we believe deeply in. Langston Hughes once wrote, "what happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore - and then run?" DREAMChasers is about refusing to let dreams in our communities defer any longer by actively investing in the futures of our children.