Grant to benefit three Brooklyn schools

Boost for 'virtual internships'

June 27, 2013 By Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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Three Brooklyn schools will benefit from a $400,000 grant from the New York Life Foundation to non-profit Classroom, Inc.

The grant will help middle-school kids transition to high school using programs developed by the non-profit.

The High School for Medical Professions in Canarsie, the High School of Sports Management in Gravesend and the Cobble Hill School of American Studies will offer the programs over the summer and into ninth grade.

According to the Center for Public Education, high school transition programs can significantly reduce dropout rates.

“With this incredible support from the New York Life Foundation, we will be able to dramatically increase our program’s impact over the next several years,” said Classroom, Inc. President Lisa Holton in a statement.

Marlyn Torres, senior program officer of the New York Life Foundation, said, “These interactive programs will help thousands of new students throughout New York City, doubling the number of students who are now engaged in the program.”

The centerpiece of Classroom, Inc.’s program is “virtual internships” or workplace simulations that place young people in decision-making roles in industries such as banking, health care, publishing, law and media.

The funds will go towards these simulations and toward web-based literacy programs based on real-world problems, and towards a reorganization of Classroom, Inc., which will include hiring a new vice president and a chief officer of education partnerships.