Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School Open House Information

January 8, 2010

Introductions and information for Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School

My name is Damon McCord and I am one of the co-founders for the Metropolitan Expeditionary Learning School, the new 6-12 school going into the Metropolitan Avenue campus in September 2010. We are currently working on getting information about our school out to parents and schools, so please share this information with your students and parents at your schools. There will be another round of applications for admission to the new middle schools later on this spring, so we will be having information sessions / open houses to help parents and students make an informed choice about our school. Our school will have "limited unscreened" enrollment, which means that our school will be open to District 28 residents and priority will be given to parents/guardians who attend an information session / open house. Our open house dates and times are as follows:

• Wednesday, January 27th from 5:00-7:00 PM

• Tuesday, February 2nd from 5:00-7:00 PM

• Saturday, February 6th from 11:00 AM-1:00 PM

• Tuesday, February 9th from 5:00-7:00 PM

• Wednesday, March 3rd from 5:00-7:00 PM

*NOTE: All meetings will be held at the District 28 offices at 90-27 Sutphin Blvd., Queens, NY 11435.

Parents and students need only to attend one information session to be given priority (i.e. attending the March 3rd session is the same as attending the January 27th session).

The applications for the new middle school will not be due until sometime after our last open house.

The Office of Enrollment will be clarifying the application procedure in the coming months. If you would like more information about our school, please visit our website http://www.metropolitanels.com

You should also feel free to email us at metropolitanels@gmail.com.

Thank you and I look forward to working with you,

Damon McCord

---

Parent's Thoughts on the 10/19 Metropolitan Meeting

 

UPDATES

Click here to download the map for the proposed zoning for the Metropolitan Campus High School.

Also, please find a FAQ that was handed out at the November 30th zoning meeting.
 
The FAQ can also be found online:
 
http://schools.nyc.gov/community/planning/changes/queens/District28.htm
http://schools.nyc.gov/community/planning/changes/queens/District24.htm <http://schools.nyc.gov/community/planning/changes/queens/District24.htm>
 
 
The DOE will accept comments on the zoning proposal at Portfolio@schools.nyc.gov for the next two weeks.
 
Thanks, 
 
 
Kathryn Thome and Emily Ades
Kethome@nyc.rr.com
Ilovewilandzoe@aol.com

---

Metropolitan Avenue New Construction

Dear District 28 Community Member,

A new school building will be opening in September 2010 at 91-30 Metropolitan Avenue.

The building is being built to address the seat need for grades 6-12 in the community. The new building will contain a 998 seat high school (grades 9-12) and a 913 seat secondary school (grades 6-12). There will also be a 216 seat District 75 program on the campus. The schools will be separate, although there will be shared spaces, such as the auditorium.

---

Visit to Marsh Avenue School in Staten Island

June 2009

The Marsh Avenue School is a new facility that opened this year in Staten Island.
The building is beautiful, bright, airy and spacious. It is what one would expect a school to look like. The building is a shared space and is utilized by a 6-12, a 9-12 and a D75 school.

The Principal and 6th grade students, who explained the philosophy and mission for their school, gave the members of the Task Force that visited, a tour. Marsh Ave is an “Expeditionary learning” school in partnership with Outward Bound, through funds provided by the DOE and the Gates Foundation.

Expeditionary learning is a “project- based approach to education, in which the students take ownership for their learning and the teacher acts as facilitator. The children sit at “pie-shaped desks and work cooperatively learning through themes. There are 3-month long “investigations” using interdisciplinary education. This type of learning includes reading and writing across the curriculum, a great deal of professional development, promotes high levels of student engagement, and promotes parent involvement.

This year the students studied simple and complex machines and designed a functioning roller coaster. Additionally, they studied Ancient Egypt and created everything from a life-size sarcophagus to postcards home from Egypt.

The children also use NYC as part of their classroom, taking trips to museums, etc.
They are also invited to attend an Outward Bound adventure with a crew leader.

The Principal and parent leaders have made themselves available for questions.
Please contact Emily or Kathryn for their contact information.

---