NEWS AND EVENTS: SIA IN THE NEWS

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The College Admissions Game
As applications to the nation’s colleges and universities continue to grow tremendously, the pressure on high school students and their families is reaching an all time high. Staten Island Academy, a college preparatory school, helps ease the burden placed on its students by offering a comprehensive college guidance program that boasts an incredible 8:1 student to college advisor ratio. No other school in the New York City area can claim such a low advisor ratio. The college guidance program holds college night information sessions and special workshops on topics like writing the college application essay or interview techniques. During the summer, the school sponsors a Summer College Bus Tour, which bring seniors and their families to colleges accompanied by members of the college guidance office.

Healthy Living: Fighting Childhood Obesity
Good eating and fitness habits begin early in life. Staten Island Academy responded to the growing rate of childhood obesity nationwide by revamping its cafeteria menu, introducing innovative programs to encourage children to try unfamiliar (and healthy foods), and by opening a state-of-the-art Fitness Center. All of this is in addition to its longstanding Healthful Living and Physical Education curriculum.

Nurturing Tomorrow’s Mathematicians And Scientists
There really is life on Mars! The Academy is preparing its students to take on the challenges posed by our rapidly changing world through the Power Track Program in Math and Science. The innovative and intensive program begins in grade 8 for students who demonstrate ability in either or both disciplines. By the time high school graduation rolls around, the Power Track students have completed advanced college-level coursework and taken Advanced Placement examinations, in preparation for a major in math and/or science in college.

Response to the Board of Education’s plan to close public middle schools in favor of K-8 schools
The Middle School years are times of great change. At Staten Island Academy, we believe that adolescents need to be educated in a distinct school or division. Contrary to the Board of Education proposed new initiative, Staten Island Academy chose the opposite approach two years ago. In the fall 2002, the school created a middle school for grades 5-8 to address the unique educational, social and psychological needs of adolescents. Previously, the school had two divisions: one for grades 1-6, and another for grades 7-12. This structure functioned well, but the school found that the students in grades 5-8 didn’t quite “fit in” with the either the elementary or high school students. They needed their own Middle School division, a safe haven designed to meet their needs in preparation for the increased independence and demands of high school life.

Staying on Top of the Game: On-going Faculty Professional Development
Teachers must keep up with new knowledge and rapidly evolving technology to stay sharp to continue providing independent school students with the highest quality education. At Staten Island Academy, professional development is a top priority. In the past two years, faculty members have attended workshops covering an array of disciplines and many have participated in online courses at Harvard University. The Harvard online courses that Academy faculty have completed, or are currently enrolled in, are focused on educational leadership and curriculum development skills. The Academy is a community of life-long learners.

Learning Begins With Quality Early Childhood Education
Studies have consistent shown that quality early childhood education gives students an advantage when they begin elementary school. Unfortunately, studies also show that these gains diminish by Grade 3 or 4. The reason for this is clear: skills fade away if not consistently reinforced through a high quality educational program throughout elementary school and into middle school. The proof of this can be seen at Staten Island Academy, where the cognitive skills built in pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten are continually expanded and enriched resulting in grade four students scoring in the 90th and above percentile on national standardized reading exam norms.