The New York Web Center
In a Last Chance High School, A State-of-the-Art Classroom Opens Minds
For many students, W.E.B. Dubois High School in Brooklyn is their last change at a high school education. One of NYC’s “transfer” schools, Dubois is a "last chance" for young people who are too old or have two few credits to graduate from a traditional high school. They are underachievers by nearly every measure: under credited, over aged, and often dropping out, having babies, picking up a little jail time, and engaging in destructive behaviors. For one reason or another, these teens were not engaged by the education they had so far been receiving. To many educators, it is too late to help these children turn their lives around.
But not Reverend William Grant. Grant had a previous history of establishing and running gang intervention programs in New York, youth programs, addictions and housing programs, and had been involved in a community-based computer lab in Crown Heights. He thought that more was required, specifically for high school students, and saw an opportunity to build high-end digital lounges in schools, and open them to in-school and after-school educational opportunities for students across Brooklyn. Grant knew through his experience working with at-risk youth that many underachieving kids were kinesthetic learners (learn by experiencing), who learn best not by traditional forms of learning involving sitting still and listening or reading, but by putting hands on the learning media and manipulating it. Grant knew that by building a hands-on high tech media lab that kids could learn and succeed: and they do.
Grant founded The New York Web Center at W.E.B. Dubois in 2006, providing in- and out-of-school-time programs for high school students throughout Brooklyn. The digital studios which NYWC brings into Brooklyn’s high school educational environment offer the kinds of hands on learning opportunities that captivate at-risk students. Additionally, they train students in the hardware and software devices – Mac’s, notepads, laptops; design software, social media, cameras and Internet media – that are increasingly necessary for success in the global workplace. Students learn graphic design, video and music production; while at the same time they develop self-image, critical thinking, conflict resolution and similar leadership skills. Students publish their own magazine called “Hitz,” produce their own television documentaries about issues they deal with in their lives, and record and master their own music.
The rewards of this program are evident in students’ academic success as well. 90% of students who complete their curriculum go on to college and career. 75% experience a significant improvement in their grades. Equipped with the 21st Century aptitudes demanded by the contemporary workplace, The New York Web Center turns underachievers into achievers, which is why The Catalog is proud to support NYWC’s work and has chosen them as a 6th Edition Catalog Member Organization.
