Announcement of Head of School Hring

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Alex Lyda (212) 854-5276 or mal2133@columbia.edu

Project Director for New Columbia Secondary School Appointed by Columbia University and the New York City Department of Education Joint Commitment to Educate Future Mathematicians, Scientists, and Engineers

NEW YORK, Oct. 16, 2006: Columbia University President Lee C. Bollinger and New York City Department of Education Chancellor Joel Klein today announced that José Gabriel Maldonado-Rivera will serve as the project director for a new math, science, and engineering secondary school being developed in the Manhattanville area of West Harlem, where the University has also proposed building an expanded urban academic community. The new school, called the Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering is set to open in September 2007. It will be operated by the New York City Department of Education (DOE) in close collaboration with Columbia University, drawing on Columbia's faculty and academic resources for curriculum design and instructional programming. The school will be located initially in a transitional space and will accept students in the sixth grade. It will eventually serve approximately 650 students from grades six through 12 in a new building. New York City's Department of Education has placed a premium on giving parents and students more high-quality secondary school choices than ever before. Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein have made new school creation a central element of New York City's education reform effort and a critical part of their vision to develop 200 new small schools, including 50 charter schools, over three to five years. In 2005, the City pledged 100 additional new small schools, as well as 50 more charter schools, by 2009. To date, the Department of Education has created 184 new small secondary schools and 36 charter schools as part of the New Schools Initiative. Many of these schools partner with community institutions, in this case Columbia, to provide additional educational and extracurricular opportunities "For a great urban university whose mission is teaching, research, and public service, nothing could be more important than making sure that the young people in our own neighborhoods have the opportunity for an education that provides a pathway to the highest levels of achievement in the classroom and beyond," President Bollinger said. "While the Columbia Secondary School is the newest and most visible partnership we have formed with the city and local community, it is a symbol of our commitment to breaking down old boundaries and expanding our engagement in the communities of Upper Manhattan." Maldonado-Rivera brings to this project an impressive educational background and a diverse body of experience. "José is precisely the kind of educator we need to lead this innovative partnership between our public schools and Columbia," Chancellor Klein said. "He has deep expertise in New York City education issues and significant experience as both a teacher and an administrator. His hiring as project director for the new Columbia Secondary School is a compelling example of two of the key goals of our Children First reform agenda: first, bringing talented, highly qualified teachers and administrators into our schools; and second, creating a wealth of new, high-quality secondary school options to New York City public school students and their families" Most recently Maldonado-Rivera served as assistant principal of the TASIS K­-12 school in Dorado, Puerto Rico. Before becoming assistant principal there in 2004, Maldonado-Rivera served six years as chair of the Department of Education at Hartwick College, and 12 years as executive director of the Environmental Education project of Puerto Rico, a non-governmental organization devoted to training teachers and offering a wide variety of field learning experiences for K­-12 students. Previously, Maldonado-Rivera was a high school science teacher and recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching. He also led his science and biology bowl teams to four years of state championships. After graduating in 1998 from Teachers College at Columbia University, where he researched the teaching and learning of evolutionary theory, Maldonado-Rivera spent two years as an associate researcher at Columbia University's Institute of Urban and Minority Education. "I was attracted to the Columbia Secondary School position by the opportunity to help create a world-class institution that serves the needs of the Upper Manhattan children and families I came to know when I was a graduate student and researcher at Columbia," Maldonado-Rivera said. "I was also drawn by the incredible possibilities of creating an ongoing partnership that connects the vast academic resources of Columbia University to a group of New York City public school students yearning to excel and be challenged by a world-class science, math and engineering education." Maldonado-Rivera was chosen through a rigorous selection process by the Department of Education in consultation with the Columbia Secondary School's advisory council, which includes Columbia professors Horst Stormer, Virginia Cornish, Art Palmer, Jack McGourty, Robert Friedman, and Keith Sheppard of Teachers College. "As a bilingual, bicultural, innovative educator with strong academic, administrative and curricular experience in both science and science education, José was a natural choice to appoint as project director for the new school," Sheppard said. "His close ties to Columbia, coupled with his extensive educational background position him admirably to develop a successful partnership between the local community, the New York City Department of Education and Columbia University." The aim of the Columbia Secondary School is to increase access to science, math, and engineering education among public school students in the city and particularly in Columbia's surrounding neighborhoods. With an eye toward educating the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs, Columbia and the city envision this new public school playing a vital role in advancing science education, and one day - with guidance from Columbia University professors - making valuable contributions to society through research and discovery from its Upper Manhattan home. Enrollment will be selective, and priority will be given to high-performing local students from northern Manhattan above 106^th Street. At least half of the school's total enrollment will be comprised of students from northern Manhattan. The department's initiatives go hand-in-hand with the University's commitment to the community, notes Columbia Provost Alan Brinkley. "The creation of a high school for science, mathematics, and engineering is a continuation and expansion of Columbia's long and extensive record of creating partnerships with public education in upper Manhattan and throughout the city," Brinkley said. "The new school will create additional opportunities for Columbia students and faculty to expand our already thriving engagements with New York City school children." Examples include Columbia's Double Discovery Center, which for the past 40 years has provided academic enrichment for New York City students, particularly from communities surrounding Columbia, helping them graduate from high school and attend college at a rate significantly higher than the national average. Columbia's Talent Search Program offers academic, career, college, and high school preparation services to more than 800 middle and high school students. The University's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) has excelled in establishing service-learning programs that create partnerships between the University's faculty, students, and local schools. The Gateway design course, for example, places area high school students in service learning projects in surrounding neighborhoods. "The Columbia Secondary School is one of the many exciting opportunities for greater engagement between campus and community created by Columbia's proposed development of a largely post-industrial area that for decades has been the focus of revitalization proposals that have never jelled," Bollinger said. "Now when we imagine west 125th street 15 years from now, we can see public high school students from Harlem and other areas of northern Manhattan walking alongside University students - and both will be members of a remarkable new academic community that keeps New York City a world center for science and technology."

About Columbia University

Founded in 1754 as King's College, Columbia University in the City of New York is the fifth oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and today is one of the world's leading academic and research institutions. Columbia has more than 3,000 faculty members and enrolls nearly 24,000 students, including more than 5,000 international students. The University spans three undergraduate schools, 13 graduate and professional schools, a school of continuing education, four affiliated institutions, a world-class medical center, 22 libraries, and more than 100 research centers and institutes. For more information about Columbia University, visit www.columbia.edu.