It's March, and the results are in.
Across New York City, 8th graders just found out which public high school they were accepted into. That's right; 8th graders in New York City have to apply to high school. In many ways, the process is much more difficult to navigate than college admissions. The team at Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics has been preparing students for this since July and we are so pleased to see success for so many students.
 Crystal (right), currently in 8th grade, was admitted to the Beacon School. She says this about her experience: BEAM "helped me exceed the expectations that both I and others have set for me. The high school process was extremely stressful to me, but I got into the high school I wanted. I could not have achieved this without your help."
Successful admission to a high school may require students to take an exam, write an essay, interview with the school, visit an open house, submit a portfolio, or audition. Some high schools also look at factors like a student's grades, test scores or attendance. They may even consider what neighborhood a student lives in. BEAM explains this process to students and helps them navigate the many steps to gain admission to a school that is both challenging and supportive. We make sure that students and parents know they aren't alone in this confusing process.
This year, so far, 42% of our students have been accepted to highly selective high schools (like Crystal at Beacon, or Agata, Ilona, and Stephanie, who will attend Stuyvesant) and 61% have been accepted to selective high schools. At this point, 79% will be attending "trusted" schools, which meet BEAM's minimum standards for college preparation. We say "at this point" because every year a few students are undermatched in the process. We are currently working with students who were not admitted to high schools that meet our standards to make sure that they can navigate the appeals process and find a good fit for the next four years.
We also want to congratulate Chuka (pictured at top) and Ezelle, who were not satisfied with their 9th grade placements and worked very hard to re-apply as 10th grade transfers. Next year, they will be attending Brooklyn Tech and the High School of Math, Science, and Engineering at City College, respectively.
You can view the full first draft of results on our website.
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The Next Five Years
In fall 2016, BEAM staff gathered to ask the question, what more can we do for students?
After 6 years running BEAM 7, 4+ years of our 8th-12th grade advising program, and one summer of BEAM 6, our middle school to college pathway was set. But, we asked, could we accomplish more if we met students younger? Does our existing admissions method find the best fit students? And, are there any gaps for high school-aged BEAM alumni?
These questions have led us to develop a series of pilot initiatives, three of which will debut in Fall 2017:
- Elementary programs for 5th and 6th grade students in the South Bronx
- A text-in, mail-in math challenges for students in 5th-7th grade
- Expanded high school bridge programs for our 9th and 10th grade alumni, featuring math team, computer programming, and life skills
We will try each BEAM pilot initiative out for at least one year, and then make a final decision about whether to incorporate it into BEAM's expanded model.
Excited about these projects? BEAM is now hiring an elementary school program lead, a high school program assistant, and a challenge set assistant. Will you forward this email to someone who would be a great candidate to work at BEAM?
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Why is Silicon Valley so awful to women? This provocative question leads to a lengthy report in The Atlantic detailing the pervasive, negative experiences of women in tech spaces. We are reminded that efforts to graduate more female computer science majors and teach more girls to code at a young age must be matched with workplace shifts to prevent the ongoing exodus of women from software jobs.
Once again, only 10% of specialized school offers went to Black or Latino students, reports Chalkbeat NY. For comparison, about 70% of NYC's public school population is Black or Latino. The percentage of Black students receiving offers is dropping rapidly, from 4.9% in 2015, to 4.1% in 2016, down to 3.8% this year. The article also discusses potential fixes, like the DREAM program, but there hasn't been any reliable data about its effectiveness.
The Hechinger Report details the work one high school is doing in Spokane, WA to ensure students take challenging, college prep coursework in high school. This effort is a direct result of research that shows that a high school's academic intensity "counts more than anything else" to student success in completing a bachelor's degree.
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Admissions Update
It's admissions season at BEAM! Last Friday, we notified 88 students that they had been admitted to BEAM 7, our residential program for 7th graders held at Bard College and Union College.
Of the 42 students admitted to attend BEAM at Bard College, 27 are alumni of BEAM 6, including Thays who wrote the following answer on her BEAM 7 application:
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 You may remember Thays from February's in-depth profile of BEAM 6 in The New York Times. We are so thrilled to have both Thays and Emyr with us this summer at BEAM 7.
We will be announcing BEAM 6 admissions decisions on Friday, and can't wait to welcome another 100 students to BEAM.
There are more amazing student answers on our blog!
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Your support makes BEAM happen.
BEAM provides all our services for free to underserved students from low-income communities. We rely on donations, large and small, to continue supporting the next generation of mathematicians, scientists, engineers, and programmers.
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