McKee High School tapped for city's college access initiative

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City Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina with Mayor Bill de Blasio. The two announced the city's "College for All" initiative involving 100 public high schools, including Staten Island's McKee High School. (Associated Press)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- McKee High School has been selected to participate in the city's "College Access for All" initiative.

The North Shore school, one of the city's career and technical schools, is the only Staten Island high school among the 100 high schools throughout the five boroughs selected for the program, according to the Department of Education.

City Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina announced details of the initiative Thursday.

The 100 schools will receive over $3.5 million in new funding; support from a Department of Education college-planning coach, and training to build a schoolwide college and career culture.

Additionally, as part of College Access for All, for the first time, every junior enrolled in the city's public high schools will be able to take the SAT free of charge during the school day on April 5, 2017.

The initiative is expected to cost about $6.8 million for the 2016-17 school year, with $3.5 million coming directly from the city, and the remainder from state and federal monies.

"As the first person in my family go to college, I understand the importance of creating a schoolwide college-going culture and giving students individualized support to get to college," Farina said.

"With College Access for All we're engaging families and students around the idea of what comes next and giving them unprecedented support. This expansion is an exciting opportunity for the 100 selected schools, and I'm looking forward to seeing this initiative reach all our high schools," she said.

The College for All program is one of the education priorities of the de Blasio administration. On Monday the city launched a middle-school version of the initiative, with Markham Intermediate (I.S. 51), Graniteville, and Paulo Intermediate (I.S. 75), Huguenot, among the 22 pilot schools.

"When we talk about equity and excellence in our schools, there's nothing more important than making college and careers available to every student, regardless of what neighborhood they live in or their background," de Blasio. said.

"With College Access for All, schools are going to have the resources to make college and careers part of the vocabulary and expectations for all students, and give students the support to make it a reality."

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