School Spotlight: East-West School of International Studies
The East-West School of International Studies was founded in 2006 as a 6-12 school in Flushing, Queens. The school believes that the Asian language and arts, history, business opportunities, and technology hold significant interest for New York City students. For these students, Asian culture provides a unifying theme to their high school careers to motivate them for deeper studies and to keep them focused on graduating high school with a world view. East-West serves about 660 students, 67% of which are Asian and 25% Black or Latino. In 2014, 80.4% of their students enrolled in a college or other postsecondary program, beating the citywide average of 52.2%
East-West is committed to helping their students apply to college and make a smooth, informed transition into college life. The school uses their advisory curriculum co-created by their college access partner, College Bound Initiative (CBI), to assist their students with the college research, exploration and application process. During the months of May and June, teachers and counselors help college bound seniors meet enrollment deadlines such as: updating TAP application to reflect college they will attend in the Fall, and completing housing application for those students living on campus. Students also write research papers on “topics of concern,” like how to deal with a bad college roommate, these papers encourage self-reflection and teach students about key college resource such as the tutoring advising services on campus.
To further support their college bound seniors in the summer between graduation and college matriculation; East-West participates in a program called Bridge to College. Through this program, East- West alumni who are in college are trained to provide ongoing, hands-on coaching and support to East-West college-bound seniors. The near-peer "college coaches” are on call to provide assistance such as helping secure immunization records needed to register for college classes. We celebrate East-West for creating a strong college going culture that supports students to apply and make the transition to college.