Farmingdale State Awarded $450K Grant

The New York State Education Department has awarded a $450,000 grant to to fund a Smart Scholars Early College program for three years.

“I am so pleased by the ambitious scope of this project,” said Farmingdale State College President W. Hubert Keen.  “Professor Whitfield and other staff members recognized the benefit this program can provide to local high-risk high school students in making a transition to college. This enables creation of a program that will change lives.”

The grant is part of $6 million that will fund 16 different projects throughout New York State, four of which are on Long Island.

The program was scheduled to start in the fall but because of high summer unemployment rate for teenagers, Project Director Professor Bently Whitfield has elected to begin the program in July.

Whitfield is an adjunct professor with Farmingdale's English and Humanities department and a staff member in the Economic Opportunity Program who is concerned with the record levels of teenage unemployment, which is around 50% for black youth.

“The Farmingdale Smart Scholar program will provide high school students with an attractive, productive alternative to unemployment. Given the economy, it just didn’t seem right to delay the start of this program. It was okay if we needed to work a little harder,” he said.

The Smart Scholars Program is designed to create partnerships between five high schools and the college. The partner high schools are Amityville Memorial High School, Brentwood High School, Hempstead High School and Wyandanch Memorial High School as well at STH (Students in Temporary Housing) in Brooklyn.  Some students will live on campus to complete their coursework during the summer while other students will complete courses in Brooklyn.

The program is open to rising juniors and seniors and it’s expected that about 60 students will be admitted this summer, with future enrollment reaching 300 students.

According to the NYSED, the “ECHS program addresses disparities in high school graduation rates between groups of students," indicating that black and hispanic students who began ninth grade in 2004 had graduated rates more than 20 percent less than their white peers.

Courses completed through the Smart Scholars Program can be used to complete both high school and college requirements, allowing students to save money and time in the completion of their degrees. Fees for the courses are covered by the State Education grant.

In the summer, students will follow a regular college schedule by attending classes Monday through Thursday. During the fall and spring semester, students will complete courses on Saturdays. Successful year-long attendance through the senior year will result in students entering college with at least a semester’s worth of credits.