MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG AND CHANCELLOR JOEL I. KLEIN
WELCOME STUDENTS TO OPENING OF CITY HALL ACADEMY

Third Grade Students to Attend Two-Week Instructional Sessions This Spring

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel I. Klein today announced the opening of City Hall Academy, a first-rate educational center at Department of Education headquarters in the Tweed Courthouse.  The Academy will provide students with rigorous reading, writing, and math instruction consistent with the new Citywide instructional program and offer public school children from throughout the City an inter-disciplinary approach to the study of New York City and its history.  This spring, the Academy will conduct three alternating two-week instructional sessions, or “residencies,” serving approximately 70 third grade students per session.  The Academy will conduct six “residencies” for both third and seventh graders in the fall.  The Mayor and Chancellor announced the opening while welcoming students from P.S. 21, P.S. 67, and P.S. 234 to the Academy.

“The opening of City Hall Academy demonstrates our commitment to excellence, achievement, and innovation in the public school system,” Mayor Bloomberg said.  “City Hall Academy will provide New York City children and their teachers a unique opportunity to study and participate in the cultural and historical fabric of the City.  By combining best practices from around the nation with cultural resources available only in New York City, City Hall Academy will bring the City - and its remarkable intellectual, historical, and creative heritage - into the classroom to enrich the lives of our children.”    

“City Hall Academy is a place where New York City kids can experience and develop respect and appreciation for our extraordinary City,” Chancellor Klein said.  “Kids will get to know first-hand not only the City's culture and history but also the kids who live in other boroughs, go to other schools, and come from different heritages.”

City Hall Academy will utilize an inter-disciplinary, content-focused curriculum that integrates the new Citywide approach to reading, writing, and math, and will help students learn about New York City and its history.  For example, this spring’s pilot program, which will focus on the Brooklyn Bridge, will allow students to learn about the bridge through classroom instruction, interviews, trips, videos, and readings.  Students will examine the bridge's impact on the lives of New Yorkers, as well as its history, mechanics, and engineering.

City Hall Academy will also provide professional development for teachers and will partner with the City's cultural institutions to enhance its curriculum and make unique resources available to students.  Guest speakers who are experts in their respective fields, cultural events and performances, and field trips and walking tours will supplement the Academy’s curriculum.  Also, each classroom at the Academy will have an academic theme, such as economics, government, history, literature, fine arts, applied math and science, architecture, or urban planning.

This fall, City Hall Academy will serve approximately 200 elementary and middle school students each school day.  In addition, the Academy will conduct multiple programs beyond the regular school day, eventually providing educational services for high school students and the public at large.