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Education

Education provides a pathway towards sustainable employment and self-sufficiency, but many New Yorkers need additional assistance in reaching their goals.

NYC Opportunity provides a broad range of educational programming, most targeting young adults, and primarily focusing on mentorship, increasing literacy skills, working with opportunity youth (young people who are not currently enrolled in school or working), and bridging the graduation rate gap. Programs are comprehensive to address multiple complex needs, and often tie together youth development, education, and workforce strategies such as paid internships. One of NYC Opportunity's most successful initiatives is CUNY ASAP, which helps community college students earn their associates degree in a timely manner. The program has served over 100,000 students since its inception in 2007, and has been replicated for baccalaureate students through the CUNY Accelerate, Complete, Engage (ACE) program. Other programs assist young adults in basic education and High School Equivalency (HSE) preparation. NYC Opportunity tracks program participation and measures success by assessing educational gains in grade levels and attainment of a HSE diploma, high school diploma, or college degree.

Programs

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Current Portfolio

CUNY ACE

CUNY Accelerate, Complete, Engage (ACE) is a baccalaureate completion program based on NYC Opportunity's successful program, CUNY ASAP (Accelerated Study in Associate Programs). ACE is designed to significantly increase timely baccalaureate graduation rates by providing students with a range of financial, academic and personal supports, including intensive academic advisement, career counseling, tuition assistance, and subsidies for textbooks and transportation. ACE was piloted at Lehman College and John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and has since expanded to several other senior colleges in CUNY, including Brooklyn College, College of Staten Island, Medgar Evers College, and New York City College of Technology.

CUNY ACE Evaluation Reports

CUNY CARES

CUNY Comprehensive Access to Resources for Essential Services (CUNY CARES) provides integrated and coordinated health and social services to support the academic success of participating students. Building on the support services provided by college resource centers, CUNY CARES trains and deploys teams of student navigators and peer advocates to expand the capacity of participating schools to connect students to services and public benefits. The program delivers one-on-one housing assistance, and helps students connect to food assistance, mental health and health care, and other social services.
To learn more, visit the CUNY CARES website.

CUNY Fatherhood Academy - YMI

The CUNY Fatherhood Academy is a cohort-based education, work readiness and parenting program for young adult fathers. Based at CUNY community college campuses, the program provides parenting workshops, high school equivalency exam preparation services, work readiness services, and post-secondary education transition support.
To learn more, visit the CUNY Fatherhood Academy website.

CUNY Fatherhood Academy Evaluation Reports

DYCD Mentoring - YMI

DYCD Mentoring is a group mentoring program that engages middle and high school youth who reside in NYCHA communities and surrounding areas. The program is an added service layered into existing DYCD Mentoring program sites. Participants take part in discussion groups, community service projects, and group outings.

DYCD Mentoring Evaluation Reports

HSE Connect / Pathways to GED

HSE Connect, managed by the Institute for Justice and Opportunity (IJO) at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York (CUNY), connects criminal legal system-involved adults who lack a high school credential to High School Equivalency (HSE) programming through a collaboration with the State University of New York's (SUNY) Manhattan Educational Opportunity Center (MEOC). IJO and MEOC work together to recruit, assess, and support participants in enrolling in HSE and other educational programming.

Students complete HSE Connect courses in 15-week semesters, taking one or two subjects at a time, according to their needs. Course offerings include Science & Social Studies, Reading & Writing, Math, and TASC. Students are supported in accessing the career or college support program of their choice to further their academic and/or career goals. HSE Connect is currently inactive. Lessons from the program informed the new IJO Pathways to GED program, which is currently active.
HSE Connect Overview

Human Services Career Advancement Scholarship

The Human Services Career Advancement Scholarship (HSCAS), a partnership of CUNY, the Mayor's Office of Talent and Workforce Development, and NYC Opportunity, supports the professional growth of New York City's human services workforce. Through HSCAS, human services workers at eligible organizations that hold human services contracts with the City can apply for a scholarship to complete an Associate, Bachelor's, or Master's degree at CUNY. Workers can also apply to participate in a test prep class for individuals with a Master's of Social Work (MSW) who have not yet earned their license. The program aims to create a pipeline of qualified individuals to fill higher-level positions at human services organizations.
To learn more, visit the HSCAS website.

NYC Men Teach - YMI

NYC Men Teach is a teacher recruitment and retention initiative that aims to increase the number of qualified male teachers of color within NYC public schools. The program includes both CUNY and DOE programming.

NYC Men Teach Evaluation Reports

To learn more about NYC Men Teach, visit the YMI website.

Vocational ESL for Food Service Workers (VESL)

Vocational ESL for Food Service Workers (VESL) is a pilot program for incumbent workers in the food service industry. Developed in partnership with SBS, the goal of this pilot program is to reduce language barriers for workers with limited English proficiency, helping them to advance in their careers and earn higher wages. The program will deliver vocational English as a second language training, contextualized for food service workers, in collaboration with their employers and utilize a hybrid delivery model (in-person & technology-based).

Select Past Projects

The following list highlights a selection of projects previously supported by NYC Opportunity, some of which continue independently without our funding or oversight.

9x9 - YMI

9x9 provides overage, under-credited middle school students a supported transition to high school by leveraging intensive academic supports. The program helps participating 8th grade students from DOE School District 9 in the South Bronx to transition into participating DOE Transfer High Schools, allowing them to begin acquiring high school credits and prepare a portfolio for progression into 9th grade. In addition, students have access to academic and social-emotional supports, mentoring, and paid internships. This program is currently inactive.

CUNY ASAP

CUNY ASAP (Accelerated Study in Associate Programs) provides extensive financial, academic, and personal support to assist students and working adults earn an Associate degree. Students take classes on a set schedule with a peer cohort, organized by major, and receive enhanced tutoring, mentoring and comprehensive and personalized advisement, thereby positioning them for graduation within three years. Multiple rigorous evaluations have demonstrated the program's impact on increasing graduation rates, and the strategy has been replicated across the country.

CUNY ASAP Evaluation Reports

CUNY Prep Transitional High School

CUNY Preparatory School (CUNY Prep) is a model program that offers out-of-school youth between the ages of 16 and 18 with an opportunity for full-time study to qualify for admission to college by obtaining a High School Equivalency (HSE). CUNY Prep is a part-time evening program that served older students and working adults.

Increasing Attendance for Students in Temporary Housing

Increasing Attendance for Students in Temporary Housing is a collaborative pilot project between the Department of Education (DOE) and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS), to reduce chronic absenteeism (defined as missing 10% or more of school days per year) for students residing in 25 homeless shelters. The project is 1) creating a data sharing tool for DHS shelter staff to access student-level attendance data, track student progress and interventions, and provide holistic supports to students; 2) offering joint professional development to DOE and DHS staff to bridge knowledge and service gaps; and 3) improving transportation services between shelters and schools based on human-centered service design.

Nursing Career Ladders: LPN and RN Programs

The Nursing Career Ladders Programs program helped low-income individuals obtain LPN certification and RN degrees- fields that are projected to offer good wages and future growth. Up to 40 participating students received a total of 1,152 hours of instruction during an 11-month period. The program included a mix of classroom instruction and clinical rotations. These programs are currently inactive.
Nursing Career Ladders Evaluation Reports

Peer-to-Peer Mentoring - YMI

Peer-to-Peer Mentoring is a peer mentoring program that serves select schools within the Expanded Success Initiative network of DOE schools. The program also employs a college access curriculum that aims to better prepare students to be college and career ready. This program is currently inactive.

Project Rise

Project Rise served low-income young people in NYC, Kansas City, and Newark between the ages of 18 and 24 who were neither working nor in school, and who lacked a high school diploma or high school equivalency (HSE) by offering them both education and work opportunities. Using a cohort model, participants attended educational classes to prepare for the HSE exam while also receiving job readiness preparation and individualized case management. Participants were also placed in paid internships conditioned on regular attendance in educational classes, and the sites aimed to connect participants with further education or employment. This program is no longer funded by NYC Opportunity.

Project Rise Evaluation Reports

Sound Partners - YMI

Sound Partners (formerly Reading Rescue) is an early childhood literacy tutoring and school staff development program that employs an evidence-based curriculum. This program is currently inactive.

Young Adult Literacy

Young Adult Literacy programs provide young adults who are not working, not in school, and read at the 4th-8th grade levels with literacy and numeracy instruction, support services, and paid work experiences within a youth development framework. Beginning in 2015, half of the program sites were selected to implement a bridge model, pairing academic instruction and workforce services to build the competencies necessary for work and career alongside education. This program is currently inactive. Lessons from this program informed the DYCD Advance & Earn program, which is currently active.