Summer Enrichment

Summer Institute at Colgate University

Since the summer of 2013, Excellence Community Schools has partnered with Beginning with Children to prepare rising 8th-12th grade students for success in and beyond college by hosting the S.T.E.M. & Shakespeare Institute at Colgate University. Over time, the program has evolved into the S.T.E.M. and Politics Institute, open to rising 7th-9th grade Bronx Excellence scholars and alumni. This week-long immersion exposes scholars to residential and extracurricular activities that deepen understandings of the collegiate experience. Program participants experience what it is like to be a college student and begin to build the social-emotional and scholastic skills required to successfully navigate college. 

 

 

 

Past Courses:

  • National STEM Video Game Challenge
  • Coding: Website Development
  • Law: Mock Trial
  • Politics: “Lean in Or Dig Deep”, “Great Political Debates”
  • Personal Development: “Live By Design, Not by Default”
  • Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Hamlet
  • Personal Finance
  • Investment Portfolio Challenge
  • Astrophysics
  • Relativity
  • Energy and Innovation
  • CAD, Design, Computer Programming and Rapid Prototyping with 3D Printing
     

 

Past Programs

Virtual Summer Immersive Program

Excellence Community Schools’ (ECS) Virtual Summer Immersive Program (VSIP) is an online program through which scholars select courses from a blend of content curated by ECS staff and some pre-built instruction offered by MIT and Harvard. Targeting our graduating 8th grade scholars and other ECS alumni program participants through our students enrolled as first-year college students, the VSIP exposes students to the rigors of college academics. The program enhances the development of essential skills for whatever profession they choose. By the end of the experience and depending on their course selection, some scholars will take the certification examinations offered by MIT or Harvard.

New Summer Arts Program!

In July 2020, Excellence Community Schools hosted its inaugural summer arts program. The summer arts program ran for six weeks and allowed scholars from across the network to participate in a variety of art disciplines- music, dance, spoken word, visual art, photography, theatre, etc. The common theme woven amongst all the courses was “Legacy”. Through weekly intensives, we wanted scholars to embrace who they are, where they come from and where they are going as they tackle art in its many forms. 

 

Einstein Enrichment Program (EEP)

The Einstein Enrichment Program (EEP) is part of a New York State funded enrichment program called STEP (Science Technology Entry Program). Its mission is to serve minority and economically disadvantaged students (grades 7-12) who have been historically underrepresented in the medical and scientific professions.

The goals of STEP are to facilitate students with interest in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields in gaining entry to and graduation from college and, subsequently, health professions.

Summer on the Hill (SOH)

Summer on the Hill (SOH) has a long-standing tradition of academic success.  Established in 1994 as a summer experience for 21 public school students on the hilltop campus of the Horace Mann School, SOH has developed into a Grades 3-12 year-round program. Each year, SOH works with 250 students in its Grade 3-8 and High School Programs to help them achieve their academic goals.

Summer on the Hill’s mission is to enrich the education of promising, low-income public school students from The Bronx, Washington Heights, and Harlem. We prepare our students for selective schools and colleges, and offer guidance to them and their parents. Summer on the Hill (SOH) provides educational opportunities to accepted students for as long as ten years, from the end of 2nd grade through high school.

Arts Education in Our Schools

Our schools cultivate lifelong learners equipped with the courage to dream, the skills to succeed, and the unrelenting pursuit of excellence. Whether it is through our high expectations for academics and conduct, our co-curricular programming, our community-based partnerships, the creative arts, or technology, we strive to provide our scholars with the competitive edge they need to compete for seats in prestigious high schools, universities, and chosen career paths.

Club Excellence

Our scholars are increasing cultural capital by participating in a robust series of intensives taught by a cadre of professional artists and staff. Courses include spoken word, dance, musical theater, computer science, and visual arts. Click here to learn more about this exciting initiative.

Google Code Next

The Code Next, MIT Media Lab collaboration with Google, aims to create a new generation of computer scientists, innovators, and inventors and have them emerge from the underserved 8-12 grades Black and Latinx populations.