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Renowned author and investigative journalist Greg Donaldson stopped by CUNY Prep this month to chat with CTA students about Zebratown, his newest book.  The students read Zebratown as part of their College Now Criminal Justice class — and got a chance to hear Donaldson’s first-hand account of researching and writing the book over the course of eight years.

“I really enjoyed it,” says CTA student Chelsea Reynoso.  “After reading the book and being so interested in the characters, hearing him talk about them really brought the story to life.”

Zebratown, follows the life of Kevin Davis, an ex-con from Brownsville, Brooklyn, who, after his release from prison, moves to Elmira, New York, and takes up with Karen, a young woman with a six-year-old daughter.

“The students had some really great insights into the book,” says Donaldson.  “This group was very intellectually alive, considering all of the ethical issues raised in the book, the conflicting nature of the creative non-fiction genre.  When I mentioned a vocabulary word that maybe they didn’t know, I saw pens come out and them writing stuff down.”

Students got a chance to question Donaldson about his writing process, and the challenges he faced while trying to get his subjects to open their lives to him.  While Donaldson may have motivated some future writers in the group, he says he also felt renewed by his time with CUNY Prep’s students.

“They were polite, they were thoughtful, they were enthusiastic,” says Donaldson about the CTA group.  “It’s really inspiring to see what’s going on here.”

Greg Donaldson, is also the author of The Ville: Cops and Kids in Urban America and associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Students in CUNY Prep’s College Transition Academy got a chance to sample life on campus at Baruch College on .  The group got a special tour of the school’s facilities, with Baruch’s Director of College Now Tony Davis.

“College admissions are getting more and more competitive,” Davis told the group.  “Take advantage of all of the support and resources you have around you, work hard and put yourself in a position to succeed.”

“The first moment I walked in, it was a little intimidating, but really impressive,” says CTA student Angelica Chapparo.  “I was surprised how diverse the campus was and I loved all of the student activities going on in the lobby.  I could really see myself here.”

After they pass their classes in the Day School and are successful on the GED, CUNY Prep’s CTA is designed to help prepare students to enter college.  Trips to college campuses are an important part of that experience.

“We think it is essential for our students to get out and see college life in action so they can truly envision themselves as college students,” says Jamal Mantin, Assistant Director of College Support.

CUNY Prep students will have opportunities to visit additional college campuses next semester.

GSW had an amazing and powerful day at Fordham University

• Traveled onto the Fordham campus together – what a beautiful place!
• Met with Dr Mark Naison in the African History Project Seminar Room and learned about his work, his involvement in the Bronx Berlin Connection and heard the story about how he landed on the Dave ChappelleShow! Dr Naison kindly provided delicious pastries and pizza.
• We then met with MC Farbeon (Fabian Farbeon Saucedo) of the Hip Hop Re:Education project for introductions to his work and experiences as well more details about the Hip Hop Re:Ed program
• Then we headed down to the second floor to attend Dr N’s “History from Rock n Roll to Hip Hop” class where Farbeon shared his teaching, knowledge and talents with the Fordham students and CP was in the house!
• The last few hours of the day were spent back in the seminar room where GSW’s first official Writing Workshop took place.  Everyone was sort of timid at first, but after hearing work from other students, playing some warm up games and exploring beats and time signatures, the GSW students shared their skills and talents and learned some key techniques of making music.

It was a truly incredible day! GSW students revealed some serious skills: writers, rappers, poets, artists, beat-boxers, dancers, activists, leaders…..

GET READY: The CUNY Prep Album is in the works……release date TBD!

“We don’t even need to advertise it any more,” says humanities teacher Renee Shaw-Payne.  “The neighborhood really looks forward to this event each year.”

The carnival is completely designed and orchestrated by CUNY Prep students, with the help of faculty and staff.  They offer everything from face-painting and games for the younger children, to a highly theatrical haunted house for the older ones – complete with fog machines, sound effects and some very realistic looking ghouls.

“This event allows the surrounding community to interact with our students and helps debunk the stereotype of out of school youth.,” says Frantz Barbier, math teacher and primary carnival coordinator.   ”It gives students a chance to say ‘yes, I am out of school, but the impression you have of me is not true,’” says Barbier.

Students also earn community service credits for their participation in the carnival.  In addition to all of the traditional activities rooms, this year’s event also featured a costume contest and fashion show and a dance performance that students rehearsed several weeks in advance.

“It was such a fun experience,” says math teacher Cynthia Bell, who celebrated her first Halloween at CUNY Prep this year.  ” But it is also a great opportunity for students and staff alike to build a connection and sense of responsibility towards the community.”

“This is taking the college preparation we’ve started at CUNY Prep and extending it to a whole new level,” says Assistant Director of College Success Jamal Mantin.  “The CSN office is onsite at Hostos so we can follow our students’ progress and help them over any hurdles they may encounter along the way.”

The office is housed in the Office of Continuing Education and Professional Studies, suite B-208.  It is currently staffed by Mantin and two full-time college success coaches, Jessica Falla and Jenny Galvez.

The coaches hold bi-weekly individual advisement sessions, where students can talk about their progress, struggles and goals.  In addition, the coaches provide academic crisis management if students run into stressful or difficult situations and act as a conduit to other helpful resources on campus.  The office also coordinates special programs, study groups, tutoring, seminars, cultural events and a variety of other activities designed to help students build a peer support system and feel more comfortable and at ease the college environment.

“We have a 25% high school dropout rate in Berlin, and no programs offer anything even remotely close to what CUNY Prep offers its students,” says Olad Aden, Director of Gangway Beatz Berlin, a network of social outreach that works with youth in Germany.  “It’s a special place and CUNY prep should be very proud.”

The group sat down for a panel discussion with CUNY Prep staff and students, and student ambassadors took them on a tour of the school.

“It was a great experience for our faculty and students as well,” says CUNY Prep Science and College Transition Academy teacher Katie Wilson.  “We learned a lot about some of the social issues and challenges that young people in Germany are facing and there are a lot of commonalities.”

Gangway Beatz first partnered with CUNY Prep in 2010.  It sponsored a youth cultural exchange that allowed a group of CUNY Prep graduates to travel to Berlin and cut a CD of original raps with their German counterparts.   The program is hoping to host another exchange trip in the Spring of 2012.