Get into college. How great is that . This past june, 100 of the graduating senior class was accepted to fouryear colleges and universities. All right, the question we have how do you do that . And what can other schools learn from the new Heights Academy Charter School . Here to discuss their approach to education christina brown, executive director of the school, and milenny then, a latina instructor from the school, teaches italian. Ill hear about that in just a second. Because that is something that it sets the bar high, does it not, for other schools. It does. Is it at the point where youre getting phone calls from administrators and teachers at other schools that hear a statistic like that and say just what i said, how do you do that . Not yet. Not yet . But i bet were working toward it. Youre working towards it. Give me some basic rules or techniques that help you reach that stunning figure. What is it that you and milenny and the staff at the school 85. All 85 kids in this years graduating class are going to fouryear colleges. Well, we instill that in our students. Yeah. They have to understand that they are Scholars First before theyre anything else and that we believe in them, their parents believe in them. And then we make sure that they all apply. We have amazing counselors who work with every single junior and senior to make sure that theyre prepared for applying. You say you have to convince them that theyre Scholars First. It sounds like they dont come in there convinced. I think that a lot of our incoming fifth graders and have been Walking Around believing that, maybe i can do it, but maybe i couldnt. And its like our community sort of embraces them and says, you can, and you will. Mmhmm. What are some of the ways that you go about lifting them up, if you will . Well, for me, personally. Yes. Being that i was born and raised in Washington Heights and im a dominican, i relate to them a lot, because the majority of my students are dominican. So having someone in front of them that looks similar to them and has similar stories definitely helps a lot. And their success. Thats nice and thats wonderful. But i dont think id have any teacher anywhere that says, oh, no. I dont care about my students. But you demonstrate that care in ways that i dont think other schools do. So, talk to me about one or two of those approaches, whether its literacy, whether its datadriven instruction, that demonstrate that level of care. Absolutely. So, weve had a focus on literacy across the curriculum for the past three years. So, in every classroom, youll see close reading, students using writing and textual evidence. M articulate their thoughts in writing and be responsive to whatever theyre reading. Close reading. Close reading, thats our strategy. Talk to me. What is close reading . It means evaluating the text very closely paying attention to all that the text is saying to you, and being able to sort of pull meaning from the text. As opposed to. . And i dont know if youve taught or been in other schools where its done differently. What is the normal, more accepted approach, if you will . Is enough for some places. And what were asking our students to do is to be fluent readers, but to also be able to pull meaning from a text and make meaning with that. I see you nodding your head. Yeah. Definitely agree. I think, sometimes, you think when a child can just read a text, youre like, well, theyre successful now. Yes. But when you go to college, one of the things you do is annotate your text a lot. And thats something that the kids are really learning to do now. Does that demonstrate to you that theyve mastered what theyve read . Not in the sense of, i got from the beginning but, i got from the beginning to the end, and i understood everything in between . Definitely not. Okay. Its not as easy as just, wow, you annotated the text. However, through reading it over again and having class discussions, you do get that information. And you start to get it out of the children. Well, i guess you have to get to a point where you can say, okay, hes got it, shes got it. Mmhmm. Right. How do you know when youve hit that point . Its a matter of what they annotate. To get from the text, and theyre underlining and circling and moving around the text in a particular way, thats how i know that they got it. Yeah. That they understand what the text is saying to them. All right. Datadriven instruction was something i saw in the notes that you guys said to us, helps us identify and then address the areas where scholars need help academically. What do you mean, datadriven instruction, milenny . So, basically, what we try and do is assess the children as frequently as possible. So, we try to assess them daily so that we can see how theyre doing and not wait till the end of the test and then see that they failed. Okay. Does assessment mean tests . I hear assessment and assessment can be many things. A form of assessment might not mean a test. It might not equate to a quiz. It may just be a thumbsup, thumbsdown. Did you get it . Do you understand . Or it could be writing in response to a particular question and youre reading it to understand whether or not the students got the concept that day. Okay. I can almost hear teachers at different paces. Mmhmm. , so if you assess, or you test, and half the class is here, and the other class is here, what happens next . How do you move forward . We use that data and try to review the next day to kind of catch them up. A lot of our teachers offer tutoring after school. Some are willing even to come in on the weekends to make sure that the students are where they need to be. Mmhmm. Many times, we pull students from advisory, and just help them out to make sure that theyre caught up so that were able to move forward. Okay. So that everyone moves from down here to up here. All right. Many more questions. Sit tight. When we come back, more on how the new Heights Academy Charter School gets new York City Kids ready for college. Still ahead on tiempo, a free and im gonna keep saying that free Soccer Program in northern manhattan needs help revamping the fields where the kids practice. My son has meningitis b. But how did we end up here . His mom thought he had the flu and that he was covered by the meningococcal meningitis vaccine he had received. Until 2014 there were no vaccines for meningitis b in the u. S. Now there are. While uncommon, meningitis b can lead to death within 24 hours. Trumenba is a vaccine for 10 through 25 year olds to help prevent group b meningococcal disease. Trumenba should not be given if you had a severe allergic reaction after a previous dose. Headache, muscle pain, and chills. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about all the risks and benefits of trumenba and tell them if youve received any other meningitis b vaccines. Meningitis b can be spread by typical sharing like. A drink. A spoon. A kiss. It all started here. It might have been prevented with trumenba. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about trumenba. Lets fe s feed him to the sharks yay and take all of his gold and take all of his gold ya and hide it from the crew ya. . Squuuuack, theyre all morons anyway i never said that. They all smell bad too. No you all smell wonderful i smell bad if youre a parrot, you repeat things. Its what you do. If you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Its what you do. Welcome back to tiempo. The new school year, just weeks away. Weve be d techniques used by the teachers and staff at the new Heights Academy Charter School, where 95 of the population is latino. Joining us, christina brown, executive director of the school, and milenny then, a latina teacher who teaches italian. Shes an instructor at the school. I know youve got three what was it . Approaches in the classroom that are so, so key. And one of them gradual release of responsibility. Walk me through that. Sure. It sounds like, were allowing students to sort of explore more with the learning, explore more with whatever the skill, the content is the teacher is teaching. Right. They get to play with the information with their friends. They get to play with the information on their own. And then they get to sort of be guided by their teacher through that process. Is that a different approach . That doesnt happen in other schools . It does. It happens in many schools. Its a wellknown technique, and many school use it. Have you seen this practice before in other places . I have, i have. Okay. And ive seen it work well. And is it something that you brought with you when you came to the school, that said, all right, heres the approach were taking, and were gonna run with it . Yes, that is. It is . Okay. I mean, yes. One of three instructional priorities is what i was trying to say right there at the beginning. The other one we talked about, close reading, and. . Writing using textual evidence. Yes. For you, literacy for both of you is not just the domain, i love this, of english teachers, correct . No, it is not. It should never be. And it should never be . Taken across the board . Our students need to be involved in reading in every single subject. They should be reading in math, in science, in history. They should be getting information from what theyre reading, and they should be doing something with it. And that is essentially our approach to having literacy across curriculum. Okay. You teach italian, so i want to ask you that. Ill ask her this, but i want shes responsible for it, too. Understood. All right. Yeah, it does happen. In your class, how do you make sure. In the language classrooms, because take their regions in italian, or take the ap test in italian or japanese, because thats the other language we offer. And we do reading all the time in the classroom, as well, to expose them to as much vocabulary as possible. Okay. My question is all right, how do you go about reading in math . Thats a great question. Yeah. So, word problems come up on every assessment, right . Sure. And students need to be able to break down those word problems to figure out the mathematical function of the problem. To use an approach called keys to help our students break down word problems and help them understand what the problem is asking them to do, which math function they should use to solve it, and then to, obviously, explain their answer. We want to know what their mathematical thinking looks like. And so we ask them to write that down. This is obviously working, when all of your students graduate. Give me some of the colleges that the students got accepted to and will be attending in the fall. Sure. Weve had u penn. Oh, ivy league. Ivy league, yes. Sure. We have students going to suny schools, suny albany. We have a couple of students that went to del state. University of virginia. Yeah, great school. Sure. We have some students going to wheaton, dickinson. Milenny, how many years are you there at the school . This is gonna be my seventh year. Howd you get involved . So, i started teaching, and i actually started teaching in georgia. I got my masters and thought i was gonna leave teaching, found this italian job, and it was perfect for me community where i can connect to the students. Okay, you went a little fast for me. Its perfect for me. Youre a dominican girl from the Washington Heights. You probably speak spanish and english fluently. Yeah. Yet they tell you youre gonna teach italian. Did you head spin around and say, how am i gonna teach italian . No. And why i am gonna teach italian . No . No. That was my major in college. Okay. I fell in love with the language, and when i found a job in a community where i could, you know, connect with my students and teach what i love, it was the perfect fit for me. Mmhmm. Mmhmm. And you have a latina. And so many 95 of the population is latino. Mmhmm. Do you find that their spanish helps their italian . Of course. Yes. I think the success of our ap scores in italian is the reason is because of spanish, because theyre able to get through the text a lot faster. Do you incorporate that into your approach . That, listen, its a romance language. Its all from the same base. Yeah. Definitely, definitely. And they do have some challenges, but they definitely do well. I mean, last year, we had 12 out of the 16 students pass wow. Well, continued success to you guys, because youre off and running. And this is just fabulous. And, yes, the phone, im sure, is gonna start ringing from other administrators that say, tell me about you do it because of this. We welcome it. Okay. You got it. Thank you guys very, very much. Thank you. Coming up next on tiempo, the Uptown Soccer Academy, a free afterschool program, wants Community Leaders to help them make the park where the kids play better. Thats the park. Youll hear from the staff when we come back. Hi guys got the birthday girl a drum set. Drum set . Hes kidding [laughs] oh you guys must have time warner cable. This is gonna be some party. Yeah, their free home wifi lets us connect all our devices at the same time. And theres no data cap, so. The kids must love that, huh . hey, theres the birthday girl internet. Thats 50 times faster than dsl and no data cap. Uploading honey, im goin viral call now. Get 50 megs for 39. 99 a month. Hi grandma miss you who is that . Are you gonna finish that . Ok. Switching is easy with time warner cables exclusive onehour arrival window, so you dont have to wait around. Plus, theres no contract all with a moneyback guarantee. He overdid it. [snoring] get 50 meg internet with unlimited data for 39. 99 per month. Call now. Ask about free installation, and access to nearly 500,000 wifi hotspots with select plans. Uptown so a free Soccer Training Program for children ages 6 to 16 living in the Washington Heights and inwood neighborhoods of new york city. There you see them in action. This Soccer Program is unique. Why . Well, it provides kids with highlevel coaching at no cost. But academy organizers say they need a little help here, really. They would Like Community leaders and elected officials to revamp the park used by the kids. So here to discuss the free program and what they ne cynthia carrion, and ricardo robles, a player in the program. Well get to ricardo in a second. So, this is your baby . You this how long ago . So, we started in 2009, just because there really wasnt anything. And, you know, i soccer and sports changed my life. Yes, i wanted to get into how soccer was a part of your upbringing. Yeah, and its because, you know, i grew up listening to [speaking spanish] yeah, sure. And, you know, opportunities sports can really give to young people, and especially girls. And so, my husband is a soccer coach a highlevel soccer coach. And we saw that there was just a need in our community. Mmhmm. And so, we just we started volunteering at first. And then we realized that we needed to pay for insurance. Like, each kid needed to be insured. Of course. And so we had a small grant from new york citizens committee. And thats how we started the summer camp. And thats how we kept it free. I did play. You played in college . I did. Wow. Forward, wing, back . I was a left halfback. Left halfback . I did. I will also be honest, in case any of my former teammates are watching. I also spent a lot of time on the bench. [ both laugh ] you know, but theres something there you get a confidence when you how to kick a ball. Yes. When you know how to run, when, you know, like when you can play with the boys. And thats why we have the girls and the boys play together. Yes. And as your ethnic heritage i point that out because not necessarily is soccer a sport associated with the two islands. Baseball, yes. Boxing, yes. Soccer and for females not often. Yeah. I definitely. But i love to run. Mmhmm. And then putting a ball in front of me wasnt so hard. But, you know, whats interesting is that, even playing in uptown soccer, it is a majority you know, you see a lot of mexican. Latino. Largely latinos. Lots of latinos, but we also too, that play with us. Understood. We also have Eastern European immigrant families that come and play. I want to get ricardo involved in the conversation. But lets talk about the field, because thats why were here. How long you been playing, ricardo . Ive been playing for, like, my whole life. Yes . Ive been playing for like. In uptown, ive been playing for, like, four years. Four years. You play on a team . Yes, i play on a team. Okay. What position do you play . I play either striker or midfield. So youre the scorer . Yeah. You like to the put the ball in the back of the net . What it means to me . It means to me a lot. You know why . Okay. Why . Because, when i go to uptown, i see all my friends. I see all my mom, my dad supporting me. And i see other friends of mine that have their family, too, supporting them. Mmhmm. If you had to pay to play, would you still be able to go to the Uptown Soccer Academy . If it was part of a if it was a big expense, like many other soccer camps are. The opportunities for you and others would still be there . Probably not. No, probably not. And thats why correct . Its free. So, my question to you is, who provides the funding . How do you keep going with the insurance, with the fields, with the balls, with the equipment . Where does that come from . So, we hustle. Right . Okay. We hustle like everybody. All the donations that we get go straight to the program. So, theres no administrative costs. The only thing that we do pay are for our coaches. Yep. And highquality coaches. So, we do have some we do have partnerships with the yuri yakovich foundation, as well as, we did get money from a city council member, so thank you, ydanis rodriguez. Okay. Hes been a guest here on tiempo before. We got about a minute left before we go to a commercial break. The field what condition is it in right now . Sure. So, we play on the northernmost tip of dyckman fields. Yes. Were looking at it now. And so, what happens at that water pipes or anything there. So, theres no. Irrigation. No irrigation. Also, you know, theres no bathrooms for the kids. So its about half a mile before you can get to a comfort station. Also, you know, its a dirt field at the moment. This video here though, i just saw some that look like a turf. You play at other locations, too . No. Thats really our home base. During the winter, we do go indoors. Got it. So leaders to do . So, also want to stress that the parks have been a great partner to us. Understood. You know, its all about the money, right . Because theres no capital money that the parks directly uses. We need funding to get irrigation down to that field. We would love to see an astroturf field there. You know, we know that yeah. I mean, bathrooms. Parents came together to pay for a portapotty, just so that we would have something closer. All right, sit tight. I want to ask you a couple more direct questions because were gonna make this happen, okay together . Yes. More on the Uptown Soccer Academy when we come right back. Marco. polo marco. polo marco. polo marco. polo marco. s . . Polo marco. polo scusa . Ma io sono marco polo, ma. Marco. playing marco polo with marco polo . Surprising. Ragazzini, io sono marco polo. S . , sono qui. Whats not surprising . How much money amanda and keith saved ico. Ahhh. Polo. Marco. polo fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. Polo welcome back to tiempo. Weve been talking to the good folks from the Uptown Soccer Academy in northern manhattan. Here with us, program cofounder cynthia carrion, and ricardo robles, star player of the program. And well hear about his Favorite Team in just a second. I wanted to ask you, in the have you come up with what youd like to see . Are we talking grass . Are we talking astroturf . How much . Those questions. So, i would say yes to all of it, right . [ chuckles ] sure. You know, you want to ask me, but, like, i think that in our community is the next messi. Right . Like, we have them there. We have those players. We just need to get a way to train them and to also introduce the love and game of soccer to everyone. But you mentioned irrigation before, so irrigation says to me okay, theyre looking at a grass field. So, yeah, were looking at us get bathrooms to that part of the field, which is important. Astroturf would be great because then we can play all year long. Mmhmm. And, you know, we also want to make sure that, as the park gets improved, that the park also stays for the community. We know that as soon as theres available. Its a public park, yeah. You know, soccer fields, everybody tries to come. Yes. And so we just want to make sure and the Parks Department has been really great with us to making sure that our free Soccer Program stays for the community so, is that part of your pitch for. You say, yes, wed love the financing. However, we got to remain there. We need to remain in place. We need to have time slotted for the Uptown Soccer Academy. We do, and we also do, you know, not just soccer, but we also do park conservation. Yes. Our students get to really understand that the love of soccer is also about being a community member, and so those are the values that we instill. Im gonna ask you a little bit more about that in a second, but i want to get back to ricardo. Okay, Favorite Team . Has to be. Favorite player. Messi. Messi . From argentina . Yeah. But your family heritage is from. . Mexico. So, tell me, you do follow the mexican tri . Yeah, of course i do. Of course i do, he says. Okay. And the park you got a lot of good friends at the park, right . A lot of good friends. Is it much more than just playing soccer . Yeah. Why so . Because now i have, like, friends that became family. Also, sometimes we go hang out, and we also have trips. The United Nation with other of my friends, which was very fun. And we went to the inter milan game against estudiantes. Que bueno. Good game. Yeah, it was a really good game. You know, i have him talk about that because im guessing that this is much more than just soccer. This is social development. This is friendship. This is fellowship. This is many other things. Is that part of the mission . It is. We know that soccers also a community sport. And so, when you come mmhmm. And, you know, our parents are really the heart and soul, too. Theyre the ones that really make sure that the kids get there. They support us in making sure that you know, theyre our advocates as well, and theyre the ones that also have been pushing for us to get better fields. Do you guys have a web page . We do. You do. Im gonna put it up on the screen just in case anyones watching and would like to contribute financially to help the dream come true for a new field. Theres the website. You can see it on the screen uptownsoccer. Org. And im sure theres more information there, right . Thank you. And let us know when the new field comes, okay . We would love to have you. Messi great player. Love him. Yeah, yeah. But andr . S is good, too. Yeah. Before we go, how about a look at the tiempo Community Calendar for this week. Today in the bronx, bring your dancing shoes to Orchard Beach for salsa sundays. It is a 50year tradition of salsa dancing every sunday through labor day. The event is held at Pelham Bay Park in sections four and five. It starts at noon. Que bueno. This wednesday in manhattan, at bloomingdale park, presented by El Museo Del Barrio and new york city parks. The park there is located at 907 amsterdam avenue, between 104th and 105th street. The event begins at 3 00 p. M. Best part of all, its free. Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We had a lot of fun today. Remember, if you missed any part of our show, you can watch it at abc7ny on the web, on your tablet, or even on your smartphone. Im joe torres. . . Here and now, the Program Featuring the news and interests of the africanamerican community. Heres your host, sandra bookman. Coming up, a look at the Contentious Campaign for the white house. Also ahead, an initiative thats connecting Suffolk County cops with young people in the community to help them avoid the vicious cycle of gang violence. Later, a Wellness Program thats tackling Childhood Obesity new York City School cafeterias. And will the classic new york city game of handball become a goldmedal sport . Thats all ahead on