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Public Employee Press
SAT 3 big letters
for college-bound kids By JANE LaTOUR The gate-keeping mechanism
for admission to most colleges is the SAT examination. Each year, more than 2
million high school students take the competitive exam. SAT scores serve as one
important factor in acceptance into the college of choice. While the
average SAT scores are higher at elite institutions like Harvard and Yale, the
bar still remains high at most colleges. More than a decade ago, to help high
school students jump over that bar, the DC 37 Education Fund began offering an
SAT Preparatory course at the union headquarters for the children and grandchildren
of union members. The seven-week prep course is offered in the spring
and fall. The cost to the families is low $45 only a fraction of
the pricey SAT Prep courses offered by Kaplan ($709) and the Prince-ton Review
($1,009). Despite its low cost, theDC 37 programs effectiveness is proven
and demand remains high. As Ed Fund Administrator Barbara Kairson pointed out,
Applications to the course have steadily increased. We began with two class
sections and were now up to three. Practice
leads to improvement The youthful participants offer eager testimony
about the value of the program. It helped me a lot, especially with the
math and the writing, said Adegoke Ademoye. I learned new strategies
to use for diagrammed questions and for geometry. A senior at Benjamin
Cardozo High School, he is applying to Syracuse, Albany-Binghamton, and Hofstra
University, where he plans to study computer engineering. I feel
it was well-organized and that our teachers did a good job, he said. His
mother, Risikap Hassan, a member of Clerical-Administrative Employees Local
1549, shared her sons enthusiasm. It helped him a lot and was very
useful, she said. I feel great that the union offers this for our
children. Christine Ramos
is the niece of a DC 37 member and an aspiring archeologist. Now a senior at Progress
High School in Brooklyn, she is applying to Brown and New York University. She
attended every session of the SAT test prep course and was heartened by her performance.
I know I did better than the last time, she said. I finished
more questions and I was able to benefit from all the tips and tricks I learned
in the course about test taking, she said. Jossen Narvaez is a
senior at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx. The course actually helped
me a lot, he said. It was extremely helpful. In line with his
hobby of cartooning, he hopes to study animation and other subjects at the School
of Visual Arts. Im sure everybody did better as a result of the class,
he said. While all three seniors took the SAT test on Nov. 4, the juniors still
have an opportunity to continue studying. Shamriz Tamanna is a junior
at Townsend Harris High School in Queens. In order for her scores to match her
ambitions, she needs to keep studying. One problem is that everybody is
at a different level in the classroom, she explained. While it was
really helpful in the math section, I feel that I need a more hands-on approach
for certain topics. Her top college choices are Cornell and Columbia, where
she plans to study pharmacology. Teacher Patty Punch has contributed
her skills to the program for 15 years. It gives me hope for the
future, she said. These kids give you a lot of insight. Theyre
bright, curious, and hopeful. The fact that they willingly come out on a Saturday
to do this and that they go out of their way to learn new things is inspiring,
said Punch. | |