A School Grows
in the South Bronx

One hundred fifth and sixth graders have just completed their first year at Bronx Preparatory Charter School, founded by Kristin Kearns Jordan '87 to bring "a classical, college-preparatory curriculum" to students in the Morrisania section of the Bronx.

On a Spring afternoon in the South Bronx, 25 fifth graders end math class with a raplike chant delivered at top volume. Faces turned towards their teacher, mouths open in a collective grin, they shout: "We're gonna bust that test! We're the Bronx Prep scholars and we're here to say, we're gonna bust that test in a major way!" After a burst of applause, they collect their books and line up quietly in the hall, ready for the monthly awards ceremony at which students receive recognition for everything from academic improvement to attendance. Under the watchful eye of Principal Marina Bernard Damiba, they wait for permission to descend the stairs to the cafeteria. One boy is called out of line because his shirttail is untucked. He corrects the problem and is back in line moments later, without having said a word.

The 100 fifth and sixth graders enrolled at the Bronx Preparatory Charter School understand that they have been given a unique opportunity-this point is driven home to them each day-and as they silently descend the stairs, staying in order, they appear determined to make the most of what their fledgling school offers. They attend school for long hours, from 7:55 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., 200 days a year, which adds up to 50 percent more instructional time than the New York City Board of Education requires. This is what it will take, Damiba says, if Bronx Prep is to meet its goal of seeing every one of these first 100 students enroll in college.

"We want it to be the exception for a kid from the South Bronx not to go to college," Damiba explains.

Bronx Prep is located on Webster Avenue, in the Morrisania section of the Bronx, an area that represents the poorest Congressional district in the country and New York's worst- performing school district. Ninety-three percent of students in the district score below standards on the state math test, and 86 percent score below standards on the English test. It is for precisely these reasons that Kristin Kearns Jordan '87 chose to found a school here.

"Bronx Prep's success depends on building a nurturing school community and a culture of achievement," says Jordan, catching a quiet moment with sixth-grader Tanaya Simpson.

Kristin Jordan is an unassuming person who would rather talk about her Bronx Prep students than herself, but it is clear that behind the soft-spoken demeanor is intense determination. Richard Schubart, her former history teacher at Exeter, calls her "a force" and adds, "You could see Kristin as a lawyer or investment banker. She's brought the same sort of acumen to the world of education and her vision to make a difference to children."

When pressed, Jordan says she traces the roots of her current work to her New Hampshire upbringing and a strain of libertarianism in her thinking. "If you marry this background with a real urgency in terms of social justice, you can go down a number of avenues," she observes. "I latched on to schools. If we don't give these children the education and skills they need, they have no chance to make it." But why she took on the immense challenge of starting a school in the South Bronx-at the young age of 31-is not of particular interest to Jordan. She would just as soon tell you about the $15 million she plans to raise so she can build a high school.

A day student at Exeter, Jordan went on to Brown University, where volunteer work at a shelter for battered women gave her direct experience for the first time with "the challenges of poverty." After graduation, she moved to New York and worked with the Student Sponsor Partnership and later the School Choice Scholarships Foundation, arranging scholarships for low-income students at parochial or private schools. Through this work, she saw firsthand the need that existed in the South Bronx and the lengths families would go to get a decent education for their children. She recalls, "I met parents making $20,000 who were spending 20 to 25 percent of their annual income on tuition for Catholic schools. That's an amazing commitment."

Building a School From Scratch

"We want it to be the exception for a kid from the South Bronx not to go to college," says the school's principal, Marina Bernard Damiba, with fifth-grader Kwadwo Nyarko.

Jordan first dreamed of founding a school during her days at Brown. When the charter law passed in New York, she knew the time had come. She spent a year and a half preparing the charter application, shaping a curriculum, raising money and recruiting board members and teachers. Bronx Prep opened last August 16 (in classroom space rented from a Catholic church), one of 13 new charter schools out of 90 applicants approved for start-up in New York during 2000. Jordan serves as the school's director, working in partnership with Principal Damiba, but job titles don't mean much in a small school where everything is happening for the first time. On the day I visited, Damiba met me in the hall with a bucket of water and sponge in hand, on her way to wash down blackboards. Jordan was busy printing up citations for the awards ceremony and returning phone calls from Governor George Pataki's office; the governor was scheduled to visit Bronx Prep the following week.

Although publicly funded, charter schools are freed from most state and district regulations. This means that while Bronx Prep can determine its own curriculum and hours, the school does not charge tuition and must accept any students who apply. A lottery is held to determine which applicants will win the coveted places. Only 25 percent of this year's students scored at grade level when they entered in the fall. All are children of color and 92 percent qualify for the federal lunch program.

Bronx Prep has agreed to administer the same standardized tests required for public schools by the Board of Education, though as a charter school it could opt for other methods of evaluation. Jordan is frank about the necessity of testing. "It's the only way we can measure and demonstrate progress. The foundations and individuals who are supporting us want to see the test scores." As the school year drew to a close and results of the spring standardized tests came in, it was clear that Bronx Prep students had indeed "busted that test in a major way": the percentage of students performing at grade level rose in all basic skill areas, including a dramatic 42 percent gain in math-results good enough to land the school on the front page of the New York Times.

Jordan believes that in order for her students to succeed, they need the support of a strong school culture that reinforces the lessons they are learning. Bronx Prep sets high standards for behavior and has the freedom as a charter school to ask students who don't abide by the rules to leave; during its first year, only a single student was asked to withdraw. The emphasis on order and discipline is combined with intensive instruction in the basics of reading, writing and math. Students spend 90 minutes a day in math class and 90 minutes in reading, with an additional 45 minutes each for writing and novels classes.

Bronx Prep combines intensive instruction in reading, writing and math with a highly structured environment (including school uniforms). This fall, Jordan (right) begins a campaign to raise $15 million to expand Bronx Prep one grade at a time and to build the school a permanent home.

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