Harlem Academy


Not to be confused with Harlem Academy School in Tampa, Florida
Harlem Academy is a co-educational, private, independent, and nonprofit day school. It is registered with the New York State Association of Independent Schools. Harlem Academy guides promising, low-income students to thrive at the highest academic levels and one day make a mark on the world. The school aims to foster levels of academic achievement and character development required to enter and thrive at top secondary schools. Located at 1330 Fifth Avenue in Harlem, it serves grades one through eight. It emphasizes academic rigor and family partnership. Admission is need-blind and tuition is determined on a sliding scale in order to make the school accessible to families of all income levels. The school is primarily funded through private donations, which allow students from under-served communities to access a strong education. The head of the school is Vincent "Vinny" Dotoli.

Model programs

Its mission is to offer educational opportunities "for children whose aptitude for success in higher education might otherwise go unrealized." The school aims to foster levels of academic achievement and character development required to enter and thrive at top secondary schools. The school, according to its head, "modeled the atmosphere and rigor of the City's highest performing private schools."
Extended day programming offers five hours of rigorous academic instruction, enriching educational activities, and active teacher supervision for students, between 7:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. every weekday.
Family partnership requires, under the enrollment contract, each family to volunteer at the school for a minimum of four hours per parent per month. They can join steering committees to help "shape" the school. According to Dotoli in 2011, "no teacher has been hired without approval by the family hiring committee" composed of parents volunteering for the school. Parents run new-parent orientations and are encouraged to help out with fundraising events.
The Singapore Math Method is the foundation of the math curriculum at Harlem Academy, which is the first school in Manhattan to adopt the system. According to Winnie Hu, it is modeled on Singapore's internationally recognized national math curriculum and focuses on fostering deeper and more multifaceted understanding of fewer math concepts, rather than cursory coverage of a large array of topics. According to Hu, other schools to adopt Singapore Math include Sidwell Friends in Washington, D.C., and Hunter College Elementary School.
Volunteers make essential contributions to school community life. Harlem Academy relies on volunteers to maintain and augment its program. Special guest volunteers have helped classes produce their own magazine, teach art history with accompanying guided visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and run an advanced math program.

Academics and curriculum

Lower school

Grades one through four comprise the lower school. Teams of lead and assistant teachers guide each class. A strong focus on literacy is featured in a number of daily programs, including general reading, independent and home reading, supplemental vocabulary, and a writer's workshop. The lower school director ensures these programs are integrated with the rest of the curriculum and provide seamless skills development between grade levels.
FOSS, a curriculum developed by the Lawrence Hall of Science and the University of California at Berkeley, encourages hands-on experiential learning. Units focus on life, physical, and earth sciences.
The core curriculum is supplemented by a variety of arts and elective activities. Dance, art, and the spoken word are emphasized. Elective time is allotted for educational games, like chess and mancala.

Middle school

The middle school includes grades five through eight. Middle school students focus on core subject skills development. The curriculum is designed so that skills and content taught in one subject are reinforced and developed in others.
The English program sets out to examine good literature. Novels taught are grouped thematically to accompany the history curriculum. Themes studied include community, evolution, conflict, and identity. Mechanics, content, and expression are continuously emphasized throughout students' literature studies. Teachers evaluate writing skills primarily in the English, reason and rhetoric, and history courses, but selectively evaluate writing in other subjects as well.
In math, particular attention is paid to quantitative literacy, especially as it relates to the annual research symposium and science fair projects. Advanced students have the opportunity to participate in national contests, like MOEMS and Mathcounts.
FOSS and Delta Science modules are the foundation for many of the science units. Each grade covers a core science subject. Grade five covers environmental science, grade six covers Earth science, and grade seven studies life science. Experimental and experiential learning is central to the curriculum.
History studies culminate each year with a research symposium, where students exhibit their research skills by presenting a topic relating to the year's studies. Foundational to the history program is the construction of historical argument, primary and secondary source analysis, assessment of continuity and change, and assessment of contemporary relevance of historical processes.
Service is a special element of the middle school programming and builds school community. Middle school students meet with lower school students once a week to build a skill, like chess or reading.
Middle school students participate in a variety of clubs and extracurricular activities led by Harlem Academy staff, including yoga, knitting, African drumming, dance, and mechanical robotics.

Admissions

Harlem Academy is a selective independent school accessible to families of all economic backgrounds. Every family pays some tuition, but no student is denied admission for financial reasons. Tuition is determined on a sliding scale according to each family's ability to pay and can be as little as $400 per year.
The admissions process begins with attendance at an informational meeting and continues with an application and an interview. The application is composed of teacher recommendations, report cards, test scores, and writing samples.

Board of Trustees

Board chair David B. Peterson is CEO of Onera Media, Inc., a private advisory and investment firm. Additional trustees: