News & Events
Determined Immigrant Eighth Grade Students Ignore 'Blackout' to Keep SIELP Program Graduation Date
A group of City Tech SIELP students, many of whom ignored the shutdown of subway service during the August 14-15, six-state "blackout" to keep a scheduled date with their graduation.
Neither rain nor sleet nor gloom of day is supposed to keep the folks who deliver the mail from completing their appointed rounds. So far be it for the shutdown of subway service and other inconveniences during the August 14-15, six-state "blackout" to prevent dozens of immigrant eight graders enrolled in the Summer Intensive English Language Program (SIELP) at City Tech from making it to their scheduled graduation ceremony.
It wasn't picking up their diplomas that mattered most. Foremost in their minds were the graduation plays to perform that they had rehearsed for days and other ceremonial responsibilities, and their classmates were depending on them.
SIELP is a unique program founded seven years ago and currently operating on four City University of New York campuses, including City Tech, where the program is both the oldest and the largest. The students spent six hours a day for six weeks during July and August speaking and writing English, reading two novels, keeping a journal, doing research on the Internet, writing a research paper, and regularly corresponding with one another by e-mail. For one hour a day they divided into teams and learned the basic rules of several competitive sports that many have never played before. These competitive activities helped them hone their strategic skills and develop their capacity for teamwork. SIELP is designed to better prepare these young people for the increased rigors of high school as they prepare to enter the ninth grade.
Unable to contact the school by e-mail or phone the Thursday night or early hours of the Friday morning of the "blackout," some 40 determined teenagers nevertheless showed up at the front door of the SIELP program on tiny Chapel Street in Downtown Brooklyn at 9 a.m. all decked out for their graduation. Many had walked for hours from their homes in distant sections of Manhattan and Brooklyn's outlying neighborhoods. Some had started their journey at the crack of dawn.
On Chapel Street, they learned that the College was closed for the day and told to go home. With no further information to go on, the entire class again arrived on Chapel Street bright and early the following Monday morning. Continuing Education staff assured the students that they would, indeed, have their ceremony. After some discussion, SIELP teachers and administrators decided that the graduation ceremony would be held on Wednesday, and all students were notified. Uncomplainingly, they returned again for their graduation.
"They weren't upset in the least," said program teacher Elaine Sohn. "They came by foot on Friday and back again by public transportation on Monday and Wednesday because they love the program and really appreciate what it has done for them. In six short weeks, it had equipped them with English language speaking and writing skills they lacked beforehand. It has given them greater confidence in themselves and has enhanced their understanding and practice of teamwork as they prepare to enter high school. Most of all, they came back because they love learning and the opportunities America affords them to obtain an education. They are an amazing group of young people."
Joan Manes, director of education programs in City Tech's Division of Continuing Education, echoes Sohn's praise of the group. "Our SIELP students are truly a remarkable bunch. We're incredibly proud of them and of their teachers and teaching assistants, who do so much to inspire these young people and who are so often inspired by them."
