Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and Medgar Evers College (MEC) President Dr. Rudy Crew yesterday announced a joint effort to expand the ‘Brooklyn Pipeline’ at Medgar Evers College to help thousands of local students from disenfranchised communities in and around Central Brooklyn to succeed in college and careers.
The Pipeline consists of programming for four central stakeholders: school leaders, teachers, parents, and students. Current Pipeline programming includes a Parent Academy, Fridays at College, Summer Institute, Pipelines Scholars Program, Health Care Careers Pathway, Computer Science Saturdays, a Monthly Leadership Seminar Series and Professional Development.
To date, the Pipeline has delivered enrichment and developmental learning opportunities to more than 1,000 public school students, taught hundreds of parents to better support their children’s education, and facilitated professional development training to teachers and school leaders in partnership with more than 80 schools across the borough.
“I am proud to oversee a true research and development administration, where we are not afraid to tackle big problems with outside-the-box pilot approaches that have game-changing potential,” said Adams. “Our partnership with Dr. Crew and Medgar Evers College has fostered a unique education solution to previously intractable challenges in Central Brooklyn and throughout the borough.”
Adams said his office has already dedicated millions to schools in the Pipeline, and this year he intends to double down on his financial and institutional commitment to provide resources in the coming fiscal year.
“Medgar Evers is an oasis of hope in Central Brooklyn, where too many students in our backyard are living in the shadow of an economic boom,” said Dr. Crew. “Each year, vast numbers of students arrive on campus requiring years of remedial education. With the help of Brooklyn Borough President Adams, we are attacking that situation head-on. We are building an ambitious pipeline that will help our most disadvantaged kids succeed in school, starting in kindergarten and continuing all the way past graduation.”
Concurrent with the programming above, MEC is working to improve its enrollment and retention efforts. Last year, MEC’s college enrollment rose by five percent. MEC has hired 11 new faculty members in the past year, and launched a Global Lecture Series, bringing experts in science, journalism, and technology to MEC’s campus.
In the coming year, MEC will continue working with school leaders, teachers, parents, and students at every level to ensure the Pipeline Program remains responsive to the needs of its participating schools, families and students.
