The "Gateway Institute for Pre-College Education", begun as the Gateway to Higher Education program was started in New York City in September 1986. Its initial goal was to prepare high school students from demographics underrepresented in science, medicine, and technology, for higher education in those fields. Gateway relies on its strong partnerships with the public school system, medical centers, cultural institutions, universities and research facilities. Based at City University at The City College of New York, the Gateway to Higher Education Program and the New York City Board of Education became partners in 1986 to increase the numbers of students from the public school system entering and completing medical school. The program began at five New York City high schools and has grown to nine programs within large high schools and three stand-alone schools. In 2007, preparations were made to implement a similar program in Roxbury, Massachusetts, at the John D O'Bryant school,now completing its third year as a Gateway Program (June 2009). IIt is onto its 5th year at John D. O'Bryant and has around 57 students enrolled in Fall of 2011. The head of the program, Ms. Bettie Nolan is working on making it better and trying to make sure every student in the program is getting the attention they need.

Program administration

According to a program report published in 2000, under directors Morton Slater and Elisabeth Iler, the Gateway program cost $1,600 more per student than the mean per pupil cost of public school in New York City, and relies on careful selection of students and teachers for the program.

Requirements for admission

Students had to meet certain basic criteria to be accepted into the program. They had to:

• score above the 50th percentile both in New York City’s Seventh Grade Math test and in its Degrees of Reading Power test,
• have regular attendance,
• generally have grades above 80 on a 100-point scale
• strong family support
• desire to pursue a science based career

Requirements in Boston, MA as of Summer 2011

In order to get accepted into the Gateway Program, Students at John D. O'Bryant have to:

• Generally have grades above 80 on a 100-point scale
• Hand in two hand-written essays.
• Math teacher recommendation from their former teacher.
• Pass an interview with the Gateway Staff.

Students and results

Between 1986 and 2000, some 3500 students passed through the Gateway program. The majority were African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 and Latino

Latino

The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...

. During the 1999-2000 academic year, for instance, 801 students were enrolled in Gateway Programs or small schools, 60% of whom were African American and 25% Latino; 62% were female.

Students in the program had significantly higher Biology AP

Advanced Placement Program

The Advanced Placement program is a curriculum in the United States and Canada sponsored by the College Board which offers standardized courses to high school students that are generally recognized to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in college...

 scores, SAT

SAT

The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...

 scores, graduation rates, and college acceptance rates than national means. As of 2005, over 100 graduates are attending medical school or already practicing medicine.

Later developments

In 1997, the project received a Sloan Public Service Award from the Fund for the City of New York.

More recently, the program has inspired the development of similar programs in other districts.

Other Gateway programs

In 2005, Howard Hiatt, former Dean of Harvard's School of Public Health

Harvard School of Public Health

The Harvard School of Public Health is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, which is next to Harvard Medical School. HSPH is considered a significant school focusing on health in the...

, backed a proposal to roll out a Gateway program in Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

. The program would involve 50 students in Roxbury

Roxbury, Massachusetts

Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...

's John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics & Science

John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics & Science

The John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science, formerly known as Boston Technical High School is a college preparatory public examination school along with Boston Latin School and Boston Latin Academy that specializes in mathematics, science, technology and engineering in the city of...

. The proposal is to take effect in April 2007.

External links

• Official Gateway website
• Center for Children and Technology evaluation summary from 1995-1996

Sources

• A summary of two key reports:
  1. "Science and Technology Entry Program: 1999-2000 Final Report", an informal report (Morton Slater and Elisabeth Iler, 2000)
  2. "Make It Possible for Students to Succeed and They Will: An Evaluation of the Gateway to Higher Education Program", a study via the Education Development Center (1997)
• Boston Globe article on the Boston expansion, March 17, 2007

  "A boost at O'Bryant High", Boston Globe, March 26, 2005. An older editorial on the proposed Gateway program at the O'Bryant School.

• Announcement of the Gateway program's receipt of a Sloan Public Service Award (1997)