New York City
has nine Specialized High Schools that serve the needs of academically and
artistically gifted students. Admission for eight of the nine schools is based
solely on the score completion of the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test
(SHSAT). Black
and Latino students only receive 10 % of specialized high school offers, even
though they make up 70% of the student body in NYC – the result of poor test
performance. Currently
3-5% of Black and Latino junior high school students are passing the SHSAT.
Alumni and teacher at Brooklyn Tech, Sam
Adewumi started The Creative Achievement Success Prep better known as CAS
Prep a community
based SHSAT prep and academic enrichment company out of Bedford-Stuyvesant,
Brooklyn’s Cornerstone Baptist Church in 2012. CAS Prep offers a number of
academic support services starting from elementary grade through junior high
school.
In 2016, a few NYC politicians announced the Independent Democratic Conference had secured $2 million dollars in funding to increase diversity in New York City’s Specialized High Schools. The NYS initiative has two-thirds of the approved funding allocated to outreach with the remainder for actual test preparedness .CAS Prep currently runs test prep summer module which consists of 24-training sessions, compared to the NYS’ funded program which will include some locations that have as little as six sessions.
Bronx resident
and Brooklyn Tech alum, Blandon Casenave, wanted to support the efforts of
Sam’s program and led a fundraising effort via GoFundMe in the spring of 2016. The
fundraiser successfully
raised $10K within two months that provided 15 Black students from NYC with a
SHSAT prep learning opportunity.
Since the
success of the first fundraiser, Blandon and his fellow BTSHS alumni were inspired to continue
the momentum and set the bar higher for 2017. The group has now formed the Harambee Educational
Support Foundation (HESF) now having non-profit status in New York State and
501(c)(3) Federal Tax exemption status. HESF recently kicked off their 2nd
Annual Fundraising for the Harambee SHSAT scholarship program on
their GoFundMe page and doubled their goal from last year, aiming to
raise $20K so they can provide more students with scholarships. This year, the priority is to expand test
preparedness to 6th graders, providing SHSAT preparedness for two
full years for enrolled students, with the goal of improving entrance exam success
rates and overall academic performance.
With more eyes on CAS Prep thanks to features in a news articles featured on WNYC.org and Amsterdam News Sam is bringing more awareness to the lack of test prep resources in the Black community.
[D1]Two
thirds of the budget is allocated for outreach NOT outreach and preparedness
[D2]CAS
Prep and the Harambee Educational Support foundation believe that the primary
focus of SHSAT funding should be preparedness, given the low pass/fail rates of
Black and Latino students.
Last Updated: May 31, 2022 by harambeeadmin
Determined Alum Double Fundraiser Goal to Expand Educational Services to Deserving Students in Black Community
New York City has nine Specialized High Schools that serve the needs of academically and artistically gifted students. Admission for eight of the nine schools is based solely on the score completion of the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT). Black and Latino students only receive 10 % of specialized high school offers, even though they make up 70% of the student body in NYC – the result of poor test performance. Currently 3-5% of Black and Latino junior high school students are passing the SHSAT.
Alumni and teacher at Brooklyn Tech, Sam Adewumi started The Creative Achievement Success Prep better known as CAS Prep a community based SHSAT prep and academic enrichment company out of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn’s Cornerstone Baptist Church in 2012. CAS Prep offers a number of academic support services starting from elementary grade through junior high school.
In 2016, a few NYC politicians announced the Independent Democratic Conference had secured $2 million dollars in funding to increase diversity in New York City’s Specialized High Schools. The NYS initiative has two-thirds of the approved funding allocated to outreach with the remainder for actual test preparedness .CAS Prep currently runs test prep summer module which consists of 24-training sessions, compared to the NYS’ funded program which will include some locations that have as little as six sessions.
Bronx resident and Brooklyn Tech alum, Blandon Casenave, wanted to support the efforts of Sam’s program and led a fundraising effort via GoFundMe in the spring of 2016. The fundraiser successfully raised $10K within two months that provided 15 Black students from NYC with a SHSAT prep learning opportunity.
Since the success of the first fundraiser, Blandon and his fellow BTSHS alumni were inspired to continue the momentum and set the bar higher for 2017. The group has now formed the Harambee Educational Support Foundation (HESF) now having non-profit status in New York State and 501(c)(3) Federal Tax exemption status. HESF recently kicked off their 2nd Annual Fundraising for the Harambee SHSAT scholarship program on their GoFundMe page and doubled their goal from last year, aiming to raise $20K so they can provide more students with scholarships. This year, the priority is to expand test preparedness to 6th graders, providing SHSAT preparedness for two full years for enrolled students, with the goal of improving entrance exam success rates and overall academic performance.
With more eyes on CAS Prep thanks to features in a news articles featured on WNYC.org and Amsterdam News Sam is bringing more awareness to the lack of test prep resources in the Black community.
[D1]Two thirds of the budget is allocated for outreach NOT outreach and preparedness
[D2]CAS Prep and the Harambee Educational Support foundation believe that the primary focus of SHSAT funding should be preparedness, given the low pass/fail rates of Black and Latino students.
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