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Prep for Prep admissions officer urges Community Board 11 to share application details with families
Summary
Sinai Cruz, Bronx admissions officer for Prep for Prep, described the program 14-month preparatory track for high-achieving, low-income students, noted applications open Sept. 15, and said the program typically accepts about 125 fifth/sixth-graders and 75 seventh-graders each year.
Sinai Cruz, Bronx admissions officer for Prep for Prep, described the program to Community Board 11 Education Committee members and asked the board to share application materials with district families and civic organizations.
"Prep for Prep is a free academic and leadership development program, whose mission is basically to prepare and place high achieving, low income students, who are currently attending public, parochial, or charter schools into independent schools," Cruz said.
Cruz described a two-track intake: one for fifth- and sixth-grade students (a 14-month program of two summers plus school-year sessions) and a separate seventh-grade track that prepares students for boarding high schools. She said the organization follows accepted students into their independent schools with counseling, college guidance, extracurricular support and paid internships.
Key details Cruz provided: applications open Sept. 15; the organization accepts roughly 125 fifth- and sixth-grade students citywide and about 75 seventh graders each year; the preparatory sequence is rigorous and includes advanced coursework and leadership development. Cruz described the program as longstanding (she and another committee member said the program began in 1978) and said it provides financial aid at admitting independent schools so placement is not a direct cost to families.
Committee members emphasized outreach and screening. One member noted the programs rigor and warned families that the preparatory schedule is intensive (homework into late hours for younger students). Cruz said Prep for Prep conducts info sessions for parents and school staff, accepts both teacher nominations and parental applications, and will email flyers and a link to committee contacts for posting on social media and the board website.
First references in the report: Sinai Cruz, Bronx admissions officer, Prep for Prep; Alex Ellison, chair of the Education Committee; Cynthia, chair of the Community Board. Cruz provided application and contact details for distribution to district social media and schools; committee members agreed staff would post the materials when Cruz supplied them.
