Building Bridges in Your Own Backyard: One Junior's Struggle for SAT Equity

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y.--This summer Eugenie A. Lang '00 drove down Route 9 from Scarsdale to Mount Vernon for her summer job. Along the way the houses became closer together, the trees thinner and the crowds lingering on street corners more diverse.

"There are visible economic differences," Lang says. "Not all the [Mount Vernon] kids drive cars. It's closer to the Bronx so its more urban...The kids pass through metal detectors when they pass into school."

Lang went home to relax and get away from the pressure of Harvard, but soon realized she could use the skills and privilege that got her there to help students in the neighboring community.

In Mount Vernon, which meets the Bronx on its northern side, the median household income, was $34,850 according to the 1990 U.S. Census. The census also noted that the area is 55.3 percent black and 39.8 percent white.

"Mount Vernon is a city that has the largest number of churches in Westchester," says native Cynthia Edwards. Edwards' daughter Jennifer, 17, attended Get Ready!, a free SAT prep course that Lang began this summer.

Cynthia Edwards says Mount Vernon public schools fail to prepare students to compete with those from neighboring communities like Scarsdale, with a median income of $120,825 and a population that is 83.9 percent white, 13.7 percent Asian, and 2.2 percent black, according to the census data.

"I think kids need to be exposed to the importance of SAT scores," Edwards says. "They need to be afforded every opportunity to be accepted to the college of their choice."

Scarsdale High School students scored an average of 1233 out of 1600 on their SATs for the 1996-1997 academic year. Mount Vernon students averaged only 871 points. School profiles show 95 percent of Scarsdale students attend four-year colleges after high school, versus 51 percent of Mount Vernon students.

"The two communities really have so little to do with each other," Lang says, adding that she set out to change that by starting Get Ready!

When she arrived in Scarsdale in early July, Lang held a meeting for several of her friends-friends whom she knew had excelled on their SATs. At the same time, she began searching for space in Mount Vernon where she could hold the course.

Within two weeks five tutors-all Scarsdale High School grads-had volunteered, and The Community Church at the Circle in Mount Vernon donated its facilities for the thrice-weekly class. As word spread, anonymous donations poured into Lang's makeshift "office" set up temporarily in her bedroom at home. A local bookstore sold the program SAT prep books at cost and several professional teachers also donated course materials. Other donations included cash gifts and used prep books.

"I was amazed at how receptive people were," Lang says. "We entered a community and we made a couple of essential contacts and people welcomed us with open arms."

Two weeks into July the group had a logo, publicity, five teachers, a supportive community and an information session underway.

Everyone a Student

"My parents have spent thousands on SAT programs," says Edwin Lee, a senior at Scarsdale High School this fall.

"I get some satisfaction out of taking the same knowledge you have to pay lots of money for and spreading it out," says Lee. "It's kind of like shipping out secret information."

Get Ready! students say their teachers' attitudes made the learning experience fun. Each teacher scored at least 700 on the math or verbal section he or she taught in 45 minute sessions at Get Ready!

None of the new teachers had ever taught SAT prep before joining the program, and all retained second jobs in addition to staffing Get Ready! The curriculum was an amalgamation of published preparation materials, the strategies they learned in their own prep courses and personal insights.

During one verbal lesson, each student wrote a love letter using SAT vocabulary words.

"It's an ambiguous situation when you're teaching SATS. Are you just preparing to raise the kids score or are you somehow trying to make up for the education that they're not getting?" Lang says.

Despite her worries, students say they value being taught by peers who relate to them and have fun, even in the August heat of a stuffy church basement.

"They're nice. They're fun. They're not too serious," Christine Coleman, 17, a Mount Vernon resident and student at Pelham High School says.

"I think it helps that they have just taken it themselves," Melissa Munoz, 17, a student at Mount Vernon High School says.

"If I had gone to Princeton Review, my parents would have spent I don't know how much money for me to sit in a classroom and fall asleep," says Taadhameka Kennedy, 14, of Mount Vernon, who is entering 10th grade at Brooklyn Technical High School this year.

Teachers describe their students as bright and enthusiastic, and say they had fun developing the program.

"They sometimes lack the self-confidence. They haven't had the practice," Jungil Cha 01, a Scarsdale High School graduate says. "I hope this class gives them the self-confidence and the motivation."

Lang says since most Scarsdale students hope to attend four-year colleges, they see high scores on the standardized tests as the norm.

"Low scores in Scarsdale means that that person really doesn't want to be [in school]." Lang says.

She and other teachers in Get Ready! had to adjust their assumptions when they began working with Mount Vernon students. Instead of asking what colleges students are considering, teachers asked what their plans were, and took it from there.

"I asked one of the kids who's going to be a senior if he had taken the SAT II's," Lang said. "He had no idea what I was talking about."

A Continuing Education

Cynthia Edwards says it was hard to spread the word about Get Ready! during the summer, but she is sure more students will attend after this year's class gets its results back.

"If they get a decent score, it will show them and the kids coming behind them how much of a benefit it is," Edwards says, "It will get progressively better year to year."

This year's students responded after noticing posters around Mount Vernon or announcements in their churches. Next year, Edwards says she and other parents will help coordinate announcements at Mount Vernon High School.

Get Ready! raised awareness not only of the need for SAT prep, but also more general assistance for disadvantaged students preparing for college admission.

To celebrate Get Ready!'s inaugural year, teachers and students concluded the program with a pot luck supper followed by a panel discussion on the college admissions process. The panel-which was open to the public included an admissions officer from Columbia University, a Financial Aid officer from the City University of New York and guidance counselors from Mount Vernon and Scarsdale High Schools.

In addition to running an expanded Get Ready! course in Mount Vernon next summer, Lang and Cha plan to start a Cambridge branch.

"We want it to go beyond what a lot of community service programs do and really make it part of the community," Lang says. "We want to train communities how to prepare their own kids for the college process.

"They're nice. They're fun. They're not too serious," Christine Coleman, 17, a Mount Vernon resident and student at Pelham High School says.

"I think it helps that they have just taken it themselves," Melissa Munoz, 17, a student at Mount Vernon High School says.

"If I had gone to Princeton Review, my parents would have spent I don't know how much money for me to sit in a classroom and fall asleep," says Taadhameka Kennedy, 14, of Mount Vernon, who is entering 10th grade at Brooklyn Technical High School this year.

Teachers describe their students as bright and enthusiastic, and say they had fun developing the program.

"They sometimes lack the self-confidence. They haven't had the practice," Jungil Cha 01, a Scarsdale High School graduate says. "I hope this class gives them the self-confidence and the motivation."

Lang says since most Scarsdale students hope to attend four-year colleges, they see high scores on the standardized tests as the norm.

"Low scores in Scarsdale means that that person really doesn't want to be [in school]." Lang says.

She and other teachers in Get Ready! had to adjust their assumptions when they began working with Mount Vernon students. Instead of asking what colleges students are considering, teachers asked what their plans were, and took it from there.

"I asked one of the kids who's going to be a senior if he had taken the SAT II's," Lang said. "He had no idea what I was talking about."

A Continuing Education

Cynthia Edwards says it was hard to spread the word about Get Ready! during the summer, but she is sure more students will attend after this year's class gets its results back.

"If they get a decent score, it will show them and the kids coming behind them how much of a benefit it is," Edwards says, "It will get progressively better year to year."

This year's students responded after noticing posters around Mount Vernon or announcements in their churches. Next year, Edwards says she and other parents will help coordinate announcements at Mount Vernon High School.

Get Ready! raised awareness not only of the need for SAT prep, but also more general assistance for disadvantaged students preparing for college admission.

To celebrate Get Ready!'s inaugural year, teachers and students concluded the program with a pot luck supper followed by a panel discussion on the college admissions process. The panel-which was open to the public included an admissions officer from Columbia University, a Financial Aid officer from the City University of New York and guidance counselors from Mount Vernon and Scarsdale High Schools.

In addition to running an expanded Get Ready! course in Mount Vernon next summer, Lang and Cha plan to start a Cambridge branch.

"We want it to go beyond what a lot of community service programs do and really make it part of the community," Lang says. "We want to train communities how to prepare their own kids for the college process.