The First Day of School (Again)
Almost exactly 25 years ago to the day, a group of 56 7th graders showed up at 105 East 106th Street in Manhattan for the first day of school at a school like no other. The first all-girl’s public school to open in the US in 30 years, The Young Women’s Leadership School (TYWLS) of East Harlem was a revolutionary and innovative option for girls and young women in NYC.
The all-girls school was designed to provide students from underserved communities with educational opportunities and high-quality college preparatory resources equal to those available to students in the city’s elite private schools. The smaller class sizes, as compared with standard public schools, meant that all the students knew each other, grew up together, and fostered a strong sense of sisterhood and friendships – many that are still going strong today. The new middle schoolers were in awe of their brand new school building, complete with an elevator – a novelty for that inaugural class in 1996! “There was always something special about the school…” remembers one of the first students to pass through its halls.
The school’s holistic programming supported and helped develop every aspect of students’ lives and interests, in and out of the classroom. Students went on overnight field trips, took up running with Road Runners, and wrote and directed plays as part of the Step Up program. Each student also had access to a CollegeBound Initiative director of college counseling (DCC) to support and guide them on the path to college. This pioneer class that first walked through the doors at TYWLS East Harlem in 1996 went on to graduate with a 100% college acceptance rate, the majority of them being the first in their family to attend college.
Today, TYWLS East Harlem – along with our four other TYWLS that have since been established across NYC in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens – are once again opening their doors for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic closed NYC schools in March of 2020. Our TYWLS leaders and educators will be welcoming all students back for full-time, in-person classes and everyone is brimming with excitement to see each other once again and reconnect outside of video calls.
A few things will be different this year of course: masks are still a requirement; accommodations have been made to ensure social distancing of three feet in the classroom; and updated ventilation and filtration systems have been put in place. Still, there is a palpable buzz in the SL Network community today as many friends see each other for the first time again, plans for club meetings and college trips take shape once again, and we all look forward to all of the achievements and celebrations this year will bring. Again.
