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The KECSS College Journey

As a KECSS student, they are committing to a seven-year journey. Students will be spending time in their middle school years building the literacy, numeracy, and social/emotional skills they will need to be successful in college. 

As your child enters high school, students will be given the opportunity to take up to two years of college courses at Kingsborough Community College tuition-free.  If they pass all of these courses, they will earn a Liberal Arts Associate’s Degree from Kingsborough, which we have worked hard to ensure is transferable to a number of CUNY and SUNY schools.  Most importantly, they will know what it is to be a successful college student and wherever they go they will be ready to be there.

At KECSS, students will take the same types of classes that students in private and exam schools offer. KECSS will make sure that they only take classes that will help them get ready for college, as well as show competitive colleges they apply to in the future that they are taking enough math, science and other subjects to find success there as they continue their college education.

KECSS is for all students. What we know is that with the right attention, support, and hard work, all of them will come to love the work they do because they will gain the skills they need to be confident in their success. 

Remember, this means that students will be spending a lot of extra time on their work – before school, after school, and in the summers. They will have many fun learning experiences at KECSS, and they will be expected to make an extra effort so that they are ready for their college classes.

This also means that they will be expected to support one another. Going to college is a huge endeavor, so we expect them to be helpful and kind to one another. To help you with this, they will have a class called Advisory, and a teacher who will be their Advisor. That teacher will be responsible for getting to know them and making sure they get the attention they need. That teacher will also be the person that family can call if they have any questions about the school or how a student is doing. Most of all, Advisory class will teach students how to work with peers and how to be a strong student.

KECSS Honor Code

Our Honor Code is not just about what a student “should” or “should not do.”  It is about developing positive interactions and open communication with peers and adults to create a nurturing, safe, and supportive environment that fosters Kindness, Enthusiasm, Compassion, Self-motivation and Sincerity.  

  • K is for Kindness - We will always be kind to our peers, the adults in our school building, family members and ourselves.

  • E is for Enthusiasm - We will be enthusiastic about learning. We will show this by arriving on time every day, ready to work by being prepared and making sure that all of our assignments are ready when they are due.

  • C is for Compassion - We will have compassion for people in our school community and the world at large. We will show this by helping our friends, teachers, parents and siblings. We will be aware of our community and its many issues and will try to take part in solutions.

  • S is for Sincerity - We will be sincere and honest all of the time. We will tell the truth when we are asked, and we will be honest when we know that we must go to an adult about a situation that we are in or someone who we know.

  • S is for Self-Motivation - We will be the best students and people that we can be. We will be responsible for our learning and our behavior. We will not count on others to make us successful. We will take the lead and be advocates for ourselves.

KECSS Truth Signs

Truth signs are not the typical signs seen in classrooms. They do not tell students what to do, nor do they threaten.  Truth signs simply remind the class of important truths about learning and living, such as:

  • “Everyone needs time to think and learn.”

  • “It’s o.k. to make mistakes. That’s the way we learn.”

  • “We each learn in our own ways, by our own time clocks.”

  • “It’s intelligent to ask for help.  No one need do it alone.”

  • “We can do more and learn more when we’re willing to take risks.”