International High School at Lafayette

2008-09 Partner Site Profile

Number of Pairs: 72

Length of Matches: 2 years

iMentor Partner Since: 2008

Location: Bensonhurst, Brooklyn

iMentor Program Coordinator: Alexander James

International High School at Lafayette Teacher: Sean Burke

About the iMentor Partnership

iMentor is proud to begin its inaugural year with International HS at Lafayette! Our relationship began when Assistant Principal Jon Harriman, a former teacher at Brooklyn International HS, a longtime iMentor partner, was recommended to our program by the BIHS staff. Given iMentor’s extensive background with international students and IHL’s intensively structured and supportive learning environment, the partnership was a perfect fit.

At International HS at Lafayette (IHL), iMentor works with 70 juniors through their Internship class. During the fall, students research and apply for internships that they will attend once a week in the spring of 2009. Teacher Sean Burke has integrated iMentor’s comprehensive career and college curriculum to better prepare his students for their internships. Mentors are invaluable in helping students to narrow their career interests and to aid them in the application process and in the adjustment to the workplace.

As the entire class is made up of international students, students are learning English as a second, third or even fourth language. The iMentor program provides these students with an opportunity to not only practice their own written English, but also to receive emails from native English speakers. Students draft their weekly emails in class with their teacher and then complete them in their official iMentor session on Wednesday.

The iMentor program at International HS at Lafayette is supported by a generous grant from the Robin Hood Foundation, an innovative and influential philanthropic foundation targeting poverty in New York City. To learn more about the Robin Hood Foundation, please see: http://www.robinhood.org/

Travel Directions

Address:

2630 Benson Ave

Brooklyn 11214.

For subway directions: http://www.hopstop.com/?city=newyork&county2=36047&address2=2630%20BENSON%20AVE

For driving directions:

http://www.mapquest.com/maps?form=directions&2a=2630%20Benson%20Ave&2c=Brooklyn&2s=NY&2z=11214-4443&2y=US&2l=40.594412&2g=-73.985892

About Brooklyn International High School

Mission: The International High School at Lafayette (IHL, formerly known as The International High School at Kingsborough Community College) was originally created to serve the diverse immigrant student populations living in South Brooklyn, specifically those residing in the neighborhoods close to Kingsborough Community College, including Sheepshead Bay, Brighton Beach, and Coney Island. Having recently moved from Canarsie to Bensonhurst, the school is situated in a neighborhood that is diverse in its immigrant populations and is well situated to serve the community of Benshonhurst and its environs.
The International High School at Lafayette is part of the Internationals Network for Public Schools, a Gates Foundation funded non-profit organization, committed to providing small learning communities designed exclusively for recent immigrant English Language Learners (ELLs). IHL accepts only students whose native language is other than English, who have resided in the United States for four years or less, and who have been designated as beginner or intermediate English speakers as a result of their performance on the NYSESLAT test. IHL is the eighth International High School in the city.   All of the International High Schools in the city follow the “Internationals Approach.” This approach is built upon five core principles. These principles inform all aspects of their structure, pedagogy and operations. They are: Heterogeneity and Collaboration Experiential Learning Language and Content Integration Localized Autonomy One Learning Model for All
Learn More:   For a more detailed profile of International High School at Lafayette, visit Inside Schools: http://insideschools.org/index12.php?fs=899&str=H.S.%20400%20Lafayette%20High%20School&formtype=name For International High School at Lafayette’s Official Website, visit: http://www.internationalsnps.org/kingsborough.php

Fun Facts

• Students at IHL have been in the country for four years or less
• Students represent over 40 different countries
• The Lafayette Educational Campus soccer team finished the season with a 12-2 record and made it to the division championship. 6 mentees are on the team!

View a complete listing of all

iMentor's 2008-09 Partner Sites