Newark Mayor Cory Booker will pay a visit on Thursday, Sept. 8 to Bard High School Early College (BHSEC) Newark, one of four new high schools opened in the city that received funding from a donation kick started by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The mayor will tour the new school and speak to students during his visit. He will be joined by Leon Botstein, President of Bard College, the college partner for the school. The media is encouraged to attend an open house, which begins at 10:45 a.m. BHSEC Newark is located in the former Camden Middle School, 321 Bergen Street.

Bard High School Early College Newark is modeled after the two successful BHSEC schools in New York City. BHSEC Newark is a selective, tuition-free, public school that offers highly motivated students from all neighborhoods in Newark the opportunity to earn a high school diploma, as well as 60 college credits and an associate in arts (A.A.) degree from Bard College.

A consistent 95 percent of BHSEC graduates enroll in four-year colleges. Graduates are extremely well prepared for advanced course work, and they complete four-year college degrees at a much higher rate than the national average. BHSEC credits transfer to many public and private four-year, degree-granting colleges and universities.

BHSEC Newark expects to enroll 110 students in its freshman class and 30 in its Year 1 college class (the junior year of high school).  It is staffed by 12 full time faculty members.

Bard College President Leon Botstein and Raymond Peterson, the founding principal of BHSEC in New York who is now serving as the principal of BHSEC Newark, will be available to answer questions about the school. Newark Schools Advisory Board President Eliana Pintor, and Greg Taylor, the executive director of the Foundation for Newark’s Future, will also participate in the program.

Bard received $225,000 from the Foundation for Newark’s Future, the charitable organization created to match the $100 million challenge grant made to Newark from Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook.   The start up funding from the Foundation for Newark’s Future was used to recruit students and faculty, design the curriculum and course of studies and prepare the building for the school year. 

Learn more at http://bhsec.bard.edu/newark.