PROGRAM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS LAUNCHES
Pratt Young Scholars scholarship program will allow talented, local students to participate in Pratt's Youth Programs for all four years they are in high school.
The Department of Art and Design Education and a team of faculty and staff from across Pratt Institute have launched the Pratt Young Scholars scholarship program, developed in part from the support of a $20,000 Pratt Innovation Fund Award.
“Given the cuts in funding for art and design education in public schools, this opportunity could not have come at a better time," said Aileen Wilson, chair, Art and Design Education Department. "By awarding us an Innovation Fund grant, Pratt's leadership has signaled a commitment to increase the opportunities for young people from some of Brooklyn's more disadvantaged neighborhoods and help prepare them with the skills and knowledge necessary to pursue advanced study in art and design and go on to two or four year colleges.”
While Pratt’s history of educating children about art and design goes back to its founding, today, the need for low-income youth to be exposed to potential careers is profound. Pratt Young Scholars is a four-year, need-based scholarship for motivated Brooklyn public high school students. Scholars will participate in year-round classes taught by both students and faculty through the Department of Art and Design Education’s youth programs. Selected students will participate in the Institute’s Pre-College Program, where high school students spend the summer and weekends immersed in college-level study of art, design, architecture, creative writing, or critical and visual studies, all modeled after Pratt's undergraduate offerings.
"Programs that can give my gifted students a chance to apply for college art programs on an equal footing with more advantaged applicants are urgently needed,” said Marian Jaffe, a Brooklyn high school art teacher. “I am so grateful that the Pratt Young Scholars program will be fulfilling this need."
Upon completion of the program, students earn four elective college credits as well as the skills, knowledge, and experience required to pursue entry into art- and design-related fields or succeed in college and beyond. The first class of students will begin the program this fall.
Text: Bay Brown
Photo: Kevin Wick
Gateway Editors
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