ALEXA GONZALEZ: STEAM at Syracuse Central will cost around $75 million to construct. Administrators proposed courses like automation controls engineering, robotics, and data analytics. High school senior Chloe Duppert says she wishes this could have been an opportunity she had going into high school.
CHLOE DUPPERT: Especially since I’m a girl going into an engineering major, which is definitely male dominated, I just wish I had more of a background to put me at an advantage so that I felt a little bit more prepared.
GONZALEZ: Duppert says some high schools in the area offer a few classes in the STEAM field like computer science.
DUPPERT: We had a few classes but just like one or two in each subject but not enough where it like provided a strong basis for what your going to be taking college.
GONZALEZ: Construction dates are still unclear but it is expected to start this year. Syracuse City School district parent Mary Vinci says she has concerns about what year the school will open.
MARY VINCI: I’ve been hearing rumors about construction and I was afraid that my son might miss the opportunity if the school opens too late. He might already be in high school by the time it opens.
GONZALEZ: The high school is set to open sometime in fall 2022. Current students in the seventh grade will be the first to experience the school as the incoming freshman class. Vinci says parents have so many unanswered questions.
VINCI: The parents have been talking about the school and we were really hoping there would be some kind of a meeting to provide information to let us know what is going on with the school because right now we don’t really have the information we need. We don’t know if its application based or first come first serve or how its going to work.
GONZALEZ: 60% of the students are expected to come from the Syracuse City District. The other 40% is to come from the suburban districts. Duppert says she doesn’t feel prepared for her first year in college.
DUPPERT: I really wish it would have been an opportunity five or six years ago so that when I was going into high school I could have looked into it more.
GONZALEZ: Vinci says she is wondering if this will even help with her son’s future. Undergraduate recruitment specialist Jonathan Hoster says most admissions offices are looking for strong backgrounds in math and science.
JONATHAN HOSTER: I do think that based on the curriculum this new high school offers they will have a stronger background in subject matter areas within STEAM that will help them be successful and really hit the ground running academically.
GONZALEZ: Amazon donated $1.75 million toward funding programs at the new school. Hoster says often students will switch majors because of lack of preparedness.
HOSTER: Another twenty percent who start in engineering and computer science graduate with a different degree from Syracuse.
GONZALEZ: Hoster says this will be a good opportunity for high school students in the future.
HOSTER: That will allow them to get a sense of if they like doing these kinds of things while their in high school before they apply to college and give them a sense that this is the right path for them to go down based on their interests.
GONZALEZ: The new high school project is part of Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh’s surge project. Its an initiative to grow the economy in Syracuse through increased technology. Alexa Gonzalez NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – New York’s first regional science, technology, engineering, arts and math school will be opening in downtown Syracuse. The school will take the place of the old Syracuse Central Technical High School.
STEAM at Syracuse Central will be the name of the school, according to the Syracuse City School District website. This is a partnership between the Syracuse City School District, Onondaga County, the City of Syracuse and New York State.
The school will concentrate on students that want to pursue careers centered around science, technology, engineering, arts and math as part of the Syracuse Surge initiative.
Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh started the initiative to technologically advance the city in an effort to further economic growth.
“We pushed this project forward so our kids will have access to superior STEAM education in a state-of-the-art, downtown school,” said Walsh at the 2021 State of the City address. “We are on track for work to begin on the project this year.”
Amazon donated $1.75 million toward funding the new high schools robotics program, according to the Amazon press release. The school project will cost around $75 million to construct, according to the Syracuse City School District website.
Robotics and automation controls engineering, remotely piloted aerial systems and 2D/ 3D art media are just three of the seven proposed programs so far, according to the Syracuse City School District website.
The high school will take students from any district in Onondaga County. It is expected that 60% of those students will be from the city and 40% will be from the suburban areas surrounding.
High school senior Chloe Duppert wishes this opportunity could have come sooner as she wants to major in engineering in college.
“We were offered a few classes in computer science and technology,” Duppert said. “But not enough where it provided a strong basis for what I might be taking in college.”
Some students and parents have been talking about the opportunity since the news broke about the new school.
“I think everyone is just looking for more answers that the school doesn’t even have yet,” said Mary Vinci, a Syracuse City School District parent. “How can the kids apply? When do applications come out?”
Parents are wondering if this new school will help get their own kids into competitive STEAM fields in college, Vinci said.
Most computer science and engineering admissions offices look for a strong background in science and math in high school students when applying for college, Jonathan Hoster, an undergraduate recruitment specialist for the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Syracuse University.
“I think that based on the curriculum this new high school offers, they will have a stronger background in subject matters within STEAM that will help them be successful and really hit the ground running academically,” Hoster said
Construction dates are not yet set but it is hoped to begin this year, Walsh said.
“I really wish it would have been an opportunity five or six years ago so that when I was going into high school I could have looked into it,” Duppert said.
