Letter from our Principal | Harvest Collegiate

Dear Families of Harvest Collegiate,

We are incredibly excited to welcome you to this school year. You, our students and families, shine bright with promise and we have much to be proud of in our school, from your many projects demonstrating true depth of understanding, to our accomplished alumni thriving out in the fields of their choice.

See it in a Photo Slideshow of our beautiful community this past year.

This coming year we plan to maintain focus on these 3 areas:

Joyful Exhibitions and Celebrations of Learning. We know students learn best when they are in the “driver’s seat” of their own learning, figuring out how to make the work better and what they would be proud to present to others. Since the school opened in 2012, our Capstones and Gateways have been a pillar of our powerful education, making sure students are exhibiting habits of mind and heart.

Inquiry Capstones. I was blown away by many of our students’ original question framing, research and problem solving in their Capstones–from the history of caging animals from Ancient Rome to modern day zoos to the mixed successes of the South Korean feminist movement or school integration in the United States, to their deep grappling with complex math problems and in Science, air quality tests and Earthquake-safe designs.
In 10th grade, our “Gateway” year students designed their own experiments to test their hypotheses in Chemistry; researched liberation movements from Brazil to Haiti to India, Puerto Rico and South Africa; and debated whether or why certain works of literature should ever be banned including Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.
To build on these joyful learning experiences, this past year we added a Senior Showcase and a tradition of 9th grade Exhibition Night where parents come in to witness their children’s projects on a spring evening—9th grade families please save the date for June 4th 2025!

Challenge and Support for each and every Scholar

Increasing early college credit classes at Harvest including CUNY Sociology, and in partnership with the ed equity lab offering hybrid courses with universities in Cloud Computing, Poetry: from Walt Whitman to Hip Hop with a Harvard Professor, Environmental Science with Howard University, and Engineering with Brown University for seniors well as continuing the successful option of AP English, AP Macroeconomics and AP Government, and even now offering AP Calculus!
Opening up our own chapter of the National Honors Society–following the council of our own student Advisory Representatives, Harvest will join the National Honors Society where students gain entrance with a GPA of 90+ and good Habits of Heart including community service. We hope this inspires each and every student to strive for your personal best!
At the same time we are broadening pathways beyond the school and deepening inclusion in the classroom through aligned co-teaching, and inclusive routines to provide access for all of our students to grapple with intellectual material. We are also building out extended “life skills” classes including more Health in 9th grade English, a 12th grade spring “Adulting” class for financial literacy and an 11th grade spring Futures Exploration class where students will investigate their potential career and college choices for greater purpose and intentionality in how our students choose to shape their own futures.

Beloved Community–towards the vision of Martin Luther King’s vision of a Beloved Community where we come together in an all-inclusive spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood to share in the abundance of the earth. To this end we extend the following opportunities:

Every student is expected to get involved in an after school club, job or sport. We are fortunate to have abundant opportunities at Harvest—over twenty clubs from Model United Nations to Musical Theater from Sailing to Sewing and a plethora of affinity groups (Asian Affinity Club, Black Student Union, Girls Inc, Jewish Student Union, Muslim Student Association, My Brother’s Keeper)—and we want to explore and find your passion(s)!
FutureReady opportunities for PAID internships in Education Senior year and “Workplace Challenge” where students research and present ways to improve our school for 11th graders. In addition, we share quarterly opportunities beyond Harvest including collegiate prep programs and Summer Jobs, with a goal of connecting everyone to a summer job or meaningful summer opportunity.
Vibrant cultural celebrations from our Decision Day celebrating the bright futures of our Seniors to our annual Black Joy Showcase, Dia de los Muertos, Hispanic Heritage Fiesta, Lunar New Year Celebration, Eid Festival, Spring Musical, publishing parties and too many Concerts to count!

An area of improvement for our school is consistent attendance.

Out of the deep respect we have that you chose to spend these formative years with us, we continually strive to improve ourselves as a school. We dedicate ourselves to bringing you Outstanding Faculty, many of whom are leaders in their field, and pursuing every opportunity we can offer. This rich education can only happen if you are here, in-person and in community at Harvest. Please come to school every day unless you are truly sick or in an emergency, which we hope doesn’t happen often!

Email is our most regular form of communication. If you are not receiving email from us, please reach out to our Parent Coordinator Margie, at margie@harvestcollegiate.org or 212-242-3384.

A letter from our Principal