College, FDA to Seal the Deal April 7 ceremony in Harlem formalizes a new partnership
	Predominantly white Ithaca College has been working quietly for more than a year to develop mutually beneficial bonds with the Frederick Douglass Academy, an overwhelmingly African American and Latino high school in central Harlem. The alliance will be made public on April 7 when the two institutions formalize their partnership in a ceremony at the academy. Before low test scores, student violence, and poor faculty morale forced its closing nearly seven years ago, intermediate school #10 had earned distinction as one of the worst schools in the New York City system. Its reopening months later as the Frederick Douglass Academy marked the beginning of an astounding turnabout, and the school is now acclaimed nationwide for its devotion to academic rigor and student achievement. Administrators at both the FDA and Ithaca College say their partnership will only enhance educational opportunity at both institutions. "These are exciting times in education and we are pleased and proud to be engaged in a partnership that is designed to celebrate our diversity and our commitment to excellence in education," Ithaca College president Peggy R. Williams and FDA principal Gregory Hodge said in a joint statement. Located on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard, the Frederick Douglass Academy bases its success on a singular mission - that all of its students get through high school and into college, regardless of the hardships they may face. At FDA, excellence is expected of and delivered by a student body that draws the majority of its members from single-parent homes. Many students live in poverty and in areas where drugs and crime are a way of life. The partnership between the two schools is based on a number of natural links --- links that have been identified through months of behind-the-scenes interaction. "For the past year and a half we have been building slowly and carefully to make certain that what results will be a lasting relationship that grows stronger each year," says Pat Tempesta, program coordinator in the College's Teacher Education Program. "We have found a significant number of areas where we can work together to produce something we were individually unable to do." For Ithaca, the academy offers a new field placement setting for its teaching option students --- a placement that will prepare them for teaching in a multicultural world. Ithaca's students and faculty have already participated in site visits and workshops to observe and work with the academy's students and staff, and those interactions will continue. In turn, The FDA will continue to rely on the College for assistance in the development of its television studio, student newspaper, and computer laboratory. Three FDA students participated in the College's Summer Sophomore Program last year, and scholarships have been established to allow others to make that trip in years to come. Future partnership links are being explored in business education, health related education, computer technology, journalism, and audiovisual production. Hodge said the FDA has been courted by other institutions, but that Ithaca College's long-term commitment to the school --- and to inner-city education --- set it apart. "We've been working with them for the past two years, and we're delighted with the experience and opportunities they've brought to us," says Hodge. That the project has developed to this point is largely a credit to Tempesta, whose curiosity was piqued in the fall of 1996 after seeing a 60 Minutes segment on the academy. Not long after, Tempesta and two other faculty members spent two days meeting FDA faculty, students, and staff, observing classes, and speaking with founder Lorraine Monroe about FDA's philosophy. The relationship began to take serious shape at the conclusion of a spring 1997 trip to the Ithaca campus by FDA staff and faculty. "By that time," Tempesta says, "the energy and enthusiasm to continue the relationship was palpable." The relationship continued to grow last fall, when a group of Ithaca College faculty and staff traveled to the academy for two days of meetings, seminars, classroom observations, and presentations. Some 50 Ithaca College administrators, faculty, staff, and students will be on hand for the partnership ceremony and a day full of activities with FDA students. College representatives will work with the students in the new computer journalism lab and will assist in videotaping the day's events. Workshops in jazz music and communication skills will be offered, as will talks on issues related to affirmative action and educational opportunity programs. Faculty members will also offer a writing workshop, a lecture on the causes of World War I, a demonstration on cardiac fitness, and much more. "The response to this partnership effort on the part of our campus community has been overwhelmingly positive and energizing," says Tempesta. "This is really what education is all about."