ELLIS Preparatory Academy is a welcoming school designed for new immigrants over the age of 16. Some know almost no English and have had little education in their home countries. Others have strong academic skills and are nearly ready for college. The school is part of the Internationals Network, which has a long record of preparing new immigrants for college. Principal Norma Vega, formerly a social worker at Brooklyn International High School and principal of Bronx International High School founded ELLIS in 2008.

ELLIS (which stands for English Language Learners and International Support and Prep Academy) shares the huge Kennedy Educational Complex with four other small schools and John F. Kennedy High School. Classes are taught in English, but most of the staff knows Spanish. Students who are stronger in English can serve as translators for their peers.

The hallways and classrooms are scruffy and a bit bare, but the tone is cheerful. There is a nice rapport between teachers and students and the students seem happy to be here. "I like the teachers because every teacher helps me the same," says a young woman from the Dominican Republic who expects to go to college. "I feel good, and I feel comfortable." Most students are Latino, with many from the Dominican Republic and Mexico. There is a sizable group from Guinea, the Ivory Coast and Togo, along with some Nepalese, Yeminis and Bengalis. Some are refugees and undocumented immigrants with perilous stories (documented by The New York Times.)

We saw some experienced teachers who held the attention of their students, and some who were still learning to run their classes smoothly. The trick is to find material that is simple enough for students who know only a little English but compelling enough to engage young adults. For example, one teacher read a picture book, Wangari's Tree of Peace, about the environmentalist and Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai who planted trees in Kenya. The text is simple but the material allows for a sophisticated discussion of land use policies and politics.

The mammoth building also houses Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy, Bronx Theatre High School, Marble Hill School for International Studies, and Bronx School of Law and Finance. Students must pass through metal detectors to enter the building, and, while the atmosphere at ELLIS was calm on our visit, students from other schools in the building are sometimes unruly.

Admissions: Students who have been in the United States less than four years and who are over the age of 16 may apply. (Kim Nauer, October, 2010)