The Urban Assembly School for Emergency Management

The Urban Assembly School for Emergency Management offers pathways in emergency medicine and cyber security in addition to traditional high school coursework. It may appeal to students who want to work as a nurse or a firefighter, or in an area of cyber security such as data recovery or ethical hacking. Internships take place with organizations such as the Red Cross and the New York Police Department. 

One of the first things students study is First Aid, including CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), a lifesaving technique used when someone’s breathing or heartbeat has stopped. In turn, a small team of students go into neighborhoods that have the slowest ambulance response times in the city to train residents in CPR.  

Students can eventually become New York State certified EMT’s (emergency medical technicians), who are first on the scene in emergency situations such as traumatic injuries or accidents. With this certification—and the free driver’s training that is part of the package—graduates may seek a job as an EMT at age 18. A former EMT and a volunteer firefighter are on the school’s staff. A few graduates have chosen a pre-med path at Stonybrook, said Robert Magliaro, a co-principal with Taina Torres.

In the cyber security pathway, students study code in Python computing language and other tech skills and may pursue industry certification in some core cyber security functions. 

Many students enter the high school with lower than average reading skills. To help them catch up, the school has streamlined its approach to studying vocabulary, note-taking and debate in all classes. Students must read at least twelve major books or scholarly publications each year. Those who fall behind are required to visit teachers during “office hours,” like in college. “Our literacy strategies result in a growth of about two grade levels per year,” said Magliaro. The school offers several Advanced Placement courses. 

As for extra activities, “as a small school, we can tailor the experience,” Magliaro said. When students expressed an interest in boating, the school forged a partnership with Brooklyn Boat Works, in which teens build a boat from scratch and sail it across the East River. A cooking club is also based on student interest.

Many students travel to the school from upper Manhattan and outer parts of the Bronx and Brooklyn. While more than half the students miss at least a month of school, the number of chronically absent students is declining. Every week teachers make students aware of how many days they have missed so they can see how quickly the days add up. Incentives for attending school regularly include an end of the year trip. 

Opened in 2013, the school is housed in the basement of the Murry Bergtraum Educational Campus, a building shared with Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers, Manhattan Early College School for Advertising and The Urban Assembly Maker Academy. The basement classrooms lack windows, but students do move around the building throughout the day, to the cafeteria on the second floor and the gyms on the fifth and sixth. Campus-wide PSAL sports include baseball, basketball, bowling, track, volleyball, softball and soccer.

ADMISSIONS: The Educational Option formula seeks a range of low-, middle- and high-performing students. (Lydie Raschka, web reports and interview, October 2019)