IHS’s proximity to Cornell and Ithaca College (IC) means we have the potential to access a diverse range of opportunities. With recent budget disputes resulting in the elimination of programs in the district, such as AVID and certain language courses, students should be able to take advantage of resources that colleges can provide for classes and future readiness. The Tattler Editorial Board believes that there is much more that both IHS and local universities can do to strengthen the collaboration between the institutions and benefit all parties.
Existing programs between IHS and local universities exemplify the importance of this cooperation and also demonstrate how students and teachers all around the district can benefit. Certain IHS classes invite university speakers to provide insight into their fields of study. Former IHS student Winter Knutson ’23 stated, “As a current undergraduate student in physics, [the presentations in physics class] both sparked my interest in exploring what the field offers and made undergraduate-level research feel much more approachable to me.”
University programs are also able to offer students support outside of the classroom. The Cornell Science and Technology Entry Program works with students in marginalized communities for college readiness and career exploration through internships, job opportunities, and college visits. Students have commented on how the program has also helped them manage schoolwork and gain a sense of community.
When university students and experts collaborate with IHS, they benefit as well. The Math Seminar class at IHS is taught by three Cornell graduate students throughout the school year. Cornell Mathematics Ph.D. Balázs Elek described teaching Math Seminar as “a fantastic opportunity for grad students.” He also stated that “there is no other teaching experience at Cornell that gives you [as] much independence” and that his involvement taught him a lot about teaching.
With the success of existing partnerships between IHS and local universities, the Tattler Editorial Board believes that collaboration can be deepened to enhance the high school experience of IHS students. Current IHS interactions with local universities are not equally accessible to our student body. STEM classes, especially high-level ones, feature the majority of expert guest speakers. We must work to bring these opportunities to students in all sorts of different classes, as it is imperative that a diverse population has access to them.
In order to plan presentations and other events, educators from the universities and from IHS need to get in contact. Currently, they are often unsure of how to do this. The Tattler implores the IHS administration to procure a list of teachers and department leaders who are interested in collaborating with local universities. This list should be made public and regularly sent to Cornell and IC departments. Departments at the universities can also list interested speakers; this would help IHS teachers better find who to connect with for presentations. Existing collaborations between university lecturers and IHS classes have often been established for decades. By expressing our interest to reach out, we open the door to new collaborations and opportunities.
These options can take place on university campuses as well. Both Cornell and IC have exceptional facilities and allowing students to experience them in-person could be a major source of inspiration. For example, the Cornell Johnson Museum of Art has expressed its willingness to use their exhibitions as an educational aide. The museum offers resources to teachers about a variety of subjects through their galleries by serving as a historical primary source, inspiring analytical discussion, and demonstrating diverse artistic techniques and styles.
Likewise, The Ithaca College Libraries are home to one of the most comprehensive musical collections in the country. Cornell already has a local borrowing application which lets people not affiliated with the university borrow from its libraries. By offering a similar program, IC could help IHS students expand their horizons and deepen their knowledge. Furthermore, if students could gain access to these libraries simply through their affiliation with IHS, such as by using their student ID, this may encourage students to seek educational resources that may otherwise be difficult to find. The pre-existing local borrowing program demonstrates the potential for more comprehensive initiatives to heighten the exchange of materials.
Creating more connections between local universities and IHS would be beneficial for our students, but also Cornell and IC. Both institutions are constantly trying to bring in new faculty, many of whom have children and for whom quality of pre-college education is very important. The highly publicized loss of “good standing” at several ICSD schools will eventually make it more difficult for Cornell and IC to recruit. This problem would be at least partially solved by our local colleges contributing more to IHS.
Existing programs between Cornell, IC, and ICSD demonstrate the opportunity for students to expand their horizons through collaboration with the universities, but they also show how there is more room for connection between the two institutions to ensure that students can rise to their full potential and foster a strong sense of connection within the community, uphill and downhill.