The mission of Urban Dove Charter School (UDCS) is to establish “an alternative high school for over-aged, under-credited youth that will provide its students the social and emotional supports and rigorous academics they need to obtain a high school diploma, gain the job skills needed to enter the world of work and the academic foundation needed to successfully pursue higher education. To attract, engage, energize and retain students who have not succeeded in traditional school settings, UDCS features a unique sports, health and fitness program, in which teams of students practice and play sports together, go to class together and receive support services together.”
UDCS will offer a transfer school model using sports-based youth development as a health and fitness-focused engagement and motivating strategy. The school’s goal is to graduate under-credited / overage students in three years with 44 credits and successful completion of five Regents exams. Yearly promotional criteria will be based on credit accumulation and Regents exam passage.
The school will offer a career and technical education component in the areas of sports skills, health and fitness. Founders plan to seek partnerships with Kingsborough Community College and Adelphi University to offer advanced coursework in health, physical education and recreation.
Students will be organized by gender into the Young Men’s Academy and Young Women’s Academy. Instruction will be delivered by academic teachers and supported by sports coaches (likely to be drawn from AmeriCorps).
UDCS will provide an extended day and extended year for students. The school calendar includes 182 instructional days and is organized on a trimester basis (12 week course plans). The calendar will also include a mandatory summer program. Sports, fitness and meals are embedded in the instructional day, which will be 12 hours long three days a week. The school will also provide mandatory Saturday advisement.
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