Vertex Partnership Academies …
A brand new public charter school is opening in the Bronx, New York. Promising to be the first of its kind, Vertex Partnership Academies will open its first school in August 2022.
The academic institution is planning to increase the presence of International Baccalaureate schools in New York. It will provide an education of very high quality, guided by the individual building virtues of Courage, Justice, Wisdom, and Temperance. Students will also be able to learn either Spanish or Mandarin.
The school will be more than just an academic institution with participation in a variety of sports offered. The Vertex campus includes two school buildings, a soccer field, basketball courts, and parking.
Vertex will provide rising 9th graders with the opportunity to complete one of two International Baccalaureate academic programs. There will be the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program which prepares students for enrollment in high-quality universities both in the USA and abroad.
The second option is the International Baccalaureate Careers Program. This option will prepare students to directly enter the labor market after being trained in a variety of fields such as computer sciences, construction, architecture, healthcare, or media.
The founder and Chief Executive Officer of Vertex, Ian Rowe, is a “proud product” of New York City public education. He is a graduate of Brooklyn Tech, a specialized high school. He credits his successful career to having attended a great high school.
For the past 10 years, Rowe has run a network of public charter schools in New York City, ranging from pre-k to eighth grade. In an exclusive interview with LittleAfrica News, Rowe says, “After I finished 10 years of running the elementary and middle schools, I determined that the next best thing was to launch a really great high school.”
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In the interview, he spoke of the need to create a conducive academic environment and culture that creates intelligent, productive members of society.
This is seen in the rigorous nature of the curriculum. “We want to demonstrate that we want to bring a world-class education to students who deserve it,” said Rowe. Students will engage in high-quality learning during a longer academic year and school day.
“There’s a lot of writing, intense analysis, [and] debate.” Rowe believes in dedicating more time towards learning. He believes in preparation, which is why he speaks of preparing high school students as early as possible for college or any given career they want to explore.
When discussing other schools in New York City that have International Baccalaureate programs, Rowe said, “In the few instances where it does exist, what often happens is that only a very small percent of kids in the school actually do the IB program.
So a school might say ‘We are International Baccalaureate’ but they only offer it to maybe five or ten percent of the kids and the rest of the kids are doing the regents, they’re doing the traditional New York City high school program.
We, Vertex Partnership Academies, will be 100% International Baccalaureate for all kids, and we are quite confident that we can support all kids to do well in this program. There is nothing like this. We are creating something special and unique. We will be one of the best high schools in the city.”
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Joyanet Mangual is the Founding Principal of Vertex Partnership Academies. Mangual began her teaching career with Teach for America as a Special Education teacher at a middle school in Brooklyn.
After completing her time with Teach for America, Mangual returned to Chicago where she continued working as a Special Education teacher. In 2015, she returned to New York City, working in a school in Harlem as the founding Special Education teacher.
After a few years, she became an Assistant Principal at the charter school, now moving into her position as founding principal at Vertex Partnership Academies.
She believes in education and providing a solid foundation on which the students can thrive. Mangual believes in a student-focused system that supports communication with families and parents.
This ensures that parents and families are always aware of what is happening with their children at school. She has pride in Vertex Partnership Academies for having high expectations and offering high levels of support for their scholars.
