By Courtney Dentch
The four Queens campuses are collaborating to start an education center slated to open in September to serve students in the Rockaways, said Borough President Helen Marshall.
The project is still in its early phases and it was unclear what shape it would take, said Linda Gilberto, vice president of adult and continuing education at LaGuardia Community College. LaGuardia is heading up the administrative and organizational aspects of the project.
“What we are hoping to do is to start a new point of entry for people into various programs of the City University of New York,” Gilberto said. “We are still in the planning stages.”
The program could offer students anything from pre-college and general equivalency diploma courses to graduate level classes, Gilberto said. The facility could also house services such as registration, career guidance, financial aid and more, she said.
“We are in discussions with state and city legislators from southeast Queens and the borough president about establishing a CUNY presence in the Rockaways,” said Rita Rodin, spokeswoman for CUNY. “We do hope to have class offerings starting in September.”
Initial classes would focus on basic skills, such as adult literacy and English as a second language and could grow into credit-bearing courses, Rodin said.
The program is being funded through the Central CUNY offices and the four Queens campuses – LaGuardia, Queensborough Community College, Queens College and York College – agreed to provide various services, Gilberto said. Specific roles were to be determined once the facility's programs have been set, she said.
“While we have some tentative plans we are trying to find out what people in the local community want and what will be most effective,” she said. “The different colleges have different expertise and resources they can contribute.”
The city Department of Education has offered CUNY a temporary home for the center at MS 180, Gilberto said. Marshall plans to wrap two projects into one by moving the center into the old court building off the Cross Bay Bridge at Beach 92nd Street, she said.
“The courthouse was abandoned – it belongs to the city,” Marshall said in an interview with the TimesLedger. “I've been asked to do something about the court building because it's really deteriorated.”
But first the project needs a director. Gilberto and the other coordinators have been conducting a search to find someone to head the program.
“The deadline for applications was the end of last week,” Gilberto said. “By the end of July we hope to complete the search.”
Reach reporter Courtney Dentch by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
