Educage, Director: Les Fernandez, The Cage Teen Center, Inc.

1977 Educage brochure

The White Plains Board of Education. an educational alternative now serving 150

Westchester County, N.Y. students who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to succeed in traditional high schools. Tuition is paid on a per-pupil basis by the 31 school districts and agencies currently sending students to Educage. Director: Les Fernandez

Program:

• Morning classes in 28 different course subjects per quarter – an annual total of over 50 different courses.
• Guidance services: educational, vocational, personal and family.
• Job placement and referral.
• Access to Cage Teen Center activities including job training; sports; after school classes in drama, dance and the arts; and Schulman House, a group home for boys.
• Evening program of preparation for the General Equivalency Diploma examination.
• Referral to other county or community agencies when needed.

School credit:

• Credit is granted for courses successfully completed at Educage toward a regular diploma from the student’s home high school.
• High school equivalency certificates are granted by the State Education Department to students who successfully pass the state examination.

Entrance requirements and procedures

1. A student may come from any part of Westchester County.

2. Students may come from public, private, parochial and institutional schools.

3. A matriculating student must be referred to us by his local high school, which agrees to grant him credit toward his diploma for work successfully completed at Educage.

4. A limited number of scholarships are available for dropouts not currently enrolled in the home high schools. The home school must, however, agree to credit them for courses completed at Educage.

5.  Students must have a personal interview prior to admission.

6.  Academic records are not a criterion for ad mission to the program.

7.  An evening program is also available for students who wish to prepare for the General Equivalency Diploma.

Participating schools

Abbott House, Bedford Public Schools, B.O.C.E.S. #2, Byram Hills School District, Chappaqua Public Schools, Cortlandt Manor School District i#3, Dobbs Ferry Public Schools, Eastchester Public Schools, Edgernont School District, Elrnsford Public Schools, The Graham School, Greenburgh School District #7, Harrison Public Schools, Hastings-on-Hudson Public Schools, Hawthorne-’Thornwood School District, Jennie Clarkson Home, Lakeland Public Schools, Lakeside School (South Spring Valley), Mamaroneck Public Schools, New Rochelle Pubic Schools, Peekskill City School District, Pelham Manor Public Schools, Port Chester Public Schools, Rye City Public Schools, Rye-Neck Public Schools, Scarsdale Public Schools, Tarrytown Public Schools, Tuckahoe Public Schools, Valhalla Public Schools, Yorktown Central School District, White Plains Public Schools

Philosophy

• At Educage, we are involved with each student as an individual human being. Our attention and concern center around the student as a unique, worthwhile person – how he sees himself, how he perceives the world around him, and how we can assist him in taking his place as a responsible, productive member of adult society.
• As an academic institution, our primary goals lie in expanding skills and interests that will prepare the student for employment or further education. In order to achieve this, we believe we must make education a pleasurable and rewarding experience that can motivate students to learn – a motivation which so many of our young people are lacking today.
• We feel that it is our responsibility to offer a student as many ways as possible to experience success. Basic to our point of view is the belief that one must feel good about oneself before he can feel good about others.
• To this end, we provide a friendly, relaxed and supportive atmosphere in which a student can grow, not only academically, but also in self-esteem, personal dignity and responsibility for himself and others around him. We are concerned not so much with what we can make him do, but what we can help him do for himself.
• To each student we offer freedom with responsibility- a goal that often requires unlimited time and patience. To the extent that our ability and energy can provide this, we, at Educage, feel this is a goal worth striving for.

History