New York City Mayor Michael B. Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel I. Klein recently announced plans for the new Tweed Academy. It will act as a first-rate educational center that aims to promote literacy among all students. During traditional school hours, elementary and middle school classes from all of New York City’s five boroughs will participate in alternating two-week intensive academic “residencies” at the Academy.
Tweed Academy will open in the spring semester of 2003 and will eventually serve about 200 elementary and middle school students each school day. Students will study the historical, scientific, and governmental aspects of New York City, and the instruction of literacy will be paramount across all disciplines. The elementary school program will be designed for third graders, while the middle school program will cater to seventh graders. During the afternoon, the academy will conduct educational programs for high school students and teachers. The academy will also be a center of professional development for teachers to ease the transfer of best practices into all classrooms throughout the City.