This alternative school in NY hung portraits of 50 alumni on its building
The Alternative School for Math & Science in Corning recently a commemorative art installation featuring alumni portraits to mark the school's 20th anniversary.
Kim Frock, ASMS executive head of school, said the portraits installed on the exterior walls of the ASMS building, inspired by the global Inside Out Project, feature side-by-side photos of former students highlighting the different experiences of the ASMS community and the transformative nature of the middle school experience.
“Our installations are intended to highlight the importance of mid-level education and the success realized when you provide those services to students with the resources they need to grow,” Frock said. “So, we displayed then and now photos of roughly 50 of our alumni who are all finished with college and are now working.”
Frock said about 70% of the alumni portraits were of students who attended ASMS within the first seven years of the alternative schools opening.
Why ASMS was founded
“The students are the only reason that we exist,” Frock said. “Our 20th anniversary is just a great opportunity to highlight our students' success. This is a school where every student can thrive.”
Established in 2003, ASMS school’s learning approach is focused on developing the whole child in an academically supportive and challenging environment.
Jessica Ortiz, ASMS administrative head of school, said since opening its doors to 20 students in January 2004, ASMS has served a diverse community of 862 students from 19 school districts and a range of learning profiles and backgrounds.
“Since welcoming the first class of students 20 years ago, we have remained committed to our mission of providing an experiential, hands-on program that meets the needs of every student at a critical time in their cognitive, physical and emotional development,” Ortiz said.
James B. Flaws, retired vice chairman and chief financial officer at Corning Incorporated and a longtime supporter of ASMS, said over the past two decades, ASMS has played a key role in the education landscape in the Southern Tier and beyond.
“With a unique approach to teaching and a focus on hands-on experiential learning, the school is an asset to our community, and has successfully prepared generations of students for future careers spanning STEM fields to performing arts and beyond,” Flaws said. “I think it provided an alternative to the public schools for students who needed a more intense and hands-on education.”
Elijah Barlow, an ASMS student, who just graduated and will be attending Corning-Painted Post High School next year, said ASMS offered him space and hands-on learning opportunities.
“That is the reason I came here,” Barlow said.
Cyrus Law, who also just graduated from ASMS, said the one thing he will remember the most about his time at ASMS is having good times with his friends, hanging out and learning a lot.
“All the classes having a more hands-on approach compared to the traditional sessions helped me learn things a lot faster,” Law said.
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'Learning needs to be joyful'
Frock said ASMS was founded in 2003 by a group of parents and community members determined to provide a learning environment to best suit the needs of middle school students.
“Twenty years ago, a very determined group came together as educators and community members to create ASMS,” Frock said. “Two major factors drove the decision to start the school.”
Middle school achievement levels were declining at an alarming rate, not just locally but nationwide, Frock said.
“Second, one of my own children and many other children I cared greatly about entered sixth grade and no longer wanted to go to school,” Frock said. “As a parent let me tell you that is terrifying. It wasn’t because there was a lack of good teachers in our district or across the county.”
Frock said it was because middle schools were not designed for the way 10-14-years-olds needed.
“This was such a problem across New York and across the country that there was an enormous body of research on exactly what middle school children needed to optimize their learning,” Frock said. “The group that founded ASMS used that research to design the program.”
Frock said the group that founded ASMS knew the school needed to be challenging and supportive, relevantly hands on, flexible, safe and fun.
“I say fun in capital letters,” Frock said. “Learning needs to be joyful not painful. We focused on middle school because that's where we were losing our kids, and those are the most critical years in a child’s education. It's when the most growth happens physically, emotionally and cognitively between kindergarten and the end of 12th grade.”
How ASMS has fared over 20 years
• 862 students from across 19 school districts served since inception
• 100% participation in afterschool activities and sports while at ASMS
• 95% of alumni were honor students in high school
• 70% pursue STEM degrees in college and graduate school (compared to 15% nationally)
• Nearly 30% of students have received financial assistance since ASMS opened, with awards totaling nearly $4.5 million
• 115,000 hours (about 13 years) of community service given since inception
This article originally appeared on The Leader: Corning's Alternative School for Math & Science celebrates 20 years
