UNIONDALE, N.Y. (PIX11) — Uniondale High School is committed to empowering students. It started with an idea director of guidance Stacie Reid had when she arrived at the school in 2007.
“A school this size, I was kind of taken aback by the size of the college career room. It was a small office and I felt like it didn’t serve the needs of our students,” Reid said.
Her plan came to fruition last year. After getting the go ahead from the board of education, the school converted an empty classroom into a state-of-the-art facility decked out with computers and virtual conference capabilities. Their goal is to arm students with the tools and resources needed to navigate and complete the college application process.
They’re able to speak with counselors and college representatives, fill out applications and write essays in the new space. As a result of the success of this new initiative, the school was recognized for having the most FAFSA apps by EDTrust. In fact, this is the first time three Uniondale students received QuestBridge full scholarships to Stanford University, Princeton University and Boston University. What makes this extra special is that they have had to overcome the challenges of spending most their high school years during remote learning, which was 90% remote the first two years.
Not only does the initiative ensure students an opportunity to achieve higher education, it plants seeds needed to allow students following behind a chance to grow. It’s also about building community to last a lifetime.
