OUR MISSION
The Manhattan Early College School for Advertising provides access for students to an excellent education and the support necessary to succeed in high school, college, and career. Building on the life experiences of our students and their families, we are committed to empowering them to continually grow in scholarship, empathy, responsibility, and creativity. We do this so that all of our graduates have the ability and commitment to embrace lives of learning and to contribute positively to the communities in which they live and work.
Key to the success of the school is the strong partnership between BMCC, the Department of Education, The City University of New York, the 4A’s (American Association of Advertising Agencies), and other partners from the Advertising and Media Industry.
CORE VALUES
Scholarship – We commit to the pursuit of knowledge, a process that starts with curiosity and requires research, reading, revision, and problem solving. We are never afraid to ask a question or to learn from our failures. As a community of learners, we work together, helping ourselves and others in this pursuit.
Empathy – We strive to cultivate our ability to embrace the views, beliefs, and needs of others. We commit to respect and learn from their experiences.
Responsibility – We take ownership for our words, actions, and choices. We act as members of a community and commit to looking out for the safety and well-being of others. We make a personal commitment to putting forth our best efforts at all times, especially in the face of complexity, challenge, and change.
Creativity – We embrace the creative process and commit to taking risks in personal and academic expression.
MESSAGE FROM THE PRINCIPAL
Dear MECA Family,
Welcome to the beginning of a new school year, MECA families! As the interim acting principal of MECA, I would like to take a moment to introduce myself to you. My name is Sarah Kaplan and I have been an educator in the New York City public school system since 2000. I began my career in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn as an English teacher and then in 2006 became a member of the founding team that opened Kingsborough Early College Secondary School (KECSS). As one of the first unscreened Early College secondary schools in New York City, KECSS offered underrepresented students from South Brooklyn an opportunity to earn an Associate’s Degree while simultaneously completing high school. At KECSS, I functioned as an advisor to students, taught English to all grades 6 through 12, led multiple teacher teams, and collaborated with CUNY faculty to develop and oversee the first college course sequence at Kingsborough Community College offered to Early College students.
I went on to serve as the UFT Teacher Center instructional specialist at KECSS and later as an Assistant Principal. In both of these capacities, my role involved coaching teachers of all experience levels and overseeing the design of rigorous, challenging and timely curricula. While at KECSS, I worked closely with Dr. Tossman and was a member of the planning team for MECA. In 2010, I was asked to accept a position as a Master Assistant Principal. This expanded my responsibilities to include the supervision of instruction and oversight of the redesign of small learning communities at John Dewey High School, a large comprehensive high school serving over 2400 students from all five boroughs.
In 2018, I was asked to carry on Dr. Tossman’s legacy at MECA. I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to become an integral part of a school community I have watched thrive for the last four years and am deeply committed to the core values of Scholarship, Responsibility, Creativity and Empathy. Having been a member of the CUNY/Early College community since 2006, I am ecstatic to take on the challenges unique to a P-Tech school.
As a lifelong resident of Brooklyn and a proud product of the New York City public school system, the experiences as a student of P.S. 115, I.S. 303 and Edward R. Murrow High School greatly impacted the type of learner and educator I am today. I graduated from SUNY New Paltz in 2000, where I earned a B.A. with distinction and received the Tomaselli Award for Creative Writing. I later earned an M.S. in School Leadership at Touro College. I currently live in Bay Ridge with my boyfriend and daughter, District 20’s most enthusiastic (almost) first grader and future Astronomer-Artist-Teacher-Actress!
If you have questions or need assistance, please email Melissa Ramos, our parent coordinator at mramos@meca-nyc.org.
Sincerely,
Sarah Kaplan
Principal
RESOURCES
Joshua S. Ehrlich, President
Shelby Banks, Treasurer
Monica M. Soto, Secretary
Website: MECAHSPTA.org
Email: PTAinfo@mecahspta.org
