Marching Forward

Congratulations to our 2013 Graduates! FirstLine Schools would like to give a standing ovation to the 2013 Bulldogs who graduate from Joseph S. Clark Preparatory High School on May 22nd. We wish you the best of luck as you march forward.

A big congratulations also goes to 8th graders across our four K-8 schools; John Dibert Community School, Arthur Ashe Charter School, Langston Hughes Academy, and Samuel J. Green Charter School. All of our FirstLine Schools recently celebrated 8th Grade Promotions as our scholars transition to high school.

Clark Prep Early College Scholars visit Atlanta

Early College Scholars (ECS) prepares our most motivated and accomplished students at Clark Prep to obtain admittance into competitive colleges across the US. Early College Scholars is a competitive program for our 9th-10th grade students. From maintaining a 3.0 GPA to participating in enhanced extracurricular activities, these scholars must excel in the classroom and outside of it to qualify for the program.

Last week ECS traveled to Atlanta, Georgia to visit colleges and explore the deep historical value of the city. Alex Hochron Principal at Clark Prep, and 17 students, participated in the trip to Atlanta. The group visited five colleges: Georgia Tech, Spelman, Morehouse, Emory and Georgia State. This opportunity gave our scholars a chance to experience a variety of schools, helping students determine what type of college is the best fit for each of them. Principal Hochron was impressed by the students’ commitment to integrity and open-mindedness throughout the trip. Also on the itinerary was an exciting visit to Atlanta’s CNN station for the “Inside CCN Studio Tour”. The Bulldogs explored newsrooms and studios used on the set of CNN’s channels and programs.

Early College Scholars meet twice a week throughout the school year. They perform research on career and college opportunities, learn from local speakers, and reflect on personal academic progress. Over 30 students were invited to ECS this year and 17 qualified for the end of year college trip to Atlanta. Assistant Principal Emily Caulkins, Co-Supervisor of the ECS program, offers her congratulations to those students for their hard work and perseverance!

Clark Prep students awarded first place in national video contest

Clark Prep students were awarded first place winners in the Congress for the New Urbanisms 'Highways to Boulevards' video contest, for their mini-documentary,  Splitting the Tremé. The students who produced the piece will recieve $500 towards next year's productions, and the video was screened at the CNU National Conference June 1.

Through the generous support from Tulane University's New Orleans Center for Gulf South, Tulane, NOVAC and FirstLine Schools have partnered to create an innovative afters school youth media production program at Clark Prep High School in the Tremé. Tulane students from the Place-based Storytelling in New Orleans class, taught by local filmmaker Luisa Dantas, (Land of Opportunity), come to Clark Prep after the school day and work with students conceiving, scripting, shooting and editing productions that reflect Clark Prep students' experiences of the place they call home. Together this year they've created 5 short video pieces, including two documentaries (including Splitting the Tremé), a profile of Clark Prep students, and two narrative shorts, a romance and a horror film.

Clark Prep, Tulane and NOVAC will be hosting the Place-Based Storytelling in New Orleans program again next year, so stay tuned for more great videos created by local teens!

Watch the award winning  Splitting the Tremé:

Please also take time to enjoy Clark Prep Cinema's other productions from this year!
What it means to be a Bulldog
The Secret Admirer
Death to Music (warning, this 'horror' film may give you the willies!)