Secretary of Education Richard Riley to Visit Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School in New Haven Tomorrow

U.S. Secretary of Education Richard Riley will visit the Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School in New Haven, 444 Orange St., tomorrow, Thursday, March 19. His visit celebrates the partnerships between New Haven Public Schools and Yale University, especially the partnership between Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School and the Yale School of Music (YSM).

Secretary Riley’s visit will include an assembly to which the media are invited. Please use the Orange St. entrance to the building. A press section will be reserved and a mult box will be provided. The Secretary will be available for questions at the conclusion of the assembly.

The assembly begins at 10:45 a.m. in the gymnasium and will include musical performances by Coop students and some of the YSM students who serve as their mentors. There will be brief remarks by Yale President Richard Levin, Music School Dean Robert Blocker, Mayor John DeStefano Jr., and Superintendent of Schools Reginald Mayo. Secretary Riley will deliver a keynote address.

Since1996, YSM students and faculty have shared their knowledge and love of music at Coop High School, giving private lessons, assisting the instrumental music teachers, and working with academic subject teachers on integrating music into the curriculum. YSM also runs professional development seminars for Coop faculty and a music day camp for students during their February vacation.

Students at Coop High School come from school districts in the Greater New Haven area and as far away as Wolcott and Fairfield. The school offers an arts-focused curriculum within a college preparative program. Fully 90 percent of Coop graduates go on to college. Coop is one of four magnet high schools in the region. The others are Career High School, High School in the Community and the Hyde Leadership School.