Recently CSF had the pleasure of meeting with students from Transfiguration School. Located in New York City’s vibrant Chinatown community, Transfiguration was originally founded in 1832 to educate the children of immigrants. Today, Transfiguration is a high-performing pre-K through 8th grade school whose students consistently receive superb marks on NY state exams as well as gain admission to the city’s top specialized high schools. During the 2010-11 school year, 56 CSF Scholars attended Transfiguration.
In addition to its regular school-year program, Transfiguration also hosts its Summer Institute for Critical Thinking. The Summer Institute allows students to take academic classes that prepare them for the next grade level as well as participate in a number of enriching extracurricular activities. Twenty-two CSF students are attending the 2011 institute, and we had the chance to meet with some of these students for a morning of drawing, coloring, and generally having fun.
First we met with a group of rising 2nd and 3rd graders. These students may only have been seven and eight years old, but they certainly were talented artists. Among the different drawings we had a beautiful sunny day, a view of the Canal Street subway station, and even a fire breathing dragon! The group of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders also drew pictures and wrote notes in appreciation of CSF supporters.
It’s great to see what an impact CSF scholarships have. Many of the students we met with had transferred to Transfiguration from public school just recently and told us how much they enjoyed their new school. Visiting schools like Transfiguration reminds us how important parental choice is in the lives of deserving children like these students.
CSF had a great time visiting, and we thank Principal Taharally and Mr. Farge for being wonderful hosts. All of the Transfiguration students we met were kind, intelligent, creative, and really love their school! We hope we can come back and visit again soon.
