IN CLASS: This feature is part of an ongoing education column highlighting the various activities that engage school communities.
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Staten Island youth and tobacco control representatives from NYC Smoke-Free at Public Health Solutions met with borough state representatives in Albany earlier this year to discuss the tobacco industry’s targeted marketing that attracts and addicts young people.
Reality Check youth from Gaynor McCown Expeditionary Learning School traveled from their New Springville school to speak with legislators in February to bring awareness of their personal experiences with tobacco in their community through a Legislative Education Day.
They were supported by Reality Check Youth Engagement Manager Valerie Foster and Community Engagement Manager Frederick Marte.
The teens met with Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, a Democrat who represents the North Shore of Staten Island and parts of South Brooklyn, in addition to Assemblymember Sam Pirozzolo, a Republican who represents Mid-Island, and Assemblymember Charles Fall, a Democrat who represents the North Shore of Staten Island and parts of Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. They discussed how the tobacco industry’s marketing interferes with successful quitting attempts. Students highlighted local work with health systems to counteract the tobacco industry’s hijacking of the public health message.
Staten Island youth are pictured with Assemblymember Charles Fall. (Courtesy of NYC Smoke-Free)(Courtesy of NYC Smoke-Free)
And students explained that there are significantly higher adult smoking rates among some demographic groups around the state, resulting in tobacco-related health disparities. They discussed the impact on Staten Island residents, explaining that 14.3% of the borough population is made up of adult smokers.
NYC Smoke-Free is a program of Public Health Solutions with a mission to end the tobacco epidemic in New York City through tobacco control policy, advocacy, and education. It runs a student-led program called Reality Check, which is supported by adults and open to students ages 13-18.
Students are shown here in Staten Island state Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton’s office. (Courtesy of NYC Smoke-Free)(Courtesy of NYC Smoke-Free)
Staten Island high school students were able to visit leading New York City employers during Career Discovery Week last month.
More than 3,700 high school students from over 140 public schools visited employers like Google, Paramount Global, JP Morgan Chase, and United Airlines for hands-on career exploration.
In early April, about 30 students from New Dorp High School visited McKinsey & Company Inc., and 30 students from the Eagle Academy for Young Men of Staten Island visited BFC Partners during Career Discovery Week.
The weeklong event was created by the Partnership for New York City and the city Department of Education to expand access to career development opportunities for students from under-resourced communities in New York City.
“Career Discovery Week is about opening doors and expanding horizons for our students,” said city Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos. “When a young person steps into a boardroom, a lab, an airplane hangar, or a newsroom and sees the energy, innovation, and purpose behind the work, it can spark something life changing. This week isn’t just about career exploration — it’s about igniting dreams and showing our students that they belong in every space this city has to offer.”
Send us your stories
Do you have a story idea for the In Class education column? Email education reporter Annalise Knudson at [email protected].
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