Local Charter School Honored as New York State School of the Year
By La Tisha Parkinson
NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL OF THE YEAR AWARD RECIPIENTS Great Oaks Kathleen Sherry Charter School accepting their award. Photo credit: National Energy Education Development Project.
The National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project has awarded the Great Oaks Kathleen Sherry Charter School (formerly Great Oaks Charter School and known as GONYC) as New York State School of the Year. This accolade is a testament to the hard work of twin sisters Nabeeha M. and Anniyah M. and their environmental science classmates, under the guidance of science teacher La Tisha Parkinson.
The winning project, a school-wide renewable energy art competition, challenged participants to creatively represent renewable energy sources through various art mediums. Other notable projects include a comic book with heroes and villains representing renewable and nonrenewable energy sources, and a multilingual TikTok campaign encouraging users to reduce their carbon footprint by eating less meat.
In addition to receiving the NEED Award, another student, Lynncy F., brought home an accolade for notable work in Advanced Place—ment (AP) Environmental Science. GONYC’s AP students presented their work at the Billion Oyster Project’s Annual Student Symposium on Governor’s Island. Three groups were nominated for awards, with Lynncy F. winning a prestigious award for her project titled, The Diverse Microbial Life in the Urban and the Rural Regions of New York.
Lynncy’s project connected many unique experiences and opportunities the students had this year. This first connection was to upstate New York (the rural region referenced in her project), where students spent a weekend at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. The second connection was an engaging talk facilitated by New York University’s Ph.D. candidate Nora Herzog. Since the AP Environmental Science exam is in early May, at the request of the students, the last weeks of the school year were spent exploring other scientific disciplines such as microbiology and virology, and interacting with many scientists. Through her project, Lynncy and her classmates were able to culture bacteria from various water samples, and as observe them under a light microscope.
GONYC, a growing high school located at 240 Bleecker Street in the West Village, will graduate its first class of scholars in June 2025. The school boasts dedicated and passionate teachers who work tirelessly to bring science to life for their students.
Renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson describes science literacy as “the artery through which the solutions of tomorrow’s problems flow.” As GONYC’s science department grows and builds meaningful connections with the scientific community, it will continue to aim towards producing scholars who develop the solutions to shape the world.
La Tisha Parkinson teaches AP Environmental Science and Environmental Science at GONYC. She can be reached at lparkinson@greatoakscharter.org
STUDENT LYNNCY F., above, with her accolade for notable work. Photo by La Tisha Parkinson.
