innovative newark ™
Introduction
Innovative Newark is an interdisciplinary course that utilizes project-based learning, community engagement, and student original research, leading to a social innovation that will solve a problem in the greater Newark community. Students are introduced to the importance and challenges of global problem solving in local contexts and to their roles as Innovative Citizens in Newark. Students begin the course by studying the richness of the history in the city of Newark. Additional units include: Black Power in 19th century Newark, the Newark Rebellion, 20th century Black and Brown Revolutions in Newark, and a unit on important innovators and citizens in the city today.
About course
Bard Early College-Newark is a partnership between Bard College and Newark Public Schools that makes it possible for students to earn both a high school diploma and an Associate’s Degree in four years for free. Bard Early College-Newark is not a charter school but a magnet public high school in Newark where students can earn up to 60 college credits from Bard College. In 2022, 97% of our students identify as being of color (26% of our students identified as Hispanic, 69% identified as Black, 2% identified as Pacific Islander, Asian, and/or American Indian). About half of our students are either native-born Newarkers while the other half are recent migrants to the city of Newark.
About the teacher
Jazmín Puicón is an Assistant Professor of History/Teacher of Social Studies at Bard Early College in Newark, NJ. She is a historian of the Americas. Her research focuses on popular democracy, Afro-Colombian women, and working-class culture in urban Colombia.