Technology Program at Catholic High School Partnering with NYC Public Schools

Here's a twist away from recent Catholic parochial school closings. Christ the King High School in Middle Village is thriving.

Best known for its top-ranked basketball teams, Christ the King has an innovative technology program, which has been expanded to three other high schools. And recently the NYC Board of Education approved introducing the program into the public school system.

Students can enroll in one of four technology specialties including Microsoft certification. In addition to their diplomas, they graduate with real-world certification.

Program director Dr. Jerry Gentile says that motivates his students to succeed since they are "passing an exam that is written for people out in the world doing jobs that they hope to be doing some day soon."

For the partner schools in Brooklyn and Manhattan, Gentile's staff upgrades their software and hardware, and trains the teachers. Their students learn in their own classrooms through an online curriculum hosted at Christ the King, and complete their certification tests online.

It's great to see private education doing such innovative work -- according to Gentile, Christ the King was the first Microsoft Academy in NYC. It's ever better to see the public schools learning from the private school's success.

For more on the technology program, contact Dr. Jerry Gentile at Christ the King High School.

• Catholic High Schools in Queens

• Parochial School Closings