School Partnerships

Meaningful partnerships are the foundation of the work that we do. Recognizing that we all benefit by forming one community of learners, our partnership with New Haven Public Schools is founded on the goals of promoting access, enhancing communication, sharing resources, and mutual learning.

As a preeminent research university, Yale is in a unique position to offer high-quality pre-college educational programming in arts, humanities, and STEM  to more than 2,500 students, teachers, and education professionals in our community.

Yale University is primary sponsor of New Haven Promise, a visionary scholarship and support program that promotes college education for New Haven students. Through New Haven Promise, eligible New Haven public school students receive a full scholarship for either tuition to any Connecticut public college or university, or a partial scholarship toward a private university education.

School Partnerships Programs

Academic Yale College Courses

Qualified New Haven public high school juniors and seniors, who have been selected by their schools, can enroll in Yale academic courses. Tuition is covered for participating students, who are responsible only for the cost of textbooks and other course materials. This program provides an opportunity for high school students to experience a collegiate academic setting and earn credits that may then be transferred to the college of their choice following high school graduation. 

Anatomy Teaching Program at Hill Regional Career High School

Students and faculty from the Yale School of Medicine help teach anatomy and physiology lessons to Hill Regional Career High School students in New Haven. Juniors enrolled in anatomy and physiology courses visit the Yale Medical School Anatomy Lab twice per month. Activities range from learning about anatomy from dissected cadavers, to practicing aspects of physical exams and ultrasounds.

Celentano Biotech, Health, and Medical Magnet School & Bishop Woods Architecture and Design Magnet School Partnerships

Yale’s partnerships with Celentano School and Bishop Woods School are designed to supplement the schools’ efforts in implementing biotech, health, architecture, and design magnet themes.

Co-Op After School

Dwight Hall at Yale, in partnership with Cooperative Arts & Humanitites High School, provides a free, innovative after-school program for hundreds of high school students in a supportive, nurturing, and safe environment. Co-Op After School leaders work closely with administrators, counselors, and school-day instructors to provide a wide range of offerings that meet the needs of New Haven high school students.

Dwight Hall Public School Internship Program

Students in the Public School Internship Program serve in a critical role as liaisons between a New Haven public school and the Yale community by strengthening current volunteer efforts and finding new ways to match resources at Yale with the needs of each school. Interns provide resources such as tutoring, assisting teachers in classrooms, and special programming to enrich current classroom lessons. In this two-year role, interns are placed at New Haven K-8 and high schools and work closely with school leaders to determine how best to serve the needs of each particular school community. The program is sponsored by the Office of New Haven Affairs.

East Rock Record Journalism Program

The East Rock Record (ERR), based at the East Rock Community & Cultural Studies Magnet School since 2013, is driven by the belief that students are powerful observers and reporters of happenings in their own community. The newspaper is supported by Yale’s Office of New Haven Affairs. Student journalists in grades 3-8 work with Yale student mentors to plan, report and write each issue. ERR reporters cover the most pressing and interesting issues of the day, bringing curiosity and fresh questions to stories from elections to social media culture and school life. 

FIRST Robotics: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science Technology

Hill Regional Career and Acievement First Amistad High School students—assisted by local companies, Yale students, and volunteers—design, assemble, and test a robot capable of performing a specified task in competition with other teams. The program demonstrates to students the fun and competitive spirit that can exist in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Hill Regional Career High School Partnership

The Yale partnership with Hill Regional Career High School provides students access to Yale classes, laboratories, and structured internships. In addition to the Anatomy Teaching Program, the Yale Simulation Academy invites students to the state-of-the-art Center for Medical Simulation to practice hands-on medical treatments.

New Haven Promise

Yale is a founding and primary sponsor of New Haven Promise, the only scholarship, support and career preparation program of its kind in the national Promise movement. Promise provides scholarships and paid internships for New Haven residents who are graduates of New Haven public schools and selected charter schools. Students who live in the city and meet certain achievement, attendance, community service, and disciplinary requirements are eligible for up to full tuition for in-state public colleges or a partial scholarship for in-state private colleges. Since the program’s inception, more than 2,300 New Haven students have pursued higher education with a Promise scholarship. 

Pathways to Arts & Humanities

Since its inception in 2017, Yale Pathways to Arts & Humanities has welcomed hundreds of New Haven public high school students to Yale’s campus for dozens of arts and humanities programs and events. Pathways to Arts & Humanities explores how humans use literature, art, music, theater, history, and language to understand our connection to the world and to one another. Programs encourage creativity, help solve real-world problems, and allow students to become civically engaged both locally and globally.

Pathways to Science

With an overarching goal of encouraging and supporting promising young scholars to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, Yale Pathways to Science opens the door for middle and high school students to explore STEM at Yale University. The more than 1,900 Pathways students are considered the youngest members of Yale’s scientific community and are invited to more than 130 special events, academic lectures, demonstrations, hands-on activities, summer programs, and research opportunities throughout the year.

Shafer Family Summer School Scholarships for Yale University Summer Session

Shafer Scholars are New Haven high school juniors nominated by their high school guidance counselors to enroll in a five-week Yale Summer Session program in the summer between their junior and senior years. A scholarship from the Shafer family of New Haven provides full tuition for two courses, room and board, a book allowance, and a stipend for each student. Students take Yale College courses in the company of college students and are able to earn college credits. Shafer Scholars live on campus in one of Yale’s residential colleges for the duration of their program and have the opportunity to participate in co-curricular, recreational, and social programs with students from other high schools and colleges from across the country.

Yale Reading Corps

Through Yale Reading Corps, Yale undergraduate and graduate students serve as reading tutors and mentors at New Haven Reads. New Haven Reads, founded to “share the joy and power of reading,” increases the literacy skills of children to empower their academic success by providing individually tailored one-on-one after-school tutoring, educational family support, and a community book bank. The Yale Reading Corps also places Yale undergraduate and graduate students as teaching assistants in classrooms at the Wexler-Grant Community School in New Haven. Fully integrated into the educational environment, the Yale students support teachers’ activities by helping prepare class materials or working with individuals or small groups of students. In addition, the program supports the school’s literacy efforts by sponsoring two book fairs, allowing students to expand their home libraries.

Yale Simulation Academy

The Yale Simulation Academy (YSA) is a procedure-based anatomy and physiology curriculum spanning the school year. Students from Hill Regional Career High School and Metropolitan Business Academy come to the Yale Center for Medical Simulation (YCMS) one day a week to work with physicians and faculty at the Yale School of Medicine. The program employs active engagement as the vehicle by which students learn to apply concepts in biology, math, physics, and chemistry through advanced medical procedures. YSA exposes students to the varied careers within the biomedical sciences, promotes peer mentorship, and supports those interested in higher education.

Yale University Art Gallery Museum Club

As part of the partnership between the Yale University Art Gallery and Betsy Ross Arts Magnet Middle School, visual arts students from Betsy Ross visit the gallery with their parents monthly for a tailored after-school program.