This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(December 2021) |
Thespecialized high schools of New York Cityare nineselectivepublichigh schools,established and run by theNew York City Department of Educationto serve the needs of academically and artisticallygifted students.TheSpecialized High Schools Admissions Test(SHSAT) examination is required for admission to all the schools except LaGuardia, which requires an audition or portfolio for admission.[1]
The Schools
editThe Bronx High School of Science
editThe Bronx High School of Science was founded in 1938 as a specialized science and math high school for boys, by resolution of theBoard of Education of the City of New York,withMorris Meisteras the first principal of the school. They were given use of an antiquated Gothic-gargoyled edifice located at Creston Avenue and 184th Street. The building, built in 1918 for Evander Childs High School, had been successively occupied byWalton High School(1930) and by an annex ofDeWitt Clinton High School(1935). The initial faculty were comprised in part by a contingent fromStuyvesant High School.[2]Principal Meister put his imprint on the school from its formation, for example selecting as school colors "green to represent chlorophyll and gold the sun, both of which are essential to the chain of life."[3]
Brooklyn Latin School
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Unlike nearly all other specialized high schools, Brooklyn Latin has a strong focus on the humanities and classics. All students are required to take four years of English, History, Latin and a modern foreign language. All classes regularly hold Socratic Seminars, in which students lead roundtable question-and-answer discussions, and all students take part in declamation (public speaking) exercises. Because of the small class size, Brooklyn Latin offers a relatively small student-to-teacher ratio (currently around 16:1). All students are required to takeInternational Baccalaureatecourses in junior and senior year.
Brooklyn Technical High School
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One of the original three specialized high schools in New York City (the other two being Stuyvesant High School and Bronx High School of Science). In 1918, Dr. Albert L. Colston, chair of the Math Department at Manual Training High School, recommended establishing a technical high school for Brooklyn boys. His plan envisioned a heavy concentration ofmath,science, anddraftingcourses with parallel paths leading either to college or to a technical career in industry. By 1922, Dr. Colston's concept was approved by the Board of Education, and Brooklyn Technical High School opened in a converted warehouse at 49 Flatbush Avenue Extension, with 2,400 students. This location, in the shadow of theManhattan Bridge,is the reason the school seal bears the image of this bridge, rather than theBrooklyn Bridge.Brooklyn Tech would occupy one more location before settling into its current[update]site, for which the groundbreaking was held in 1930.
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
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Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School is the only specialized high school in New York City that does not require that an applicant take the SHSAT. Rather, students are accepted through auditions in the fields of vocal music, instrumental music, visual arts, dance, drama, and technical theatre.
High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College
editThe High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College was created in 2002, with an emphasis onengineering.As of 2023, the school is #1 in New York State and #22 in the nation, according toU.S. News & World Report.[4]HSMSE was designed to be a small school with only about four hundred students.
High School of American Studies at Lehman College
editThe High School of American Studies at Lehman College is located on theLehman Collegecampus, in theBedford Parksection ofthe Bronx. Unlike the rest of the specialized high schools, American Studies curriculum emphasizes U.S. History, offering three years (as opposed to only one) of AP-level U.S. History. The partnership with Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has allowed the school to plan multiple trips outside of New York City, with students paying relatively cheap fees. In 2008,U.S. News & World Reportranked American Studies as the 29th best public high school in the country and 2nd in New York State. In 2009, the school rose to be the 19th best public high school in the country. In 2014, HSAS was ranked #1 in New York State.
Queens High School for the Sciences at York College
editThe Queens High School for the Sciences at York College was formed in 2002 and continued to grow each year as a new class entered, reaching its present size in 2006, when the fifth class was admitted. There are now more than 500 students.[citation needed]As of 2024 the school is #1 in New York State and #25 in the nation, according toU.S. News & World Report.[citation needed]The school emphasizes small class sizes and is the only specialized school in Queens.
Staten Island Technical High School
editStaten Island Technical High School began in 1982 as an annex of Ralph R. McKee Vocational-Technical High School, located in theNew Dorpneighborhood of Staten Island, afterNew Dorp High School,which had occupied the building since it was built in the 1930s, moved to its current location on New Dorp Lane. The technical courses were taught in the annex, while the vocational courses stayed in St. George. Through the advocacy of parents, staff, and students, Staten Island Tech was made an independent high school by the New York City Board of Education in May 1988. Nicholas M. Bilotti, who had been serving as director of the annex, was appointed principal of the new high school.
Stuyvesant High School
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Stuyvesant High School is named afterPeter Stuyvesant,the lastDutchgovernor ofNew Netherlandbefore the colony was transferred toEnglandin 1664.[2]Of the nine Specialized high schools, Stuyvesant has the highest score cutoff for entry.
The school was established in 1904 as amanual training schoolfor boys, hosting 155 students and 12 teachers. In 1907, it moved from its original location at 225 East23rd Streetto a building designed byC. B. J. Snyderat 345 East 15th Street, where it remained for 85 years. It moved to its current location, a building on the Hudson River at 345 Chambers Street, in 1992.
History
editIn 1934, Stuyvesant implemented a system of entrance examinations. The examination was developed with the assistance ofColumbia University,and the program was later expanded to include the newly founded Bronx Science and Brooklyn Tech.[5]
Their status as specialized schools was frequently threatened by factions within the New York City school system and government. As a way to preserve their special status, in 1972, the Hecht-Calandra Act was passed by theNew York State Legislature,designating these schools as specialized science and math high schools for New York City. The Act called for a uniform exam in math and science to be administered for admission to these schools, in keeping with the uniform examination that had already been required by the New York City Board of Education for admission to these schools. The School of Performing Arts and The High School of Music & Art (consolidated in 1984 into LaGuardia High School) were also designated by the legislature as specialized high schools, and admission was by audition and portfolio rather than examination, in keeping with their artistic mission.[6]
Staten Island Tech began in 1982 as an annex of Ralph R. McKee Vocational-Technical High School and was made an independent high school in May 1988. HSAS, HSMSE, and QHSSYC were opened in 2002. Brooklyn Latin was established in 2006. All of these schools are required by state law to admit students based on the uniform Specialized High Schools Admissions Test,[7]and positions are assigned on a ranked system, depending on numbers of seats available and how many applicants requested a given school.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"Specialized High Schools Student Handbook"(PDF).New York City Department of Education.2011.RetrievedFebruary 20,2012.
- ^ab"(Former) Stuyvesant High School"(PDF).Landmarks Preservation Commission. May 20, 1997. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on June 23, 2006.RetrievedMay 28,2006.
- ^"About Bronx Science".The Bronx High School. of Science.RetrievedFebruary 8,2009.
- ^"2023-2024 Best U.S. High Schools | HSMSE".U.S. News & World Report.
- ^Blaufarb, Eugene (2005)."History of Stuyvesant High School"(PDF).Stuyvesant High School Parent Handbook.Stuyvesant Parents Association.RetrievedMay 28,2006.
- ^Mac Donald, Heather (Spring 1999)."How Gotham's Elite High Schools Escaped the Leveller's Ax".City Journal.RetrievedMay 28,2006.
- ^Finnegan, Megan; Johnson, Stephon (May 12, 2011)."Benign Neglect?: Who Killed the Discovery Program?".New York Press.RetrievedNovember 12,2012.
Admissions to The Bronx High School of Science, Stuyvesant High School and Brooklyn Technical High School and such similar further special high schools which may be established shall be solely and exclusively by taking a competitive, objective and scholastic achievement examination, which shall be open to each and every child in the City of New York in the eighth or ninth year of study, in accordance with the rules promulgated by the N.Y.C. Board of Education, without regard to any school district wherein the child may reside. No candidate may be admitted to a special high school unless he has successfully achieved a score above the cut-off score for the openings in the school for which he has taken the examination.