Art education program secondary schools updated: spring

LAST UPDATED: December 2006

701 Saint Ann's Avenue, Bronx, NY 10455

Phone: (718) 993-3634 | Fax: (718) 993-3614 Principal: Despina Zaharakis

According to insideschools.org

DEMOGRAPHICS:

Grade levels: 9 to 12

Class size: 20

Enrollment: 337

Ethnicity %: 1 W / 35 B / 64 H / 1 A

Attendance: 84%

What's special: Program that engages students through neighborhood and world study

Downside: Teachers have to work hard on confidence-building in many students.

ACADEMICS: Located in South Bronx High School, the small New Explorers High School is centered on the idea that students turned off by education can become engaged in learning by studying their neighborhood. The school, which began as a program, was founded by former South Bronx High teachers concerned that many of their students had lost a sense of curiosity and considered school boring.

"The kids did not connect with anything -- community, school, or even family," says Principal Despina Zaharakis. "They were not connected with school or life."  The program seeks to prompt an urge for connection by making students more aware of their neighborhood and the larger world beyond, while asking them three questions: Who am I? How has the past affected me?  How will I affect the future?

The summer before ninth grade, incoming students attend a one-week "bridge" program in which they explore The Hub, as the school's neighborhood is known.  They write down impressions about the area, from its smells to its sights. Through the school's affiliation with the Bronx County Historical Society, students also delve into their neighborhood's past. They have access to historical records, biographical information about famous Bronx residents, background on immigration patterns over the decades, and other data. 

ART: Video

LAST UPDATED: December 2006

20 E. 92^nd Street, New York, NY

212 289 5020 X6547

http://www.nightingale.org

All girls

High school at Nightingale is the beginning, not the end, of an engaged and productive life. It is a place to take risks, to try out new ways of thinking, to test your intellectual limits, and to begin to find your unique voice. Nightingale girls find support for these explorations not only from their teachers but also from their classmates in this extraordinarily cohesive community. The challenging curriculum, including a wide range of electives and Advanced Placement courses; unparalleled cultural resources of New York City; and trips as far away as London all let girls discover their place in the world.

LAST UPDATED: December 2006

240 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

Phone: (212) 353-2010

http://www.mancomp.org

New York City’s highest rates); 60% go to college immediately, virtually all others finish high school already employed. Manhattan Comprehensive is the first night-and-day high school in the country to offer a full, academic Regents diploma instead of a GED. Our graduates attend CUNY and SUNY, as well as private colleges.

“The main goal of this school is to get student to graduate from high school. It caters to older students and recent immigrants, and students who work or have other obligations. There is no art department, but I observed a Saturday Origami class taught by the English teacher. If you want to see a “not so great” example of an art lesson, that was it.”

LAST UPDATED: December 2006
* NYC Lab School

333 W. 17th Street, New York, NY 10011

Phone: 212-691-6119 | Fax: 212-691-6219

http://www.nyclabschool.org

“The school is diverse and not too traditional. The teachers are open and friendly. They like to know their students. The art is somewhat traditional and technique based, but it is progressive in that it relates to students’ lives. If you have a lot of teaching experience, or want to dive right in, this is the place for you. Be sure to have a loud voice as the classroom can be chaotic.”

“The school is definitely collaborative, making attempts to deal with social issues, but struggling somewhat. Ellen has been teaching for 30 years, and is traditional in her goals for the students. Her planning process, however, is very organic and she pushed for me to teach as much as possible. She is very familiar with NYU and likes to have us there and find ways to incorporate these new ideas into her classroom. Would you recommend this school? Yes and no... she is very sincere and really cares about her students and her student teachers. However, her room and organizational skills are a total disaster zone, so this placement requires patience… lots of patience. Was somewhat difficult adjust to working with these affluent Chelsea kids after coming from the Bronx middle school from the previous semester – for the most part, they have a whole different set of life concerns (“Should we shop at Neiman Marcus or Barney’s this weekend?”).” Nora Zale, Fall 07

LAST UPDATED: December 2006

333 West 17 Street, New York, NY 10011

Phone: (212) 675-6206 | Fax: (212) 675-6524 Principal: Darlene Miller

According to Insideschools.org

DEMOGRAPHICS:

Grade levels: 9 to 12

Class size: 28-32

Enrollment: 381

Ethnicity %: 22 W 26 B 39 H 15 A

Attendance: 93%

What's special: Classes are regularly held at the city's finest museums.

Downside: It's difficult to incorporate science and math into the museum curriculum.

ACADEMICS: The Museum School is a laid-back, aggressively egalitarian place in a part of the city that abounds with Type A parents (and with schools, both public and private, that cater to them). The Museum School welcomes and accommodates students whose academic records aren't stellar, even as it offers curriculum that can challenge the brightest kids. The tone of the school might be a bit loose for some tastes. Class changes can be boisterous, with lots of shouting and a bit of shoving. Some kids drift into class late.

ART:

Visual Art Teacher: Erica Yonks

LAST UPDATED: December 2006

1980 Lafayette Ave. Bronx, NY 10473

Phone: (718) 824-1682 | Fax: (718) 823-7858 Principal: Dina Heisler

www.pablonerudaacademy.org

According to Insideschools.org:

DEMOGRAPHICS:

Grade levels: 9 to 12

Class size: 20

Enrollment: 281

Ethnicity %: 2 W / 30 B / 68 H / 2 A

Attendance: 75%
What's special: Engrossing projects.

Downside: More writing could be incorporated into the projects.

ACADEMICS: Pablo Neruda Academy for Architecture and World Studies belongs to the New Century initiative, a project to establish small high schools where students get a more intimate education than they would in large, conventional settings. Director Dina Heisler, a former teacher at International High School in Queens, brings an emphasis on group projects to this new school. Thanks to one of the school's partners, Salvadori Center, for example, students work together to build models of bridges, a project in keeping with the focus on architecture suggested by the school's name. It is Heisler's hope that students will appreciate the significance of another part of the school's name as well, and try to follow in the footsteps of the Chilean, Nobel Prize-winning poet and activist Pablo Neruda, a learned citizen of the world. Mission: prepare students for college and life beyond as highly literate, critical thinkers who are also compassionate, engaged world citizens.

ART: One credit in art is required to graduate, though this program is specific to architecture.

LAST UPDATED: December 2006

47-07 30th Place, Long Island City, NY 11101

Phone: (718) 472-5671 | Fax: (718) 472-9117 Principal: Bruce Noble

According to Insideschools.org

DEMOGRAPHICS:

Grade levels: 7 to 12

Class size: 18-34

Enrollment: 495

Ethnicity %: 18 W 22 B 51 H 11 A

Attendance: 87%

What's special: Theater, photography, and video programs strong.

Downside: Despite dedicated teachers, many students are listless.

ACADEMICS: An alternative school in a brightly lit high-tech building, The Robert F. Wagner Jr. Institute for the Arts and Technology (IAT) offers courses in video production, animation, and digital music, where kids produce CDs with music they write themselves. The day of our visit, a theater class was rehearsing a medieval play. Middle school students meet once a week with a playwright and an actress to produce their own "urban fairy tales" such as one in which Peter Pan lives in modern-day New York. Parents may meet with the same playwright and a guidance counselor in the evening to learn techniques for communicating with their adolescents

ART: The high school students participate in photography, commercial art, animation, computer graphics, digital music, and art history classes

LAST UPDATED: December 2006

1 E. 91^st Street and Fifth Ave, New York, NY

Phone: 212 722 4745

http://www.cshnyc.org/

According to their website

DEMOGRAPHICS:

Grade Levels: Pre K-12

Catholic School

ACADEMICS: Schools of the Sacred Heart commit themselves to educate to a personal and active faith in God, commit themselves to educate to a deep respect for intellectual values, Schools of the Sacred Heart commit themselves to educate to a social awareness which impels to action, ommit themselves to educate to the building of community as a Christian value and commit themselves to educate to a personal growth in an atmosphere of wise freedom.

ART:

Visual Art Teacher: Susan Mareneck

LAST UPDATED: December 2006

127 East 22 Street NEW YORK, NY 10010

Phone: (212) 475-8086 | Fax: (212) 475-9273 Principal: C. DeLaura / Y. Chu

www.sof.edu

According to Insideschools.org:

DEMOGRAPHICS:

Grade levels: 6 to 12

Class size: 25

Enrollment: 673

Ethnicity %: 37 W / 22 B / 25 H / 18 A

Attendance: 94%

What's special: Plenty of individual instruction and guidance for students of all ability levels.

Downside: Offerings in sports and music are slim.

ACADEMICS: School of the Future has an informal, laid back feel, with lots of sofas and cushions and rugs on the floor. Kids seem happy, and there is a relaxed but respectful rapport between grownups and students. The students we spoke to were articulate, well-mannered, and engaged in their studies. On the tour, you may hear prospective parents grumble that certain aspects of the curriculum, such as math, may not be challenging enough for top students. But parents of children who are enrolled are fervent fans of the school, praising the small class size, the individual attention of the teachers, and the warm and caring attitude of the administration.

ART: Program provides students with exposure and experience to visual language, art media and arts connection to self and world. Involved in arts activism and arts education for 15 years.

Art Teacher: Stephanie Basch, teaches grades 6-9.

NYU Student Comments:

“There is “team teaching” across grade levels. It is a part of the small school system and CES school base. Portfolio assessment is used but the arts are excluded from this. The philosophy is heavily product driven and skills based. The school wants to have a media arts component, but currently art classes are used to ‘fill the gaps in the schedule.’ This is a great place to see the reality of teaching art in a NYC small school that touts itself as progressive and student centered. However, art has been deemed unimportant by the school if you want to go to college.”

LAST UPDATED: December 2006
Science Skills Center / H.S. 419

49 Flatbush Avenue Ext., Brooklyn, NY 11201

Phone: (718) 243-9413 | Fax: (718) 243-9399 Principal: Denise Jennings

According to insideschools.org

DEMOGRAPHICS:

Grade levels: 9 to 12 lass size: 34

Enrollment: 1012

Ethnicity %: 5 W / 81 B / 10 H / 6 A

Attendance: 83%

What's special: Robotics team and dance program; partnerships with local colleges.

Downside: Overcrowding; low attendance. Students may apply to one of four programs,

ACADEMICS: Science Skills Center High School for Science, Technology and the Creative Arts strikes a nice balance. It is smaller than the huge neighborhood high schools in Brooklyn, but larger than the tiny, new, themed high schools springing up throughout the city. Three of which are now selective: Gateway for Pre-College Education, Lead the Way (engineering) and Humanities and the Arts. Entrance to the school's generalized science and math program (the largest) is via the educational option admissions formula designed to ensure slots for students of all achievement levels. Skills maintains partnerships with nearby colleges such as Long Island University and New York City College of Technology, where kids who qualify may take courses and which many students go on to college.

ARTS: Arts and Humanities focus

LAST UPDATED: December 2006

129 Pierrepont St, Brooklyn NY (Brooklyn Heights)

Phone: 718 522 1660

http://www.saintannsny.org/

According to their website:

DEMOGRAPHICS:

Grade Levels: PreK–12

Catholic School

ACADEMICS: Saint Ann's School is not unusual in wanting to prepare children creatively and efficiently in the academic disciplines and the arts, and surely not unique in wanting students who demonstrate amply the necessary aptitude and motivation. What is out of the ordinary, we think, is our habit of giving students freedom to achieve, to value learning more than propriety, to trust the unadorned pleasures of learning, unassisted by point scores, prizes, rankings, and punishments.

ART: Architecture, claymation, photography, printmaking, ceramics, studio art and sculpture are offered. Contact: Andrew Keating or Charles Luce, Art Dept. Head

LAST UPDATED: December 2006

345 Chambers Street NEW YORK, NY 10282

Phone: (212) 312-4800 | Fax: (212) 587-3874 Principal: Mr. Stanley Teitel

http://www.stuy.edu/

LAST UPDATED: December 2006

Adam Clayton Blvd. & 135th St NEW YORK, NY 10030

Phone: (212) 283-8055

DEMOGRAPHICS

From www.insideschools.org

Grade levels: 7 to 12

Class size: 7, 27; 9, 36

Enrollment: 573

Ethnicity %: 1W / 78B / 21H / 1A

Attendance: 93%

In addition to courses in history, math, and English students take a full, four-year science load of biology, earth science, anatomy, physiology, and chemistry. The school also emphasizes arts; students take visual art in 7th grade, music in 8th, and both subjects in high school, where they receive arts instruction three times a week and again during Saturday workshops. The art teacher weaves art history into the study of Egypt, Greece, and even subjects like geometry and biology. Students with strong arts skills may gain the opportunity to audition for entrance into the Parsons School of Design via a Parsons representative that collaborates with the art program. The music department has keyboards and, it seems, a few of every type of band instrument. The choir recently performed for the NAACP, when the organization honored 10 of the academy's top students.

“The title of this school includes “learning for social justice and change” so teachers are encouraged to incorporate social justice themes into their curriculums; this is a college preparatory school so students are held to high standards no matter where they come from. There is a major emphasis on Literacy and improving standardized test scores. Cultural expression is also encouraged throughout the school and teachers are always trying to use the students’ interests to better the academic and social activities. The art program is standards-based and the teacher always incorporates others subjects into his curriculum; this curriculum is mostly skills-based, but students are constantly encouraged to exercise critical analysis skills when looking at new media, surveying art history, and viewing contemporary art. He runs the art department by himself and is still trying to develop it since the school is fairly new. Yes I would recommend this school. This teacher is a 25-year veteran and has taught in various settings and will readily share his experiences with you. He is also a practicing artist, so he is very in touch with the contemporary art world—namely fashion because he used to be a designer. He is also used to working with a tight budget and is very creative when coming up with projects under these conditions. In my opinion he has really mastered classroom management and the students love and respect him. He has some bad habits too, but it’s good to observe them to learn what not to do.” Spring 2008

LAST UPDATED MAY 2008