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Chapter 3: Specialized High Schools
from High School Guide
C h a p t e r 3 SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOLS
The specialized high schools of New York City are nine selective public high schools, established and run by the New York City Department of Education to serve the needs of academically and artistically gifted students. The Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) examination is required for admission to all the schools except LaGuardia, which requires an audition or portfolio for admission.
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WHAT ARE THE SHSAT SCHOOLS?
❖ Stuyvesant High School (Manhattan) ❖ Bronx High School of Science ❖ Brooklyn Tech High School ❖ Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School (Manhattan) ❖ High School for Math, Science and Engineering (Manhattan) ❖ High School of American Studies (Bronx) ❖ Queens High School for the Sciences ❖ Staten Island Technical High School ❖ Brooklyn Latin School SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOLS
OVERVIEW
The Specialized High Schools of New York City are rigorous public high schools that offer a strong high school education. Since 1938 when an entrance exam was designed with the help of Columbia University, the SHSAT schools have attracted some of the brightest young minds in New York City, especially in the areas of Math and Science.
There is a great deal of difference from school to school. Some have more than 3000 students; some have fewer than 400. Most of the SHSAT schools emphasize strong Math and Science, while two newer ones emphasize the Humanities. One of the schools, LaGuardia, is an arts-focused school and does not require the SHSAT exam for admission. Instead, students audition or provide a portfolio of their artwork.
The SHSAT exam is taken by just under 30,000 students each year. The exam, together with attendance records, is the sole criterion for admission.
High School of American Studies at Lehman College
2925 Goulden Avenue The Bronx, New York 10468 URL: http://www.hsas-lehman.org/
FUN FACT: Homework at this school averages three hours per night ---without texting.
HSAS is one of the newer SHSAT schools. It graduated its first class in 2006. One of three specialized high schools operating on City University of New York campuses, HSAS offers the best of both worlds:: the intimacy of a small school with the resources of a large college. There are just 400 students in the entire high school.
Students manage a heavy load of challenging work in a friendly and noncompetitive environment where everyone knows everyone else. All HSAS students enjoy access to Lehman College's facilities during and after the school day. HSAS students study and do research in Lehman College's library, eat in its cafeteria, and take physical education classes in the vast college gymnasium, the Olympic-size swimming pool, or the racquetball courts. A majority of students take at least one course at Lehman before graduation. Students are given CUNY I.D. cards for access to the campus and for verification purposes.
HSAS puts a special focus on American History, and requires students to study U.S. History for 3 years and take the AP US History Exam in junior year. Junior and senior year students with free periods in their schedule have the opportunity to take college courses for college credits at Lehman College in addition to Advanced Placement course credit. The school has been scoring extremely high on state and national high school rankings, often outperforming the older and better-known SHSAT schools.
High School for Math, Science and Engineering
240 Convent Avenue New York, New York http://www.hsmse.org
Created in 2002, HSME is a small SHSAT school with just under 500 students.
The school is located in Baskerville Hall on the City College campus. Students eat lunch in the CCNY cafeteria and utilize the college library and gymnasium. Students can take undergraduate courses through the CUNY College Now program. The school has an extended day schedule and 85-minute periods with classes on alternating days, enabling a greater degree of focus and depth than the usual high school schedule. Class sizes average 24 students per class. In addition to a rigorous core subject program emphasizing math, science and the humanities, all students are required to take a minimum of three engineering core courses through 11th grade sponsored by Project Lead the Way. After 10th grade, most students take a concentration of engineering or mathematics courses while a smaller group participates in a biomedical research program at Mt. Sinai Hospital.
Special Features
• College counseling starts in 9th Grade • Believing that German is the language of engineering, the school offers extremely strong German language instruction with most students studying German up to the AP level. • The school participates in the FIRST Robotics competition • A small, warm school community with a diverse, integrated student population that reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of New York City.
Brooklyn Latin School
223 Graham Avenue Brooklyn NY https://www.brooklynlatin.org
Founded in 2006, Brooklyn Latin is modeled after Boston Latin, the nation’s oldest public high school. The Brooklyn school is the only SHSAT school to offer an International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma, a prestigious program widely accepted at universities in more than 100 countries. Roughly 40 percent of all students earn the IB Diploma. More demanding than a standard Regents prep curriculum, the IB program requires students to write a 15- to 20-page research essay on a topic of their choice, make an oral presentation and pass various subject exams.
As part of their classical education, students take four years of Latin, participate in Socratic seminars and do lots of public speaking. The school's science program is equally strong. Freshmen begin with a conceptual physics class, followed by chemistry and two years of IB biology. Juniors and seniors may elect to take IB chemistry or IB physics as well. These students spend about half their day immersed in college-level science work, says Gina Mautschke-Mitchell, a former math teacher who became headmaster in 2013. Bridge design, solar cell efficiency and seed germination are some former student-designed lab topics culminating in eight- to 10-page papers.
Special Features
• Freshmen travel to the Princeton-Blairstown Center, affiliated with Princeton University, for an outdoor bonding adventure in the fall. In the spring, they visit Boston Latin and area colleges. The Spanish department organizes home stays in Spanish-speaking countries; some seniors travel to Italy. • Administrators say students have had no complaints about safety; nevertheless, students are advised to walk to and from the G or L train in groups, • Team sports include Badminton, Baseball, Cross Country, Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball, and Wrestling.
Staten Island Technical High School
485 Clawson Street Staten Island NY URL: http://www.siths.org/
With a student body of 1320, Staten Island Technical High School (SI Tech) combines the rigor and activities of a big specialized high school with the friendly atmosphere of a neighborhood school. It's a welcoming place for high achievers of all stripes: independent go-getters, kids who like to tinker, and even creative and artsy types. Students tackle college-level work as early as 9th grade, and many graduate with anywhere from 16 to 60 college credits thanks to the school’s extensive range of 18 Advanced Placement (AP) classes and partnerships with universities.
Optional electives for junior and senior students include computer science, creative writing, film, performing arts, electronics, Advanced CAD, and forensic science. In addition, the school operates CollegeNow, a program run by Kingsborough Community College. CollegeNow courses offered include business, statistics, communications, and sociology. Russian is the only language class until senior year that may be taken, due to a demand for Russian-speaking engineers when the school opened. Seniors may choose to take online elective classes, where they can learn Spanish and Mandarin.
Special Features
• Students can take AP Computer Science in either Python or JavaScript. • The only foreign language taught is Russian which is offered through AP level • Active theatre and robotics programs • Team sports include Baseball, Basketball, Fencing, Football, Track, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Wrestling and Volleyball • The student body is 48% Asian, 45% White, 3% Latino, and 1% African-American
94-50 159th Street Jamaica NY URL: https://www.qhss.org
Queens High School for the Sciences at York College (QHSSYC) is dedicated to providing a rigorous college preparatory curricula emphasizing the sciences and mathematics, in collaboration with York College/CUNY. It has just under 500 students.
In 2014, the school was ranked #3 in New York State and #25 in the country. The philosophy of the school recognizes that students are often more successful in college and careers when nurtured in a small learning community based on high academic expectations. In keeping with this philosophy, the school accepts approximately one hundred students every year.
All students take honors courses. The school offers 15 Advanced Placement courses including AP English Literature, AP US History and Government, AP Calculus, AP Biology, AP Chemistry and AP Physics. Additionally, students have the opportunity to enroll in College Now courses. Math and Science research courses strengthen students' college and career readiness. Students have successfully participated in several Mathematics and Science research competition over the last few years.
Special Features
• Few team sports: handball, bowling, swimming, tennis and volleyball. • Foreign languages offered: Spanish and Chinese (Mandarin) • York College professors teach College Now Science courses to students in grades 10, 11 and 12 • The school has a full orchestra. • The student body is 80% Asian, 5% African-American, 6% White and 4% African-American. • Some students criticize the quality of the English literature instruction.
Bronx High School of Science
75 West 205th Street Bronx, NY 10468 URL: http://www.bxscience.edu/
Since its founding in 1938, Bronx Science alumni have shaped the world to an unprecedented degree. The school's graduates include eight Nobel prize winners, more than any other secondary education institution in the world and more than most countries; eight Pulitzer prizes for journalism; and more than 200 Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholars (formerly known as Intel and Westinghouse semi-finalists). Bronx Science alumni represent achievement and leadership in virtually every field, including the first African-American neurosurgeon, a former Secretary of Defense, countless authors, lawyers, physicians, educators, artists, entertainers, philanthropists, and leaders in science, business, and government.
The school offers an extraordinary array of over 30 courses at and above AP level, as well as opportunities for research.
This is a very large school with over 3,000 students. It is located to the north of Lehman College and requires a half-mile walk to the 4/6 subway.
Special Features
• Computerized & renovated science laboratories, including the Syracuse University @ Bronx Science Crime Lab and DNA Research Lab • Foreign languages offered include Spanish, Chinese (Mandarin), French, Italian, Japanese, Latin. All are offered through AP level. • Free tutoring available in every subject • Outstanding Speech and Debate team • Team sports include Badminton, Baseball, Bowling, Cricket, Cross Country, Fencing, Flag Football, Golf, Gymnastics,
Handball, Track, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Volleyball, and Wrestling
Stuyvesant High School
345 Chambers Street New York, NY 10282 URL: www.stuy.edu
Stuyvesant High School has been a symbol of excellence in education for over a century. With a student body of over 3,000 students, this is a large school in a 10-story, world-class facility in Battery Park City. There are downsides to the size of the school. For example, students may take only 2 AP courses at a time. The atmosphere is described as "feverishly competitive." Although reports vary, a quarter of the school go on to Ivy League or extremely selective colleges such as MIT or Stanford. Many more remain local and attend CUNY or SUNY colleges. The school has been criticized for admitting few African American and Latino students. The majority of students at Stuyvesant are Asian, representing 74% of the student body. About 20% are white. Only 1% of the student population is African -American and 3% are Latino. Efforts are underway to address the under-representation of African-Americans and Latinos at Stuyvesant.
Students can choose from well over 30 Advanced Placement courses. Stuyvesant's foreign language offerings include Mandarin Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish. Stuyvesant's Biology and Geo-science department offers courses in molecular biology (a course sequence composed of a molecular science class in the Fall and a molecular genetics class in the Spring), human physiology, medical ethics, medical and veterinary diagnosis, human disease, anthropology and sociobiology, vertebrate zoology, laboratory techniques, medical human genetics, botany, the molecular basis of cancer, nutrition science, and psychology. Humanities electives include American foreign policy, civil and criminal law, prejudice and persecution, race, ethnicity and gender issues, small business management, and Wall Street.
How do I get into a Specialized High School?
Admission to Stuyvesant, Bronx Science and other SHSAT schools is based on a high score on the SHSAT exam. There is one exception to this: If you want to attend Fiorello La Guardia High School---you do not need to take the SHSAT. Instead you need to prepare an audition or portfolio. For all other specialized high schools, you need to take the SHSAT.
The SHSAT is a difficult exam, comprised of ELA and Math portions.
•Prepare for the SHSAT by •taking a SHSAT prep course (over the summer as well as during the school year) •get an SHSAT prep book from the library or a book store and use it for extra practice.
Specific book titles that you can look for: •Kaplan SHSAT Advanced Prep •Barron’s New York City SHSAT •Mc Graw-Hill’s New York City SHSAT
IMPORTANT:
The SHSAT is an aptitude test. You cannot cram for it. Instead, you have to learn how the exam is requiring you to thinkk and analyze problems. This takes time. Your best plan is to aim to practice test questions for about 20 minutes per day while school is in session. Over the summer, serious students should participate in the DREAM program or other SHSAT Test Prep program. Keep in mind that you are competing against other bright students, some of whom have been preparing for the SHSAT for years. Do not underestimate the difficulty of this exam.
What if my child is GREAT at English and relatively weak at Math? Math tutoring is recommended for the Math portions of the test, in addition to a SHSAT Test Program. What if my child is GREAT at Math and relatively weak at ELA? ELA tutoring is recommended for a student with this profile.
How to Prepare for the SHSAT EXAM
It’s not an exaggeration: some children begin preparing for the SHSAT as young as first grade! With that much intensity in your competition, there is only one way to succeed at the SHSAT: Prepare for it! Students benefit from a test prep program that they take regularly for several months before they take the exam. Without that preparation, it can be extremely difficult to succeed at the SHSAT. In addition to the DREAM program described below, there are fee-based test prep programs available. These programs can be very expensive so ask if they offer scholarships. Often, these programs will evaluate students for their potential for a high score on the exam and then offer a scholarship to cover some or all of the program fees.
The DREAM Program is a Saturday and summer academic program offered free to all eligible seventh-grade New York City public school students as preparation to take the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) in the eighth grade. Eligibility is determined by a child's performance on state tests in ELA and Math. Students must have scored a minimum of: 3.0 on the 2019 grade five English Language Arts, and 3.75 on the 2019 grade five Mathematics NY State tests. The program runs for 5 weeks, Monday through Friday in July and August for students who just finished grade 7 and on Saturdays in September–October of eighth grade.
If your child is not invited to the DREAM program, contact the DREAM program and ask if your child can be placed on a waitlist. If an invited student turns down their spot, students on the waitlist may be offered the place.
Other test-prep programs:
• PASSNYC has free online SHSAT test prep programs. Website: http://www.passnyc.org
• Khan's Tutorial will be offering on-line SHSAT Test Prep. Website: https://khanstutorial.com/
Contact: Reevu.Islam@KhansTutorial.com
• Bobby Tariq SHSAT Test Prep is located in Jackson Heights and Elmhurst. Website: https://www.bobbytariq.com
Contact: 833 692-3278
• Helicon offers free SHSAT prep for African-American and Latina girls. Website: http://www.heliconinc.org/ programs-for-girls.html
SHSAT TEST PREP MATERIALS AND PROGRAMS
TO LEARN EVEN MORE ABOUT SHSAT EXAM, Click here.
RESOURCES:
● The DOE’s Specialized High Schools Student Handbook includes practice exam questions and test-taking tips. ● There are many prep books that you can buy at a local bookstore or online. Most cost between $10 and $20 each. These books provide many of the same kinds of tips and advice that you’d get in a prep class. VISIT YOUR LOCAL NYPL BRANCH and ask your librarian to recommend some SHSAT test prep books. Also, ask your librarian if the NYPL offers any SHSAT test prep. ● For about $5 per month of use you can take an online prep course from TestPrepSHSAT.com. This organization also offers free content, one-on-one tutoring for a fee, and some scholarships to cover the cost of their fees. ● Taicoon University offers a low cost, comprehensive online SHSAT prep program.
TEST PREP BOOKS/WEBSITES
TEST PREP PROVIDER IS IT FREE? TIPS
Kaplan SHSAT Some free practice resources on the website, plus a Kaplan SHSAT prep book for purchase and a course you can take for a fee Take out the Kaplan SHSAT Test Prep Book from the public library for FREE and use it to practice!
Princeton Review SHSAT Some free practice resources on the website, plus a Princeton SHSAT Immerson course for a fee of $1199 Contact them. Ask if they provide discounts or scholarships!
