High School of American Studies at Lehman College

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High School of American Studies at Lehman College
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High School of American Studies at Lehman College
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High School of American Studies at Lehman College
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High School of American Studies at Lehman College
2925 Goulden Avenue
Bronx , NY
United States
Coordinates 40°52′29″N73°53′43″W / 40.874834°N 73.895187°W / 40.874834; -73.895187 Coordinates: 40°52′29″N73°53′43″W / 40.874834°N 73.895187°W / 40.874834; -73.895187
Information
Type Public
Specialized
Established 2002
Principal Alessandro Weiss
Faculty 28
Grades 9-12
Number of students approx. 400
Newspaper Common Sense Periodical
Website

The High School of American Studies at Lehman College, (commonly called American Studies, HSAS, or Lehman), is a New York City public high school that specializes in social studies, history, and English. The school is administered by the New York City Department of Education. It receives supplementary funding from The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

In the United States education system, social studies is the integrated study of multiple fields of social science and the humanities, including history, geography, and political science. The term was first coined by American educators around the turn of the twentieth century as a catch-all for these subjects, as well as others which did not fit into the traditional models of lower education in the United States, such as philosophy and psychology.

History past events and their record

History is the study of the past as it is described in written documents. Events occurring before written record are considered prehistory. It is an umbrella term that relates to past events as well as the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of information about these events. Scholars who write about history are called historians.

English studies is an academic discipline taught in primary, secondary, and post-secondary education in English-speaking countries; it is not to be confused with English taught as a foreign language, which is a distinct discipline. English includes: the study of literature written in the English language, the majority of which comes from Britain, the United States, and Ireland ; English composition, including writing essays, short stories, and poetry; English language arts, including the study of grammar, usage, and style; and English sociolinguistics, including discourse analysis of written and spoken texts in the English language, the history of the English language, English language learning and teaching, and the study of World Englishes. English linguistics is usually treated as a distinct discipline, taught in a department of linguistics.

Contents

Together with the Queens High School for the Sciences at York College and the High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College, it was one of the three smaller specialized high schools opened in 2002 by the New York City Department of Education, and it is one of the 9 Specialized High Schools in New York City. Admission is granted through a competitive examination known as the SHSAT. As a public school, American Studies has no tuition fee, and only residents of the City of New York are eligible to attend.

High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College Specialized high school in New York City

The High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College is one of the nine specialized high schools in New York City, United States. It caters to highly gifted students from across the city. It is located within the campus of the City College of New York (CCNY).

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.

New York City Department of Education public school system of the municipal government of New York City, New York, USA

The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,800 separate schools. The department covers all five boroughs of New York City, and has an annual budget of nearly 25 billion dollars. The department is run by the Panel for Educational Policy and New York City Schools Chancellor. The current chancellor is Richard Carranza.

Admission to American Studies involves passing the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test. Each November, about 30,000 eighth and ninth graders take the 3-hour test for admittance to eight of the nine specialized high schools. Approximately 80-110 applicants are accepted each year.

The Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) is an examination administered to eighth and ninth grade students residing in New York City and used to determine admission to all but one of the city's nine Specialized High Schools. In 2008, about 29,000 students took the test, and 6,108 students were offered admission to one of the high schools based on the results. On average, 30,000 students take this exam annually. The test is given each year in October and November, and students are informed of their results the following March. Those who receive offers decide by the middle of March whether to attend the school the following September. The test is independently produced and graded by American Guidance Service, a subsidiary of Pearson Education, under contract to the New York City Department of Education.

American Studies is located on the Lehman College campus in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx. It is ranked 17th [1] in the country by U.S. News & World Report. [2]

Lehman College college

Lehman College is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY) in New York, United States. Founded in 1931 as the Bronx campus of Hunter College, the school became an independent college within CUNY in September 1967. The college is named after Herbert H. Lehman, a former New York governor, United States senator, philanthropist, and the son of Lehman Brothers co-founder Mayer Lehman. It is a public, comprehensive, coeducational liberal arts college with more than 90 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and specializations.

Bedford Park, Bronx Neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City

Bedford Park is a residential neighborhood in the northwest Bronx, New York City, between the New York Botanical Garden and Lehman College. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise are: Mosholu Parkway to the north, Webster Avenue to the east, East 196th Street to the south, and the Jerome Reservoir and Goulden Avenue to the west.

The Bronx Borough in New York City and county in New York, United States

The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, in the U.S. state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; northeast and east of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of Queens, across the East River. Since 1914, the borough has had the same boundaries as Bronx County, the third-most densely populated county in the United States.

The School

American Studies was designed as a small school for about four hundred students. It was created in 2002 along with Queens High School for the Sciences at York College, and the High School for Math, Science, and Engineering at City College. New York City previously had three specialized high schools, Brooklyn Technical High School, Bronx Science, and Stuyvesant, besides LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. The three new schools were created to provide more opportunities for students beyond the previous three specialized high schools.

Brooklyn Technical High School Specialized high school in New York City

Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly referred to as Brooklyn Tech and administratively designated as High School 430, is an elite New York City public high school that specializes in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. It is one of three original specialized high schools operated by the New York City Department of Education, the other two being Stuyvesant High School and Bronx High School of Science. Brooklyn Tech is considered one of the most prestigious and selective high schools in the United States.

Stuyvesant High School Specialized high school in New York City

Stuyvesant High School commonly referred to as Stuy is a specialized high school in New York City, United States. Operated by the New York City Department of Education, these specialized schools offer tuition-free accelerated academics to city residents. Stuyvesant is a college-preparatory high school.

Unlike the other specialized high schools, American Studies puts a special focus on history (particularly American History), and all students are required to study U.S History for 3 years. Despite the school's emphasis on history, it also offers a variety of AP classes in other subject areas, such as Calculus. Students are required to take AP World History during their Sophomore year . Some students who excel in math have the ability to take college math courses at Lehman College during their senior year. [3]

Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course credit to students who obtain high scores on the examinations. The AP curriculum for each of the various subjects is created for the College Board by a panel of experts and college-level educators in that field of study. For a high school course to have the designation, the course must be audited by the College Board to ascertain that it satisfies the AP curriculum. If the course is approved, the school may use the AP designation and the course will be publicly listed on the AP Course Ledger.

Calculus is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithmetic operations.

Advanced Placement World History is a college-level course and examination offered to high school students through the College Board's Advanced Placement Program designed to help students develop a greater understanding of the evolution of global processes and contacts as well as interactions between different types of human society. The course advances this understanding through a combination of selective factual knowledge and appropriate analytical skills. Students study all prehistory and history, especially from 8000 BCE to the present day. It was announced in July 2018 that the test would be changed to an AP World History: Modern exam that only contains content since 1200 CE, starting in the 2019-2020 school year. The AP World History exam was first administered in 2002. The course has undergone multiple changes with the latest changes effective Fall 2017. Often times in the United States, students take the course in their sophomore year of high school, but this is not a requirement.

History

In 2008, American Studies was awarded a Gold Medal by U.S. News & World Report in its ranking of the Best Public High Schools. The school was ranked 29th, beating its rivals and fellow specialized high schools Bronx High School of Science, Brooklyn Technical High School, and Stuyvesant High School. [4] In 2009, it climbed up 10 spots and was ranked as the 19th Best Public High School, claiming the top spot for all New York City High Schools and 2nd for all of New York State.

In 2014, American Studies has held on to its Gold Medal by U.S. News & World Report and was ranked 32nd out of 22,000 public schools in the nation, making the school #1 in the state.

In 2015, the school was ranked 11th nationally, making it #1 in the state for the second year. [1]

In 2016, the school was ranked 15th in the nation and #1 in the state of New York by U.S. News and World Reports.

Affiliations with Lehman College

As part of the new Specialized Schools that opened in CUNY campuses, American Studies students are granted permission into Lehman College campus to use the college library, gym, cafeteria, and occasionally the theater if the high school might need it for events such as plays. Students are given CUNY I.D. cards for access to the campus and for verification purposes.

Vallo Transportation

Vallo Transportation is a private bus service offered to High School of American Studies at Lehman College students and Bronx High School of Science students.

Average SAT and College Enrollment

In 2014, the average SAT score for American Studies was 1960 out of 2400 making it above average nationally. Some students from American Studies attend highly selective and prestigious schools such as Yale University, Columbia University, Princeton University, Harvard University, University of Chicago, Amherst College, and many more. Many students, due to the convenience, go to SUNY and CUNY schools.

Enrollment

Admissions to High School of American Studies is solely based on the SHSAT, a standardized test that permits entrance into Specialized High Schools. In recent years, the cut-off score, or the minimum score needed to gain entrance to American Studies, was 497508. In September 2011, only 177 out of 16,436 students that applied were admitted into the school, making the acceptance rate 1.1%.

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References

  1. 1 2 "Top New York High Schools | Best High Schools". US News. Retrieved 2016-03-10.
  2. "The High School of American Studies at Lehman College". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on 2012-04-23. Retrieved 2012-05-19.
  3. "Specialized High Schools Student Handbook 2011-2012" (PDF). NYC Department of Education. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  4. "HS of American Studies on U.S News". www.usnews.com. December 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-12-30. Retrieved 2008-12-31.