Jamaica High School (New York City)

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Jamaica High School is a secondary school in New York City, United States. The school is administered by the New York City Department of Education.

Contents

[edit] History

The school was designed by William H. Gompert and built in 1925. [1] . At the time of construction, the school's site was the largest in the United States. [2]. By 1950, Jamaica High School had the largest number of students in the borough with 4,613 students. [3].As of Thursday December 4, 2009 city officials announced Jamaica High School will close its doors. NYC Department of Education officials Thursday noted the graduation rate "has stagnated below 50% for years."

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/12/04/2009-12-04_jamaica_hs_is_passing_into_history.html#ixzz0Ys1IzeDQ



http://jamaicahighschool.org/ACAD/79birdseye.jpg

[edit] Location

The campus is located in Jamaica, Queens near the top of a fairly steep hill at the corner of 168th Street and Gothic Drive. Hillside Avenue, at the foot of the hill, is several blocks to the south.

Jamaica High School is also located near Thomas A. Edison Vocational and Technical High School. Edison is north of JHS, separated by 84th Ave and the JHS cutting-edge and state of the art Track and Football Field. Hillcrest High School is another nearby high school. Hillcrest is located at 87th Avenue and Parsons Blvd, right near Gateway High School for the Sciences.

[edit] Academic Offerings

Special academic programs include the Academy of Finance, Gateway, Law, Business, Engineering, Computer Science, Humanities, Honors, Peer Tutoring, College Now, Fit for Life, and Fencing.

Academy of Finance; The National Academy Foundation was the vision of Sanford I. Weill, the corporate leader and philanthropist. His proposal to design a program to interest public high school students in a career on Wall Street was accepted by the New York City Board of Education resulted in the opening of the first Academy of Finance in a Brooklyn public high school in 1982. The program was designed specifically to address the lack of opportunity for young people in New York City.

As Weill explained in his testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, "You saw young people playing in the street, young people without having a clue of what life was about, and how they can become part of the system. That was the beginning of the idea that maybe the private sector should get together with the public sector and see if we can create a high-school level program that can expose young people for a career in the financial services industry."

Jamaica HS AOF students have the chance to participate in after school Exploring Programs, where students have the chance to be mentored by professionals in a field, special trips and are offered an internship during the summer of their junior year based on their grades, networking skills and good economic standing.

Gateway Program

Summer Placements and Internships;Gateway career and college-oriented placements and internships provide students with opportunities to work with adults in professional settings.

Unique Access and Partnerships:Gateway offers access to cutting-edge technologies in DNA laboratories for students and faculty. Partnerships with universities, museums, hospitals, research laboratories and other institutions enhance the high school learning environment.

Involved Parents and Guardians:Parents play a central role in working with Gateway teachers and school administrators to help their children succeed. Gateway supports school meetings and activities with parents.

A Team Approach:By keeping students and a team of teachers together throughout high school, Gateway maintains academic focus.

Academically Rigorous Curriculum:Gateway stresses the importance of advanced placement courses, Regents curricula, and visits to explore college life and to learn about the academic requirements for the professions.

Carefully Selected Teachers:Gateway teachers are committed to excellence, and Gateway provides its teachers with ongoing professional development.

Founded in 1986, the Gateway Institute prepares low income and minority public school students for college and the pursuit of health and science-related careers. Key features of Gateway include: A Team Approach

By keeping students and a team of teachers together throughout high school, Gateway maintains academic focus.

Gateway Students also participate in the Bridge to Medicine Program, at York College. This gives them the exposure to the medical world during their senior year. They attend period 1-4 at Jamaica HS, and then go to York College for further instruction

Law Institute

In the law institute, students are exposed to the legal world. They gain knowledge with mentors from White and Case and professors from St.Johns University. They are offered rigorous courses like Intro to Law, Criminal Law and Constitutional Law.

Engineering

Our Engineering Institute is fairly new. Moving towards a focus in robotics, this program is extremely math based for a special group of students who can maintain good academic standing.

College Now

The College Now Program at Jamaica HS gives students the opportunity to take college level courses in the high school setting. A wide variety of English and Math related classes are offered before or after school. Students receive up to three college credits and one high school credit per course. Students start in their junior year, and are entitled to one course a semester. Therefore, a Jamaica HS college Now Student can leave with 12 credits; all for free. This means one semester of college was completed in high school for no cost.

Advanced Placement

Art History, Biology, Calculus AB, French Language, French Literature, Government and Politics: United States, Spanish Language, English

[edit] Extracurricular Activities

Leadership & Support: Leadership, Archon, Tutoring, Life Skills Workshop, Counseling Academic: National Honor Society, Law Team, Debate Team, Mock Trial, Annual Law Day Artistic: Hilltopper, Drama, Music, Art Clubs: Gateway Arts Workshop, Science, Tennis, Drama, Haitian, Key, International, Teen Ambassadors, Key Club, Muslim Student Association (MSA), Inspirational Club; Teams: Step, Dance, Indian Dance, West Indian, Odasete Dance, Indo-Caribbean, Water Polo

PSAL SPORTS TEAMS Boys: Baseball, Basketball & JV Basketball, Bowling, Football & JV Football, Golf, Handball, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Volleyball Girls: Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Volleyball Co-ed: Fencing

SCHOOL SPORTS Cheerleading, Weight lifting[1]

[edit] Demographics

  • 59% African American (also includes large Haitian-Creole Speaking Population)
  • 22% Asian (Includes East and West Indians,Bengalis,Pakistani & Chinese etc.)
  • 19% Latino Hispanic
  • 1% White[citation needed]

[edit] Other information

  • Attendance 80%
  • Graduation Rate 50%
  • Is on the list to become a New York City Landmark[citation needed]
  • State Education Commissioner Richard Mills announced in August that Jamaica HS has been removed from the state's list of "persistently dangerous" schools for the 2008-2009 school year.[2]
  • Our graduation rate increased 10% in a single year [3]
  • Three motion pictures were filmed at Jamaica High School during the 2005-2006 school year,

"Across the Universe" directed by Julie Taymor, who directed "The Lion King", "We Own the Night" directed by James Gray, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg and "Beautiful Ohio" directed by Chad Lowe, starring William Hurt, Rita Wilson and Julianna Margulies

  • Jamaica High School Girls Track won the NewBalance Award [4]
  • Principals for a Day" have been actors Ed Lover and Steve Harvey and gold medal Olympic winner and graduate of Jamaica High School, Bob Beamon[1]
  • Jamaica High School holds an annual boat race in their pool-where students combine laws of physics and art skills,http://jamaicahighschool.org/ATH/boatrace/abramo.html [5]
  • Some of Our students where selected as finalists and winners of the Coca-Cola Scholarship.
  • Their Boys Tennis Team went undefeated in 2007-2008 [6]
  • Their Boys Soccer Team won the P.S.A.L. "B" championship against Hillcrest, winning 13 games only losing 1.
  • In 2009, one of our students was selected for the Time Warner Cable Scholarship (http://www.qgazette.com/news/2009/0819/features/019.html)
  • Jamaica HS Physics and Physical Education Students go to Project Adventure in Alley Pond Park, where they participate in rock climbing, rope climbing and trust building activities. The Jamaica HS third floor gym has a rope and net setup, with plans to start a class soon.
  • Their school has an amazing pool, weight room and good standing physical education facilities.
  • The building was designated a New York City landmark on March 24, 2009 [4].

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b http://schools.nyc.gov/ChoicesEnrollment/High/Directory/school/?sid=1474
  2. ^ http://insideschools.org/index12.php?fs=1184&str=High%20Schools;%2011432&formtype=location?fs=1184&str=High%20Schools;%2011432&formtype=location&all=y#schoolCommentBoxAnchor
  3. ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2008/08/13/2008-08-13_atrisk_jamaica_high_school_rebounds.html
  4. ^ http://jamaicahighschool.org/ATH/womenstrack.htm
  5. ^ http://www.jamaicahighschool.org/ATH/boatrace.htm
  6. ^ http://psal.org/psalsports/team/psal_teamprofile.asp?cschool=28517&csport=012
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o NOTEWORTHY ALUMNI OF JAMAICA HIGH SCHOOL, Jamaica High School. Accessed November 2, 2007.
  8. ^ Williams, Lena. "TRACK AND FIELD; Soothing an Old Ache", The New York Times, January 1, 2000. Accessed November 7, 2007. "As a student at Jamaica High School, Beamon came under the tutelage of Larry Ellis, the renowned track coach, and was named to the all-American track and field team as well as the all-city squad."
  9. ^ a b c Vescey, George. "Sports of The Times; St. John's Must Hire Noo Yawker", The New York Times, April 17, 1992. Accessed November 2, 2007. "Well, pal, I recently went back to my alma mater, Jamaica High School, this beautiful building on the hill, which produced the Cleftones and Letty Cottin Pogrebin at the very same time, a few decades back."
  10. ^ Kilgannon, Corey. "Got Milk? Hula Hoop? It's a Record!; He's Guinness's King Of Strange Feats, All for Inner Peace", The New York Times, June 12, 2003. Accessed November 2, 2007.
  11. ^ Sheila Jackson-Lee, Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Accessed November 2, 2007.
  12. ^ "Walter F. O'Malley, Leader of Dodgers' Move to Los Angeles, Dies at 75; Unqualified Success", The New York Times, August 10, 1979. "The son of a commissioner of [[markets, he attended Jamaica High School in Queens and Culver Military Academy on Indiana, where he played on the baseball team until a broken nose finished his playing career."

Haina Just-Michael "76...elected to New Rochelle Public Library Board of Trustees

[edit] External links

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/12/04/2009-12-04_jamaica_hs_is_passing_into_history.html Coordinates: 40°42′52″N 73°47′54″W / 40.7145°N 73.7982°W / 40.7145; -73.7982

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