Townsend Harris High School

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Townsend Harris High School

Established	1904, refounded 1984
Type	Public (magnet) secondary
Principal	Thomas Cunningham
Students	approx. 1000
Grades	9–12
Location	149-11 Melbourne Ave. Flushing, Queens, New York, New York USA
Colors	Crimson and gold
Mascot	Hawks
Yearbook	The Crimson and Gold
Newspaper	The Classic
Website	www.thhs.qc.edu

Townsend Harris High School is a public magnet high school for the humanities in the borough of Queens in New York City. Students and alumni often refer to themselves as "Harrisites."

1 History
2 Admissions
3 Academics
4 Student body
5 Tradition
6 Miscellaneous
7 Accomplishments
- 7.1 Sports
8 Notable Alumni
9 External links

[edit] History

The school is named for Townsend Harris, who besides his many diplomatic accomplishments had helped found the Free Academy of the City of New York, later to become City College, and was a strong proponent of free education. The Free Academy's introductory year gradually evolved and in 1904 became a full fledged, 3-year high school, housed on three floors of what is now Baruch College (p.10 of [1]). This original incarnation, known as Townsend Harris Hall, survived until 1942 when it was closed by mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. LaGuardia's officially stated reason was budgetary concerns, but it has been suggested that he had ulterior movites.[2] He later admitted that closing the school had been a mistake.

Townsend Harris High School was refounded in 1984 thanks largely to the efforts of alumni of the original school, who had begun the process in 1980. The first principal was Dr. Malcolm Largmann, a former high school English teacher with a strong belief in a classically styled education who also handpicked the school's original faculty. The new school began life in a small building on Parsons Boulevard, originally intended as a temporary home until a permanent facility could be realized. In early 1995, the school moved into a new building located on the campus of Queens College. The high school is seen as a smaller and more humanities-centered alternative to the Specialized High Schools of New York City.

[edit] Admissions

Originally entrance to the school was based on competitive examination. [3]

Today approximately 7000 students compete for fewer than 300 seats in the freshman class each year on their middle school grades, standardized test scores and even attendance records. Admissions is available to all New York City residents in 8th grade and 9th grade. This includes public and private school students in all 5 boroughs.

The majority of students are accepted as incoming 9th graders. The incoming freshman class is selected to reflect the city population in terms geographic and cultural makeup. Academic performance, attendance, and disciplinary records are all examined.

A small number of seats are available for rising 10th graders, but this is dependent on the number of students who decide to leave the school during freshman year. This number varies every year. Once again, prospective students should apply in 9th grade and list Townsend Harris as their first choice on their NYC High School Application form.

Initially the admissions process included an interview and a writing component, but this was eliminated by 1988. Upon matriculation, students take a writing and math exam.

[edit] Academics

The curriculum of the school is significantly enhanced from that of the standard New York City public high school. Classes are generally considered to be markedly more difficult and are at the "honors" level across the board. In addition to the standard three year Regents English program, all students take a "fifth year" of English as freshman in the form of classes in linguistics and writing processes. In addition to the standard modern language requirement which may be fulfilled with classes in Spanish, French or Japanese, students have a two year classical language requirement which can be fulfilled by classes in Latin or classical Greek (in addition, Hebrew is offered as an elective course). There is also a rigorous physical education requirement, especially freshman gym, and a senior project required of students. A variety of electives and AP classes are also offered to students. As of 2004, AP World History became a mandatory subject and replaced the Regents-level course. Every subject requires students to execute at least one major project a year, with history classes requiring one per semester and English several per semester. These projects are referred to as "collaterals."

In the 2006-2007 school year, Townsend Harris is offering the following Advanced Placement (AP) classes: World History, United States History, Environmental Science, Psychology, Calculus AB, Statistics, French Language, and Spanish Language. Acceptance into an AP class is based mostly on grades in previous coursework, though according to students acceptance to these courses seems quite arbitrary.^{[citation needed]} There are also perennial complaints by students and parents that compared to Stuyvesant High School, Bronx High School of Science, Brooklyn Technical High School and other specialized and highly competitive institutions, Townsend Harris lacks the breadth of AP courses and rigorous electives that the aforementioned schools offer.

The most notable feature of the school's curriculum is the senior "bridge year" program. Students in good standing may take up to 12 credits at Queens College at no cost to themselves. This includes a required humanities seminar co-taught by Harris teachers and Queens College faculty. Though the class is offered by the college, it is open exclusively to Harris students. The curriculum and format is fairly similar to the Great Books seminars required of liberal arts freshman at colleges around the world.

Recently, a number of other New York City public high schools have been established that have similar "bridge year" programs. These include the High School of American Studies at Lehman College, Queens High School for the Sciences at York College, and Bard High School Early College.

[edit] Student body

In sharp contrast with the original school which was open to male students only, the new school has been dominated by female students from its inception, comprising approximately 70% of the student population.

As of 2005, the school's minority population is largely Asian, with the New York City Department of Education's "Asian and other" category making up 42.3% of the student body total, very nearly the same as the school's white population of 42.6%. Hispanic students comprise 8.9% and black students 6.2% of the school's population[4].

The school maintains a near-100% graduation rate.

[edit] Tradition

Fitting this classical standard of education all new students are required to recite the Ephebic Oath during the Founders' Day ceremony, celebrated each fall. Students recapitulate the oath at the commencement ceremony upon their graduation. The translation employed by the school is as follows:

I shall never bring disgrace to my city, nor shall I ever desert my comrades in the ranks; but I, both alone and with my many comrades, shall fight for the ideals and sacred things of the city.

I shall willingly pay heed to whoever renders judgment with wisdom and shall obey both the laws already established and whatever laws the people in their wisdom shall establish.

I, alone and with my comrades, shall resist anyone who destroys the laws or disobeys them.

I shall not leave my city any less but rather greater than I found it.

[edit] Miscellaneous

Discipline at the school is considered to be very strict by NYC Board of Education standards. Attendance rate is the highest in NYC. Scores on standardized examinations are also very high when compared to other public high schools. Townsend Harris has the highest percentage of students passing Regents exams in NYC.

The school newspaper is "The Classic." The yearbook is "The Crimson and Gold."

In 2000, Eileen F. Lebow published a history of the original school, The Bright Boys : A History of Townsend Harris High School (ISBN 0-313-31479-9).

[edit] Accomplishments

Selected as a National School of Excellence in 1989.
The Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Foundation named Harris a 21st Century School of Distinction in June 2004.[5] In December of that year, the school was named a Lighthouse School by the same organization.[6]
Four-time recipient of the Let Freedom Ring Award for support of First Amendment rights.
In 2005 and 2006, the school had the highest percentage of students passing Regents exams of any high school in the city.^{[citation needed]}
2006-2007 Highest AP World History Scores in the USA^{[citation needed]}
2004-2007 NYSEF Expo Finalists
2007 Science Olympiad New York City Regional Winners