| Edward R. Murrow High School | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1974 |
| Type | Public |
| Principal | Anthony R. Lodico |
| Students | 4,130 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Location | 1600 Ave L, Brooklyn, New York,, USA |
| Colors | Green and white |
| Newspaper | The Murrow Network |
| Website | www.ermurrowhs.org |
Edward R. Murrow High School, is located in the Midwood section of Brooklyn, New York City, New York and is part of the New York City Department of Education.
It opened in 1974 with Saul Bruckner as principal, Edward R. Murrow High School and John Dewey High School are both known for having many similarities in which Saul Bruckner applied. The school was named for the pioneering television newsman Edward R. Murrow, Murrow was founded according to the pedagogical theories of John Dewey and the learning methods of John Dewey High School.
Murrow's second and current principal is Anthony R. Lodico who took over in 2004 after the retirement of Saul Bruckner, who had been principal since the school's creation and whose leadership was responsible for many of the school's accolades. Saul Bruckner died on May 1, 2010.
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[Formerly] Westinghouse Talent Search, semi-finalists consistently since 1995, and the Virtual Enterprise program has been regarded as the best in the country, winning such honors as 1st place at the National Business Plan competition in 2005, 2007, and 2008. Murrow's We The People also recently emerged as the 2007 New York State Champions at We The People Competition in Schenectady, New York. The We the People team also placed in the top 21 and won a Unit 2 award [1] at the 2007 National competition held in Washington D.C.
Keeping in line with Dewey's theories on education, Murrow has an unusual schedule structure. The academic year is divided into four 9-week "cycles", rather than 2 semesters; students receive new class schedules and therefore, a new set of teachers every 9 weeks. The daily schedule shifts depending on the day of the week, with class lengths varying from 45 minutes to an hour, and each class meets only 4 times a week; there are no bells to mark off the time between classes, and no time explicitly scheduled in between. Rather than having a lunch period or study halls, Murrow students have free periods called "OPTA"s (Optional Time Activities), used for studying, eating, or relaxing, hanging out.
Murrow students are also permitted to take independent study courses called MILEs ("Murrow Independent Learning Experiences"). While most work is completed independently, students taking a MILE meet with an instructor once a week for 15 minutes to collect homework assignments. The grade designating successful completion ("MI"; see below) is based largely on the final exam and is credited as a 98 in the student GPA.
Murrow has a number of unique features including:
Edward R. Murrow High School is also known for its outstanding theater program. Their success in the arts was recognized by Mel Brooks, who granted the school to be the first ever to gain rights to the smash hit musical "The Producers" in Spring 2008.
The Edward R. Murrow chess team has won seven national championships, fifteen state titles and sixteen city championships. The Edward R. Murrow HS chess team's success has been chronicled in "THE KINGS OF NEW YORK: A Year Among the Geeks, Oddballs, and Geniuses Who Make Up America's Top High School Chess Team", by sportswriter Michael Weinreb. "The Kings of New York" follows the 2005 championship-winning season of the Murrow Team. It was reviewed in the March 4, 2007 NY Times Book Review. The team was personally congratulated by President Bush in the Oval Office on December 15, 2004. A movie, based on "The Kings of New York" will begin production sometime in 2011.
There are 4130 students in the school as of the 2010-2011 school year. The demographics of the school are 49.99% White (non-Hispanic), 19.01% Black or African American, 21.38% Asian, 14.76% Hispanic or Latino and 0.2% Native American. The student/teacher ratio is 20/1. The Department of Education has released the annual Progress Reports for all high schools. Murrow received a grade of "A" on the 2009-10 Progress Report, and a rating of "Well Developed" on the Quality Review for the same period.