| Franklin K. Lane High School | |
|---|---|
| Franklin K. Lane High School | |
| Address | |
| 999 Jamaica Avenue Brooklyn, New York, United States |
|
| Information | |
| School board | New York City Department of Education |
| School number | K420 |
| Principal | Marlon D. Bynum |
| Campus | Urban |
| Mascot | Knights |
| Website | Franklin K. Lane High School |
Franklin K. Lane High School (FKLHS) is a public high school in New York City, United States. The school is administered by the New York City Department of Education as H.S. 420.
Contents |
The campus is located in Brooklyn at the bottom of a steep hill at the corner of Dexter Court and Jamaica Avenue. The school is named for Franklin Knight Lane, United States Secretary of the Interior during the administration of President Woodrow Wilson.[1] The county line separating Kings (Brooklyn) and Queens counties divides the school in half, running along Eldert Lane from Atlantic Avenue, through the school and the cemetery behind it.
The high school is named for the American Democratic politician Franklin K. Lane. He served as Secretary of the Interior (1913–1920) during the administration of President Woodrow Wilson. One of the accomplishments of his tenure was the formation of the National Park Service.[1]
At the time Franklin K. Lane High School was built, it was one of the largest high school buildings in the world. Each of the four floors is one-quarter mile; walking four times around one floor equals one mile.
The school building was a project of the WPA during the Roosevelt Administration.
The boys' large gymnasium is named for 1938 alumnus William "Red" Holzman. The library is named for Sam Levenson, another alumnus, Class of 1930.
During the 1970s, Franklin K. Lane High School fell on hard times. In 1974 Judge John Dooling of the Federal Court's Southern District of New York ruled that education at the school was inferior and ruled that the school was to be redistricted and redesigned. The "new" Franklin K. Lane opened in September 1976 with a 50% white, 50% minority population. The school, under the leadership of a new principal, Kenneth J. Tewel, thrived and became known as "the miracle on Jamaica Avenue".
In 1978, Franklin K. Lane High School was one of ten schools across the nation cited by the United States Congress in the Safe School Study. The school was included in many case studies produced by the United States Government as well as private foundations, for its turnaround and for its safety in the midst of urban decline and deterioration.
For a number of years the school thrived. In the 1970s and 1980s numerous programs were available to assist and enhance students' academic performance: College Bound Program, Career Development Program (CDP), Co-Op Program, Study to Employment Program, (STEP), and Toward Upward Mobility Program (TUM). During the 1980s and 1990s, the school's magnet Law Studies Program attracted some of the brightest students in New York City, many of whom went on to attend prestigious universities, such as Columbia, Cornell, NYU, and Syracuse. Two teachers in particular are credited for its success: Rozella Kirchgaessner and Arty Buchmann. Lane's Honors Program alumni also fared well.
In December 2007, the Department of Education announced that Franklin K. Lane will phase out due to consistently poor performance. The school stopped accepting 9th graders in 2007 and will graduate its last seniors in 2011.
| Ethnic Group | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Hispanics | 52% |
| Blacks | 43% |
| Asians | 4% |
| Whites | 0% |
| Native Americans | 1% |