| Staten Island Technical High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 485 Clawson Street Region 7 Staten Island, New York, Richmond, 10306 United States |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Public high school, Specialized |
| Established | 1988 |
| Status | Open |
| School board | New York City Department of Education |
| School district | 31 |
| Superintendent | Linda Waite |
| School number | R605 |
| CEEB Code | 335401 |
| Dean | Alexis Kirschbaum, Janice Moschetta |
| Principal | Vincent Maniscalco |
| Vice principal | Robert J. Andrews Mark Erlenwein Noelle Sanguinedo Joseph Manzo |
| Chief custodian | Michael Paul |
| Staff | 72 |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 900 |
| Average class size | 30 |
| Average class size | about 330 |
| Student to teacher ratio | 1:19 |
| Language | English |
| Hours in school day | 6.75 |
| Classrooms | 55 |
| School Color(s) | Vegas Gold Black |
| Nickname | Tech |
| Team name | MSIT Seagulls |
| Accreditation(s) | University of the State of New York |
| Newspaper | 'The Tech Times' |
| Yearbook | 'Epoch' |
| Budget | $6,604,263[1] |
| Website | http://www.siths.org |
Staten Island Technical High School (also referred to as Staten Island Tech, S.I.T.H.S., or simply Tech), is one of the nine specialized public high schools in New York City. It was founded in 1988. It is located in the New Dorp neighborhood of Staten Island. The school is operated by the New York City Department of Education. It consistently ranks among the best schools in New York City in graduation rate, Regents test scores, and attendance. In its most recent progress report, the New York City Department of Education assigned it the highest possible grade of "A".[2] In 2011, Staten Island Technical High School was ranked #13 in the nation on U.S. News and World Report's Best High Schools for Math and Science list following improvements in AP course offerings.[3]
Contents |
Staten Island Tech was founded in 1982 as an annex of Ralph R. McKee Vocational-Technical High School, located in the New Dorp neighborhood of Staten Island, after New Dorp High School, which had occupied the building since it was built in the 1930s, moved to its current location on New Dorp Lane. The technical courses were taught in the annex, while the vocational courses stayed in St. George. Through the advocacy of parents, staff, and students, Staten Island Tech was made an independent high school by the New York City Board of Education in May 1988. Nicholas M. Bilotti, who had been serving as director of the annex, was appointed principal of the new high school.
The school admitted students based on their seventh-grade class grades and standardized test scores until 2005, when it was added to the group of New York City's specialized high schools and therefore began using the New York City Specialized High Schools Admissions Test to screen prospective students.[4] Thus, it became the first and only specialized high school on Staten Island.
The curriculum at Staten Island Technical High School is purely college preparatory, focusing on science and engineering. The mandatory engineering classes taken by students are AutoCAD, electronics, and Lego robotics. Students can also choose from thirteen Advanced Placement courses offered at the school. Science AP classes are AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Physics B, and AP Physics C. The history AP classes offered are AP US Government and Politics, AP US History, and AP World History. Language AP classes are AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature, AP Russian Language and Culture along with AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC. The school previously offered classes in Cisco networking, computer programming, and technical drawing, but were cut due to budget limitations. In addition, the school operates College Now, a program run by Kingsborough Community College. College Now courses offered include business, statistics, and sociology. Optional electives for Junior and Senior students include creative writing and Forensics. This challenging curriculum results in average SAT score of 1930 among Staten Island Technical High School alumni.
Freshman science fair winners at Staten Island Technical High School are invited to join the school's Science Engineering Research Program, more commonly known as SERP. Students remain in this program until their senior year. Throughout their high school career, they participate in various competitions including the Intel Talent Search, NYCSEF (New York City Science and Engineering Fair), ISEF (International Science and Engineering Fair), and the Quality of Life competition.
Staten Island Technical High School's sports program operates in partnership with McKee High School, and their shared teams are known as the MSIT Seagulls. The MSIT teams play various sports including football, soccer, volleyball, wrestling, fencing, swimming, and track. The MSIT Football team won the 2010 PSAL Cup Championship, defeating the Petrides School 22-0. Staten Island Tech's Boys Track team made back to back Cross-Country state appearances in the '06-'07, '07-'08, '08-'09, and '09-'10 XC seasons. The Boys Track team recently won the Varsity and JV city championships in a record breaking fashion. In 2008 Varsity and JV won the City Championships and in 2010 JV Got Second Place. In the '09-'10 season, the Boys Track team dominated the XC borough championships. The MSIT cross country Team won freshman, sophomore, junior varsity, and varsity borough championships in the '09-'10 season. The MSIT Class of 2013 Track/Cross Country Team is dominant, getting 2nd place in The 2009 Cross Country Freshman/Sophomore City Championships, 2010 Indoor Track and Field Freshman/Sophomore City Championships, and winning the 2010 Outdoor Track and 2010 Cross Country Freshman/Sophomore City Championships. In the 2010-2011 season, they won the PSAL Freshman/Sophomore Cross Country Championships title running a blistering 4th place and 8th place double. The Class of 2014 got 3rd place in this meet. The class of 2013 got 3rd place in the Indoor Freshman/sophomore championships, losing by a mere 8.5 points. The girls class of 2014 won this meet.
Staten Island Tech also maintains an active theater program, including productions such as SING! and a spring musical. The theater program is directed by drama teacher Heather Brown in coordination with the school's Tech Crew, a group of students tasked with maintaining the theater and operating sound and lighting for the school's auditorium.[5] In 2011, the school installed a new television studio that will work closely with the Tech Crew and provide a different aspect of technical operations.[6] Tech also hosts more than forty-five clubs.[7] Of particular note, the school's Junior State of America chapter won the 2008 Chapter of the Year Award bestowed by the national organization. In addition, Staten Island Tech.'s JSA Chapter boasts the highest amount of members for any club in the entire school.[8]
Staten Island Technical High School's robotics team is one of the many fairly developed teams in the city. The team competes in the FIRST Robotics Competition as Team 375, or "The Robotic Plague", and consistently manages to make it into the semi-finals. In the 2006 season they were the Regional Winner in addition to winning the Chairman's award for their robot, the "Rambo".[9][10] and have even won the Autodesk Inventor Animation Award at the New York City Regional, and has won the Chairman's award in New York City in 2006.
Staten Island Technical High School was mentioned during the introduction to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart after an abortive attempt to recruit Mr. Stewart to speak at the Class of 2006 Commencement Ceremony by Student Organization President Boris Mirsaliyev and Vice President Michael Zinn.[11]
Staten Island Technical High School appears in a recurring Saturday Night Live clip in which curators from the Staten Island Zoo air "documentaries" about animals, sent to them by students.[12][13]
Staten Island Technical High School also appeared in the 1998 film Joe the King.
The school's 2012 Sing winner was announced by Andy Samberg. The Lonely Island member came to the school and recorded a short clip to reveal the winner.
|
||||||||||||||||||||