School of the Future (New York City)
Coordinates: 40°41′40″N 73°59′12″W / 40.694412°N 73.986531°W
| School of the Future | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1990 |
| Type | Public Secondary School |
| Students | 658 Students |
| Location |
New York City, NY, USA 40°41′40″N 73°59′12″W / 40.694412°N 73.986531°W |
| Campus | Urban |
| Colors | Navy Blue and White |
| Mascot | Bulldog |
| Affiliations |
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| Website | www.sof.edu |
 | |
School of the Future is a public secondary school located at 127 East 22nd Street at Lexington Avenue, in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It serves grades 6 through 12 and is a part of the New York City Department of Education, and accepts students from citywide. The School of the Future, a small school, was founded in 1990 with funding by Apple Inc. with an admissions process dependent on student application and interview. It is a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, a league of schools dedicated to small class sizes and student-centered learning. In 2005, School of the Future was chosen as a national mentor school of CES as part of a Gates Foundation funded effort to improve schools nationwide.
Curriculum
Classes are sometimes taught through a two-year curriculum; students may have some of their teachers for two academic years. The high school follows a block schedule and students have a full day of classes for their entire stay at the school. Graduation requires four years of Humanities (English and Social Studies primarily, with occasionally courses from other disciplines such as Philosophy and Visual Arts); four years of Math and Science; and two years of foreign language (Spanish). The juniors and seniors are considered the "Senior Institute" which provides more choice to students in their studies, allowing them to pick from an array of Humanities courses. The Math sequence consists of Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II/Trigonometry, and Pre-calculus/Calculus in the 12th grade. The Science sequence includes Biology, Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, Food Science and Physics. Students can choose to take elective classes in a variety of subjects: art, science, math, Computer Science and Spanish. Students must demonstrate technology proficiency in their regular classes. The school’s advisory program serves as a family group and guidance resource.
Exhibitions and portfolio roundtables
As an alternative to taking New York State Regents tests, School of the Future allows its high school (grades 9-12) students to write extensive papers, similar to college theses. These are called Exhibitions. Middle school (grades 6-8) students have Portfolio Roundtables, or PRT's, which are portfolios which contain the student's best work. In addition to the PRT's middle school students write an eight page essay explaining why they are ready for high school.
The student body
Between the middle school and high school about 658 students attend SOF. The student population is greatly diverse (ethnically, economically, academically, and geographically), with students attending from all five boroughs of the City. SOF has been recognized by Clara Hemphill as a top public school in New York City, partially due to the consistent accomplishment of nearly 100% of the school's graduating class being accepted to a college or university.
Sports
Although located in Manhattan and unable to have a "home field" for sporting events, the school has eight Varsity and two JV teams. Teams include Baseball (Boys), Basketball (Boys & girls teams), Soccer (Boys & Girls teams), Softball (Girls), and Volleyball (Boys & girls teams). All of the SOF sports teams are part of the Public School Athletic League (PSAL) and are in their respective "B" conferences, except Girls Varsity Basketball and Soccer. Though recognized as a small Manhattan school, the sports teams have made the playoffs in various years, however, no team has won the city championship. Some upsets include wins against Washington Irving and Stuyvesant High School, both with more than 2,500 students.
Building
The building in which School of the Future is located was constructed in 1915 as the Manhattan Trade School for Girls, and was later the Mabel Dean Bacon Vocational High School. The 11-story building was designed by C. B. J. Snyder.[1]
References
Notes
- ↑ White, Norval & Willensky, Elliot (2000). AIA Guide to New York City (4th ed.). New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0-8129-3107-5., p.208
External links
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