Summit School (Queens)

The Summit School
Address
187-30 Grand Central Parkway
Jamaica Estates, New York
United States
Coordinates 40°43′18″N 73°46′37″W / 40.72175°N 73.77701°W / 40.72175; -73.77701Coordinates: 40°43′18″N 73°46′37″W / 40.72175°N 73.77701°W / 40.72175; -73.77701
Information
Type primary / secondary (private)
Established 1968
Founder Hershel Stiskin[1]
Administrator Richard Sitman (Executive Director)
Principal Allison Edwards (Upper School)
Grades 3-12
Enrollment approx. 300
Accreditation New York State Department of Education
Board of Regents for the State of New York
Affiliation Summit Children's Residence Center (Nyack, New York)
Website http://www.summitqueens.com/

The Summit School is a state approved, private special education school in the Queens borough of New York City.[2] It operates on two campuses in Queens and surrounds the St. John's University campus. The Lower School, which educates elementary and middle school students, utilizes space in the Hillcrest Jewish Center,[3] and the Summit's Upper School serves high school students. It is currently directed by Richard Sitman as executive director (in affiliation with Summit Children's Residence Center in Nyack). In contrast to most private schools, which are independently operated, Summit is tuition-free[4] and accepts students from all five boroughs of New York City as well as from Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, and Rockland Counties.

The school employs a faculty and clinical staff of 150 professionals, and has a student to teacher-assistant to teacher ratio of 12:1.5:1.[5] It features a staff of job coaches, social workers, speech and occupational therapists, teachers, as well as 1:1 aides as needed. They provide full therapeutic support as well as "focus[ing] on the academic, social, emotional, and prevocational development of each child."[6] According to a section of New York Magazine in late 2003, the school had the highest number of student admission forms received—more than 1,000—in the city among "special schools for special kids," with only 35 spaces available,[4] and approximately 300 students overall.[5]

Work-based learning

High school students participate in a work-based learning program;[7] they work as interns at businesses participating in the program. Freshman, sophomores, and juniors work part of the school day once a week with their job coaches (who are often assistant teachers), while seniors travel independently and work the entire school day on Fridays.

Student activities

Students participate in a host of extra-curricular activities organized by the school.

Athletics

The school has interscholastic sports—soccer, basketball, track and field, and softball—as part of the Metro League.[8]

The Summit Sun

The Summit Sun, currently published every other Friday, is the school's official newspaper.[9] The paper was founded in January 2010, and is primarily student organized. On January 10, 2014, the paper published its 100th issue.[10] Its motto is "All the News that Matters, when it Matters." The paper publishes articles about school events and sports, current events, and opinion pieces.

Student council

The school's student government, known as the student council, is elected early in the school year. It is composed of four executive positions: the president, vice president, treasurer, and secretary, in addition to a representative from each homeroom.[11]

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ "853 Programs Serving Students with Disabilities". New York State Education Department. March 10, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  3. ↑ DuBos, Laurie; Fromer, Jana (April 2006). A Parents Guide to Special Education in New York City and the Metropolitan Area. New York: Teachers College Press. pp. 130–31. ISBN 0807746851. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "New York Family Guide – Special Schools for Special Kids". New York Magazine. 2003. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  5. 1 2 "The Summit School – Fast Facts". The Summit School. 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
  6. ↑ "The Summit School Difference". The Summit School. 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Summit Work-Based Learning Program Overview - Partnering for the 21st Century". The Summit School. The Summit School. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  8. ↑ "Student Activities". The Summit School. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  9. ↑ "Welcome to The Summit Sun Online!". The Summit Sun. The Summit Sun. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  10. ↑ Feder, Andrew (January 10, 2014). "100 Issues and Counting". The Summit Sun. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  11. ↑ "Summit Elections and Interviews". Samuel Berger. The Summit Sun. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
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