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What’s New at Local High Schools

By HEATHER HADDON

School has been in session for several weeks now, but the Norwood News continues its look at what’s new in local classrooms by surveying the area’s many high schools.

DeWitt Clinton High School

DeWitt Clinton High School had extensive work done on its building this summer to install new security equipment and expand its cafeteria (see p. 6). The West Mosholu Parkway school’s hallways were also painted, and murals are now taking shape on each floor. Students enrolled in the school’s art program will continue to work on the paintings throughout the year. Clinton’s library was also spruced up through funds allocated by Council Member Oliver Koppell.

Clinton is not housing small schools like Walton and other large high schools, and instead was divided into smaller learning communities. The five divisions, two of which are brand new, each have a specific focus: health professions, animal science, business enterprise, public service and the Macy medical arts program. Students will remain in their community throughout the day.

Geraldine Ambrosio, Clinton’s principal, welcomes the change. “We are building on our successes,” she said.

Clinton is also focusing extra attention on its ninth grade, which, at 1,250 students, is quite large. “We’ve found that those who don’t get through ninth grade, can’t make it through high school in general,” Ambrosio said.

Leadership Institute

With much fanfare, the Leadership Institute opened its doors to its first ninth grade class last month. The high school is housed for now in the Police Athletic League building on Webster Avenue, and extensive work was done this summer to make the facility ready. The school’s seven teachers are instructing the first class of 120 students in brand new classrooms.

“This is something we’ve been fighting for for a long time,” said Ronald Gonzalez, the school’s principal.

The Institute has been the three-year dream of Sistas and Brothas United, the youth arm of the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition. In addition to academics, students will delve into local improvement projects. “They can range from working on housing development to installing a speed bump on the street,” Gonzalez said. Students work on the projects in teams during and after school. They also attend leadership training classes.

The Institute is in the process of setting up after-school clubs and tutoring. Gonzalez was formerly a regional administrator and a Manhattan teacher.

Marie Curie High School

The Marie Curie High School for Nursing, Medicine and the Allied Health Professions tripled in size this fall, with seventh, ninth, and 10th graders now housed at the one-year-old school. So far, Principal Rodney Fisher says the transition is smooth.

“Space is always an issue, but we’ve managed to adjust,” Fisher said. The small facility, which receives support from the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center, will eventually transition into a seventh through 12th grade school.

Marie Curie is now on the third floor of the 231st Street complex, which also houses MS 143 and the New School for Leadership and Journalism. The schools now share the science lab and refurbished library that were completed this summer.

Like its name implies, Marie Curie offers its students plenty of opportunities to explore health care. Tenth graders conduct internships at four Bronx hospitals, where they shadow doctors during their rounds. Students share what they learn, and 10th graders will act as buddies for seventh graders this year.

Nine graders learn health fundamentals at the school’s wellness center, where they are trained to screen for asthma, hypertension, and blood pressure.

Marie Curie was one of 10 local schools that was accepted into the Region’s Autonomy Network, and Fisher is excited about gaining that new flexibility.

Mount St. Ursula

This year, Mount St. Ursula girls will get a chance to express themselves through new debate and dance clubs. The Bedford Park Boulevard school also purchased 15 laptops and a mobile station through a fund-raising walk conducted last spring.

During the summer, participants in the school’s soccer and volleyball teams started gearing up for the coming season. The high school’s incoming class totals 130 students and three new teachers joined the faculty.

Walton High School

For the next three years, Walton High School is in a state of flux as it transitions toward closure. The Reservoir Avenue school did not admit a ninth grade class, and it has lost some of its faculty. In its place, the small schools housed at the Walton “campus” will continue to expand.

There are still over 2,100 students now attending Walton, and severe overcrowding is a persistent issue. The school uses the first floor and half of the second floor.

Walton did receive an influx of support for its supermarket program. Located in the basement, the initiative trains students in retail operations, and this year will offer certification in the city’s food handlers program. Equipment that was donated over the summer creates a realistic retail environment, according to Stephen Ritz, a Walton dean.

Walton’s Green Teen program, which promotes environmental advocacy, is also expanding. The group will work with the River Heroes training program, and with Sustainable South Bronx to help maintain green roofs on Bronx buildings.

The Celia Cruz Bronx School of Music

Now in its third year, the Celia Cruz Bronx School of Music is finally settling in. Extensive work was done on Walton this summer to carve a distinct niche for the school, including renovating some of its classrooms, creating teacher and project rooms, and establishing an administrative suite with cubicles for staff. The school also now has a brand new science lab.

“It’s starting to feel like you have everything a small school would need,” said William Rodriguez, the school’s principal.

That transition has been rocky. Many Celia Cruz parents protested when the school moved from its original home in DeWitt Clinton to Walton last year. The school now utilizes 10 classrooms on Walton’s third floor.

All of Celia Cruz’ 250 students spend three days a week at Lehman College, where they receive orchestral and choral instruction. The school will again perform in winter and spring concerts at Lehman’s Lovinger Theatre. Auditions for the school, which is open to Bronx students with an interest in music, take place in December.

Discovery High School

Principal Scott Goldner is relieved to announce that Discovery High School has moved to its third, and final, location within the Walton campus. “This is the year we really become the school we want to be,” said Goldner, Discovery’s principal and founder. The arts-based school housed on Walton’s second floor received extensive work during the summer, with renovated classrooms and office space.

Discovery has wasted little time in embarking on the new year. The school has already had its first town hall session, an ongoing exploration of selected themes both in classrooms and with a bi-weekly speaker . Leadership was the subject for the first round last week.

Additional staff was hired, especially in the arts, during the summer for Discovery’s 300 students. Each grade has an arts-related theme, with the new 11th grade focusing on music. Students will explore expression from traditional African-American songs to hip-hop and spoken word poetry.

The Manhattan Class Company, a professional off-Broadway theater group, has returned to the school. The company trains Discovery’s teachers to use theatrical techniques for academic instruction.

Discovery’s theme for 2006 is media and technology, and Goldner is in the process of talking with the School Construction Authority and Council Member Oliver Koppell about creating a multi-media lab for the school. “It will make learning more fun, but also provide skills that are suitable for jobs,” he said.

The High School for Teaching and the Professions

The High School for Teaching and the Professions (TAP) is taking its academic rigor to the next step this year in offering Advanced Placement classes. The school, housed on Walton High School’s third floor, will offer AP English, Spanish and U.S. History. Students can also earn college credit through classes at Lehman College, the TAP’s ongoing partner, and at Hostos Community College.

Like Celia Cruz and Discovery high schools, TAP got extensive work on its facilities this summer. Five classrooms were added, along with a high-tech science lab and a variety of administrative and common rooms. “The teachers and children are so excited,” said Maxine Johnson, the school’s principal.

Now in its fourth year, TAP’s student body has grown to 520, and after new additions this summer, there are 33 teachers. TAP was awarded a 21st Century grant this year, and intends to share it with the rest of Walton through a school-wide mural project.

Drama will join TAP’s full roster of extra-curricular activities this year. Other offerings include a newspaper, choir and Club Verse, which is an open mike forum for students.

The International School of Liberal Arts

The International School of Liberal Arts (ISLA) is a brand new school on Walton High School’s third floor. Currently working with seventh and ninth graders, the school will eventually expand into a seventh through 12th grade school and relocate in the Walton campus.

The Kingsbridge International High School

The Kingsbridge International High School, another new school on the Walton campus, serves recent immigrants who speak little English. The school accepted its first ninth grade class this year, and shares Walton’s second floor with Discovery High School.

Sponsored by International Partnership Schools, the school uses an interdisciplinary approach and assesses students through portfolios. The organization has opened six similar schools since 1985.

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