Clinton Tapped Again for Excellence

By HUNG TRAN

The news just keeps getting better for DeWitt Clinton High School and its principal, Norman Wechsler.

Three years after being selected as one of the nation's five most improved high schools by Redbook magazine, Clinton, along with two other Bronx high schools -- Aquinas and neighboring Bronx Science -- was named in January by U. S. News & World Report as one of America's outstanding high schools in a survey of 96 schools in six U.S. cities.

The magazine found that all of the selected high schools shared the same characteristics: a challenging core curriculum, high academic standards, unusually qualified teachers, effective training for teachers, strong parental involvement, teachers and administrators who know the students well and good attendance.

There was a time in the early-to-mid 1980s when Clinton was in such a state of disarray that the Board of Education threatened to close its doors for poor performance. The Board of Ed required it to participate in the Attendance Improvement/Dropout Prevention Program from 1984-1998. Since 1989, however, the attendance rate has increased 16 percent and for the last two years, Clinton has had the highest attendance record out of the 16 vocational-technical and academic-comprehensive high schools in the Bronx.

According to Wechsler, the high school received 10,000 applications last year but accepted only 1,000 of those applicants. (The student body's ethnicity is 57 percent Latino, 35 percent black, six percent Asian, and two percent white, with 80 percent of the students eligible for free lunch.)

So how did DeWitt Clinton, a school nearly left for dead by the Board of Education, undergo such a dramatic change? Wechsler attributed some of the school's success to an increase in academic standards.

"I think the world only respects students who have mastered the curriculum," said Wechsler. Along with the barrage of Regents examinations that the students must pass to obtain an academic diploma, the school launched a more rigorous writing program across the board, which includes courses on writing about social studies and math, in addition to traditional English.

Wechsler boasts of the selective Macy program (named for the benefactor Macy Foundation) which introduces students to the fields of science and mathematics. Students are selected from middle schools based on their academic records. The 200 students who are accepted into the program follow four years of intensive math and science. Wechsler said students who graduate from the program go on to top-notch universities such as Vanderbilt and Columbia.

One criterion of U.S. News' selection of outstanding high schools was the level of interaction between teachers and students. As the number of students increased over the years, so has the size of the staff. This allowed for more tutorial, homework and counseling services for the students. However, Clinton still suffers the same plight as other Bronx schools: overcrowding. Because of limits on classroom space, English and other courses are being taught in the school's library.

All of the students who apply for admission to DeWitt Clinton live in the Bronx. The school selects 35 percent of the students with the rest of the student body randomly chosen through a computer-based lottery. Also, certain programs such as Macy are limited in the amount of seats available for students.

"If I was allowed to select all of my students, our school would give Bronx Science a run for its money," he said. Wechsler believes the neighboring school has an easier job of it because it admits all its students based on test scores alone,
A 30-year Bronx resident with three kids in the public school system, Wechsler is a firm believer in the possibilities of public education.

"Public education is where the most dedicated people need to be, and society needs to put more resources in public education, " Wechsler said..

Because of the recent law passed by New York State which requires that students pass five regents in order to get their non-regents diploma, Clinton was selected by Bronx High School Superintendent, Joseph DeJesus, as one of two standards schools in the Bronx. (The other school selected was Columbus High). Standards schools serve as laboratories for professional development and other initiatives emanating from the University of Pittsburgh's standards project, a model that all city schools are now following.

Being selected as a standards school has put more pressure on Wechsler and school staff to prepare junior year students for the upcoming revamped six-hour English Regents examination in June. Wechsler wants the entire junior class to pass the tough test to set an example for other Bronx high schools.

Wechsler's pride in his school's accomplishments is shared by the student body.

"It's only a matter of time when this becomes the place to be and not just Bronx Science," said one senior.

"We're very proud of where we're at right now, but there are a lot of things we could do better," said a junior, on her way towards her math mid-term.

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