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Bronx High School of Science
Established 1938
School type Public
Principal Valerie J. Reidy
Location 75 West 205th Street
Bronx, NY 10468
Phone (718) 817-7700
Enrollment approx. 2,800
Colors Green and Gold
Homepage www.bxscience.edu

The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public high school in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx, New York City. Founded in 1938 with a traditional focus on mathematics and science, Bronx Science is one of a triumvirate of elite public schools in New York City, and is often hailed as one of the best high schools in the United States. The school is operated by the New York City Department of Education.

Together with Stuyvesant High School (in Manhattan) and Brooklyn Technical High School, Bronx Science is one of three original Specialized Science High Schools of New York City. Admission to the three schools is by competitive examination only, and only residents of the five boroughs of the City of New York are eligible to attend.

It is a member of the NCSSSMST. On average, 99.9% of Bronx Science graduates go on to four-year colleges. Many attend Ivy League and other highly selective schools.

History

The Bronx High School of Science was founded in 1938 by resolution of the Board of Education of the City of New York with Dr. Morris Meister as the first principal of the school and a large contingent of faculty from Stuyvesant High School. The faculty and the student body were given the use of an antiquated Gothic-gargoyled edifice located at Creston Avenue and 184th Street. The building, built in 1918 for Evander Childs High School, was successively occupied by Walton High School (1930) and by an annex of DeWitt Clinton High School (1935).

Bronx Science started with about 150 ninth year students and 250 tenth year students, the remaining facilities of the building being used by DeWitt Clinton. As Bronx Science became larger, the Clinton contingent was gradually returned to its main building. During their joint occupation, which lasted for 2 years, until 1940, the two schools had separate teaching staff and classes, but the same supervision and administration.

In the year 1946, as a result of the efforts of Dr. Meister, the faculty, and the Parents Association, the school became co-ed. From the very beginning a campaign for a new building was initiated by the Parents Association, and sparked by the tireless dedication of Dr. Meister. In February 1958, Dr. Morris Meister, after 20 years as the principal of the school, resigned to become the first president of the newly organized Bronx Community College. Dr. Alexander Taffel succeeded Dr. Meister as principal.

Under Dr. Taffel's guidance, plans for a new building and equipment were completed. On March 3, 1959, students and faculty occupied the building for the first time. They entered a school equipped with the most modern facilities and laboratories. The problem of moving the library books from the old building to the new was solved in typical Bronx Science manner. On Friday afternoon each student took home five library books from the old library, and on Monday returned them to the new library.

When Bronx Science celebrated its silver anniversary in June 1963, President Kennedy hailed it as "a significant and pathfinding example of a special program devoted to the development of the student gifted in science and mathematics." The President had occasion to know the quality of the school's product since he had recently selected one of its graduates, thirty-five-year-old Dr. Harold Brown, of the class of 1943, for the position of Director of Defense Research and Engineering.

When Dr. Taffel retired in 1979, the former chairman of the Biological Science Department, Milton Kopelman, became Principal. Upon his retirement in 1990, Biology Assistant Principal Vincent Galasso became Principal, followed by Physical Science Department Assistant Principal Stanley Blumenstein. In 2000 Mr. William Stark, Assistant Principal of the Social Studies Department, was appointed Acting Principal. Upon his failure to be selected as Principal, he retired, and was followed in 2001 by Mr. Galasso. After his one term, Ms. Valerie J. Reidy, Assistant Principal of the Biology department, was appointed the school's first woman principal in September 2001.

Enrollment

The Bronx High School of Science has a student body of about 2,800 students. Admission to Bronx Science is based exclusively on an entrance examination, known as the Specialized Science High School Admissions Test (SSHSAT), open to all eighth and ninth grade New York City students. Each year, thousands of students from the five boroughs of New York City take a comprehensive examination containing both math and verbal questions. Out of the 26,000 students taking the entrance examination only about 800 are admitted. The exam is constantly being updated for greater testing accuracy, and the cut-off score required for admission to each of the six specialized high schools varies from year to year depending upon seat availability.

The student body ranges from about 2600 to 2800 and comprises one of the most diversified such groups in the world. Almost every ethnic group in New York City can be found at Bronx Science. Over 40% of the school is of Asian descent. The ratio of boys to girls at Science ranges from 51:49 to 49:51, averaging 50:50.

There are no feeder patterns. All New York City students entering high school must apply to schools, as there are no zoning boundaries for high schools in New York City.

Bus service for Queens students

Bronx Science's Queens students make up the majority of the school. Private bus lines that service the school include Atlantic Express, Gagnon's Bronx Science Bus Service, and Vallo Transportation; the latter two are exclusive Queens services.*

Both bus companies frequently sponsor school events and fundraisers.*

The X32 bus route also serves those who live in Northeastern/Northern Queens.

Notable alumni

Bronx Science counts seven Nobel Prize winning physicists among its graduates:

No other secondary school in the world boasts 7 Nobel laureates as alumni. If Bronx Science were a country, it would rank 10th for number of Nobel laureates (as of 2003).

Bronx Science also has five Pulitzer Prize-winning graduates:

Six alumni have won the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest scientific honor bestowed by the U.S. President and thus far awarded to 425 scientists and engineers. Bronx Science also counts among its graduates twenty-nine current members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, an honor attained by only about 2,000 American scientists. Twenty-two current members of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and ten current members of the Institute of Medicine are Bronx Science graduates.

Some notable graduates include:

References

External links

Educational institutions established in the 1930s | High schools in New York | Magnet schools | Magnet schools in New York | National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology schools | New York City Department of Education | Public education in New York City | Specialized High Schools of New York City

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Bronx High School of Science".

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