Bard High School Early College

Bard High School Early College
Address
525 E Houston Street New York City , New York United States
Information
Type	Public secondary, college
Established	June 2001
Founder	Leon Botstein
Dean	Stuart Stritzler-Levine
Principal	Raymond Peterson
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	Approx. 500 students
Campus	urban
Color(s)	burgundy and white
Mascot	Raptors
Affiliations	Bard College, Simon's Rock College, NYC Department of Education
Website	http://www.bard.edu/bhsec/
Students graduate with a high school diploma, an A.A. in liberal arts, and 60+ college credits.

Bard High School Early College (BHSEC), is an alternative public secondary school in New York City that allows five to six hundred highly motivated and scholastically strong students (approximately 75% of whom are female) to begin their college studies two years early. Upon entering, these students embark on a writing intensive journey and engage in far more critical thinking than does the typical high school student. BHSEC is located in the Lower East Side, Manhattan in a building previously occupied by Public School 97.

History

Founded in 2001 as a partnership of the New York City Department of Education and Bard College and originally funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the school accepts students into the ninth grade and allows them to earn both a high school diploma and an Associate of Arts (A.A.) degree in four years. BHSEC was one of the first schools in the Gates Foundation's Early College High School Initiative, which aims to improve education in the United States by introducing smaller public high schools which help remove the barriers to a college education by offering students a college education in a high school setting. Many of the ideas that BHSEC has implemented were developed at Simon's Rock College of Bard, the nation's only liberal arts college for students who are capable of doing college-level work at a younger age.

Many graduates of BHSEC transfer their 60 college credits to another college or university and finish their B.A. degrees in two more years; others opt to study for three or four years in their subsequent institutions. The tuition-free school is open to all New York City residents and attracts a highly diverse student body. Admission is highly competitive and is based on grades, writing samples, assessments and personal interviews. Several thousand applicants vie for approximately 140 seats each fall. Three classes have graduated since the opening in 2001, and the graduating class of 2005 was the first to have gone through all four years of the program.

High School

In the BHSEC program, students spend what is traditionally ninth and tenth grade finishing the bulk of their high school work. Students take the five Regents exams required for the High School Regents Diploma, which they receive in addition to the Associates of Arts degree from Bard College. Unlike most New York City High Schools, however, BHSEC does not offer courses tailored to prepare students for the Regents, nor are there any Advanced Placement courses offered (as the last two years are spent in an accredited college program).

During the Fall freshmen semester, students are enrolled in Introduction to Foreign Languages, where they get to experience each of three foreign languages: Latin, Spanish, and Chinese. At the end of the semester, students choose the language they wish to study for the next few years.

As of the semester of Fall 2005, the high school science curriculum has been revamped, and over the two years of high school, students study an "integrated science" course taught by college professors, which combines biology, chemistry and physics. Previously, students studied biochem as freshmen and chemistry as sophomores.

Early College

The two years spent in the college program are denoted First Year and Second Year (alternatively Year 1 and Year 2), respectively. As a college program, students may select their courses based primarily on their academic interests and preferences for certain professors; although, they must meet college program's core requirements. These requirements include four semesters of seminar, in which students read and discuss important literary works, two semesters of math, two semesters of laboratory science, one semester of history, one semester of literature, and two additional semesters of either social science or literature, and three credits of "doing art". Students may also create their own courses with the independent study program, provided that a faculty member is knowledgeable in the subject. Every semester, a student must take at least 15 credits, but students often take more.

Contrary to popular assumption, BHSEC offers several advanced college courses in mathematics, including Multi-variable Calculus, Graph Theory and Linear Algebra.

Faculty

The majority of BHSEC faculty members at the school hold PhDs and 100% have a masters degree or higher (2003-2004 Annual School Report). Faculty often choose to teach courses in the area of their scholarly research.

Student Life

While studies occupy much of BHSEC students' time, they are also avid participants in community events. BHSEC has a wide array of clubs, student organizations and volunteer opportunities. In keeping with BHSEC students' initiative, a student can found a club for anything as long as there is sufficient student interest. Displaying the wide variety of passions in the student body, clubs range from the long standing philosophy club, to the food lover's club, to the award-winning step team. A full list is below:

• A Deep Breath (BHSEC Literary Magazine)
• Acapella Club
• Anime Club
• Art Club
• Bard Design Club
• Book Club
• Caribbean Club
• Current Events Club
• Dance Dance Revolution Club
• Food Lover's Forum
• Foreign Film Club
• French Club
• Friends of Gauss
• Fun With Science
• Glamour Gals
• Lonely Genius Productions
• Model UN
• Modern / Spanish Dance Club
• Newspaper (Horizon)
• Philosophy Club
• Ping-Pong Club
• Politicizers (satirical newspaper)
• Queer Activists Alliance
• S+M's Strip (comic strip)
• Step Team
• Students for Human Rights
• Treasure Box

In addition, BHSEC has the Community Council, a student government consisting of three representives from each grade and faculty representatives. The council is responsible for the organization of events and activities for the school.

See also

• Early college entrance programs
• Education in New York City

Related links

• Bard High School Early College official website
• Early Entrance College Programs in USA