1. Staten Island Technical High School
485 Clawson St., Staten Island
ADMISSION: SHSAT exam
ENROLLMENT: 1,020
AVERAGE CLASS SIZE: 30
AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE: 96%
DOE GRADE: A
GRADUATION RATE: 100%
COLLEGE READY: 100%
COLLEGE
ENROLLMENT: 99%
# TAKING SAT: 222
AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE: 1971
# TAKING AP TESTS: 530
AP PASS RATE: 90%
The city’s best-kept secret is out. This close-knit, spirited school, which offers talented kids a wealth of opportunities, is drawing more “off-islanders” from Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens.
All students take a year of computer-assisted design and robotics. Last year, students built a motorized wheelchair designed to be more comfortable, as requested by users. “It’s about finding a solution for real-world problems,” said Assistant Principal Mark Erlenwein. State-of-the-art labs include tools such as 3-D printers. Every student will now take a semester of TV production in the new studios.
And everyone takes at least three years of Russian, the only world language offered since the Cold War ended in the late ’80s; the school’s mascot is Cheburashka, a cute, big-eared Russian Mickey Mouse. Some go on to AP Russian or spend senior year in Moscow at sister school Gymnasium 1567. “Tech” has met a growing demand for AP classes, but may limit the numbers taken at a time. “We don’t want to become an overly competitive pressure cooker,’’ Erlenwein said. The day is packed. Some kids take a 7 a.m. “zero period” College Now or band class, then nine regular periods, and stay into the night for 31 sports teams — including last year’s PSAL football champs — 69 clubs, SING! or theater rehearsals, and charity work.
2. Bronx High School of Science
75 W. 205th St., The Bronx
ADMISSION: SHSAT exam
ENROLLMENT: 3,017
AVERAGE CLASS SIZE: 31
AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE: 97%
DOE GRADE: A
GRADUATION RATE: 99%
COLLEGE READY: 100%
COLLEGE
ENROLLMENT: 99%
# TAKING SAT: 757
AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE: 1968
# TAKING AP TESTS: 1443
AP PASS RATE: 89%
This prestigious school boasts seven Nobel laureates and six Pulitzer Prize winners among alumni. It encourages pupils to “think scientifically” in classes like combinatorics and number theory, optics and lasers, and multivariable calculus. The workload is grueling, the classes crammed, but students enjoy a collegial, open campus. The school offers an astounding 33 AP classes, plus nine world languages, including Greek and Hebrew, and electives such as Holocaust studies and digital photography. Students study animal behavior at the Bronx Zoo and astronomy in the school’s own planetarium. Extracurriculars include oceanography, music and theater, 80 clubs and 30-plus sports teams. Faculty unrest has marred the school, with more than a third of social-studies teachers leaving last year, following an exodus of English and math teachers since 2009. Critics call 11-year Principal Valerie Reidy abusive and data-driven. Reidy is bent on giving grads the top “credentials,” she told New York Magazine. “That’s the game we’re in.”
3. Townsend Harris High School
149-11 Melbourne Ave., Queens
ADMISSION: Grades, above 90th percentile on state tests
ENROLLMENT: 1,098
AVERAGE CLASS SIZE: 30
AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE: 97%
DOE GRADE: A
GRADUATION RATE: 100%
COLLEGE READY: 100%
COLLEGE
ENROLLMENT: 100%
# TAKING SAT: 280
AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE: 1925
# TAKING AP TESTS: 614
AP PASS RATE: 77%
From cancer research to the classics, this superb school with a focus on the humanities encourages motivated students to “leave my city greater than I found it.” All classes are honors, AP or college level. Everyone knows each other but it’s big enough to offer diverse courses. An extra, eighth period was squeezed into the day, partly by shaving off time for passing in the halls. Housed at Queens College, students use the campus gym, library and cafeteria, and seniors earn 12 free college credits. The building boasts its own DNA lab and a new TV studio. Students take at least three years of world language, including two of Greek or Latin. Last year’s Project Spirit welcomed soldiers returning home with shoeboxes of supplies. Bursting with academic teams, sports and 40 clubs, including Glamour Gals and Guys, who do manicures at nursing homes.
4. High School of American Studies at Lehman College
2925 Goulden Ave., The Bronx
ADMISSION: SHSAT exam
ENROLLMENT: 371
AVERAGE CLASS SIZE: 22
AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE: 96%
DOE GRADE: A
GRADUATION RATE: 98%
COLLEGE READY: 100%
COLLEGE
ENROLLMENT: 94%
# TAKING SAT: 89
AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE: 1885
# TAKING AP TESTS: 258
AP PASS RATE: 81%
History rules at this intimate school, which draws bright kids, many aiming to become lawyers, journalists, teachers, and politicians. Students take three years of US history, exploring issues in depth. To study the New Deal, classes examine primary documents and travel to places like upstate Hyde Park, FDR’s hometown. They also explore current events. Kids studying the Works Progress Administration created glass mosaics for public art in The Bronx. Those delving into the Roaring ’20s and Harlem Renaissance researched gravestones at Woodlawn Cemetery. The building is small, but students share the Lehman College gym, theater and dining hall, and take electives on campus. The atmosphere is warm and supportive, a”school where nobody is anonymous,” says Principal Alessandro Weiss. The Senators boys basketball team made the playoffs in February for the first time.
5. Queens High School for the Sciences at York College
94-50 159 St., Queens
ADMISSION: SHSAT exam
ENROLLMENT: 408
AVERAGE CLASS SIZE: 25
AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE: 97%
DOE GRADE: A
GRADUATION RATE: 97%
COLLEGE READY: 100%
COLLEGE
ENROLLMENT: 97%
# TAKING SAT: 91
AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE: 1873
# TAKING AP TESTS: 219
AP PASS RATE: 77%
Get the rigor of a specialized school in a nurturing environment. All students, mainly aiming for careers in medicine or research, take four years of science and math — and most take a second math or science class each year. It offers 14 APs; new electives include Forensics, Biology of the Brain and Behavior, Accounting 101, and Introduction to Video. The school shares a building at York College with the nursing program. Students use the college cafeteria, library, gym and pool, and take classes for college credit. The school enjoys partnerships with Mount Sinai School of Medicine, the 92nd Street Y and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Besides academic teams, the school offers a handful of sports and 14 clubs.
6. High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College
138 Convent Ave., Manhattan
ADMISSION: SHSAT exam
ENROLLMENT: 407
AVERAGE CLASS SIZE: 23
AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE: 94%
DOE GRADE: A
GRADUATION RATE: 93%
COLLEGE READY: 98%
COLLEGE
ENROLLMENT: 93%
# TAKING SAT: 110
AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE: 1807
# TAKING AP TESTS: 190
AP PASS RATE: 65%
Talented students interested in pre-med and engineering attend this “hidden treasure” where many teachers were professional engineers. Literacy crosses the curriculum — for instance, math classes read books like “Letters to a Young Mathematician.” Students earn 12 college credits at City College of New York, and use campus amenities. Juniors and seniors do lab research or rounds at Mount Sinai Hospital. Last year a student published a study on malignant fibroids. Offers German — “the language of engineers.” Several students study abroad at the Goethe Institut. A popular club, New York City Eats, feeds off a gastronomy, course on the history and manufacture of food. The school has beefed up its boys and girls sports teams.
7. Brooklyn Technical High School
29 Fort Greene Place, Brooklyn
ADMISSION: SHSAT exam
ENROLLMENT: 5,140
AVERAGE CLASS SIZE: 32
AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE: 96%
DOE GRADE: B
GRADUATION RATE: 93%
COLLEGE READY: 97%
COLLEGE
ENROLLMENT: 87%
# TAKING SAT: 1,143
AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE: 1821
# TAKING AP TESTS: 2254
AP PASS RATE: 74%
The city’s largest specialized school boasts a diverse student body. At the end of sophomore year, students pick a major in which they spend two periods a day in junior and senior years. Offers a whopping 31 AP options, two online. The block-long building boasts a two-story woodworking shop, 3-D animation and robotics labs, a 3,100-seat auditorium and a basement Olympic-sized pool. Kids eat lunch in shifts of 1,000 in a massive cafeteria. While some feel lost in a sea of 5,300 brilliant minds, many find niches in a spectacular array of extracurriculars, including 16 sports, and 60 clubs from Software Development to Scrabble. Writers wield wit on Tech’s satirical newspaper, The Radish. Alumni have raised a record $21 million for upgrades and extras.
8. Eleanor Roosevelt High School
411 E. 76th St., Manhattan
ADMISSION: Grades, test scores; attendance
ENROLLMENT: 499
AVERAGE CLASS SIZE: 28
AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE: 96%
DOE GRADE: A
GRADUATION RATE: 100%
COLLEGE READY: 96%
COLLEGE
ENROLLMENT: 97%
# TAKING SAT: 115
AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE: 1754
# TAKING AP TESTS: 179
AP PASS RATE: 79%
Community service is the hallmark of this Upper East Side school where only 125 freshmen land seats. Art, technology and good deeds are interwoven here. “ELRO” entered the city’s “Canstruction” architecture competition. Students collected 4,100 cans of food for City Harvest, and built a giant bowling alley to illustrate their theme: Strike out Hunger. The “Making a Difference Club” raised money for orphaned baby elephants. Science and English are required all four years, 13 APs offered. Principal Dimitri Saliani, teaching governmentand politics, has students create blogs on democracy in various countries. The Model UN team visited China and Russia last year, the animation class went to MIT. Successful in sports played at nearby facilities.
9. Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School Of Music & Art and Performing Arts
100 Amsterdam Ave., Manhattan
ADMISSION: Audition or art portfolio
ENROLLMENT: 2,545
AVERAGE CLASS SIZE: 32
AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE: 95%
DOE GRADE: A
GRADUATION RATE: 98%
COLLEGE READY: 89%
COLLEGE
ENROLLMENT: 86%
# TAKING SAT: 575
AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE: 1699
# TAKING AP TESTS: 696
AP PASS RATE: 70%
“Fame!” The acclaimed school near Lincoln Center draws talented teens passionate about the arts. Famous alums include Nicki Minaj. Molly Ranson, a 2007 grad, was nominated for the 2012 Best Actress Drama Desk Award for her starring role in the musical “Carrie.” Students take four periods a day in a specialty: visual art, vocal and instrumental music, dance, drama or technical theater. Instructors include pros from the Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera. Last year, students performed “Life of the Party,” an opera written for the school by the “Legally Blonde” composers. The school has a 1,150-seat concert hall; 500-seat ampitheater, and 150-seat “black box” theatre. Offers 17 APs, plus Japanese and romance languages, 22 sports and 50 clubs.
10. Bard High School Early College
525 E. Houston St., Manhattan
ADMISSION: Grades, test scores, attendance
ENROLLMENT: 588
AVERAGE CLASS SIZE: 22
AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE: 95%
DOE GRADE: B
GRADUATION RATE: 98%
COLLEGE READY: 96%
COLLEGE
ENROLLMENT: 96%
# TAKING SAT: 118
AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE: 1920
# TAKING AP TESTS: None
Fast-tracked students in this demanding school complete their high school requirements in two years, then earn an associate degree at Bard College the next two years. Grads “transfer” to four-year colleges with up to 60 credits under their belt. The pace can be too punishing for some, who transfer out. Teachers with Ph.D.s lead smaller, seminar-style classes. Extras include concerts, theater, a literary magazine and clubs from karaoke and break dancing to Future Doctors and Scientists. Sports played at Chelsea Piers.
Where’s Stuyvesant?
Unranked: Stuyvesant High School
345 Chambers St, Manhattan
ADMISSION: SHSAT exam
ENROLLMENT: 3,287
AVERAGE CLASS SIZE: 31
AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE: 97%
DOE GRADE: A
GRADUATION RATE: 97%
COLLEGE READY: 99%
# STUDENTS TAKING SAT: 813
AVERAGE TOTAL SAT SCORE: 2090
# STUDENTS TAKING AP TESTS: 1,433
AP PASS RATE: 96%
Based on data alone, this perennial top performer still comes in at No. 1. But The Post leaves Stuyvesant unranked this year because recent scandals have cast doubt on some of its statistics. During a June 18 language test, a junior was caught using a cellphone, banned in city schools, to send answers to 70 students. Other exams are now under scrutiny. Teachers and students described a “culture of cheating.” The scandal claimed the school’s principal, Stanley Teitel, who retired last month. By any measure, Stuyvesant remains an educational gem. More than 28,000 compete for 935 seats. Last year’s class had 13 semifinalists in the 2012 Intel Science Talent Search. A new team is working to repair a dented reputation.