Top 100 Best High Schools 2013 – High School of American Studies at Lehman College – Newsweek – 48/100
Top 100 Best High Schools 2013 – High School of American Studies at Lehman College – Newsweek – 48/100
High School of American Studies at Lehman College
2925 Goulden Ave, Bronx, NY 10468, United States
The High School of American Studies at Lehman College, commonly called American Studies, is a New York City public high school that specializes in social studies, history and English.
Together with the Queens High School for the Sciences at York College and the High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College, it was one of the three smaller specialized high schools opened in 2002 by the New York City Department of Education, and it is one of the 9 Specialized High Schools in New York City. Admission is granted through a competitive examination known as the SHSAT. As a public school, American Studies has no tuition fee, and only residents of the City of New York are eligible to attend.
The school is administered by the New York City Department of Education. It receives supplementary funding from The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.
American Studies is located on the Lehman College campus in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx. It is ranked 42nd in the country by US News and World Report.
American Studies was designed as a small school for about four hundred students. It was created in 2002 along with Queens High School for the Sciences at York College, and the High School for Math, Science and Engineering at City College. New York City previously had three specialized high schools, Brooklyn Technical High School, Bronx Science, and Stuyvesant, besides LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. The three new schools were created to provide more opportunities for students beyond the previous three specialized high schools.
Unlike the other specialized high schools, American Studies puts a special focus on history (particularly American History), and all students are required to study U.S History for 3 years. Despite the school’s emphasis on history, it also offers a variety of AP classes in other subject areas, such as Calculus. Students are required to take AP World History during their Sophomore year . Some students who excel in math have the ability to take college math courses at Lehman College during their senior year.
History
In 2008, American Studies was awarded a Gold Medal by U.S. News & World Report in its ranking of the Best Public High Schools. The school was ranked 29th, beating its rivals and fellow specialized high schools Bronx High School of Science, Brooklyn Technical High School, and Stuyvesant High School.[3] In 2009, it climbed up 10 spots and was ranked as the 19th Best Public High School, claiming the top spot for all New York City High Schools and 2nd for all of New York State.
In 2012, American Studies has held on to its Gold Medal by U.S. News & World Report and was ranked 42nd out of 22,000 Public Schools in the nation. Out of the all the Specialized High Schools that were ranked in U.S. News & World Report’s Best High Schools, American Studies ranks the highest. In the same year, The New York Post ranked American Studies 4th in the state, while U.S. News & World Report ranked it 6th.
