Martin Van Buren High School, opened in 1955, counts among its former students two Nobel Laureates, including 2012 Economics Nobel Prize winner, Alvin Roth, who designed New York City’s high school admissions system. The building occupies an entire city block and is surrounded by playing fields. There are no metal detectors.

Sam Sochet, appointed principal in July 2012, has brought new energy and positive changes to a school that has suffered from a bad reputation in recent years, staffers told us at the high school fair. A former science teacher at Thomas Edison High School, Sochet has introduced accelerated academic programs in an attempt to attract stronger students to the school, a guidance counselor said.

Students with middle school grades of 85 or higher may apply to a pre-engineering/robotics program. The school also has an honors program called The Scholars Institute. Students who passed the Algebra and Living Environment Regents in 8^th grade may take physics and Intermediate algebra/trigonometry in 9^th grade. Juniors and seniors may take Advanced Placement classes in biology, calculus, English composition, English literature and United States history. The “scholars” are required to participate in community service projects and extra-curricular activities.

Health Career Professions and the Center for Natural/Behavioral Sciences are open to incoming students with solid-to-strong grades. Programs in business and forensics science are open to a range of students.

Parent leaders at Van Buren campaigned successfully to remove long-time principal, Marilyn Shevell, in 2012. Under her leadership, fights were common and barely half of the students said they felt safe, according to the 2011-12 Learning Environment Survey.

Students may participate in a range of sports teams and clubs, such as the American Sign Language club and a robotics team (which peforms in regional competitions. )

Special education: There are self-contained classes, ICT (Integrated Collaborative Teaching) classes and a program for hearing-impaired students.

Admissions: Zoned school. Admissions priorities vary by program. (Laura Zingmond, statistics, new reports and interviews, October, 2012)