Martin Luther King Jr. Educational Complex
NEW YORK NY 10023 Map
Insideschools review
The Martin Luther King Jr. Educational Complex near Lincoln Center houses six small schools with themes that range from science and law to the arts. The building, long known for its champion soccer team, is calmer and more orderly than it was a decade ago. Several of the small schools have strong academics, good attendance and high graduation rates. However, not all of the small schools have been successful. Security remains tight: Students must pass through metal detectors to go to class. The schools in the building share a library, a cafeteria, gyms and sports teams.
Manhattan/Hunter College High School of Science, on the top floor of the building, offers students a demanding college prep curriculum. All seniors take their academic classes on the Hunter College Campus on the Upper East Side and are eligible for free tuition if they attend Hunter after graduating from high school. The school has strong teaching, a high graduation rate, and a good record of college acceptances.
The High School of Law, Advocacy, and Community Justice has better than average rates of attendance and graduation. Several teachers are also lawyers. Students may study legal concepts and learn how city government works. Teachers say they encourage student to apply to their “dream” college.
At the High School for Arts, Imagination, and Inquiry, the High School of the Arts and Technology, and the Urban Assembly School for Media Studies, the arts are woven into regular academic classes. The Department of Education has announced plans to close Manhattan Theatre Lab High School because of poor academic performance.
Martin Luther King High School was divided into small schools beginning in 2002 in an attempt to improve safety and academic performance. Metal detectors were added after a shooting and a sexual assault in the 1990s. In 2002, shortly before the DOE announced that it would phase out Martin Luther King, a student shot two other students inside the building after sneaking through a side door. Nonetheless, the old Martin Luther King High School had a small group of academically serious students -- even one who came in 10th in a prestigious national science competition. (Clara Hemphill, January 2012)
(Photos by Loni Fredryx)
Students call teachers by their first names.
The atmosphere is informal.
At the Urban Assembly High School of Media Studies, students watch documentaries and learn to make their own.
The schools share sports teams.
and a library.
All schools in the building share a cafeteria
In a "virtual enterprise" class, students create their own businesses and dress for success, like this student CEO.
as well as studio art and technology classes.
offers a regular academic program,
The fourth school in the building, the High School of Arts and Technology,
Or Time magazine covers--to explain themes in English and history.
Teachers use art--such as New Yorker covers--
But small classes mean students get lots of attention.
Attendance is a challenge.
Art is integrated into history lessons.
At a third small school in the building,
Attendance and graduation rates are above average for the city.
Some of the teachers are also lawyers.
Teachers use legal themes in their history and English classes.
Principal Doreen Conwell leads another small school in the building, Law, Advocacy and Community Justice.
Senior year, they take all their classes at Hunter College on the Upper East Side.
Students follow a demanding college prep curricum.
The top floor houses Manhattan/Hunter High School of Science, a selective program.
The classrooms don't have windows, but the corridors are sunny.
Students enter at the side of the building, where they pass through metal detectors.
The Martin Luther King Educational Complex, home of a championship soccer team, houses six small schools.
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