The Academy for Language and Technology High School, housed in a middle school, CIS 303, offers new immigrants a safe, orderly environment and the chance to learn computer programming and maintenance. The school has a "warm and caring environment" and parents and faculty are both "enthusiastic about the school's high expectations, according to a Department of Education evaluation of the school.

All of the students are Latino, and nearly all are classified as English Language Learners. The school aims to teach students English while perfecting their Spanish. Students take a class in Native Language Arts to prepare for the Spanish language Regents exam.

Students may take classes in computer science or communiciation. In one communications class, students created advertisements, which were critiqued by Michael Arguello, the art director of Saatchi NY, a global advertising agency. {see photo at right]

Students must conform to a dress code that includes light blue shirts, black slacks or skirts, and black shoes. Students and faculty agree the school is safe and discipline is maintained, according to a 2011 DOE survey. A possible downside: the school is far from the nearest subway. The administration refused our repeated requests to visit.

Admission: Open to Spanish-speaking students who have been in the United States for less than four years. (Clara Hemphill, statistics and school website, September 2011)