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Our Insights

What’s Special

Non-traditional approach to learning

The Downside

Working to improve attendance

Founded in 1997, Vanguard High School is a small, open-minded school where children do not receive letter grades or take the typical array of high school tests. Instead, juniors and seniors present oral presentations in four subjects, and submit an essay, and design a presentation such as a Power Point or video.

At Vanguard, students may wear hats in class, be openly gay or an enthusiastic chemistry whiz and nobody judges. Children who crave learning their own way will enjoy the school's open, liberal approach. Even shy teens often blossom here, say parents in our comments. Ninth graders take an overnight class trip to Alley Pond as a way to make new friends. The school has a reputation for not giving up on teens, even if it takes them longer to graduate.

Vanguard belongs to the New York Performance Standards Consortium, a network of schools that use performance-based assessments (PBA’s) to determine student promotion. While most other New York state high schools require passing scores on four Regents exams to earn a high school diploma, students at Vanguard must take and pass only one: English Language Arts.

“For those of you that think PBA's are easy, think again,” wrote a parent on our website. “The performances you must give in each of the major subjects are just as difficult as sitting down taking the Regents. You have to know how to explain what you are talking about.”

Former humanities teacher William Klann took the helm in 2011 and school surveys show he is a respected leader. Staff members make themselves available before school, during lunch, and as late as 8 p.m. Teachers are experienced and seem happy: on school surveys, 100 percent say they would recommend the school to other families.

In an effort to provide more variety, especially for faster learners, Vanguard offers an internship program. Three or four times a week seniors work in settings related to their interests, such as anesthesiology, fashion, business or teaching. Advanced Placement calculus is offered, as are college-level courses through CUNY's College Now program.

The school's four-year graduation rate is mediocre, however roughly 60 percent of graduates are ready to do college-level work, which is above the citywide average. Many children come in performing at a low level but the staff does not give up on them, even if it takes longer to graduate. "If students want to stay with us, we will help them,” said assistant principal Erica Doyle.

Students who read below 5th grade level take a small class where they get extra help, and struggling math students take a basic math skills course. Students who take these remedial courses (for elective credit) also enroll in regular grade-level courses, such as a workshop in reading and writing, which is required for all freshmen and sophomores. Some children are pulled out twice a week to work in "learning labs" with a special education teacher.

One difficulty in graduating on time is uneven attendance. Parents get a message when kids are late or absent and staffers make personal phone calls to families of the absentees.

Past college acceptances include Mercy College, Virginia State, Alabama State and CUNY and SUNY schools. Students have the opportunity to participate in about ten college campus tours. A handful of seniors have gotten offers from elite schools such as Princeton, Brown and the McCauley Honors program at Hunter.

The school shares the Julia Richman Educational Complex with five other schools. (Lydie Raschka, web reports, phone call, May 2018)

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School Stats

Citywide Average Key
This school is Better Near Worse than the citywide average

Academics

School
Citywide
How many students graduate in 4 years?
 
83%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
79%
Average daily attendance
 
78%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
68%
From the 2022-23 School Quality Guide and 2022-23 NYC School Survey

Students

410
Number of students
Citywide Average is 615

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
79%
Students with disabilities
 
24%
Multilingual learners
 
6%
From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Safety & Vibe

School
Citywide
How many students were suspended?
 
2%
How many students say they feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms and locker rooms?
 
93%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
36%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
25%
How many teachers say they would recommend this school to other families?
 
83%
From the 2022-23 NYC School Survey and 2019-20 NY State Report Card

Faculty & Staff

School
Citywide
How many teachers say the principal is an effective manager?
 
83%
4.1
Years of principal experience at this school
Citywide Average is 7
429
Number of students for each guidance counselor or social worker
Citywide Average is 191
How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
 
74%
Are teachers effective?
From the 2022-23 NYC School Survey, 2022-23 School Quality Guide, 2021-22 Report on School-Based Staff Demographics, 2023 Guidance Counselor Report, and this school's most recent Quality Review Report

Advanced Courses

Which students have access to advanced courses at this school? Learn more

Calculus

 
5%

Computer Science

Not offered in 2021-21

Physics

Not offered in 2021-21

Advanced Foreign Language

Not offered in 2021-21

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

Not offered in 2021-21

AP/IB Math or Science

 
5%

Music

Not offered in 2021-21
From unpublished, anonymized data from the 2021-22 school year provided by the New York State Education Department, brought to you by

College Readiness

School
Citywide
How many students graduate with test scores high enough to enroll at CUNY without remedial help?
 
54%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
49%
How many students who have graduated from this high school stay in college for at least 3 semesters?
 
38%
From the 2020-21 and 2022-23 School Quality Guide

How many graduates who are eligible received Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) funding to attend a NYS college?
 
57%
This shows how well this school supports low-income students to get funding for college.
How many of those TAP recipients made it through college? Learn more
From unpublished, anonymized student-level data for the class of 2016-17 provided by the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) in coordination with the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), brought to you by
How many students filled out a FAFSA form by the end of their senior year?
 
86%
From the 2022-23 FAFSA data released by Federal Student Aid, brought to you by Visit Understanding FAFSA for help with the FAFSA and financial aid.
For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Programs & Admissions

From the 2024 High School Directory

College Preparatory (M95A)

Admissions Method: Ed. Opt.

Program Description:

Students' growth in understanding and thinking is assessed by researching, writing, presenting, and defending portfolios in math, science, history and literary analysis and working on in-depth projects. Students also complete an autobiography portfolio, using oral and visual components.

Offerings

From the 2024 High School Directory

Language Courses

Spanish

Advanced Courses

Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP English Literature and Composition, Comp Sci/Math Tech (College Course [Credited]), ELA (College Course [Credited]), Other (College Course [Credited]), Social Studies (College Course [Credited])

Boys PSAL teams

Basketball, Soccer, Volleyball

Girls PSAL teams

Basketball, Soccer, Volleyball

Read about admissions, academics, and more at this school on NYCDOE’s MySchools

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

317 East 67 Street
Manhattan NY 10065

Trains: 4 Line, 5 Line, N Line, Q Line, R Line to 59th St; 6 Line to 68th St-Hunter College; F Line to Lexington Av

Buses: BxM1, BxM10, BxM11, BxM3, BxM4, BxM6, BxM7, BxM8, BxM9, M1, M101, M102, M103, M15, M15-SBS, M2, M3, M31, M4, M57, M66, M72, M98, Q101, Q32, Q60, QM2, QM20, QM3


Contact

Principal: Rita Doyle

Parent Coordinator: Tenicka Norwood

Phone: 212-517-5175

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? Yes

This school shares the Julia Richman Educational Campus with four other schools

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? No

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