A peek at the new high schools to open in September

Thirteen new high schools are opening in September, including a selective school in the Bronx, four transfer schools for older students who have been unsuccessful in traditional high schools, and several schools for students looking to learn a trade or get a headstart on a career. Brooklyn will be getting a long-awaited new neighborhood school in Sunset Park.

Eighth graders who want to revise their high school applications have until Thursday, Feb. 26 to do so. You can apply to one of the new schools or simply change the schools on your application. For the complete high school application timeline, see the Department of Education's website.

Insideschools.org has been talking to the principals of the new schools at informational fairs this month. Here's a rundown.

Bronx gets a new selective school

A new selective high school in the Bronx, The Cinema School, has already garnered a lot of press attention. It provides another option for high-achieving Bronx students and will be located in a new building adjacent to Monroe High School which it will share with a selective middle school, Mott Hall V. The school will be working closely with professional filmmakers from a non-profit organization, the Ghetto Film School. The Cinema School is seeking students with at least an 85 average and test scores of 3s and 4s on state exams.

New neighborhood school in Brooklyn

Residents of Sunset Park have long wished for a high school in their neighborhood and in September 2009 they will finally get that wish. Sunset Park High School is opening with more than 300 students in a new building. The school will be divided into three academies: business and entrepreneurship, visual and performing arts, and health and human services. Preference in admissions for the first year will be given to residents of Districts 15 and 20.

New themed schools

Most of the small high schools that have opened in the past few years have been based on a theme. This year is no exception. Two schools are specializing in business or entrepreneurship: Academy of Global Finance in Brooklyn and the Manhattan Business Academy to be housed in the Bayard Rustin High School building in Chelsea. The other popular theme is globalization and diplomacy. The Global Learning Collaborative will open in the Brandeis High School building; the High School for Language and Diplomacy, partnered with the Asia Society, will open in Washington Irving.

Career and Technical Education options

The DOE is following through on its promise to devote more resources to Career and Technical Education (CTE), also known as vocational schools. In CTE schools students may pursue certification that will allow them to obtain skilled jobs upon graduation. In Brooklyn, students can get an introduction to building and technology careers, as well as earn college credits at the City Polytechnic High School of Engineering, Architecture and Technology.

In Manhattan, students looking to enter the burgeoning environmental field can consider the Urban Assembly School for Green Careers, which will be located on Manhattan's Upper West Side in the Brandeis High School building. The non-profit Urban Assembly has opened more than a dozen small schools in the past few years, most of which have met with early success. Also, in Manhattan, sports enthusiasts can prepare for careers as marketers, entrepreneurs, and journalists at the Business of Sports School located in the Graphic Arts High School building in Midtown. The school's partner is ESPN.

In the Bronx, students will be introduced to a variety of careers, including several in medical fields, at the Bronx Career and College Preparatory High School. Students will be able to graduate as certified Emergency Medical Technicians or as nurse's aides; others will take courses at CUNY and prepare for college.

Charter schools

Four charter high schools will welcome their first class of 9th-graders in September. Both the KIPP and Achievement First charter school networks will launch their first New York City high schools, which are open to graduates of their middle schools. The Believe High Schools Network, launched in January 2008 by leaders of the Williamsburg Charter High School will open two more high schools in Brooklyn (Believe Northside High School and Believe Southside High School) modeled after Williamsburg Charter. Admissions to the Believe network schools will be determined by lottery; applications must be received by April 1, 2009 to participate.

Transfer alternative schools

Four schools are opening in the fall which will serve students 16 years old and older who are transferring from other high schools. In Manhattan, Emma Lazarus High School for English Language Learners will serve new immigrants between the ages of 16-20 who have at least one year of high school experience. Located in Chinatown, the school will share a building with Pace High School and MS 131. Also in Manhattan, Innovation Diploma Plus, opening in the  Brandeis High School building, will push students to learn through hands-on projects and provide paid internships to 90 students. Unlike most new schools that open in an existing school building,  East Brooklyn Community High School will open in a new building in Canarsie. It is targeting students who have been truant or who have dropped out of high school, and will provide intense counseling for students and their families. No location has been announced yet for the High School for Excellence and Innovation. Interested students should contact the schools directly for information on how to apply.

-Insideschools staff, Feb. 24, 2009