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Our Insights

What’s Special

Strong enviromental studies curriculum; lots of internships and honors and college-level courses

The Downside

Graduation rate for students with special needs has a ways to go

The High School for Environmental Studies (HSES) is changing for the better thanks to a renewed commitment to its environmental theme, more support for struggling students, and a nice array of elective, honors and college-level courses. The school has an impressive range of partnerships, and many students participate in internships throughout the city.

Though the highly selective Honors Academy only admits a small group of students, there are plenty of honors classes and college-level courses open to all who qualify. We met several 11th-graders in an Advanced Placement (AP) biology class who were taking a challenging load of AP and honors classes even though they weren't in the Honors Academy.

During our visit, we saw lots of engaging instruction. Many classrooms were nicely decorated and lined with student projects; students seemed relaxed and attentive. Students write essays in all subjects, not just English and history; hands-on work is commonplace too. The school received mainly top marks for instruction and environment in its most recent Quality Review.

“Teachers go out of their way to make the lessons relatable,” said a senior.

The school overhauled its guidance strategy to address complaints that there was not enough support for students who were falling behind. Guidance counselors now work with the same group of students for all four years, which helps the counselors get to know them better. Teachers serve as mentors to struggling students to ensure that they don’t slip through the cracks; the staff also identifies the lowest-performing third of all incoming freshman and assigns each one of them a mentor as well.

All freshman take an Intro to Environment course that was developed in partnership with the University of Vermont and Shelbourne Farms—a nonprofit that helps schools educate about sustainable farming. All 10th-graders take an ethics course, where they examine issues from both outcome-based (what’s the best or most efficient) and duty-based (what’s the most moral) perspectives. With support from Cornell University, the school is overhauling its rooftop garden to create hydroponic and aquaponic labs.

A new video and audio production studio is being built with support from CBS. Students will develop films that focus on environmental storytelling using a curriculum developed by the Kanbar Institute of Film & Television at New York University.

There’s a range of AP courses offered, including multiple sections of AP Environmental Science and BC Calculus. Students may earn college credit for taking courses in advanced ethics and economics, which were developed by the University of Vermont and SUNY College of Environment Science and Forestry, respectively.

An internship program targets mainly 10th-graders, though students in all grades may participate. Each year students fan out across the city, interning at places such as the New York Botanical Gardens, New York Hall of Science, the Manhattan Borough President’s office and the City Parks Foundation.

Foreign language instruction is offered in Spanish, Italian, Mandarin and French. There is a nice range of electives, sports and extracurricular activities. In a culinary arts class we observed, students were creating “mindful meals,” using food grown from sustainable farms.

Students may study theater, music and visual arts. Gym electives include yoga, weight training and dance, the latter taught by an instructor from the nearby Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

There is also a nice variety of boys and girls sports teams, as well as plenty of student-run clubs.

A full-time college counselor along with guidance counselors meet with 11th-graders multiple times during their scheduled English class to walk them through the application and financial aid process. Tenth-graders are introduced to the college process through an introductory seminar. Many graduates attend CUNY and SUNY schools, and some attend private and out-of-state colleges.

SPECIAL EDUCATION: The school has ICT (integrated co-teaching) classes and SETSS. (Laura Zingmond, 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?
 
92%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
85%
How many English language learners graduate in 4 years?
 
85%
Average daily attendance
 
85%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
44%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school offers enough activities and services for their children's needs?
 
71%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school works to achieve the goals of their students' IEPs?
 
71%
From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide and 2020-21 NYC School Survey

Students

1075
Number of students
Citywide Average is 615

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
71%
Students with disabilities
 
17%
Multilingual learners
 
5%
From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Safety & Vibe

School
Citywide
How many students were suspended?
 
1%
How many students say they feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms and locker rooms?
 
84%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
43%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
23%
How many teachers say they would recommend this school to other families?
 
89%
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey and 2019-20 NY State Report Card

Faculty & Staff

School
Citywide
How many teachers say the principal is an effective manager?
 
84%
1.2
Years of principal experience at this school
Citywide Average is 7
189
Number of students for each guidance counselor or social worker
Citywide Average is 157

Teachers’ Race/Ethnicity


How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
 
91%
Are teachers effective?
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey, 2021-22 School Quality Guide, 2019-20 Report on School-Based Staff Demographics, 2021 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

 
15%

Computer Science

 
2%

Physics

 
15%

Advanced Foreign Language

 
11%

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

 
32%

AP/IB Math or Science

 
27%

Music

 
23%
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?
 
65%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
80%
How many students who have graduated from this high school stay in college for at least 3 semesters?
 
81%
From the 2020-21 and 2021-22 School Quality Guide
How many students filled out a FAFSA form by the end of their senior year?
 
68%
From the 2022-23 FAFSA data released by Federal Student Aid, brought you by
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

Environmental Studies (M41C)

Admissions Method: Ed. Opt.

Program Description:

Interdisciplinary program emphasizing environmental studies: the natural environment, the urban environment, and environmental ethics. Students are expected to engage in research, environmental projects and internships, and complete a senior thesis.

Honors Academy (M41D)

Admissions Method: Screened

Program Description:

Mathematics and science research, work in university laboratories.

Offerings

From the 2024 High School Directory

Language Courses

French, Italian, Mandarin, Spanish

Advanced Courses

Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Computer Science Principles, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Environmental Science, AP Psychology, AP Statistics, AP United States Government and Politics, AP United States History, AP World History: Modern, Calculus (Advanced Math), Chemistry (Advanced Science), ELA (College Course [Credited]), Physics (Advanced Science), Social Studies (College Course [Credited]), World Languages (Advanced World Languages)

Boys PSAL teams

Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Soccer, Tennis, Volleyball

Girls PSAL teams

Basketball, Cross Country, Handball, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Volleyball

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

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

444 West 56 Street
Manhattan NY 10019

Trains: 1 Line, A Line, B Line, C Line, D Line to 59th St-Columbus Circle; E Line to 50th St; N Line, Q Line, R Line to 57th St

Buses: BxM2, M10, M104, M11, M12, M20, M31, M5, M50, M57, M66, M7


Contact

Principal: Heather Deflorio

Parent Coordinator: Jeremy Feliciano

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? Yes

This school shares a building with Independence HS

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? No

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