Manhattan Business Academy

Manhattan Business Academy exposes students to marketing, advertising and accounting, and gives them the chance to create mock businesses in the Virtual Enterprise program. Students also get a chance to sail on the Hudson River as part of partnership with a nonprofit organization.

The school prides itself on its safe and nurturing tone. Each teacher serves as an adviser for a group of students. The adviser makes sure students get to school on time and checks in frequently with their families. Parents are trained on a computer program that allows them to see the day-to-day progress of their kids, and teachers use this same program to compare notes with one another.

On school surveys, students say they feel safe and respected, and experience little bullying. Teachers say they work well together.

Dance, music, theater and visual arts round out the academics. Despite the school’s small size, students say there are enough programs, classes and activities to keep them interested, according to school surveys. The Chill Snowboarding and Surf program is a popular club, according to the school's website.

A downside is the attendance rate; many students miss more than 18 days of school, which slows instruction, requiring teachers to take additional time to help teens make up for gaps in learning.

Many 9th-graders enter school performing below grade level on math and reading tests, according to the yearly plan. There are few advanced classes, and teens who have been well prepared academically in middle school might not find a lot of challenge. While the school offers four years of math (including precalculus and statistics) and four years of science (including chemistry and environmental science), it does not offer calculus or physics. There is a college counselor as well as College Now classes.

Manhattan Business Academy began as a small learning community within Bayard Rustin High School; it became a school in its own right in 2009, when the Department of Education decided to phase out Bayard Rustin. The school shares the Bayard Rustin building with Landmark High School, Humanities Prep, James Baldwin, Hudson High School of Learning Technologies and Quest to Learn.

ADMISSIONS: Manhattan priority, with room for students outside Manhattan. The school uses the educational option admissions method, designed to ensure a mix of students of different abilities. (Lydie Raschka, web reports, March 2018)