Our Insights
What’s Special
Strong emphasis on research, writing and public speaking; students study American Sign Language
The Downside
Student attendance needs to improve
At Landmark High School, students speak up, reflect, and handle challenging work. Instead of Regents exams, they do projects and research papers, presenting them to peers and teachers. The small size allows teachers and staff to know students well.
Landmark is part of the New York Performance Standards Consortium, which exempts students from taking Regents exams in all subjects except for English. In 11th and 12th grades, students complete PBATs (performance-based assessment tasks), which involve research, writing, and presentations in English, math, history, and science on self-chosen topics. Examples include a math analysis of sunrise and sunset patterns, a science paper on how gender and age influence the way people adapt to visual distortions caused by prisms, and an English paper exploring the concept of happiness in capitalist societies.
Landmark students follow a similar course sequence to other city schools but with more in-depth exploration. Teachers encourage adaptability in problem-solving. All grades and subjects focus on projects, presentations, reading, writing, and engaging discussions.
Every year during “mini PBAT week,” younger Landmark students present their work to peers instead of taking traditional Regents or end-of-semester exams. In 10th-grade English students deliver speeches and receive feedback on style and content. Upperclassmen complete their full PBATs, including a rigorous oral defense. For example, a 12th-grader might analyze A Farewell to Arms through a Marxist lens, all while handling challenging questions and feedback.
Despite Landmark’s strengths, some challenges persist such as student attendance, which is improving, but has a way to go. And many students miss a month or more of school. The school's four-year graduation rate is also below the city average.
This school welcomes and supports new immigrants by using proven strategies from the International Model schools. Teachers, trained with Project Soaring, incorporate group work, small discussions, varied text presentations (charts, graphs, videos, varied fonts), and support in both native and target languages to help students succeed.
All students learn American Sign Language for their foreign language and may also take Spanish as an elective. Other electives change year to year, but have included journalism, creative writing, music production, barbering, cooking, film appreciation, anime, SAT prep and computer programming.
Several Advanced Placement courses are offered, and starting in 10th grade, students can take college courses for free at the high school or at another high school in the building. Partner colleges include Manhattan Borough Community College, John Jay College, and Baruch College.
Teachers act as advisers, meeting with small student groups regularly and monitoring their progress. One parent said she appreciates the open communication, like texting her child’s adviser and getting updates on college admissions.
A full-time college adviser helps students secure part- and full-tuition scholarships and assists non-college-bound students with job placement. The college office has guided students to a range of schools, including CUNY’s, SUNY’s, Barnard, Dickinson, George Washington University and more.
SPECIAL EDUCATION: The school offers ICT classes (a general education teacher and a special education teacher work together in the same classroom), SETSS (a special ed teacher provides extra help in regular classes), and a PBAT prep class for students with special needs. A full-time literacy specialist provides reading intervention in small groups using the REWARDS program, which aims to boost reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension by focusing on decoding multisyllabic words. (Laura Zingmond, interview and web reports, August 2024)
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School Stats
Academics
Students
Race/Ethnicity
Safety & Vibe
Faculty & Staff
Advanced Courses
Calculus
Computer Science
Physics
Advanced Foreign Language
AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science
AP/IB Math or Science
Not offered in 2021-21Music
College Readiness
Programs & Admissions
From the 2024 High School DirectoryLandmark High School (M91A)
Program Description:
We are a small, college-preparatory school that offers a challenging academic curriculum with an emphasis on reading, collaboration, and project-based learning. All students have the opportunity to graduate with 13 college credits through our College Now For All initiative. We are part of the NY Consortium, and students present 6 PBATs (performance-based assessment tasks) before a committee in order to graduate. Our advisory program supports a close-knit, positive learning culture.
Offerings
From the 2024 High School DirectoryLanguage Courses
American Sign Language
Advanced Courses
Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP Biology, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Seminar, AP United States History, Calculus (Advanced Math), Chemistry (Advanced Science), ELA (College Course [Credited])
Boys PSAL teams
Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Soccer, Volleyball, Wrestling
Girls PSAL teams
Basketball, Bowling, Softball, Tennis, Volleyball
Read about admissions, academics, and more at this school on NYCDOE’s MySchools
Contact & Location
Location
351 West 18 Street
Manhattan
NY
10011
Trains: to 18th St; , , , to 14th St
Buses: M11, M12, M14A-SBS, M14D-SBS, M20, M23-SBS, M55, M7, SIM1C, SIM33C, SIM3C, SIM4C
Contact
Other Details
This school shares the Bayard Rustin Educational Campus with five other schools
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