Our Insights
What’s Special
Business and finance classes
The Downside
Ten-story building presents challenges; no regular-sized gymnasium
Just blocks from Wall Street, the High School of Economics and Finance offers children the chance to draw up a business plan, study accounting and meet professionals in the field. Students commute to the school from all over the city. Most children graduate on time and go on to college.
The summer before school begins, 9th-graders participate in a four-week summer program run by Moody’s, an investment company at the World Trade Center, and earn a high school credit in the process, according to the school website.
Throughout the year, students wear business casual clothes on Wednesdays to hear industry professionals speak on topics such as the role of the Federal Reserve Bank, public speaking or the importance of global markets. The Theatre Arts and Dance Alliance also runs Wednesday workshops.
The school's longtime partnerships add heft to the finance and economics theme. In addition to the W!SE Institute, which organizes the Wednesday workshops, NAF (formerly the National Academy Foundation) designs lessons that boost financial literacy and college readiness. In Virtual Enterprises International (VEI), teens are “employees” who develop a business plan, set up a website, pay wages and taxes, and trade with other VEI schools worldwide.
Economics and Finance accommodates students with a range of abilities. Teens follow math lessons at their own pace; they watch 20 minute video lessons at home, which they may pause or repeat, then they practice skills in the classroom, indpendently or in small groups, a strategy called the “flipped classroom.” The school adopted this method after “teaching and learning” was flagged as an area of concern on the city’s 2016 quality review. Principal Michael Stanzione says he has seen more consistency across classrooms and children more interested in their classwork with this approach.
All students take four years of math and science. Seniors write a 10-page research paper that they present to a panel of staff. About 100 students take college-level courses. Two courses, economics and communication, are conveniently offered within the high school building.
The school location and building present some challenges. Economics and Finance draws children from all over the city, and this impacts attendance, Stanzione says. The 10-story building has classrooms on floors 2 through 7 and a small gym in the basement. Teens don’t always relish walking flights of stairs, and teachers don’t like policing the elevators. “It becomes an issue,” the principal says. Deans and administrators are posted in the hallways during class changes. Students are allowed to use the elevators before 8:30 a.m., after school, and with a teacher escort if they have a class change that takes a lot of time.
Ninth-graders take part in small advisory groups with a teacher to give them extra support. Juniors who have an average above 8O and all seniors may go out for lunch. Students may join PSAL sports or join a number of clubs after school.
Ninety-eight percent of graduates go on to two- and four-year colleges, including CUNY and SUNY schools. A few are accepted to highly competitive colleges, says assistant principal Matthew Willie, such as Columbia, the University of Michigan, Baruch, and Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. (Lydie Raschka, web reports and interviews, February 2018)
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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
Music
Not offered in 2021-21College Readiness
Programs & Admissions
From the 2024 High School DirectoryEconomics and Finance (M79A)
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 DirectoryLanguage Courses
Spanish
Advanced Courses
Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP Computer Science Principles, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Environmental Science, AP European History, AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP Statistics, AP United States History, Chemistry (Advanced Science), Econ/Gov (College Course [Credited]), Physics (Advanced Science), World Languages (Advanced World Languages)
Boys PSAL teams
Basketball, Cross Country, Handball, Outdoor Track
Girls PSAL teams
Basketball, Cross Country, Flag Football, Outdoor Track, Softball, Tennis
Read about admissions, academics, and more at this school on NYCDOE’s MySchools
Contact & Location
Location
100 Trinity Place
Manhattan
NY
10006
Trains: to Rector St; , , , , , to Fulton St; , to Wall St; to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall; to World Trade Center; to Cortlandt St
Buses: BM1, BM2, BM3, BM4, BxM18, M103, M15, M15-SBS, M20, M22, M55, M9, QM11, QM25, QM7, QM8, SIM1, SIM10, SIM11, SIM15, SIM1C, SIM2, SIM3, SIM31, SIM32, SIM33, SIM33C, SIM34, SIM35, SIM3C, SIM4, SIM4C, SIM4X, SIM5, SIM6, SIM7, SIM9, X27, X28, X37, X38
Contact
Other Details
This school is in its own building.
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