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Our Insights

What’s Special

Industry internships; students make take Syracuse University courses

The Downside

Low graduation rate; building has few windows

The Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers was founded to expose students to the business and finance industries through coursework and extra curricular activities. For years the school has struggled with low graduation rates and poor attendance, and in the past decade its student population has declined from roughly 2500 students to under 300.

The school's SUPA (the Syracuse University Project Advance Academy) program offers qualifying students advanced work and the opportunity to graduate with up to 30 college credits by taking courses certified by Syracuse University, Advanced Placement classes and courses at Borough of Manhattan or LaGuardia Community Colleges.

Additional partnerships with accounting, consulting and other firms provide students with mentoring, tutoring and internships. Through a program with The Financial Women’s Association, some girls are matched with a mentor from the business sector to get support with academics and exposure to career options.

Students take visual arts and learn Spanish. College Now classes at local CUNY schools are open to all qualifying students.

Naima Cook, a former special education teacher at Bronx Lab, took over as principal in August 2014.

Students interested in law can join the moot court or mock trial teams. Student government, gay-straight alliance, robotics and music club are among the selection of clubs and after-school activities.

Murry Bergtraum is housed in a fortress-like brick building with few windows, adjacent to NYPD headquarters. It shares the facilities with three other small high schools: Urban Assembly School for Emergency Management, which opened in 2013, Manhattan Early College for Advertising and the Urban Assembly Maker Academy.

There are building-wide PSAL teams.

SPECIAL EDUCATION: There are self-contained and ICT (integrated co-teaching) classes, as well as adaptive physical education. An onsite program run by District 75 integrates hearing-impaired students into Murry Bergtraum’s classes. (Laura Zingmond, web reports, November 2018)  

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School Stats

Citywide Average Key
This school is Better Near Worse than the citywide average

Academics

School
Citywide
Average daily attendance
 
80%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
60%
From the 2022-23 School Quality Guide and 2022-23 NYC School Survey

Students

130
Number of students
Citywide Average is 615

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
82%
Students with disabilities
 
17%
Multilingual learners
 
0%
From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Safety & Vibe

School
Citywide
How many students were suspended?
 
0%
How many students say they feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms and locker rooms?
 
93%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
24%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
24%
How many teachers say they would recommend this school to other families?
 
71%
From the 2022-23 NYC School Survey and 2019-20 NY State Report Card

Faculty & Staff

School
Citywide
How many teachers say the principal is an effective manager?
 
71%
3.9
Years of principal experience at this school
Citywide Average is 7
129
Number of students for each guidance counselor or social worker
Citywide Average is 191
How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
 
93%
Are teachers effective?
From the 2022-23 NYC School Survey, 2022-23 School Quality Guide, 2021-22 Report on School-Based Staff Demographics, 2023 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

Not offered in 2021-21

Computer Science

 
30%

Physics

Not offered in 2021-21

Advanced Foreign Language

Not offered in 2021-21

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

 
21%

AP/IB Math or Science

 
15%

Music

 
21%
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?
 
28%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
0%
How many students who have graduated from this high school stay in college for at least 3 semesters?
 
48%
From the 2020-21 and 2022-23 School Quality Guide

How many graduates who are eligible received Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) funding to attend a NYS college?
 
57%
This shows how well this school supports low-income students to get funding for college.
How many of those TAP recipients made it through college? Learn more
From unpublished, anonymized student-level data for the class of 2016-17 provided by the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) in coordination with the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), brought to you by
How many students filled out a FAFSA form by the end of their senior year?
 
92%
From the 2022-23 FAFSA data released by Federal Student Aid, brought to you by Visit Understanding FAFSA for help with the FAFSA and financial aid.
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

The Ninth Grade Academy (M50B)

Admissions Method: Open

Program Description:

Well-rounded liberal arts curriculum and opportunities to prepare students for post-secondary options.

The Blazer Preparatory Academy (M50C)

Admissions Method: Ed. Opt.

Program Description:

Students will focus on a liberal arts program with an emphasis on math and science and will work towards earning college-level courses through Advance Placement and Syracuse University Project Advance coursework.

Offerings

From the 2024 High School Directory

Advanced Courses

Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP Biology, AP Computer Science Principles, AP English Language and Composition, AP United States History, Chemistry (Advanced Science), Other (College Course [Credited]), Social Studies (Advanced Placement)

Boys PSAL teams

Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Indoor Track, Lacrosse, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Volleyball, Wrestling

Girls PSAL teams

Basketball, Cross Country, Flag Football, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, Softball, Volleyball

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

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

411 Pearl Street
Manhattan NY 10038

Trains: 1 Line, E Line to Park Place; 2 Line, 3 Line, A Line, C Line to Fulton St; 4 Line, 5 Line, 6 Line, J Line, Z Line to Chambers St; N Line, Q Line to Canal St; R Line to City Hall

Buses: BM1, BM2, BM3, BM4, BxM18, M103, M15, M15-SBS, M22, M55, M9, QM11, QM25, QM7, QM8, SIM1, SIM10, SIM11, SIM15, SIM1C, SIM2, SIM3, SIM31, SIM32, SIM33C, SIM34, SIM35, SIM3C, SIM4, SIM4C, SIM4X, SIM5, SIM6, X27, X28, X37, X38


Contact

Principal: Joyell Simmons

Parent Coordinator: Shakeara Knowlin

Phone: 212-964-9610

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? Yes

This school shares the Murry Bergtraum Educational Campus with three other schools

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? No

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