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The High School for Climate Justice

Grades: 9-12

Our Insights

What’s Special

Founded with collaboration of Mt. Sinai Hospital

The Downside

Low levels of academic achievement

Life Sciences was founded in 1998 in collaboration with Mt. Sinai School of Medicine to encourage black and Hispanic students to prepare for careers in medicine. Originally a combined middle and high school, it now serves only students in grades 9 to 12.

The school has had its ups and downs over the years. Attendance is poor and the graduation rate is low. Principal Kim Swanson has been the subject of unflattering stories in the New York Post, one claiming she spent thousands of dollars on a staff trip to Disneyland and another saying she ordered teachers to throw out textbooks and replace them with work sheets and online exercises. The school gets low marks on its Quality Review, the Department of Education’s evaluation by a seasoned educator.

Some years ago, students praised the collaboration with Mt. Sinai which allowed them to shadow doctors at the hospital. One student, now a registered nurse, credited Life Sciences with preparing her for nursing school. But the 2019 high school directory makes no mention of Mt. Sinai. (Clara Hemphill, web reports, November 2018)

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School Stats

Academics

School
Citywide
How many students graduate in 4 years?
 
75%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
50%
How many English language learners graduate in 4 years?
 
63%
Average daily attendance
 
79%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
60%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school offers enough activities and services for their children's needs?
 
75%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school works to achive the goals of their students' IEPs?
 
100%
From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide and 2020-21 NYC School Survey

Students

310
Number of students
599 Citywide Average

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
87%
Students with disabilities
 
24%
Multilingual learners
 
8%
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?
 
96%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
14%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
12%
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?
 
100%
7.2
Years of principal experience at this school
7 Citywide Average
131
Number of students for each guidance counselor or social worker
157 Citywide Average

Teachers’ Race/Ethnicity


How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
 
89%
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

Not offered in 2019-20

Computer Science

 
27%

Physics

 
92%

Advanced Foreign Language

Not offered in 2019-20

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

 
16%

AP/IB Math or Science

 
70%

Music

 
38%
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?
 
36%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
66%
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?
 
71%
From the 2022-23 FAFSA data released by Federal Student Aid, brought you by
How many graduates of this school received Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) funding to attend a NYS college?
 
36%
How many of those TAP recipients made it through college? Learn more
From unpublished, anonymized student-level data for the class of 2014 provided by the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) in coordination with the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), brought to you by
For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Programs & Admissions

From the 2021 High School Directory

Life Sciences

Admissions Method: Ed. Opt.

Program Description:

Focus on Life Sciences with science electives, internships, mentoring, and research opportunities.

Offerings

From the 2021 High School Directory

Language Courses

French, Spanish

Advanced Placement (AP) courses

AP Biology, AP Statistics, AP Psychology, AP United States History, AP English Literature and Composition

Boys PSAL teams

Baseball, Basketball, Soccer

Girls PSAL teams

Soccer, Softball, Volleyball

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

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

320 East 96th Street
Manhattan NY 10128

Trains: 6 Line to 96th St; Q

Buses: BxM1, BxM10, BxM6, BxM7, BxM8, BxM9, M101, M102, M103, M106, M15, M15-SBS, M31, M86-SBS, M96, M98


Contact

Principal: Kimberly Swanson

Parent Coordinator: Cecilia Gual

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? No

This school is in its own building.

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? No

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