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Our Insights

What’s Special

Partnerships with Teachers College and Urban Arts

The Downside

Instruction is uneven

At The Heritage School, students explore history and culture through the arts. It was founded in 1996 with support from Teachers College, Columbia University. Teachers overwhelmingly recommend this small, safe school to prospective students. Most students graduate on time including students with disabilities. 

The school has had ups and downs over the years but is currently enjoying an upswing in test scores, attendance and the culture and tone of the school. Teachers alert parents to absences using an iPhone application as soon as a student is missing from class. Teachers have training in Restorative Justice to reduce the suspension rate and help students talk about conflicts before they become larger problems.

The school band performs at school events and basketball games, according to the Arts in Schools report. After school workshops include Latin Dance, Hip-Hop Dance and DJ Music Production through Urban Arts

A downside: Instruction is uneven, according to a recent Quality Review. In some classes, teachers did most of the talking and assigned worksheets, while in an integrated co-teaching class, students were engaged as they prepared questions for a formalized debate called a Socratic seminar, based on their reading of Shakespeare’s Othello: Moor of Venice.

After a hiatus, Teachers College has resumed its work supporting teachers, according to the Comprehensive Educational Plan. Lead teachers attend workshops at Teachers College (TC) and TC staffers help host a series of parent workshops to focus on college readiness. Graduate students from Teachers College work with Heritage students on reading and writing skills and are supervised by a literacy expert at the college.

Heritage occupies the 3rd and 4th floors of the Julia de Burgos Cultural Center in East Harlem. It has an airy feel with hardwood floors and 20-foot ceilings. There is a small library and a large, renovated science lab, but no cafeteria or gym. Instead, the space once used as a gym now functions as a cafeteria. Students go outside to exercise when weather permits. Juniors and seniors may go out for lunch. The uniform is a navy blue polo shirt and khaki pants or skirt.

Students may earn college credits by taking epidemiology, music theory, computer science, psychology or sociology through Hunter College. A College Bound Initiative counselor helps students with the college process.  The website shows students visiting colleges such as  Binghamton, Ithaca and New Paltz.

Special education: Heritage prides itself on a very strong and well-integrated special education program that mixes general education and special needs students in one classroom with two teachers. The four-year graduation rate for students with special needs is above the citywide average. (Lydie Raschka, web reports, December 2018)

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School Stats

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

Academics

School
Citywide
How many students graduate in 4 years?
 
92%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
77%
Average daily attendance
 
84%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
47%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school offers enough activities and services for their children's needs?
 
81%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school works to achieve the goals of their students' IEPs?
 
81%
From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide and 2020-21 NYC School Survey

Students

319
Number of students
Citywide Average is 599

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
86%
Students with disabilities
 
27%
Multilingual learners
 
6%
From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Safety & Vibe

School
Citywide
How many students were suspended?
 
2%
How many students say they feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms and locker rooms?
 
74%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
50%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
30%
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?
 
79%
10.8
Years of principal experience at this school
Citywide Average is 7
156
Number of students for each guidance counselor or social worker
Citywide Average is 157

Teachers’ Race/Ethnicity


How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
 
78%
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

Not offered in 2019-20

Physics

Not offered in 2019-20

Advanced Foreign Language

 
15%

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

 
35%

AP/IB Math or Science

 
10%

Music

 
18%
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?
 
46%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
85%
How many students who have graduated from this high school stay in college for at least 3 semesters?
 
74%
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?
 
55%
From the 2022-23 FAFSA data released by Federal Student Aid, brought you by
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 Heritage School (M97A)

Admissions Method: Ed. Opt.

Offerings

From the 2024 High School Directory

Language Courses

Spanish

Advanced Courses

Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP English Literature and Composition, AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP United States History, Physics (Advanced Science), Social Studies (College Course [Uncredited]), World Languages (Advanced World Languages)

Boys PSAL teams

Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Football, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Volleyball, Wrestling

Girls PSAL teams

Basketball, Flag Football, Golf, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Softball, Volleyball

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

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

1680 Lexington Avenue
Manhattan NY 10029

Trains: 6 Line to 103rd St

Buses: BxM1, BxM11, BxM2, BxM3, BxM4, M1, M101, M102, M103, M106, M15, M15-SBS, M2, M3, M4, M96, M98


Contact

Principal: Dyanand Sugrim

Parent Coordinator: Alexandra Rodriguez

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? No

This school is in its own building.

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? No

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