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High School for Media and Communications
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Manhattan NY
Our Insights
What’s Special
Fun clubs and sports, including swimming
The Downside
Academics have a long way to go
High School for Media and Communications, a small school housed in the majestic George Washington Educational Complex, serves many Spanish speakers who have just arrived in the country, as well as many homeless students. Most are far behind in their studies.
“We’re a low-performing school, in the process of being transformed,” Principal Juan Villar, who took the helm in 2015, told DNAinfo.
Villar has brought in electronic white boards, televisions and projectors. New consultants are helping to restructure the school and the curriculum, he said. Amp Up NYC reopened the music room with new guitars and pianos. There are classes in video and graphic design.
The school invites visitors to inspire kids, such as Mexican-American writer Sandra Cisneros, who is known for her coming-of-age novel The House on Mango Street, about a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago.
Kids take field trips to restaurants or places like the American Museum of Natural History to practice speaking English.
Academics have a long way to go. Instruction is uneven, and some lessons start late, according to the school’s Quality Review. The graduation rate is low and student performance is poor, even when compared to schools with similar demographics.
On the positive side, the building offers attractive extras: a cycling club, a rowing club, two swimming pools, two theaters, and a huge track and field shared by the four schools in the building.
It has a college center that runs workshops for parents, hosts one-on-one meetings and trains older students to help younger kids apply to college, according to an article in DNAinfo.
Students from the building have been accepted at Fordham, City College, Hunter, Lehman and Skidmore.
Other schools in the George Washington Educational Campus include: The College Academy, the High School for Law and Public Service and the High School for Health Careers and Science.
ADMISSIONS: Based on the educational option formula, which is designed to ensure a mix of low-achieving, average, and high-achieving students. (Lydie Raschka, web reports, May 2018)
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School Stats
Is this school safe and well-run?
From 2018-19 NYC School Survey
From 2017-18 NY State Report Card
From this school's most recent Quality Review Report
From 2018-19 School Quality Guide
How do students perform academically?
From 2018-19 School Quality Guide
Who does this school serve?
From 2019-20 Demographic Snapshot
From 2018-19 School Quality Guide
From 2020 School Directories
How does this school serve special populations?
From 2018-19 School Quality Guide
Programs & Admissions
From the 2021 High School Directory
Program Description:
This program utilizes our state-of-the-art recording studio and exposes students to course work in Visual Storytelling, Advanced Broadcast Production, and Introduction to Post Production. Students create public service announcements, mini-documentaries, commercials and short films. Students are required to create a short silent film with Film at Lincoln Center and complete a certification program at Manhattan Neighborhood Network.
Program Description:
This program exposes students to a variety of writing experiences through courses in journalism, creative writing and screenwriting. Students choose the genre of their interest and will have their pieces published in the school newspaper, Rise, Babel in the Heights, yearbook, and the school magazine of fiction and non-fiction. Students have opportunities to collaborate with and/or intern at publishing companies, including Simon & Schuster.
Academics
Language Courses
Spanish
Advanced Placement (AP) courses
AP English Language and Composition, AP 2-D Art and Design, AP United States History, AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP Spanish Literature and Culture, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Biology, AP Psychology
Sports
Boys PSAL teams
Baseball, Basketball, Football, Soccer, Swimming, Wrestling
Girls PSAL teams
Basketball, Flag Football, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Volleyball
Read about admissions, academics, and more at this school on NYCDOE’s MySchools
Contact & Location
Location
to 191st St; 
to 190th St
Contact
Other Details
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