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Science, Technology and Research Early College High School at Erasmus (STAR)

Grades: 6-12
Staff Pick

Our Insights

What’s Special

Students take courses at Brooklyn College; CTE program in electrical engineering

The Downside

Pace of academics may be too fast for some, though the school offers lots of support for all

The Science, Technology and Research Early College School at Erasmus (STAR) is a combined middle and high school that gives students a leg up on college. Junior and seniors take courses for free at Brooklyn College with many earning at least a years worth of college credits before graduation. The school has a pleasant environment, accelerated academics and a program in electrical engineering that all students participate in beginning in 8th grade.

There’s a nice vibe and sense of community at STAR. Attendance is very high and students are calm and engaged in their classes. Students feel safe and respected, parents say there’s strong communication between staff and families, and teachers collaborate well, based on responses to the NYC School Survey.  

We observed a mix of teaching methods. Some were traditional and highly structured with students sitting in rows and responding to questions posed by the teacher. In others, group work and student-led discussions were more the norm. For instance, in a 7th grade social studies class students worked together reading and discussing a range of topics in European history such as the Renaissance, trade routes and the spread of Christianity. In an Advanced Placement English class, students posed questions to each other and offered insightful comments about a passage from their class-wide reading of Ta-Nehisi Coate’s Between the World and Me.

Instruction is accelerated and the goal is for students to complete all of the required Regents exams by the 10th grade so they are ready to focus on college level work beginning in 11th grade. Many students earn high school credit by the end of 8th grade by taking Regents exams in algebra and living environment.

The early college program starts in earnest in 11th grade, though 9th-graders attend six-week-long seminars at Brooklyn College where they spend their entire Fridays sampling courses. Highly motivated juniors and seniors may end up spending most of their time at Brooklyn College taking courses such as psychology, theater, anthropology, and advanced math and science. The school also offers Advanced Placement courses beginning in the 9th grade.

Two fulltime staffers are located at Brooklyn College to coordinate the early college component and provide support to 11th- and 12th-graders, helping them select classes, communicate with professors and providing tutoring and small group study groups at the college.

All kids are pushed, but not all progress at the same pace. To ensure teachers have time to address the range of skill levels, middle school class sizes in English and math are kept small at roughly 18-20. Struggling students also get extra help on Saturdays. Class assignments are based on student abilities, rather than their age or grade. So, a high school trigonometry class may include some very advanced 8th-graders as well 11th- and 12th-graders who need to shore up their skills.

The electrical engineering program, which starts in 8th grade, is impressive, with two dedicated labs filled with industrial grade equipment. Students enjoy fun, hands-on learning and lots of reinforcement of math, science and coding skills. In an introductory course we observed, 8th-graders seemed engaged and happy as they learned the low-tech skill of stripping wires. “It’s an amazing class,” said one boy. “When I first walked in here I thought I was in an Iron Man movie because of all the technology.“ In high school, students work with the more heavy duty and computerized equipment. 

STAR is housed on few floors in a wing of the Erasmus Hall High School Campus Building. Middle school students have sports teams, band and other after-school activities. High school students may participate in campus-wide PSAL sports and beginning in 9th grade take additional college courses after school in subjects such as culinary arts, engineering and technology through a partnership with Brooklyn STEAM.

SPECIAL EDUCATION: The school has ICT (Integrated Collaborative Teaching) classes and SETSS. (Laura Zingmond, October 2017)

School Stats

Academics

School
Citywide
How many students graduate in 4 years?
 
100%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
100%
Average daily attendance
 
92%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
24%
From the 2020-21 School Quality Guide and 2020-21 NYC School Survey

Students

632
Number of students
611 Citywide Average

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
70%
Students with disabilities
 
16%
Multilingual learners
 
1%
From the 2020-21 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?
 
82%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
26%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
16%
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?
 
97%
13.1
Years of principal experience at this school
8 Citywide Average
277
Number of students for each guidance counselor or social worker
226 Citywide Average

Teachers’ Race/Ethnicity


How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
 
75%
Are teachers effective?
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey, 2020-21 School Quality Guide, 2019-20 NY State Report Card, 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

 
7%

Computer Science

 
12%

Physics

 
29%

Advanced Foreign Language

 
89%

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

 
17%

AP/IB Math or Science

 
6%

Music

 
53%
From unpublished, anonymized data from the 2019-20 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?
 
90%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
100%
From the 2020-21 School Quality Guide
How many students filled out a FAFSA form by the end of their senior year?
 
71%
From the 2020-21 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

Early College

Admissions Method: Screened

Program Description:

STAR is a participating Brooklyn STEAM school. The "Brooklyn STEAM Center" is a technical education hub being developed at the Brooklyn Navy Yard that will allow students from eight high schools to participate in a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) program model focused on five industry areas including information technology, media and design, engineering, construction, and culinary arts. Each school year a cohort of 25 9th grade students are selected to participate.

Offerings

From the 2021 High School Directory

Language Courses

French, Spanish

Advanced Placement (AP) courses

AP Biology, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP United States History

Boys PSAL teams

Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Football, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Volleyball, Wrestling

Girls PSAL teams

Basketball, Flag Football, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, Softball, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Volleyball

Coed PSAL teams

Cricket, Stunt

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

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

911 Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn NY 11226

Trains: B Line, Q Line to Church Ave

Buses: B103, B12, B16, B35, B41, B44, B44-SBS, B49, BM1, BM2, BM3, BM4


Contact

Principal: Eric Blake

Parent Coordinator: Dorrett Young

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? Yes

This school shares the Erasmus Hall Educational Campus with four other schools

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? Yes

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