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FDNY - Captain Vernon A. Richard High School for Fire and Life Safety

Grades: 9-12

Our Insights

What’s Special

Prepares students for careers with the New York City Fire Department

The Downside

Poor attendance and graduation rates

Since it opened in the Thomas Jefferson Educational Campus in East New York in 2004, FDNY-Captain Vernon A. Richard School for Fire and Life Safety has been aiming to prepare its graduates for careers with the city Fire Department.

In their junior and senior years, student may take classes that help them get ready for the Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) program. EMTs are Fire Department employees and some go on to become firefighters. Seniors in the top third of the class get EMT training from Fire Department staff aimed at enabling them to enter the department’s summer training program and be certified as EMTs. The school offers other courses geared to its theme, such as fire science and a class on the chemical makeup of substances used to extinguish fires.

A community-based organization runs a college office on the campus that provides test preparation for college entrance exams and helps guide students and their families through the college application process. However, most graduates are not prepared for college and only about a third of graduates are enrolled in further education six months after receiving their diploma.

 

The school is small and overwhelmingly male. It shares the campus with three other high schools --  Performing Arts and Technology, World Academy for Total Community Health and High School for Civil Rights. The schools share a number of sports teams and some facilities.

Special education: FDNY has a large number of students with disabilities. Most are in team teaching classes with a mix of general and special education students, but a small number are in self-contained classes. (Gail Robinson, DOE 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
How many students graduate in 4 years?
 
92%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
86%
Average daily attendance
 
88%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
38%
From the 2022-23 School Quality Guide and 2022-23 NYC School Survey

Students

219
Number of students
Citywide Average is 615

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
79%
Students with disabilities
 
42%
Multilingual learners
 
9%
From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Safety & Vibe

School
Citywide
How many students were suspended?
 
1%
How many students say they feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms and locker rooms?
 
85%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
34%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
25%
How many teachers say they would recommend this school to other families?
 
82%
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?
 
81%
16.1
Years of principal experience at this school
Citywide Average is 7
239
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?
 
78%
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

Not offered in 2021-21

Physics

Not offered in 2021-21

Advanced Foreign Language

Not offered in 2021-21

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

Not offered in 2021-21

AP/IB Math or Science

 
12%

Music

Not offered in 2021-21
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?
 
25%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
26%
How many students who have graduated from this high school stay in college for at least 3 semesters?
 
6%
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?
 
19%
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?
 
48%
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

FDNY-Captain Vernon A. Richard High School for Fire and Life Safety (K62X)

Admissions Method: Ed. Opt.

Program Description:

The program will lead to EMT certifications and employment with the FDNY after graduation.

Offerings

From the 2024 High School Directory

Language Courses

Spanish

Advanced Courses

Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP Biology, AP Calculus AB, AP English Language and Composition

Boys PSAL teams

Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Swimming, Volleyball

Girls PSAL teams

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

Coed PSAL teams

Stunt

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

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

400 Pennsylvania Avenue
Brooklyn NY 11207

Trains: 3 Line to Pennsylvania Av; L Line to Livonia Av

Buses: B14, B15, B20, B83


Contact

Principal: James Anderson

Parent Coordinator: Shawna Love

Phone: 718-688-7930

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? Yes

This school shares the Thomas Jefferson Educational Campus with three other schools

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? Yes

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