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

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.

Admissions: The school is open to any student who wishes to attend. In recent years, it has not filled its seats. (Gail Robinson, DOE reports, November 2018)