Admissions

As a member of The New York Performance Standards Consortium (www.performanceassessment.orgOpens in a new browser tab ) we are part of a coalition of high schools across New York State who have pioneered the creation of educational communities synonymous with active student learning, exemplary professional development and innovative curriculum and teaching strategies for 21st century students. We have devised a system of assessment which consists of eight components including alignment with state standards, professional development, external review, and formative and summative data. Student work is documented to show their work meets and exceeds New York State Regents standards through a system of rigorous commencement-level performance-based assessment tasks. Performance on these tasks is reflected on student transcripts and results are used for college admission. The tasks require students to demonstrate accomplishment in analytical thinking, reading comprehension, research and writing skills, the application of mathematical computation and problem-solving skills, computer technology, the utilization of the scientific method in undertaking science research, appreciation of and performance skills in the arts, service learning and school to career skills. Experts external to the schools, from universities and the business world, participate in reviews of student work. By using a performance-based assessment system, we insist that assessment must not stand apart, but be continually incorporated into the day-to-day work, and schooling, of every student. For this reason, we use multiple strategies to assess students.

Because we are a performance based school and believe that all students can be academically successful in our supportive environment, the most important criteria for us is attendance and punctuality.