City-as-School — LLMpedia

City-as-School
Name	City-as-School
Established	1972
Type	Public alternative high school
Location	Manhattan, New York City
Grades	9–12

Contents

City-as-School is a public alternative high school located in Manhattan, New York City, founded in 1972 as an experimental institution combining academic study with workplace internships and cultural partnerships. The school grew out of progressive movements and urban reform efforts linked to organizations such as Ford Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, New York City Department of Education, Mayor John Lindsay and practitioners influenced by John Dewey, Paulo Freire, A.S. Neill and Herbert Kohl. City-as-School operated alongside other innovative programs like LaGuardia High School, School of the Arts (New York City), Hunter College High School and drew support from institutions including Museum of Modern Art, New York Public Library, Metropolitan Museum of Art and NBCUniversal.

History

The founding cohort included educators and activists connected to Teachers College, Columbia University, Columbia University faculty, members of Liberation School movements, and alumni of programs associated with War On Poverty initiatives and Great Society policies. Early partnerships were forged with cultural centers such as Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Apollo Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music and civic institutions like United Nations, New York City Transit Authority, and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. During the 1970s and 1980s the school negotiated funding and evaluation frameworks involving New York State Education Department, United Federation of Teachers, United States Department of Education and philanthropic entities including Rockefeller Foundation and Carnegie Corporation. In the 1990s and 2000s City-as-School adapted to policy shifts influenced by No Child Left Behind Act, Mayor Michael Bloomberg administration reforms, and collaborations with higher-education partners such as City College of New York and CUNY Graduate Center.

City-as-School’s model synthesizes experiential learning traditions championed by John Dewey, Paulo Freire, Maria Montessori, and Lev Vygotsky, emphasizing mentorship, apprenticeship, and reflective practice similar to programs at Big Picture Learning, Expeditionary Learning, High Tech High and New York City Lab School for Collaborative Studies. The pedagogical approach relies on work-based learning, internships, portfolio assessment, and individualized advisories influenced by frameworks from Project-based learning, Competency-based education, Service-learning, and research from National Academy of Education and Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Partnerships with arts institutions such as Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center, Juilliard School and Brooklyn Academy of Music support interdisciplinary apprenticeships that mirror models used by Cooper Union and Pratt Institute.

The curriculum blends academic seminars, credit-bearing internships, arts conservatories, and vocational placements with credit articulation agreements echoing practices at Borough of Manhattan Community College, LaGuardia Community College, and John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Program strands have included internships at New York Times, NBCUniversal, AOL, WNYC, and cultural residencies at Metropolitan Museum of Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Frick Collection, Brooklyn Museum and Queens Theatre. Electives and independent studies have featured collaborations with Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Mount Sinai Health System, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New-York Historical Society and International Center of Photography. Assessment modalities incorporate portfolios, exhibitions, juried performances, and partnerships with accreditation bodies like Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

Admissions traditionally balanced zoned enrollment with citywide applications, transfers, and outreach similar to policies at New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math High School, Stuyvesant High School, Bronx High School of Science, Brooklyn Technical High School and specialized high schools under the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test. The student body has been diverse with recruits from boroughs including Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, The Bronx and Manhattan and demographic patterns studied by researchers from New York University, Teachers College, Columbia University, Center for an Urban Future and Urban Institute. Support services referenced practices from School-Based Health Alliance, City University of New York advising programs, and community partnerships with New York Foundling and Henry Street Settlement.

Located in Manhattan, the school has occupied multiple sites and satellite spaces integrating classroom environments with off-site internship venues across institutions such as Museum of Modern Art, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York Public Library, Madison Square Garden and Chelsea Piers. Facilities emphasize flexible studio spaces, exhibition galleries, media labs and performance venues comparable to facilities at LaGuardia High School, Juilliard School, Cooper Union and Parsons School of Design. Student travel to internship placements has involved transit networks operated by Metropolitan Transportation Authority, while partnerships with Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and corporate sponsors provided access to offices and laboratories.

City-as-School alumni data and case studies have been the subject of analyses by institutions such as Columbia University Teachers College, New York University Steinhardt School, Manhattan Institute, and Brookings Institution. Graduates have matriculated to institutions including Columbia University, New York University, Cooper Union, Pratt Institute, Hunter College and CUNY campuses, and entered careers in media at The New York Times, NBCUniversal, ViacomCBS, in arts at Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, Museum of Modern Art, and in public service with entities like New York City Council, Mayor's Office and United Nations. The model influenced alternative-secondary programs such as Big Picture Learning, High Tech High and policy discussions in reports by U.S. Department of Education and Ford Foundation assessments.

Category:High schools in Manhattan