Specialized high schools in New York City

The specialized high schools of New York City are nine selective public high schools, established and run by the New York City Department of Education to serve the needs of academically and artistically gifted students. The Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) examination is required for admission to all the schools except LaGuardia, which requires an audition or portfolio for admission.

The Bronx High School of Science was founded in 1938 as a specialized science and math high school for boys, by resolution of the Board of Education of the City of New York, with Morris Meister as the first principal of the school. They were given use of an antiquated Gothic-gargoyled edifice located at Creston Avenue and 184th Street. The building, built in 1918 for Evander Childs High School, had been successively occupied by Walton High School (1930) and by an annex of DeWitt Clinton High School (1935). The initial faculty were comprised in part by a contingent from Stuyvesant High School. Principal Meister put his imprint on the school from its formation, for example selecting as school colors "green to represent chlorophyll and gold the sun, both of which are essential to the chain of life."

Unlike nearly all other specialized high schools, Brooklyn Latin has a strong focus on the humanities and classics. All students are required to take four years of English, History, Latin and a modern foreign language. All classes regularly hold Socratic Seminars, in which students lead roundtable question-and-answer discussions, and all students take part in declamation (public speaking) exercises. Because of the small class size, Brooklyn Latin offers a relatively small student-to-teacher ratio (currently around 16:1). All students are required to take International Baccalaureate courses in junior and senior year.

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