Great Neck Village School
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| Great Neck Village School | |
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| Established | 1970 |
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| School type | Public (magnet) secondary |
| Director | Stephen Goldberg |
| Location | Great Neck, New York, USA |
| Website | www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/GNPS/VS/index.html |
Great Neck Village School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Great Neck, New York, United States, as part of the Great Neck School District.
The school describes itself as a "college preparatory public high school dedicated to encouraging academic success through a non-traditional, innovative curriculum".[1] About 90 percent of students go on to two- or four-year colleges.[2]. The school enrolls about fifty students, with a student-teacher ratio that is never more than eight to one.
Founded in 1970, the school is one of the first alternative high schools in the United States.[3] Founder Arnie Langberg has been called "one of the most important pioneers in the field of public alternative education."[4]
Also known as "the Village School", it "enjoys a national reputation and has been positively evaluated by the Center for the Study of Educational Alternatives at Hofstra University." The school is a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools and the Alternative Education Resource Organization. The school staff works "with the education faculty of Brown University."[3]
Instead of a traditional grading, the school uses an "individual contract system" in which students earn credits as they meet curriculum goals. "Authentic performance, and portfolio assessments of these student/teacher goals have long been a hallmark of a Village School transcript," according to the school.[3] Emphasis is placed on using computers as writing instruments, and each student is given a laptop computer to be used during the school year. In the 1970's students obtained credit for such activities as hitchhiking across North Africa, in the 1980's student work included designing software for a computer company, and being a sports magazine intern.[5]
The school's curriculum offers traditional studies which students may supplement with independent study courses, classes at local colleges or at the school district's two regular high schools, or classes in the Great Neck Adult Program. The school also has an internship program.[3]
The school's name is commonly abbreviated as VS.
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[edit] Demographics
The student body in the school year of 2004-2005 consists of:[6]
- 2.2% African American
- 10.9% Asian American/Pacific Islander
- 80.4% Caucasian
- 6.5% Hispanic American
[edit] Information
- Address: 614 Middle Neck Road Great Neck, New York, 11023
- Grade levels: 9-12
- Magnet school: Yes
- Alternative school: Yes
- Coeducational: Yes
- School district: Great Neck Union Free School District
[edit] Notable alumni
- Nikki Blonsky, actress who will star as Tracy Turnblad in the 2007 film version of Hairspray
- Ilan Hall, chef and restaurateur, winner of season two of Bravo TV's Top Chef competition
- Jesse Friedman, who with his father Arnold was the subject of the child-molestation case documented in Capturing the Friedmans.[7]
[edit] References
- ^ [1] Great Neck Public School official Web site, accessed March 1, 2007
- ^ [2] Great Neck Public School official Web site, accessed March 1, 2007
- ^ a b c d [3] Great Neck Public Schools Web site, PDF document titled "Great Neck Public Schools: The Village School", accessed March 1, 2007
- ^ [4] The quote is from Jerry Mintz, founder of the Alternative Education Resource Organization, in an interview Mintz conducted with Langberg, "Radio Interview With Arnie Langberg on the Night of the Littleton Tragedy" appearing in The Education Revolution Magazine, Summer 1999, accessed March 1, 2007
- ^ "Alternative Schools Adapt," by Fannie Weinstein. The New York Times, June 8, 1986, section A page 14.
- ^ School Comprehensive Information Report (PDF); URL accessed June 1, 2006.
- ^ "An Uphill Fight to Shed a Lifelong Label," by Corey Kilgannon. The New York Times, September 10, 2006, section 14LI, page 1.
