Benjamin Banneker Academy for Community Development (usually called Banneker) is a public high school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

 located in the Clinton Hill

Clinton Hill, Brooklyn

Clinton Hill is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is bordered on the east by Bedford-Stuyvesant, on the west by Fort Greene, on the north by Wallabout Bay and on the south by Prospect Heights...

 section of Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

, New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. The school was originally a Drake's Cakes factory. Still today, different floors of the school are in Drake's colors. It has a small, but family type atmosphere for a high school. It is usually called a junior college

Junior college

The term junior college refers to different educational institutions in different countries.-India:In India, most states provide schooling through 12th grade...

 because the faculty and students are so focused on college. Banneker, which serves grades 9 through 12+, is operated by the New York City Department of Education

New York City Department of Education

The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...

. Many of the graduates attend SUNY

State University of New York

The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...

 schools, HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities

Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....

) and CUNY schools. There are also a few that attend Ivy League

Ivy League

The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...

 schools. The school's graduation rate has been at least 90% since 2002.

School Information

The school's colors are black and gold. Each year Banneker holds a homecoming party for the students in which they wear the school colors. This event is usually the final event to their School Spirit Week, which places a different theme on each day of that week. School Spirit week and Homecoming is planned by the senior committee and is held the Friday before the Thanksgiving recess. The school was founded in 1987 in memory of Benjamin Banneker

Benjamin Banneker

Benjamin Banneker was a free African American astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, almanac author and farmer.-Family history and early life:It is difficult to verify much of Benjamin Banneker's family history...

.

Student Demographics

There 831 students in the school. The demographics are 83.39% African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

, 12.03% Hispanic

Hispanic

Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...

 or Latino

Latino

The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...

, 2.76% Asian

Asian people

Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...

, 1.5% White

White people

White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

 (non-Hispanic) and 0.32% Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

.

Extracurricular activities

Benjamin Banneker Academy is known for its many great extracurricular activities, which include a variety of sport teams, clubs and community service organizations.

Two special events that happen at Banneker annually are the fashion shows that are presented by the school's fashion clubs, "The Banneker Scarlets" and the "Senior Fashion Show".

Clubs

• The Banneker Scarlets (Fashion and Modeling Group)
• TMD (Teens Making a Difference)
• Goddess (For Young Women's Empowerment)
• The Debate Team
• NYC Otaku (Anime Club)
• The Pre-Med Club
• NOLA (Banneker Rebuilds New Orleans)
• The Robotics Team
• The Latino Club
• The French Club
• S.P.I.T (Soulful Poets In Training)

• Student Government
• The Drama Club
• Chorus
• Chess Team
• Banneker Sisters United
• Banneker Brothers United
• The Yearbook Committee
• The Senior Committee
• The Africa Tours Club
• Nurange Dance Ensemble

Sports teams

• Baseball Boys Varsity
• Basketball Boys Varsity
• Basketball Boys Jr. Varsity
• Basketball Girls Varsity
• Basketball Girls Jr. Varsity
• Bowling Boys Varsity
• Cross Country Girls Varsity
• Cross Country Boys Varsity
• Fencing Boys Varsity
• Fencing Girls Varsity

• Indoor Track Girls Varsity
• Indoor Track Boys Varsity
• Outdoor Track Girls Varsity
• Outdoor Track Boys Varsity
• Soccer Girls Varsity
• Soccer Boys Varsity
• Softball Girls Varsity
• Tennis Boys Varsity
• Tennis Girls Varsity
• Volleyball Girls Varsity
• Volleyball Boys Varsity