Fort Hamilton High School
Encyclopedia
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Brooklyn, New York, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Education. Students in Bay Ridge, Sunset Park and Dyker Heights are zoned to Fort Hamilton HS. It has stood overlooking the Narrows
The Narrows
The Narrows is the tidal strait separating the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City. It connects the Upper New York Bay and Lower New York Bay and forms the principal channel by which the Hudson River empties into the Atlantic Ocean...
and Lower New York Bay
Lower New York Bay
Lower New York Bay is that section of New York Bay south of the Narrows, the relatively narrow strait between the shores of Staten Island and Brooklyn. The southern end of the bay opens directly to the Atlantic Ocean between two spits of land, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Rockaway, Queens, on Long...
since 1941.
Fort Hamilton can be reached by public transportation. The B16 is the closest public transportation, these buses wait for students at the end of the day, the buses are crowded with excited students and safety becomes a huge concern. However, the safety of the students is not always provided for, and it is difficult to account for these situations since they often occur out of the school's bounds.
Other transportation includes the B63 which runs along 5th Avenue, the R train
R (New York City Subway service)
The R Broadway Local is a service of the New York City Subway. It is colored yellow on the route sign and on station signs and the NYC Subway map, as it represents a service provided on the BMT Broadway Line in Manhattan.The R service operates at all times...
which stops at 4th Avenue and 86th Street
86th Street (BMT Fourth Avenue Line)
86th Street is a station on the BMT Fourth Avenue Line of the New York City Subway, located at 86th Street and Fourth Avenue in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. It is served by the R train at all times....
and a the B1, B16, S53, S79 and S93, buses to Staten Island and other parts of Brooklyn that stop at 86th Street and 4th Avenue as well.
In the past Fort Hamilton has consistently ranked as one of the most populous high schools, however there has been a decline in the student body: In December 2007 Fort Hamilton had 4539 students, but in February 2010 that number declined to 4198 (cite). This decline is due to reformation on the part of the school’s administration, one notable reformation is the elimination of what proved to be the unsuccessful Computer Science program, which allowed students not zoned to apply to Fort Hamilton HS. Now in order to be admitted if not zoned to Fort Hamilton HS, one must apply and be accepted to either the Honors Academy or The Performing arts program (Instrumental and Vocal).
The building is largely over capacity, thus the need for the school’s shrinking student body. In 2005 “the modules” were complete to accommodate for the excessive student body.
The school hosts many clubs and activities after school, including an arts program and many sports teams. The school offers 13 different Advanced Placement courses and other college courses that are offered for credit through several colleges and universities.
Academics
The graduation rate of the 2008-2009 school year was 70%89.3% attendance rate in 2009
Top students have gone on to 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, including Cornell, Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, Harvard, and Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, as well as other selective programs such as the Macaulay Honors College of the CUNY schools.
Demographics
As of December 2007, the student body was made up of 5.5% Black, 32.9% Hispanic, 30.2% White,and 28.2% Asian students.The student body includes 19.7% English language learners and 7.5% special education students.
Boys account for 56% of the students enrolled
and girls account for 44%.
The average attendance rate for the school year 2006-2007 was 42.6%.
The poverty rate is 25%
Extracurricular activities
Extracurricular activities at Fort Hamilton H.S. include JROTC, Junior Math League, Leadership, Mock Trial, The National Honor Society, Performing Arts, Model UN, Photography and histology.The boys varsity swim team won the title of Brooklyn champions during the 2007-2008, 2008–2009, and 2009-2010 seasons. For the two seasons, the team came in second place in New York City losing to Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School , commonly referred to as Stuy , is a New York City public high school that specializes in mathematics and science. The school opened in 1904 on Manhattan's East Side and moved to a new building in Battery Park City in 1992. Stuyvesant is noted for its strong academic...
in 2010 and to Brooklyn Technical High School
Brooklyn Technical High School
Brooklyn Technical High School, commonly called Brooklyn Tech or just Tech, and also administratively as High School 430, is a New York City public high school that specializes in engineering, math and science and is the largest specialized high school for science, technology, engineering, and...
in 2008.
The boys varsity football team won the 2005, 2006, and 2010 Football PSAL Championship
Notable alumni
- Christopher MegaChristopher MegaChristopher J. "Chris" Mega was a Republican Party lawmaker from Brooklyn, New York who served in the New York State Assembly from 1973 to 1978 and in the New York State Senate from 1979 to 1982 and 1985 to 1993, when he became a judge...
, former New York Assemblyman, State Senator, and Supreme Court Justice - Vincent J. GentileVincent J. GentileVincent J. Gentile is a member of the New York City Council representing District 43, which comprises the Southwest Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bensonhurst, Bay Ridge, and Dyker Heights....
, former New York State Senator and current New York City Councilman - Bernard KingBernard KingBernard King is a retired American professional basketball player at the small forward position in the NBA...
, retired NBA All-star - Julio LugoJulio LugoJulio Cesar Lugo is a Dominican professional baseball infielder but is currently a free agent. He bats and throws right-handed. Lugo is the older brother of baseball pitcher Ruddy Lugo....
, Major League baseball player - Jaiquawn JarrettJaiquawn Jarrett-Philadelphia Eagles:Jarrett was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He was signed to a four-year contract on July 27, 2011.-External links:**...
, safety for the Philadelphia EaglesPhiladelphia EaglesThe Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
External links
- insideschools.org H.S. 490 Fort Hamilton High School
- School Report Card for 2005
- New York City Department of Education
- Fort Hamilton HS Alumni site
- http://cache.zoominfo.com/CachedPage/?archive_id=0&page_id=975601243&page_url=%2f%2fwww.brooklynpapers.com%2fhtml%2fissues%2f_vol27%2f27_42%2f27_42nets4.html&page_last_updated=4%2f16%2f2006+7%3a34%3a15+AM&firstName=Bernard&lastName=King