Leadership & Public Service High School
Encyclopedia
The High School for Leadership and Public Service was formed in 1993 as a joint project between Syracuse University
's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
and the Board of Education
of the City of New York, as one of 30 newly formed "small high schools". Among the school's notable founders includes that of Syracuse University
Professor Dr.Bill Coplin
and S.U. Alumni Jane Present, chair of the Friends of HSLAPS. Due to the school's close proximity to the World Trade Center
(3 blocks south) and Wall Street
, it was one of the four high schools in Lower Manhattan
area, to be displaced by the September 11, 2001 Terrorst Attacks.
from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. In order to make way for the newly formed High School for Leadership and Public Service, the Board of Education of the City of New York
, leased the building, 90 Trinity Place, from NYU. Until the renovations on the building were complete, Leadership was forced to share 3 floors next door with its neighbors, the High School of Economics and Finance
(100 Trinity Place), in the 1993-94 school year.
Leadership enjoyed a high school-to-college ratio, with the majority of the students eventually graduating from college.
Dolch, school secretary Lisa Quigley, AP Ted Bronsnick, and Dean of Students Neil Marks, smoothly and without external guidance, evacuated the 14-story building from the top down in minutes, out the south-east entrance and down to Battery Park. Julia Martinez and Margaret Espinosa, who worked as special ed, one-on-one paras at the High School for Leadership and Public Service on Trinity Place, risked their lives by carrying two teen-age students to safety after the chairs broke down from being pushed through the rubble..http://www.nysut.org/cps/rde/xchg/nysut/hs.xsl/newyorkteacher_030604nyt_23.htm Randy Spotts, a dean, and a security officer at the school assisted people outside who had been harmed by debris. They also assisted neighboring cart owners to safety.
Many students and teachers eventually found boats and ferries to get them away from Manhattan and a large contingent of students accompanied their math teachers, Conrad Sparnroft and Brian Donnelly, to Staten Island; another contingent took ferries to NJ with English and history teachers. A few more accompanied teachers on private yachts arriving down from the 79th street boat basin. Another small group accompanied a teacher, Virginia Pruitt, who had looked for students remaining in the area, to Brooklyn and her home. The only injury was a sprained ankle during the stair descent. No windows were broken on the building, though the gaskets sealing the windows failed in the face of the collapsing towers, as dust covered everything inside the building. No students lost family members in the attacks, although some parents had been working in the area.
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs is the public policy school of Syracuse University...
and the Board of Education
Board of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
of the City of New York, as one of 30 newly formed "small high schools". Among the school's notable founders includes that of Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
Professor Dr.Bill Coplin
Bill Coplin
William D. Coplin is a professor and the director of the undergraduate public affairs program at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University...
and S.U. Alumni Jane Present, chair of the Friends of HSLAPS. Due to the school's close proximity to the World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
(3 blocks south) and Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
, it was one of the four high schools in Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
area, to be displaced by the September 11, 2001 Terrorst Attacks.
The Building
The building in which the High School for Leadership and Public Service is currently located at, was a post-modern building, designed by Skidmore Owings and Merrill in 1975. The building itself was the home of the New York University Stern School of BusinessNew York University Stern School of Business
The Leonard N. Stern School of Business is New York University's business school. It was established in 1900 as the NYU School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance. In 1988 it was named after Leonard N. Stern, an alumnus and benefactor of the school...
from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. In order to make way for the newly formed High School for Leadership and Public Service, the Board of Education of the City of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, leased the building, 90 Trinity Place, from NYU. Until the renovations on the building were complete, Leadership was forced to share 3 floors next door with its neighbors, the High School of Economics and Finance
High School of Economics and Finance
The High School of Economics and Finance is a public high school in Manhattan, New York City. Located at 100 Trinity Place in the Financial District, the school's building was formerly the home of New York University's graduate business school. The school's curriculum incorporates study of...
(100 Trinity Place), in the 1993-94 school year.
The School
Helen Cohen, the first principal (1993–1995), set the school in a firm college-prep direction with much success and affection from her staff. The first few graduating classes showed remarkable self-motivation and enthusiastically embraced the rigorous curriculum. Ada Rosario-Dolch, the second principal of the school (1995–2004) brought in continued success. Continuing to build on the already impressive teaching staff, Dolch worked hard to make the school effective and a draw for interested and interesting students. This original core of staff included Amy Strassler, Carolina Santos, Stan Soto, Heather Ordover, Anne Rawley, Anne Gilligan, Alicia Cantelmi, Virginia Pruitt, Omar Gonzalez, Dan Fielding, Titi Kazati, Tracy Kornrich, Randy Spotts, Brian Donnelly, and Jean Ho Wright. Also members of the staff were published teachers such as Josie Burgos, Josh Cabat, and Virginia Pruitt coupled with visionary artists Stu Ross, talented musicians such as Conrad Sparnroft and Joel Griffin, rounded out the dedicated staff, encouraging and exciting the students to accomplish more than they thought they could.Leadership enjoyed a high school-to-college ratio, with the majority of the students eventually graduating from college.
September 11, 2001
Notable in Leadership's history is the effect of 9/11. Leadership, a block south of the South Tower along with its neighbor school (Economics and Finance) found it necessary to evacuate after the second plane hit. The engine of the second plane landed on Leadership's roof, and the school building itself was used as one of the morgue sites in the aftermath. The day of the attack, however, Principal Dolch was on the street welcoming voters to the school's polling booths and thus was on the street when the first plane hit. She suspected immediately that her sister, a Cantor Fitzgerald employee, very likely hadn't survived the first attack and focused on evacuating students and teachers safely.
Dolch, school secretary Lisa Quigley, AP Ted Bronsnick, and Dean of Students Neil Marks, smoothly and without external guidance, evacuated the 14-story building from the top down in minutes, out the south-east entrance and down to Battery Park. Julia Martinez and Margaret Espinosa, who worked as special ed, one-on-one paras at the High School for Leadership and Public Service on Trinity Place, risked their lives by carrying two teen-age students to safety after the chairs broke down from being pushed through the rubble..http://www.nysut.org/cps/rde/xchg/nysut/hs.xsl/newyorkteacher_030604nyt_23.htm Randy Spotts, a dean, and a security officer at the school assisted people outside who had been harmed by debris. They also assisted neighboring cart owners to safety.
Many students and teachers eventually found boats and ferries to get them away from Manhattan and a large contingent of students accompanied their math teachers, Conrad Sparnroft and Brian Donnelly, to Staten Island; another contingent took ferries to NJ with English and history teachers. A few more accompanied teachers on private yachts arriving down from the 79th street boat basin. Another small group accompanied a teacher, Virginia Pruitt, who had looked for students remaining in the area, to Brooklyn and her home. The only injury was a sprained ankle during the stair descent. No windows were broken on the building, though the gaskets sealing the windows failed in the face of the collapsing towers, as dust covered everything inside the building. No students lost family members in the attacks, although some parents had been working in the area.