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Martin Luther King, Jr. High School (New York)
Encyclopedia
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Educational Campus is a five-story public school facility at 122 Amsterdam Avenue between West 65th and 66th
Streets in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan
, New York City
, near Lincoln Center
. The campus is faced on Amsterdam Avenue by a wide elevated plaza which features a self-weathering steel memorial sculpture by William Tarr. The same steel, called Mayari R, was used by architect Frost Associates in the curtain wall of the building, the interior of which has an arrangement of perimeter corridors with floor-to-ceiling windows, leaving many classrooms on the inner side windowless. The school is across West 65th Street from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
.
The building was formerly the location of Martin Luther King, Jr. High School, which opened in 1975 and was closed in 2005 by the New York City Department of Education
due to a history of low academic performance and a low enrollment rate, as well as a history of violence, including the shooting of two tenth grade
students inside the school on January 15, 2002, the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. The closing of the school was included by Chancellor
Joel Klein
and Mayor
Michael Bloomberg
in the education reform policy. The high school graduated its final class on June 27, 2005.
The first two small, themed high schools were founded within the Martin Luther King campus in 2002 as administratively separate units from the main school. Originally, they were called the Martin Luther King, Jr. High School for Law, Advocacy, and Community Justice
and the Martin Luther King, Jr. High School of the Arts and Technology
, but both have since officially dropped the "Martin Luther King" name.
The addition of the sixth school was opposed by some parents of the other five, as before the move each school was able to occupy an entire floor.
66th Street (Manhattan)
66th Street is a crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan with portions on the Upper East Side and Upper West Side connected across Central Park via the 65th Street Transverse...
Streets in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, 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...
, near Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
. The campus is faced on Amsterdam Avenue by a wide elevated plaza which features a self-weathering steel memorial sculpture by William Tarr. The same steel, called Mayari R, was used by architect Frost Associates in the curtain wall of the building, the interior of which has an arrangement of perimeter corridors with floor-to-ceiling windows, leaving many classrooms on the inner side windowless. The school is across West 65th Street from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts is a high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center and the Juilliard School in the Lincoln Center district of Manhattan, on Amsterdam Avenue...
.
The building was formerly the location of Martin Luther King, Jr. High School, which opened in 1975 and was closed in 2005 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...
due to a history of low academic performance and a low enrollment rate, as well as a history of violence, including the shooting of two tenth grade
Tenth grade
In majority of the world,Tenth grade is the tenth year of school post-kindergarten. The variants of "10th grade" in various nations is described below.-Australia:...
students inside the school on January 15, 2002, the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. The closing of the school was included by Chancellor
New York City School Chancellor
The New York City Schools Chancellor is the leader of the New York City Department of Education, the agency that handles New York City's public schools. The current Chancellor is Dennis M. Walcott, who began his tenure on April 18, 2011 after the resignation of Cathie Black on April 7, 2011...
Joel Klein
Joel Klein
Joel Irwin Klein was Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, the largest public school system in the United States, serving more than 1.1 million students in more than 1,600 schools...
and Mayor
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
in the education reform policy. The high school graduated its final class on June 27, 2005.
Current configuration
The high school has been replaced by six separate high schools which operate on different floors of the building. Students wear uniforms to distinguish them from the other schools and have separate lunch and dismissal times. The schools, listed by the date of their entry into the campus, are:- 2002 - High School for Law, Advocacy, and Community JusticeHigh School for Law, Advocacy, and Community JusticeThe High School for Law, Advocacy, and Community Justice, in New York City, is one of the city's many new small themed high schools. It was founded September 2002, and is housed in the Martin Luther King Jr. Educational Campus, which is located at 122 Amsterdam Ave in Manhattan, behind Lincoln...
- 2002 - High School of the Arts and TechnologyHigh School of the Arts and TechnologyThe High School of Arts and Technology is a high school in New York, NY. It is located in a building formerly occupied by the defunct Martin Luther King, Jr. High School on Amsterdam Avenue. That high school was disbanded in 2005 after a school shooting in 2002. Several high schools were formed...
- 2003 - Manhattan/Hunter College High School for SciencesManhattan/Hunter College High School for SciencesManhattan/Hunter College High School for Science is a school located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.-Introduction:Students spend their first three years in classes in the MLK complex. Seniors spend their entire fourth year of high school on the Hunter College campus on the Upper East Side,...
- 2005 - High School for Arts, Imagination And Inquiry
- 2006 - Urban Assembly School For Media Studies
- 2006 - Manhattan Theatre Lab High School (founded 2004, move into complex 2006)
The first two small, themed high schools were founded within the Martin Luther King campus in 2002 as administratively separate units from the main school. Originally, they were called the Martin Luther King, Jr. High School for Law, Advocacy, and Community Justice
High School for Law, Advocacy, and Community Justice
The High School for Law, Advocacy, and Community Justice, in New York City, is one of the city's many new small themed high schools. It was founded September 2002, and is housed in the Martin Luther King Jr. Educational Campus, which is located at 122 Amsterdam Ave in Manhattan, behind Lincoln...
and the Martin Luther King, Jr. High School of the Arts and Technology
High School of the Arts and Technology
The High School of Arts and Technology is a high school in New York, NY. It is located in a building formerly occupied by the defunct Martin Luther King, Jr. High School on Amsterdam Avenue. That high school was disbanded in 2005 after a school shooting in 2002. Several high schools were formed...
, but both have since officially dropped the "Martin Luther King" name.
The addition of the sixth school was opposed by some parents of the other five, as before the move each school was able to occupy an entire floor.
External links
- H.S. 490 Martin Luther King Jr. High School at InsideSchools.org
- "Latest Shootings Add to King High School's Reputation for Turbulence", New York Times, Jan. 17, 2002
- "The Metal Detector: Tales From School", New York Times, Sept. 29, 1996
- "Principal Tries to Bolster Image of School Bearing King's Name", New York Times, Jan. 20, 1986
- "Stockholders of a Can Company Take Meeting to 'Partner' School", New York Times, May 23, 1984