Students at one New York high school have for years attended classes at Bronx Community College. The high school, University Heights High School, is one of the better public high schools in the city. Part of that success has something to do with the school’s physical location at a college. Bronx Community College, unlike most New York community colleges, also has the advantage of gracious, historic buildings designed by Stanford White; the campus was once a part of New York University. Well now University Heights has to leave. According to an article by Sam Dolnick in the New York Times:
[O]ver the protests of students, parents, teachers and politicians, the city has ordered the school to leave the campus at the end of the school year and move to the South Bronx.
Bronx Community College officials say that with the college’s enrollment soaring — since 2000, the student body has nearly doubled, to 11,500 — they can no longer spare a building for the high school. College administrators asked the city to relocate the school in 2008, and city officials said they had no choice but to comply.
At least some of the reason for the success of early college programs seems to be their physical location on a college campus. University Heights students say it’s the presence of professors and the ability to use college resources like BCC’s laboratories.
But, in part of what looks to be a growing trend, BCC is in demand. The community college has more students than ever before and it needs room to house them. BCC needs all the space it can get.
University Heights is trying to look on the bright side. In the school’s new space, in the South Bronx, there will be one other high school. As the University Heights explains,
Mott Haven Village Preparatory School, the school that we would share space with, is also an A school. They will be located on the 5th floor and ½ of the 4th, University Heights High School will inhabit the remaining floors ½ of 4th, all of 3rd, 2nd, 1st, and B rooms. We will also have a separate entrance and NO metal detectors.
Ah yes, ½ of 4th, all of 3rd, 2nd, 1st, and B rooms. Well there are worse solutions I suppose, but those four floors aren’t exactly the Gould Memorial Library.[Image via]
