Harry S. Truman High School (New York City)
Encyclopedia
Harry S Truman High School is a public high school
at 750 Baychester Avenue, in the Bronx
, New York City
, United States
. The school is designated as an Empowerment School
by the New York City Department of Education
, which allows it more autonomy in choosing a curriculum. Truman shares a uniquely designed and interconnected campus with two middle schools, MS 180 and 181, and two elementary schools, PS 176 and 153. The campus was designed to be a one-stop and close-to-home solution for students and families in the Co-op City
neighborhood. The main Truman building is also home to the Bronx Health Sciences High School, which occupies a portion of the third floor, and PS 176X, a special education school for autistic students, which shares a small portion of the first and second floors.
Truman High School is one of the remaining large high schools in the Bronx that has not been broken up into a number of small schools
. This trend, which has been popular in the city, has seen other high schools in the borough
such as Evander Childs High School and Roosevelt High School
split into a number of smaller schools that are still located in the same building.
Truman High is located in the Co-op City
section of the Bronx, although many of the students commute to school from other parts of the city.
Statistical analysis done by the school has indicated that among students who participate in the academies, on-time graduation rates are significantly higher, and overall attendance, behavior and academic performance in the core subject areas has improved.
On June 18, 2009, during his bid for re-election, Mayor Mayor Michael Bloomberg
claimed that during his administration, reported crimes at the school had dropped by a staggering 85%.
In June 2011, Truman Media Academy students Ernesto Gonzalez and Ian Denton won first place in the "Get Reel With Your Dreams" scholarship competition, hosted by Sade Baderinwa
of WABC-TV
and The Walt Disney Company
for creating a 30-second public service announcement about child abuse.
In February 2011, Truman Media Academy students, while working on an internship at the Bronxnet
Television network, received a New York Emmys nomination for their work on a show called "Open 2.0" in the Teen: Program/Special category.
The school's auditorium spans nearly three stories of the building vertically, and has two tiers of audience seating. The auditorium is shared with the connecting middle and elementary schools. Students are able to access it using underground tunnels that connect the five separate buildings.
When it was built, the school housed two indoor swimming pools. An Olympic-sized competition pool, which had been closed since 1995 due to rotting pipes, is set to reopen by January, 2012. An adjacent shallow training pool, also in disrepair, was not fixed due to a lack of sufficient funds. It is now hidden from view behind a wall built during the renovation.
The Northeast Bronx Planetarium is also housed on the first floor of Truman's main building. Truman Alumnus and former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr.
secured $375,000 in capital funds to rehabilitate the space. The renovation replaced a decades-old system of over a dozen slide projectors with two high-resolution digital projectors, operated by a computer automation system. New carpet and seating was also installed. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held in November 2011 to officially reopen the space.
Several areas of the building have also been customized to meet the needs of the special academies. These modifications include a television editing lab, control room and studio, as well as a radio studio on the first floor. Two classroom-kitchens were built on the 5th and 6th floors to accommodate the culinary arts program and a third is being planned for the 7th floor. The law program is housed in a custom-built courtroom and law library, complete with judge and witness benches and a jury box. The engineering and robotics program works in a competition-style field-of-play on the first floor.
Fall Sports include
Winter Sports include
Spring Sports
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....
at 750 Baychester Avenue, in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The school is designated as an Empowerment School
Empowerment School
An Empowerment School is a school using the Empowerment Support Organization of the New York City Department of Education . Eric Nadelstern is the Empowerment Schools CEO.-History:...
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...
, which allows it more autonomy in choosing a curriculum. Truman shares a uniquely designed and interconnected campus with two middle schools, MS 180 and 181, and two elementary schools, PS 176 and 153. The campus was designed to be a one-stop and close-to-home solution for students and families in the Co-op City
Co-op City, Bronx
Co-op City , located in the Baychester section of the Borough of the Bronx in northeast New York City, is one of the largest cooperative housing developments in the world. Situated at the intersection of Interstate 95 and the Hutchinson River Parkway, the community is part of Bronx Community Board 10...
neighborhood. The main Truman building is also home to the Bronx Health Sciences High School, which occupies a portion of the third floor, and PS 176X, a special education school for autistic students, which shares a small portion of the first and second floors.
Truman High School is one of the remaining large high schools in the Bronx that has not been broken up into a number of small schools
Small schools movement
The small schools movement, also known as the Small Schools Initiative, in the United States of America holds that many high schools are too large and should be reorganized into smaller, autonomous schools of no more than 400 students, and optimally under 200. Many private schools of under 200...
. This trend, which has been popular in the city, has seen other high schools in the borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
such as Evander Childs High School and Roosevelt High School
Theodore Roosevelt High School (New York City)
Theodore Roosevelt High School is a public high school located in The Bronx, New York City, United States. It was first organized November 14, 1918. When Theodore Roosevelt died on January 6, 1919, the Board of Education decided to give the school his name...
split into a number of smaller schools that are still located in the same building.
Truman High is located in the Co-op City
Co-op City, Bronx
Co-op City , located in the Baychester section of the Borough of the Bronx in northeast New York City, is one of the largest cooperative housing developments in the world. Situated at the intersection of Interstate 95 and the Hutchinson River Parkway, the community is part of Bronx Community Board 10...
section of the Bronx, although many of the students commute to school from other parts of the city.
History
In 1998, Sana Q. Nasser became the principal of Truman. Under a partnership with the non-profit organization "P.E.N.C.I.L." , she has created six small career-themed academies in TV Production/Media Communications, Culinary Arts, Air Force Junior ROTC, Engineering & Robotics, Law, and Business Computing. The academies serve to create and maintain the benefits and feeling of a small high school, with the variety of courses and extracurricular activities that can only be offered at a large high school. Students take their academy classes every day, for all four years of high school and change academies (or enroll in more that one), if their schedule permits.Statistical analysis done by the school has indicated that among students who participate in the academies, on-time graduation rates are significantly higher, and overall attendance, behavior and academic performance in the core subject areas has improved.
On June 18, 2009, during his bid for re-election, Mayor Mayor 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...
claimed that during his administration, reported crimes at the school had dropped by a staggering 85%.
Awards & Achievements
In October 2011, Principal Nasser was selected to receive a NY Post Liberty Medal, for her work in creating a "small school feel, with higher graduation rates," at Truman.In June 2011, Truman Media Academy students Ernesto Gonzalez and Ian Denton won first place in the "Get Reel With Your Dreams" scholarship competition, hosted by Sade Baderinwa
Sade Baderinwa
Folasade Olayinka Baderinwa, known professionally as Sade Baderinwa , is an Emmy Award-winning news anchor at New York's WABC Channel 7. She co-anchors the weekday 5 p.m...
of WABC-TV
WABC-TV
WABC-TV, channel 7, is the flagship station of the Disney-owned American Broadcasting Company located in New York City. The station's studios and offices are located on the Upper West Side section of Manhattan, adjacent to ABC's corporate headquarters, and its transmitter is atop the Empire State...
and The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
for creating a 30-second public service announcement about child abuse.
In February 2011, Truman Media Academy students, while working on an internship at the Bronxnet
BronxNet
BronxNet is a Public, educational, and government access cable tv network in The Bronx, New York, airing on multiple Cablevision and Verizon FiOS channels. BronxNet is located on the campus of Lehman College....
Television network, received a New York Emmys nomination for their work on a show called "Open 2.0" in the Teen: Program/Special category.
School Facilities
Truman's main building consists of 7-stories and a basement. Athletic facilities include several dance studios, a wrestling gym, weight room, aerobics facility and large gymnasium, which can be separated into three smaller gyms. Outside, the school hosts an integrated baseball/football field, and 6-lane track and field competition area.The school's auditorium spans nearly three stories of the building vertically, and has two tiers of audience seating. The auditorium is shared with the connecting middle and elementary schools. Students are able to access it using underground tunnels that connect the five separate buildings.
When it was built, the school housed two indoor swimming pools. An Olympic-sized competition pool, which had been closed since 1995 due to rotting pipes, is set to reopen by January, 2012. An adjacent shallow training pool, also in disrepair, was not fixed due to a lack of sufficient funds. It is now hidden from view behind a wall built during the renovation.
The Northeast Bronx Planetarium is also housed on the first floor of Truman's main building. Truman Alumnus and former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr.
Adolfo Carrión Jr.
Adolfo Carrión, Jr. is a Democratic politician of Puerto Rican descent from City Island, located in New York City, New York. He has served for six and a half years as the 12th Borough President of the Bronx, the Chief Executive of the Borough...
secured $375,000 in capital funds to rehabilitate the space. The renovation replaced a decades-old system of over a dozen slide projectors with two high-resolution digital projectors, operated by a computer automation system. New carpet and seating was also installed. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held in November 2011 to officially reopen the space.
Several areas of the building have also been customized to meet the needs of the special academies. These modifications include a television editing lab, control room and studio, as well as a radio studio on the first floor. Two classroom-kitchens were built on the 5th and 6th floors to accommodate the culinary arts program and a third is being planned for the 7th floor. The law program is housed in a custom-built courtroom and law library, complete with judge and witness benches and a jury box. The engineering and robotics program works in a competition-style field-of-play on the first floor.
Athletics
The size of Truman High School (over 2000 students) does give it the benefit of having many sports programs and extracurricular activities.Fall Sports include
- Football Varsity and JV (Boys)
- Soccer Varsity (Boys)
- Cross Country Varsity(Boys and Girls)
- Volleyball Varsity (Girls)
- Cheerleading Varsity(Girls)
Winter Sports include
- Basketball Varsity (Boys and Girls) JV Boys
- Wrestling Varsity (Boys)
- Indoor Track (Boys and Girls)
Spring Sports
- Baseball Varsity and JV(Boys)
- Softball Varsity(Girls)
- Tennis Varsity (Boys and Girls)
- Track and Field Varsity (Girls and Boys)
Notable alumni
- Big TiggerBig TiggerDarian "Big Tigger" Morgan , also known as Big Tigg; is an American television and radio personality best known as the host of BET's Rap City and 106 & Park.- :...
- television host - Adolfo Carrión, Jr. - former Bronx borough president
- Stanley Jefferson - former professional baseball player
- Nathan LebronNathan LebronNathan Lebron is the first Hispanic to run for Mayor in the City of Albany and is one of the few Hispanics to have run in a mayoral general election in New York State.-Early life:...
- state politician - Peter Liguori - entertainment executive
- Miles Marshall LewisMiles Marshall LewisMiles Marshall Lewis is an American pop culture critic, essayist, literary editor, fiction writer, and music journalist. He is a graduate of Morehouse College, class of 1993....
- author and journalist - Rod StricklandRod StricklandRodney "Rod" Strickland is a retired American professional basketball player and currently in an administrative role for the University of Kentucky basketball team under head coach John Calipari. Strickland was formerly the director of basketball operations at the University of Memphis...
- professional basketball player - Kevin McMillan - Mayor of Neptune, NJ
- Swizz BeatzSwizz BeatzKasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...
- hip-hop producer - Raymond Raimundi - television news reporter and anchor, News 12 NetworksNews 12 NetworksNews 12 Networks comprises seven regional cable news television channels in the New York metropolitan area. The channels offer local news 24-hours a day and reach approximately 3.8 million television households in the tri-state area...