The
Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers is a public secondary school in New York City. It is located in
Lower ManhattanLower 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...
, adjacent to the
Brooklyn BridgeThe Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. Completed in 1883, it connects the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River...
and
City HallNew York City Hall is located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA, between Broadway, Park Row, and Chambers Street. The building is the oldest City Hall in the United States that still houses its original governmental functions, such as...
. Bergtraum offers business-oriented courses to prepare students for careers in
marketingMarketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
,
tourismTourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
,
finance"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
,
human resourcesHuman resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...
,
information systemsInformation Systems is an academic/professional discipline bridging the business field and the well-defined computer science field that is evolving toward a new scientific area of study...
,
economicsEconomics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
,
computer scienceComputer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
,
lawLaw is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
, and
secretarialA secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...
fields. The school also combines its business curriculum with an academic program that gears towards preparation for college. In recent years, the school has been integrating more
humanitiesThe humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
and
liberal artsThe term liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free citizen to study. Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic were the core liberal arts. In medieval times these subjects were extended to include mathematics, geometry, music and astronomy...
courses to enrichen the school's cirriculum.
Murry Bergtraum High School was one of the first business themed high schools in New York City, and inclusively, the United States. It has two sister schools that share its business theme: Norman Thomas High School (previously known as Central Commercial High School) and the
High School of Economics and FinanceThe 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...
. Out of the three schools, Murry Bergtraum is the largest of all the business high schools in this category and in the city due to its large, diverse business programs and course offerings.
Students in virtual enterprise classes have formed two companies in insurance and publishing. Other students get retail experience in a school store funded by
Ronald LauderRonald Steven Lauder is a Jewish-American businessman, civic leader, philanthropist, and art collector. Forbes lists Lauder among the richest people of the world with an estimated net worth of $3.0 billion in 2007.-Life and career:...
, head of
Estée LauderEstée Lauder Companies, Inc. is a manufacturer and marketer of prestige skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The company has its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-History:...
. The goal of former Principal Grace Julian was to have every student have a mentor from a corporation such as Estée Lauder for at least part of their high school career. Students and alumni often refer to themselves as "Bergtraumites."
It remains as one of the few large high schools in New York City as a result of
Michael Bloomberg'sMichael 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...
small-school restructuring projects. It was also exempted from chancellor
Joel Klein'sJoel 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...
citywide uniform curriculum initiated in 2003.
Historical Context
The History of Murry Bergtraum High School dates back to the Thanksgiving of 1916, the birthdate of Murry Bergtraum. Murry Bergtraum High School was established in 1975, in memory of Murry Bergtraum, a former President of the New York City Board of Education who passed away in 1974. Bergtraum joined the Board of Education on May 20, 1969. He was then elected Vice President of the Board of Education from July 1, 1970 to June 30, 1971. His widow Edith Katz Bergtraum, a public school teacher, was also politically active and a member of her local school board for 19 years. After her death in 1994, an elementary school in Queens (PS 165 in District 25) was renamed in her memory. The name
"Bergtraum" originates from the
German languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
. In the English language, it translates to
"mountain dream."
Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers was still under construction in 1975 while the first class of freshmen were attending classes at Pace University awaiting the completion of the new high school. While at the Pace campus, an art instructor held a school logo contest. Many designs were submitted by the students. Ultimately the winner chosen by the staff was a student named Norberto Feliciano. The winning school emblem is circular in design with a triangle in the center that represents the schools aerial view shape. The name of the school is within double circles, and the school initials placed within the triangle. Olive brances were placed within the logo as a sign of peace as also seen in the flag of the United Nations. The logo is used on letter heads, notebooks, t-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, team uniforms, and other school-branded items.
Bergtraum was the first academic comprehensive high school with business majors in New York City and one of the first in the United States. It was supported by the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association to prepare young people to enter the world of work and college.
Overview
Historically, there has been an average of over 3,000 students at Bergtraum during a given year, and it has been ranked as a "School of Excellence" by
U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
since 1999. It is well known for its girls' basketball team, having won thirteen consecutive PSAL championships as of 2011. Bergtraum offers majors in business that attracts students from all boroughs; receiving an average of 15,000 to 20,000 applications every year, making it one of the most popular schools in the city of New York. As an educational option school, it takes in students from alln academic levels.
The school population is structured as follows:
- 16% of the school is formed of students who are high performers.
- 68% of the school is formed of students who are average performers.
- 16% of the school is formed of students who are low performers.
Bergtraum has also been known for its unusual triangular shape, which leads to only half of the school building having windows. The exterior sides of the building have windows, while the interior portion of the building does not. Despite the design of the building, it stays very warm in the winter and very cool during the summer because of its centralized air-conditioning system.
As of spring 2007, the school would follow a 1-8 schedule, eliminating the 3-10 and leaving very few students with a 2-9 schedule.
As of September 2009, the school began to decrease its enrollment numbers to alleviate the overcrowding rate the school faced. The school's enrollment has dropped significantly from September, 2005 in which it had roughly 3,000 students enrolled. As of July 2009, that number has gone down to 2,589.
Principals
In its thirty-year history, Bergtraum has only had five principals, each of them female: Dr. Barbara Christen. Elsie Chan, Grace Julian, Barbara Esmilla who retired in June 2010 and Dr. Andrea D. Lewis.
Goals
Bergtraum has eight business majors, and also allows students to take Career and Technical Education examinations, such as the Microsoft Office Specialist examination. In the accounting major, students who take the Advanced Accounting course can take an exam to obtain
Certified Public AccountantCertified Public Accountant is the statutory title of qualified accountants in the United States who have passed the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination and have met additional state education and experience requirements for certification as a CPA...
qualifications. Bergtraum requires its students have a minimum of 12 business credits upon graduation.
Murry Bergtraum provides its students with what is called "dual preparation". Working in close collaboration with colleges, businesses and industries, Bergtraum offers an academic program which is integrated with skills, knowledge and career preparation. Students at Bergtraum may also be eligible for state-approved and industry-sponsored career and technical education endorsements.
School Facilities
Murry Bergtraum's facilities include:
A. Three Gymnasiums. Two are on the same floor, but offer different electives. This two-in-one gym was constructed to accommodate freshmen and sophomores. The third gym, for juniors, is located on the sixth floor, and focuses on cardiovascular exercise and dance.
B. Two functioning laboratories for science. All
biologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
,
chemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
,
physicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, and
marine biologyMarine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
laboratories are done in these two rooms.
C. A library. The Bergtraum library hosts internet service, as well as books, references, and career resources.
D. Computer laboratories. These rooms were once typewriting rooms; the old outlets on the floor mark the school's history.
Student body
Murry Bergtraum has 2,589 students and a diverse student body. Historically, Bergtraum's programs have catered to minority students, and the trend has not changed much since the school's opening. The ethnic composition is as follows:
- American Indian
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
: 0.08%
- Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
/Pacific IslanderPacific Islander , is a geographic term to describe the indigenous inhabitants of any of the three major sub-regions of Oceania: Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia.According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, these three regions, together with their islands consist of:Polynesia:...
: 14.79%
- Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
: 49.98%
- African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
: 32.60%
- White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
: 2.47%
- Students Not Reported: 0.08%
Bergtraum has had more females than males in previous years. As of the 2009-2010 school year, 50.83% of Bergtraum students are female and 49.17% of Bergtraum students are male.
The building hosts students with
special needsIn the USA, special needs is a term used in clinical diagnostic and functional development to describe individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. For instance, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International...
such as mental or physical
disabilitiesA disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
, or hearing impairment. Students who use a wheelchair can sometimes be seen throughout the building.
The school is only one out of two in
Lower ManhattanLower 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...
that also gives admittance to
English as a Second LanguageEnglish as a second language , English for speakers of other languages and English as a foreign language all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with different native languages. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is...
(ESL) students. Out of the 3,000-plus students, 11.97% are ESL students.
Academics
Bergtraum has more business courses with more majors than all of the Manhattan Business-themed high schools combined. Bergtraum and Norman Thomas High School are the only schools in Manhattan that allow students to concentrate with one major. Students not only choose the business area they wish to concentrate on, but students also face academic rigor in their regular New York State mandated education requirements. Students are allowed to have the standard 65 passing grade, but are encouraged to have an 80+ average. In an interview in Bergtraum's newspaper,
The Bergtraum Voice, Claire Panazzolo, an Ex-Assistant Principal of Business, stated that she "wanted Bergtraum to be the
StuyvesantStuyvesant 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...
of business".
The graduating class of 2006 was accepted to 85 different colleges and universities across the country, including schools of
Ivy LeagueThe 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...
caliber. Popular colleges and universities include: University at Albany,
Binghamton UniversityBinghamton University, also formally called State University of New York at Binghamton, , is a public research university in the State of New York. The University is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York system...
,
Hunter CollegeHunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
,
Baruch CollegeBernard M. Baruch College, more commonly known as Baruch College, is a constituent college of the City University of New York, located in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, New York City. With an acceptance rate of just 23%, Baruch is among the most competitive and diverse colleges in the nation...
, Stony Brook University,
Syracuse UniversitySyracuse 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...
and the
University of HartfordThe University of Hartford is a private, independent, nonsectarian, coeducational university located in West Hartford, Connecticut. The degree programs at the University of Hartford hold the highest levels of accreditation available in the US, including the Engineering Accreditation Commission of...
.
Business Programs
Bergtraum students acquire the skills to work in a business-like atmosphere. Bergtraum is divided into 8 houses, each house representing a specific major. Students in each house, or department, study in their major for their 4 years in high school. In addition, each student must obtain a minimum of 44-50 credits in order to graduate, regardless of house. In each department, all students are mandated to take a keyboarding/business career exploration course for one year, or two semesters/terms.
Majors
Majors at Bergtraum were once known and categorized by "Houses". However, as the school began its year of reformation, these houses were renamed to "Academies" as of September 2006. Students of the Graduating Class of 2009 will be the last graduating class to be known and categorized by individual "Houses". These new academies would have directors that would oversee the academic and social activity of students.
Economics and Finance
At Bergtraum, students in this major are known as
"Academy E" Students.
In the Finance major, students are introduced to accounting, business introduction,
business analysisBusiness analysis is the discipline of identifying business needs and determining solutions to business problems. Solutions often include a systems development component, but may also consist of process improvement, organizational change or strategic planning and policy development...
,
lawLaw is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
and computer applications, college level accounting, taxation, and financial investments.
The director of the
Institute of Economics and Finance is currently Jared Vitolo.
Accounting
At Bergtraum, students in this major are known as
"Academy A" Students.
In the Accounting major, students learn basic to complex accounting. This program mocks the previous stenography major that taught all types of stenography such as Gregg Stenography, Alpha Stenography, etc.
The director of the
Accounting Academy is currently Barbara Cortez.
Human Resources Management
At Bergtraum, students in this major are known as
"Academy H" Students.
In the Administrative Assistant Technology major, students are introduced to Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certifications in
WordMicrosoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
,
ExcelMicrosoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
,
PowerpointMicrosoft PowerPoint, usually just called PowerPoint, is a non-free commercial presentation program developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite, and runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating system...
, and
AccessMicrosoft Office Access, previously known as Microsoft Access, is a relational database management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools. It is a member of the Microsoft Office suite of...
programs,
notetakingNotetaking is the practice of recording information captured from a transient source, such as an oral discussion at a meeting, or a lecture. Notes of a meeting are usually called minutes. The format of the initial record may often be informal and/or unstructured. One common format for such notes is...
(
ShorthandShorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed or brevity of writing as compared to a normal method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek stenos and graphē or graphie...
), business English,
internetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
,
business analysisBusiness analysis is the discipline of identifying business needs and determining solutions to business problems. Solutions often include a systems development component, but may also consist of process improvement, organizational change or strategic planning and policy development...
, and business protocols.
The director of the
Academy of Human Resources Management is currently Renato da Silva.
Information Systems
At Bergtraum, students in this major are known as
"Academy F" Students.
In the Information Systems major, students are introduced to MOS certifications in
WordMicrosoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
,
ExcelMicrosoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
,
PowerpointMicrosoft PowerPoint, usually just called PowerPoint, is a non-free commercial presentation program developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite, and runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating system...
, and
AccessMicrosoft Office Access, previously known as Microsoft Access, is a relational database management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools. It is a member of the Microsoft Office suite of...
programs, integrated computer applications, and
desktop publishingDesktop publishing is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal computer.The term has been used for publishing at all levels, from small-circulation documents such as local newsletters to books, magazines and newspapers...
.
The director of the
Information Systems Academy is currently Anita Bonner.
Global Marketing Travel, Tourism and Hospitality
At Bergtraum, students in this major are known as
"Academy W" Students.
In the Travel and Tourism major, students are introduced to
geographyGeography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, computer systems, job shadowing, paid summer internships, and participate in the
virtual enterpriseA virtual enterprise is a temporary alliance of businesses or persons that come together to share skills or core competencies and resources in order to better respond to business opportunities, and whose cooperation is supported by computer networks....
program. This course is tied with the previous "
L House" in order to make room for "
Academy G"
As of September 2010, the director of this academy is Ms. Ammatuna.
Computer Science
At Bergtraum, students in this major are known as
"Academy C" Students.
In the Computer Science major, students are introduced to
QBasicQBasic is an IDE and interpreter for a variant of the BASIC programming language which is based on QuickBASIC. Code entered into the IDE is compiled to an intermediate form, and this intermediate form is immediately interpreted on demand within the IDE. It can run under nearly all versions of DOS...
,
C++C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
,
HTMLHyperText Markup Language is the predominant markup language for web pages. HTML elements are the basic building-blocks of webpages....
,
JavascriptJavaScript is a prototype-based scripting language that is dynamic, weakly typed and has first-class functions. It is a multi-paradigm language, supporting object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles....
, web page design,
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
and
Microsoft AccessMicrosoft Office Access, previously known as Microsoft Access, is a relational database management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools. It is a member of the Microsoft Office suite of...
,
desktop publishingDesktop publishing is the creation of documents using page layout software on a personal computer.The term has been used for publishing at all levels, from small-circulation documents such as local newsletters to books, magazines and newspapers...
,
computer graphicsComputer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
.
The director of the
Computer Science Institute is currently Anna Kavrakis.
Legal Studies
At Bergtraum, students in this major are known as
"Academy L" Students.
In the Legal Studies major, students are introduced to business law, trial procedures, general law, basic law of contracts,
real estateIn general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
law,
urban planningUrban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
,
constitutional lawConstitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
, and participate in courthouse visits.
The director of the
Legal Studies Academy is currently Renato Da Silva.
Marketing, Introduction to Business
At Bergtraum, students in this major are known as
"Academy M" Students.
In the Marketing major, students are introduced to the principles of
marketingMarketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
and
advertisingAdvertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
,
retailingRetail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
,
insuranceIn law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
, business law, business computer operations, sports marketing, and participate in the
Estée LauderEstée Lauder Companies, Inc. is a manufacturer and marketer of prestige skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The company has its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-History:...
retail academy. This major is tied along with the previous
L and M houses. Both houses now contain the same conjunct courses.
The director of the
Marketing Academy is currently Mark Malkonian.
Communications/Instructional Support/Special Education
At Bergtraum, students in this major are known as
"I, O, or Z Academy" Students.
Students in this house must follow procedures according to their respective major, however their classes are taught differently from regular education students.
The director of these departments currently is Tessa Austin
Graduation requirements
Murry Bergtraum High School students face the same requirements as all students in New York City do. A minimum of 50-54 credits is required to graduate from Bergtraum, however, most of the students graduate with as many as 60 credits. Students are required to study :
- 4 years of English, and take the English Language Regents examination
Regents High School examinations, sometimes shortened to the Regents, are mandatory in New York State through the New York State Education Department, designed and administered under the authority of the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York...
at the end of their Junior year.
- 3 years of Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, and take the Math ANew York State Math education in regards to both content and teaching method can vary depending on the type of school a person attends. Private school math education varies from school to school whereas New York has State wide public school requirements where standardized tests are used to...
and Math BNew York State Math education in regards to both content and teaching method can vary depending on the type of school a person attends. Private school math education varies from school to school whereas New York has State wide public school requirements where standardized tests are used to...
Regents exam, or can substitute specific courses to earn the credits for Math BNew York State Math education in regards to both content and teaching method can vary depending on the type of school a person attends. Private school math education varies from school to school whereas New York has State wide public school requirements where standardized tests are used to...
.
- 4 years of historical studies, including Global History and American History. Regents exams are taken when the student finishes each course.
- 3 years of a foreign language. Languages offered include Chinese
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
(Level 3 and 4 only), FrenchFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and SpanishSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
- 3 years of science. Regents courses are available for Living Environment Biology, Earth Science
Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...
, ChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, and PhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
. Marine BiologyMarine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
is available as an optional course, however no Regents exam is offered. Students must complete at least 2 Regents exams if offered Marine Biology in their freshman year. (In order to qualify for a Regents exam, students must complete 30 hours of laboratory instruction.)
- 3 and 1/2 years of physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
, and 1/2 a year of health educationHealth education is the profession of educating people about health. Areas within this profession encompass environmental health, physical health, social health, emotional health, intellectual health, and spiritual health...
.
- 4 years of business study. Passing all business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
courses is mandated in order to graduate with the Bergtraum seal. Specific business courses will depend on the department the student is in.
- Half a year of Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
al Instruction/Appreciation.
- Half a year of Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
Instruction/Appreciation.
- Half a year of an Internship based class. Internship classes are held in the school.
- Work-Based Business Credit. Students who work a specific amount of hours each Semester qualify to receive an elective business credit.
September 11, 2001
Murry Bergtraum High School, along with other high schools of the Lower Manhattan area were the first schools evacuated when terrorists attacked the
World Trade CenterThe 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...
on September 11, 2001. Although Bergtraum is located in the
Lower East SideThe Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
section of
ManhattanManhattan 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...
, the school administration ordered an immediate evacuation of the building. The building was evacuated in three minutes. It was the first high school in New York City that had successful evacuation of students.
The school was labeled as a "
Ground ZeroThe term ground zero describes the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation...
" school (by the NYFD)--students were relocated to the
High School of Art and DesignThe High School of Art and Design is a Career and Technical Education high school located at 1075 Second Avenue, between 56th and 57th Streets in Manhattan, New York City, New York.It is operated by the New York City Department of Education...
in Upper Manhattan. The Bergtraum administration were unhappy with the relocation and appealed it, and their building was re-opened and students resumed their studies within a few days.
Reforms
Bergtraum began to face new ideas of reform during the Spring Term of the 2005-2006 academic school year. Due to certain measures to improve not only performance, but also student morale, new measures and new plans began to be introduced by the Principal, and the School Leadership Team. Certain reforms include:
A. The attempt to restore the Bergtraum building after 31 years of establishment.
B. A sharp decrease in the amount of students admitted into the school. Incoming freshmen classes averaged to about 900 to 1000 students. , that number is down to approximately 800. The school currently faces a 131% overcrowding rate—that is, there are 36% more students than the building was designed to accommodate.
C. The introduction of a new dress code to bring a more professional environment to the school. Students now follow a mandatory "dress for success" every Wednesday. The school uniform policy has been discontinued.
Courses and Programs
Bergtraum offers many courses to its students, including:
Advanced Placement Courses
Advanced Placement courses, which are eligible for college credit, include Calculus AB,
English LanguageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and
English LiteratureEnglish literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
,
Environmental ScienceEnvironmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physical and biological sciences, to the study of the environment, and the solution of environmental problems...
, Accounting, United States History, and
World HistoryWorld History, Global History or Transnational history is a field of historical study that emerged as a distinct academic field in the 1980s. It examines history from a global perspective...
.
Non-Advanced Placement Elective Courses
Bergtraum has many elective courses for students to take that tend to be more advanced in their curriculum and more rigorous in their nature:
- Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
- Shakespeare
- Analytical Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
- Intermediate Algebra
- 11th Year Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
- 12th Year Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
- Advanced Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
- Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
ArtArt is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
- Advanced Foreign Language Classes for Native Speakers/Beginners
- Yearbook
A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a book to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school or a book published annually. Virtually all American, Australian and Canadian high schools, most colleges and many elementary and middle schools publish yearbooks...
- Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
- Tech Prep
- Sophomore English Honors
- College Accounting
- Python 3
- Senior English Honors Fusion
- Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
- Business Communications
- Conflict Mediation with Carolyn Djokoto
Alma mater
The school has its own song that is, by tradition, sung at the commencement exercises every June. The song was composed by retired music teacher, J.A. Negri. Negri retired in 2007 after many years of working as a music teacher at the school.
Partnerships
Bergtraum has many sponsors, especially in the corporate field, including:
- Estée Lauder
Estée Lauder Companies, Inc. is a manufacturer and marketer of prestige skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. The company has its headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-History:...
- Royal & Sun Alliance
- Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA , doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker...
- Bear Stearns
The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. based in New York City, was a global investment bank and securities trading and brokerage, until its sale to JPMorgan Chase in 2008 during the global financial crisis and recession...
- American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
- JP Morgan Chase
- Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
- New York Urban League
- Futures & Options
- The Financial Women's Association
- St. John's University
St. John's University is a private, Roman Catholic, coeducational university located in New York City, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission in 1870, the school was originally located in the borough of Brooklyn in the neighborhood of Bedford–Stuyvesant...
- Baruch College
Bernard M. Baruch College, more commonly known as Baruch College, is a constituent college of the City University of New York, located in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, New York City. With an acceptance rate of just 23%, Baruch is among the most competitive and diverse colleges in the nation...
- Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
- BMCC
The Borough of Manhattan Community College is one of six two-year colleges within the City University of New York system and the only one in Manhattan. Founded in 1963, BMCC originally offered business-oriented and liberal arts degrees for those intending to enter the business world or transfer...
- The New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
.
- The YWCA
The YWCA USA is the United States branch of a women's membership movement that strives to create opportunities for women's growth, leadership and power in order to attain a common vision—to eliminate racism and empower women. The YWCA is a non-profit organization, the first of which was founded in...
- Downtown Beekman Hospital
- The Hispanic Federation of New York
- Pace University
Pace University is an American private, co-educational, and comprehensive multi-campus university in the New York metropolitan area with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York.-Programs:...
- Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
- FIT
The Fashion Institute of Technology, generally known as FIT, is a State University of New York college of art, business, design, and technology connected to the fashion industry, with an urban campus located on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of...
- Katherine Gibbs School
- Manhattan Theater Club
- Atlantic Theater Company
Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater, whose mission is to produce great plays "simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble." The company was founded in 1985 by David Mamet, William H. Macy, and 30 of their acting students from New York University, inspired by the...
- Roundabout Theatre Company
- Lincoln Center Theater
- Guardian Life Insurance
- Institute for Student Achievement
The Institute for Student Achievement is a "high school turnaround partner" for public school districts attempting to improve high school education, particularly for at-risk students. ISA offers both a comprehensive model and, for those schools and districts whose needs are less profound, ISA...
Extracurricular Activities
Bergtraum has many activities for students to participate in. Such activities include the Student Government/Union, Senior Council, Council For Unity, internships on and off site, and more. Academic teams and groups include Math Team, Mock Trial, Moot Court and the National Honor Society. Other clubs include: The Black Student Union, Salsa Club, Chinese Christian Society, Christian Society, Ambassadors Club, Model UN, Chinese Talent Society, West Indian Club, The Political Action Committee and the Asian Club.
PSAL Sports Teams
The school participates in the Public Schools Athletic League. The Bergtraum Lady Blazers are the second best girls' basketball team in the entire country, and the reigning thirteen-time city champion. Bergtraum also has other sports teams, including
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
,
bowlingBowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
,
cross countryCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
,
handballAmerican handball is a sport in which players hit a small rubber ball against a wall using their hands.- History :...
,
tennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, indoor and outdoor
trackTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
,
volleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
,
softballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
,
baseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, and soccer.
Awards and recognition
Besides being ranked "A School Of Excellence" by U.S. News & World Report, Bergtraum has won countless awards in the sports area, The Kurt Thomas Investment Challenge, the
ThinkQuest Awards, and the Lincoln-Douglas Debates.
ThinkQuest NYC Award winning teams, led by Ms. D'Amato, Ms Ashley & Tony Cai:
Popular culture
- The Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
games Project Gotham Racing 3Project Gotham Racing 3 is an arcade-style racing game that was released with the launch of the Xbox 360 on November 22, 2005 for the US market and December 2, 2005 in Europe, and was released on January 12, 2006 in Japan. Developed by Bizarre Creations, it is the third installment in the Project...
and Project Gotham Racing 4Project Gotham Racing 4 is the fourth title in the main Project Gotham Racing series, developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Game Studios.-Development history:...
show the award winning and unique design of MBHS in many scenarios.
Dress for Success
Dress for Success days are a long-time tradition started in business high schools. This provides the opportunity for students, including those of Bergtraum; to dress in business attire. The original philosophy was to have students dress appropriately for school, but over the span of 31 years, business collaboratives expressed interest in hiring students fresh out of high school. Meaning that "Dress for Success" at Bergtraum was also created to prepare students for the demands of the workforce, and in turn, students are approached and offered internships with business collaboratives or with alumni who run their own businesses.
As of August 2007, the Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers has made dressing for success a mandatory event.
Notable alumni
- Vanessa Gibson
Vanessa L. Gibson is a state Assemblywoman for New York's 77th district, which includes the Concourse, Highbridge, and Morris Heights sections of the Southwest Bronx....
, New York State Assemblywoman
- John Leguizamo
Jonathan Alberto "John" Leguizamo is an Colombian-American actor, producer, voice artist, and comedian.-Early life:...
- Jonathan Davis, better known as Q-Tip
Kamaal Ibn John Fareed , better known by his stage name Q-Tip, is an American hip hop artist, producer, singer, and actor from St. Albans, Queens, New York, part of the critically acclaimed group A Tribe Called Quest...
- Caridad de la Luz
Caridad De la Luz , a.k.a. "La Bruja" , is a poet, actress and activist.-Early years:De la Luz, whose parents moved to New York City from Puerto Rico, was born and raised in the South Bronx. There she also received her primary and secondary education...
- Damian "JD" Redman, morning show host at WAJZ
WAJZ is an urban-leaning Rhythmic Contemporary station serving the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and operates at 96.3 MHz with an ERP of 6 kW and is licensed to Voorheesville, New York...
in Albany, New York
- Damon Wayans
Damon Kyle Wayans is an American stand-up comedian, writer and actor, one of the Wayans brothers.-Early life:Wayans was born in New York City, New York, the son of Elvira, a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Wayans, a supermarket manager...
- Miguel Morales1st season of Top Chef
- Epiphanny Prince
Epiphanny Prince is an American basketball player for Rutgers University Women's team and Galatasaray Medical Park from Turkey. She is best known for scoring 113 points for Murry Bergtraum in a high school game in 2006, breaking a girls' national prep record previously held by Hall of Famer Cheryl...
, a Bergtraum women's basketball player, holds the national record for scoring in a game (113 points), and is an integral part of Rutgers UniversityRutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
women's basketball team. Current WNBA Chicago Sky Player
- Atalya Slater, was on America's Next Top Model
America's Next Top Model is a reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of America's Next Top Model and a chance to start their career in the modeling industry....
Cycle 10.
- Shannon Bobbitt
Shannon Denise Bobbitt is an American professional basketball player for the WNBA's Indiana Fever. One of eight children and a native of the Bronx, New York Bobbitt honed her basketball skills on the neighborhood project courts of Harlem...
, Bergtraum women's basketball player, 2005 JUCO player of the year, won back-to-back national championships as starting point guard for the Tennessee Lady Vols, was drafted 15th by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2008 draft and is currently playing for Los Angeles.
- Jimmy Cozier
-Biography:Cozier was encouraged to sing as a child by his family, who would demand that he perform in group settings. He started out as a singer/songwriter for artists such as Mýa, Sinéad O'Connor, and Janet Jackson...
, American R&B singer.
Notable faculty
- Noreen Begley was the first woman in 1992 to coach boys basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
when she coached the Blazers to the finals in what was known during as the "B division."
- Ed Berg, former faculty member, was the chairman of Social Science department and best remembered for having taught Advanced Placement Economics competitively by expunging the students midyear who were performing on the lower half of the class curve.
- Carolyn Powell, Ph.D, known to some as the successor of Ed Berg. Powell was nominated and entrusted with the position of college advisor in June, 2009.
- Irene Gianacoplos is the last coordinator and one of the few shorthand
Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed or brevity of writing as compared to a normal method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek stenos and graphē or graphie...
supporters/instructors in the Public Education system.
- Mary DiServio was the only member of the school faculty that was a certified Microsoft Office Specialist and Expert in Microsoft Word
Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...
, Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Excel is a proprietary commercial spreadsheet application written and distributed by Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. It features calculation, graphing tools, pivot tables, and a macro programming language called Visual Basic for Applications...
, Microsoft PowerpointMicrosoft PowerPoint, usually just called PowerPoint, is a non-free commercial presentation program developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite, and runs on Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS X operating system...
, and Microsoft AccessMicrosoft Office Access, previously known as Microsoft Access, is a relational database management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software-development tools. It is a member of the Microsoft Office suite of...
. DiServio officially retired in June, 2009.
- Alex McDonald, an English teacher, is a musician. Known as Paranoid Larry, he has his own record label.
Related links
Department links