Village School (Great Neck, New York)

Infobox School2
name = Village School


established = 1970
type = Senior high school [ [http://www.nysed.gov/admin/280407/030016.html Type of school] ; URL accessed October 23, 2007.]
head_name = Director
head = Stephen Goldberg
city = Great Neck
state = New York
country = USA
website = [http://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/GNPS/VS/index.html www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/GNPS/VS/index.html]

Village School is a high school, comprising grades 9 through 12. It is located in Great Neck, New York, as part of the Great Neck School District. A wide variety of students attend the Village School. The Village School's catalogue describes the students saying,

All have at least average ability, some have exceptional learning abilities and artistic talents, while others have special educational needs. Students who may have felt lost and isolated in a large school often thrive in the smaller and more personalized setting of the Village School. [ [http://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/GNPS/NHS/guidance/catalog/28_VS.pdf] Village School, accessed May 16, 2007]

The school describes itself as a "college preparatory public high school dedicated to encouraging academic success through a non-traditional, innovative curriculum". [ [http://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/GNPS/VS/index.html] Great Neck Village School official Web site, accessed April 28, 2007]

Co-founder Arnie Langberg has been called "one of the most important pioneers in the field of public alternative education." [ [http://www.educationrevolution.org/issue27.html] The quote is from Jerry Mintz, founder of the Alternative Education Resource Organization, in an interview Mintz conducted with Langberg, "Radio Interview With Arnie Langberg on the Night of the Littleton Tragedy" appearing in "The Education Revolution Magazine", Summer 1999, accessed March 1, 2007]

The Village School, established in 1970, is one of the America's oldest and most successful alternative high schools. The School enjoys a national reputation and has been positively evaluated by the Center for the Study of Educational Alternatives at Hofstra University. The American School Board Journal granted its Magna Award to the School for its exemplary, nontraditional, high school program. [ [http://secure.nsba.org/site/print.asp?TRACKID=&VID=55&ACTION=PRINT&CID=1465&DID=40577 "Magna Awards presented today"] , "American School Board Journal", April 16, 2007. Accessed October 18, 2007. "Great Neck (N.Y.) Public Schools -- Village School."] As a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools, the Village School and its staff work closely with other member schools and with the education faculty of Brown University. [http://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/GNPS/Pages/profiles/vsprofile08.pdf] Great Neck Public Schools Web site, PDF document titled "Great Neck Public Schools: The Village School", accessed October 18, 2007.]

The Village School does not employ a traditional grading system; rather, it uses an individualized contract system in which students earn credits as they meet curriculum goals they have established with their teachers. Authentic, performance, and portfolio assessments of these student/teacher goals have long been a hallmark of a Village School transcript. Approximately 90 percent of Village School graduates are accepted at either four-year or two-year colleges. Approximately 50 students are enrolled in the Village School each academic year. In the 1970s students obtained credit for such activities as hitchhiking across North Africa, in the 1980s student work included designing software for a computer company, and being a sports magazine intern."Alternative Schools Adapt," by Fannie Weinstein. "The New York Times", June 8, 1986, section A page 14.

The Village School offers focused studies in the traditional academic areas: English, social studies, science, math, foreign language, art, and music. Some students elect to take additional courses at off-campus institutions, such as local colleges, the Great Neck Adult Program, or at one of Great Neck's two traditional high schools. Students often explore special areas of interest through guided independent study and the School's internship program.

History

In Great Neck, the Village School occupies an A-frame cottage and annex that once served as a community recreation center. The first students, chosen by lottery, were creative types — artists, dancers, musicians — stifled by the discipline and structure of other schools. In later years, though, the Village School lost much of its cachet after attracting some students with drug and behavior problems. Parents refused to send their children, and enrollment dropped to as low as 28 during the mid-1990s.cite news|last=Hu|first=Winnie|coauthors=|title=Profile Rises at School Where Going Against the Grain Is the Norm |pages=|publisher=The New York Times|date=2007-11-12|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/12/education/12village.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print|accessdate=2007-11-26]

Stephen Goldberg, the principal, said the school toughened its academic and attendance policies and began requiring students and their parents to sign a no drug and alcohol pledge that calls for the automatic expulsion of violators. “I think we’re a niche school, and we fill a need, but I don’t think every school should be like the Village School,” he said. “Our student is a kid whose light switch is off, but there’s a lot of wattage.”

Demographics

The student body in the school year of 2004-2005 consists of: [ [http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/repcrd2005/cir/280407030016.pdf School Comprehensive Information Report (PDF)] ; URL accessed June 1, 2006.]
* 2.2% African American
* 10.9% Asian American/Pacific Islander
* 80.4% Caucasian
* 6.5% Hispanic American

Information

* Address: 614 Middle Neck Road Great Neck, New York, 11023
* Alternative school: Yes
* Magnet school: No
* Coeducational: Yes
* School district: Great Neck School District

Notable alumni

*Nikki Blonsky, actress who starred as Tracy Turnblad in the 2007 film version of "Hairspray" transferred to the school in her sophomore year. [Fischler, Marcelle S. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/08/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/08mainli.html?ref=theater "For ‘Hairspray’ Star, ‘My Darn Dream Come True’"] , "The New York Times", July 8, 2007. Accessed July 11, 2007. "In her sophomore year, unable to find her niche, she switched from the John L. Miller-Great Neck North High School to the Village School, the district’s alternative high school, with 50 students. After class, she joined the theater program at the William A. Shine Great Neck South High School..."]
* Ilan Hall, chef and restaurateur, winner of season two of Bravo TV's "Top Chef" competition
* Jesse Friedman, who with his father Arnold was the subject of the child-molestation case documented in "Capturing the Friedmans". ["An Uphill Fight to Shed a Lifelong Label," by Corey Kilgannon. "The New York Times," September 10, 2006, section 14LI, page 1.]
*David Chaim Smith, Jewish mystic, author of "Kabbalistic Mirror of Genesis"

References

External links

* [http://www.greatneck.k12.ny.us/ Great Neck Public School official site]
* [http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/ny/987 Great Schools Web site information on Great Neck Village School]