Challenging the Gifted Bronx High School of Science

WHEN the Bronx High School of Science celebrated its silver anniversary in June of 1963, the late President Kennedy hailed it as “a significant and pathfinding example of a special program devoted to the development of the student gifted in science and mathematics.” The President had occasion to know the quality of the school’s product since he had recently selected one of its graduates, thirty-five-year-old Dr. Harold Brown, of the class of 1943, for the position of director of Defense Research and Engineering, one of the most sensitive and important research and development jobs in the world.

The Bronx High School of Science, one of the public high schools of the city of New York, was established in 1938 as a school for the gifted. Its special purpose was to identify boys of high potential in science and mathematics and to provide enriched opportunities for the development of their talents. Eight years later it opened its doors to girls with similar talents and aspirations. Its current population consists of approximately 1800 boys and and 1000 girls.

In the twenty-seven years of its existence, the school has skyrocketed to a position of prominence in the field of secondary education. Each year, educators from every part of the world make their way to the north Bronx to study the school’s program and to see it in action. In Manila and in Ankara, schools closely modeled on the Bronx High School of Science have recently been organized. Here in the United States, groups of citizens in Pittsburgh, in Philadelphia, and in other large cities have initiated movements to establish similar schools.

What accounts for the unusual attention the school has attracted? In part, it is the unbroken record of scholastic achievement of its students. Year after year, its graduates win large numbers of scholarships. Last year’s senior class of 900 students, all of whom went on to college, won more than 700 New York State and other scholarships, totaling about $1.5 million. Bronx Science students have also consistently excelled in the National Merit Scholarship Competition, and have produced the highest number of winners in the National Science Talent Search in the twenty-four-year history of that contest. Currently, the school holds the first-place cup in the national competition sponsored by the Mathematical Association of America. However, achievement is only part of the story of the school and is simply a by-product of its special quality. That quality is a spirit of intellectual excitement, of enthusiasm for experience, of cooperative effort, of keen social awareness and responsibility, and of broad fundamental interests that permeate the atmosphere of the school. It is generated and maintained by the people of the school: its teachers, its pupils, their parents, and the great New York community.

The Bronx High School of Science has the right to select all of its pupils. They qualify on the basis of an entrance examination and an evaluation of their records. Any pupil who resides in the city of New York may become a candidate, and each year some 4000 pupils from all parts of the city take the entrance examination. This examination is prepared by the testing service at Teachers College, Columbia University, and consists of two parts, one that tests verbal ability and one that tests mathematical and reasoning ability. The scores attained by the candidates on these tests, together with an evaluation of their previous academic records, special attainments, and lower-school recommendations, constitute the basis for admission. About one out of every four candidates is admitted.

The selection process produces an entering class with a reading and arithmetic ability which runs, on the average, two years ahead of their age level, a history of high academic achievement and interest, and a favorable disposition toward science and mathematics. It is also noteworthy that the new entrants are about one year younger than those in the same grade in the regular high schools. Most of them gained the year in the special-progress classes of the junior high schools.

In many respects, students at Science High resemble their counterparts in other high schools. They come from the whole range of economic and cultural levels characteristic of a great metropolis. They are interested in music of both longand short-haired varieties, in folk singing, athletics, social activities, dramatics, and sports. They make the usual complaints about too much homework, but they always seem to find the time for it, as well as for a great many extra activities of their own choosing. As a group, they are keenly alert to the social and political issues of our day and tend to involve themselves actively in causes in which they believe.

GIVEN this kind of student body, the school has developed a philosophy and method to meet its challenge. From the beginning, under the farsighted leadership of its founding principal, Dr. Morris Meister, the school accepted the responsibility for identifying and developing talented students in the fields of science and mathematics, but it avoided narrow specialization by exposing its students to a well-rounded program strong in the humanities as well as in the sciences.

The special science orientation of the school is best understood in terms of its two distinct goals — that of general education and that of special education. In the context of general education, the school recognizes that in the modern world, science is no longer solely the business of the scientist but invades every field of human activity — government, politics, economics, art, religion, philosophy, music, and education. The preparation of tomorrow’s citizens for action and leadership must include a thorough foundation in the meanings and methods of science. In the context of special education, the school notes that the early identification and development of talent, particularly in the sciences and mathematics, are now a national imperative. Nevertheless, the school does not assume the commitment of all its students to careers in science and mathematics. Experience has shown, however, that when gifted students with a favorable initial disposition toward science and mathematics are exposed to rich programs in these areas and to the opportunities they offer for service and personal fulfillment, many are inspired to choose careers of this type.

The philosophy of the school is reflected in its curriculum. In one respect it differs sharply from typical high school curricula in that about 90 percent of it is prescribed and only 10 percent is elective. The school takes the view that the faculty knows better than the student at this early stage of his life what combinations of courses will provide a sound educational base. Every student is exposed to a balanced program in which the humanities as well as the sciences are fully represented.

Each term a student takes five major and one to three minor subjects. The prescribed work includes four years of English, four years of social studies, three years of foreign language, four years of science, including basic biology, chemistry, and physics, and three years of mathematics. Every student also takes a one-year course in mechanical drawing and a one-half-year course in industrial arts. These two courses are designed to give close support to the science programs by providing shop experiences and techniques useful in the laboratory. In addition, there are the usual required courses in health education, hygiene, music appreciation, and art. Electives to the extent of two to three one-year courses may be selected from courses in advanced sciences, foreign languages, advanced mathematics, art, social studies, and advanced industrial arts. The senior year offers challenging alternatives to the regular major courses in a well-developed advanced-placement program in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, English, and social studies. Last year, Science students wrote 340 advancedplacement examinations given by the College Entrance Examination Board. This was 1.1 percent of all such examinations taken by high school students in the United States. The success of Science students in these examinations has been consistently above the national average, and large numbers of graduates have been able to go on to second-year courses on entering college.

To maintain the vitality of the curriculum, the school has always been in the forefront of curriculum development. Its faculty has worked closely with city, state, and national experimental programs in physics, chemistry, and biology. The science departments have pioneered in creating special advanced courses apart from the advancedplacement program. Of particular interest among these are the history and development of science; modern instrumentation, which acquaints students with some key instruments now used in scientific and industrial laboratories; and microbiology, a course in techniques for growing and studying microorganisms.

There is also a special-project program for students with a creative bent in the sciences. Several project laboratories are reserved for individual work, for which students apply by submitting recommendations from their science teachers to the chairmen of the science departments. Those selected are programmed to one of the project laboratories for a regular five-period-a-week assignment under the supervision of the teacher in charge.

In the science project class the atmosphere of a research laboratory is created. Every student is helped to set up a program for defining and solving a research problem geared to his capabilities. The student works at his own pace and according to his own plan. He is free to go to the school library for research reading or to consult faculty specialists. Occasionally, he seeks advice from professional scientists working in local research centers and universities. A stimulating feature of the project classes is the periodic seminar session, at which students report to the group on their progress to date. These reports are followed by exchanges of ideas and criticism that often suggest new lines of attack to the young researchers.

Here is a sampling of titles of these student projects: The Effect of Avidin on the Growth of Walker256 Rat Tumors; A Determination of the Usefulness of Measures of Variation of Atmospheric Electric Potential Gradient in Weather Forecasting; Design of a Low Band-width System of Phase Modulated Synchronized Subcarrier Cathode Ray Facsimile; Fortran Mast — A New Processor of the IBM 1620; Findings on Inoculation of a Medium of Lysed Escherichia coli Strain B Bacteria With T2 Bacteriophage; Application of Numerical Analysis to Information Theory With Particular Reference to Loudspeaker Testing.

In mathematics, there is a special four-year program that takes the student through analytical geometry and college calculus. Modernized versions of algebra and plane and solid geometry are followed by a course in the new mathematics based on symbolic logic, sets, groups, fields, and an introduction to functions, vectors, and probability. There is also a separate elective course in finite mathematics which includes a treatment of linear programming and the theory of games.

The mathematics department, under the imaginative leadership of Dr. Irving A. Dodes, was probably the first in the United States to set up a high school course in numerical analysis and computer programming. The school has an IBM 1620 computer laboratory, which makes it possible for about one hundred students a year to learn how to program solutions for statistical and mathematical problems. An interesting sidenote on the computer program is the fact that it has provided its graduates with excellent opportunities for summer employment.

IN THE humanities, the programs have been as energetic as those in the sciences. The Bronx High School of Science is probably the only high school in the United States that requires a four-year program in social studies. This includes geography, government, economics, American history, and current world history as reflected in American foreign policy. In line with the recommendation of the National Task Force Report, economics is first taught as a separate discipline and then applied to the economic aspects of the history of the United States after 1865. For the student who shows special interest in the social studies, the last two years are enriched to bring him gradually up to and through the college advanced-placement program. This two-year approach to advanced placement eliminates the crash nature of the usual program, which is crowded into the senior year. A more leisurely atmosphere encourages students to explore and discuss social and economic problems in depth. A similar two-year approach has also been established in the advanced-placement program in English. Among the special offerings of the English and social studies departments are techniques of public discussion, a course in the methods of bringing issues before the public, world literature, journalism, dramatics, and creative writing.

The foreign language department offers four languages: French, Spanish, Hebrew, and Russian, one of which is taken by a student for a minimum of three years. He may choose to continue studying it for a fourth year, when facility in the use of the language and an appreciation of its outstanding literature are stressed. Although fourth-year foreign language is not an advanced-placement program, many pupils acquire sufficient mastery by the end of the course to win advanced standing in college.

In the required music and art programs, there is a well-balanced combination of appreciation, knowledge, and participation. The activities of the music department involve several hundred students in a symphony orchestra, three choruses, and several chamber groups and ensembles. The art and mechanical drawing department offers, in addition to the required course, an advanced course in painting and sculpture and one in architecture.

An imaginative program in health education combines health instruction with interesting physical activities, including intraclass sports, folk and square dancing, gymnastics, games, and trampoline and apparatus work.

A most significant evaluation of the school’s curriculum has been made by Dr. James B. Conant in his book Stums and Suburbs. Dr. Conant writes, “in my judgment comprehensive high schools across the nation must accept the challenge of providing as sound an education for academically talented youth as that given in the Bronx High School of Science.”

To present such a program requires a faculty that has thorough competence in subject matter, high enthusiasm for teaching and learning, and the ability to inspire bright young people and to be inspired by them. There are 130 teachers on the Science staff, appointed from the general pool licensed by the New York City Board of Examiners. Practically all of them have a master’s degree in their specialties, and an impressive number have earned their Ph.D.’s and become authors of textbooks and professional articles.

The greatest single factor in stimulating the professionalism and initiative of the faculty is the eagerness and alertness of the student body. Meeting the challenge of an appreciative yet critical audience is an exciting experience, and leads many faculty members to attend summer institutes and universities for refresher and advanced courses.

Students at the Bronx High School of Science differ widely in capabilities. Even among the highest achievers, there are significant differences between those who excel in the kind of mastery normally tested by written examination and those who are capable of innovation and creativity. Some students show both kinds of ability, but there are some who achieve high grades who are not outstanding in creativity and others who show a talent for innovation and have only modest grades. To match the wide range of interest, ability, and creativity, the curriculum provides for a large variety of courses and experiences as well as for different progress tracks in the subject disciplines. However, the main purpose of these administrative arrangements is to make productive use of the school’s most important resource — the competent and enthusiastic teacher. Teachers are given latitude to try out and develop methods in which they and their classes thrive best, and the result is a stimulating variety of approaches.

Pupils are encouraged to make extensive use of the superb library, to prepare critical reports and appraisals, to engage in individual research and experimentation, to undertake study contracts for the mastering of subjects not taught in class, to evaluate their own progress, and to suggest new directions for future learning. In class there are lively discussions in which pupils debate, challenge, listen, inform, and criticize. The teacher keeps the discussion on the track and sees that it produces a meaningful consensus. An extra dividend of this kind of class ferment is the opportunity it gives pupils to know and respect each other as individuals and to work together toward common goals.

IT MIGHT be expected that students immersed in such a full curriculum would have time for little else, but with the ending of each day’s classes, the school becomes a beehive of extracurricular activities. There are club meetings, afternoon dances, varsity and intramural sports, drama workshop rehearsals, student council meetings, and activities involving a dozen different publications. The extracurricular program reflects the many-sided growth of the students. Their developing social responsibility and interest in human problems are especially evidenced in the work of the Student Organization and of the students’ Forum. These projects sponsored by the Student Organization are typical: the donation of several thousand books to the schools of Sapian, a small town in the Philippine Islands; the collection of clothing and money for families made homeless by an apartment-house fire; the administration of an aid service for needy students; and the establishment of a John F. Kennedy Memorial Scholarship to promote international friendship. This year the recipient is an English boy who is now attending the school as its guest.

The Forum, under the leadership of Edwin Karpf of the social studies department, has become one of the largest and liveliest student activities. At the weekly meeting, usually attended by more than 700 students, current political, social, and cultural issues are discussed. Prominent guest speakers present a point of view that is sometimes controversial but always stimulating. The meeting is then opened to questions and discussions from the floor. Before each meeting, the students of the Forum research committee prepare an information bulletin that gives the background of the issues and of the speaker. Among the guests of the Forum in the last few years have been Norman Thomas, General Telford Taylor, Roy Cohn, Harrison Salisbury, Paul Goodman, Adolf A. Berle, Roger Baldwin, Elmo Roper, and, for a change of pace, the editors of Mad magazine.

To help each student take full advantage of school opportunities, both curricular and extracurricular, is the function of the guidance department. All but two of the eighteen guidance counselors divide their time between teaching and counseling, an arrangement which gives the teachercounselor a continuing direct contact with students as they function in the school. On entry into the school, each student is assigned to a counselor and remains under his supervision until graduation. In addition to providing help with school, personal, and health problems, the counselor also guides the student in the very important matter of college admission. Here he is assisted by the school’s College Bureau, which compiles and distributes up-to-date information on every aspect of the college picture. Last year, the 900 graduates were distributed among some 150 colleges and engineering schools throughout the country.

In this work, and in many other ways, the school is ably assisted by its unusual Parents Association. This organization, with an annual membership of more than 2000, provides funds for extra secretarial help to facilitate the processing of college applications. It has given enthusiastic support to the school through the years and also provides funds for scholarships, library books, records, special equipment, and additional guidance personnel. Parents supervise social events and man the music room of the library. They appear regularly before the Board of Education to argue the special needs of the school, and were particularly instrumental in winning for the school the superbly equipped building in which it has been housed since 1958.

How well has the school achieved its goals of developing science talent and of helping its students to become cultured and responsible citizens? Surveys of the alumni show that about 70 percent of them have made their careers in science, engineering, mathematics, and related fields. Large numbers are professors, doctors, dentists, biologists, geologists, astronomers, chemists, physicists, engineers, psychologists, and statisticians. Several, such as Dr. Harold Brown of the United States Department of Defense, Dr. Stuart Rice of the University of Chicago Institute of Metals, Dr. Richard Wainerdi of Texas A & M University, are directors of important research organizations. Information on the school’s more recent graduates is found in the records of the predoctoral and postdoctoral grants made by the National Science Foundation. In a recent two-year period, 12 percent of all the awards made to New York State residents were won by Science graduates. The office of Scientific Personnel of the National Academy of Science made a study of the high school origin of all students in the United States who had won their Ph.D. degrees from 1958 to 1963, and the Bronx High School of Science was listed second in the nation, with an output of 353 doctorates. It is noteworthy that the first school on the list was Stuyvesant High School, the sixty-year-old pioneer of New York City’s special high schools for the talented in science.

An interesting indication concerning what happens to the alumni who do not choose careers in science is found in the 1964 summary made by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation of the high school origin of the Wilson Fellows. The purpose of the Woodrow Wilson Fellowships is to recruit promising scholars for college teaching in the humanities and social sciences. The foundation reported, “Of the ten most productive secondary schools in the nation in the number of Wilson Fellow graduates, eight are located in New York City, including the local, state, and national leader, the Bronx High School of Science. The latter school has graduated 100 students who later became Wilson Fellows.”

Visitors invariably ask, “What does the program of the Bronx High School of Science cost?” The New York City Board of Education makes allotments of teachers and budgetary allowances to all academic high schools in the city on the same basis. The annual cost per pupil is therefore essentially the same in the Bronx High School of Science as that for pupils taking an equivalent number of courses in the regular academic high schools. This has been about $800 per pupil. Last year, the school spent about $55,000 for supplies and equipment from regular and National Defense Education Act sources. Of this, $25,000 went for books, $10,000 for science equipment, films, and supplies, $4000 for the library, and the remainder for all other needs. Special grants totaling more than $40,000 were also obtained from NDEA sources to develop and maintain the computer laboratory.

As the Bronx High School of Science faces the future, great changes in the content and methods of secondary education and in the concept of the ideally educated citizen are taking place. The school believes, however, that the goal of developing a well-rounded individual, cultured in the humanities as well as in the sciences and accepting fully his responsibility as an individual and a citizen, will continue to be the prime mission of education in a democracy. The school looks forward with confidence to the continued fulfillment of that mission in the years to come.