Scholars' Academy

Coordinates: 40°35′03″N 73°49′31″W / 40.5842°N 73.82535°W / 40.5842; -73.82535

The Scholars' Academy
Address
320 Beach 104th St, Rockaway Park, NY 11694
Information
Established	September 2005
Principal	Brian O'Connell
Grades	6 to 12
Color(s)	Navy blue, light blue and khaki pants
Slogan	Technology today, Smarter tomorrow
Team name	Seawolves
Newspaper	The Seaside Chronicle
Website	http://www.scholarsnyc.com/

Scholars' Academy is a uniformed preparatory school consisting of a middle school (grades 6-8) and a high school (grades 9-12) for gifted and talented children located in Rockaway Park.

From a pilot program, Scholars' Academy has evolved into a co-ed grade 6-12 middle/high school. There are currently six 6th grade classes, seven 7th grade classes, and eight 8th grade classes of the middle school with a student-to-teacher ratio of 33:1. Students take the Living Environment and Integrated Algebra Regents in 8th grade, and 7th graders take the 8th grade Standardized Science Exam. The high school has four classes in each grade, with an average 30:1 student-to-teacher ratio. After the 11th grade, students typically only take 1-2 more regents exams as in the 11th and 12th grade, between 1/2 and 3/4 of students' classes are Advanced Placement or Dual Enrollment classes (dual enrollment provided by St. Francis College).

Admission to Scholars' Academy involves filling out an application by the prospective student and their family to be sent to Scholars' by their guidance counselor. Applicants either get an early acceptance or offered an interview if they have an IEP.^[1] After being accepted into the school, students must maintain an 85% or higher cumulative average. This school is one of the most racially diverse schools in America.

Extracurricular Activities

In the middle school, students are given the opportunity to choose an elective each year. These electives vary for each grade, and are piano, music technology, computer programming, guitar, drawing, publishing, dance, sports, fitness, drama, multicultural dance, video streaming, children's literature, Robotics, art and coding.^[2] High-school students are also given a choice of an elective such as drawing, guitar, the music of Mexico, and robotics.

Some clubs at the school include the gay-straight alliance club, film production club, chemistry club, bio-med club, math team, and student government. Students can start their own clubs if they can get a room for their club and a teacher who supports them in the idea. The school also has a school newspaper that started in the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year called The Seaside Chronicle for anyone to join and write for.

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. Scholars' Academy was one of the city's hardest hit schools by Superstorm Sandy. The first floor was virtually demolished. Not only was it filled up by seawater from both Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, but it was also filled with toxic sewage from the sewage treatment plant located directly across the street. Students, most of which were relocated themselves, were relocated to two schools in Brownsville, Brooklyn. After the seawater was drained and the sewage was removed, several feet of sand remained. The theater and all of the first-floor classrooms were completely destroyed, and the gymnasium took an unbelievable amount of damage. After several donations from individuals, disaster recovery teams and companies, the school was able to be repaired. After three and a half months of relocation, the students were permitted to return to the Scholars' Academy building..

References

External links

• Media related to Scholars' Academy (Queens) at Wikimedia Commons
• NYC Department of Education: Scholar's Academy