City As School

City As School, Brooklyn, 24 April 2007

City-As-School is a public high school located in the West Village of Manhattan New York City. Since its opening in 1972, City-As-School has been distinguished by its curricular focus on experiential learning through internship. City-As-School is built on the idea that all children learn differently, some learn by seeing, some by hearing, others by doing. The school's stated objective is to help strengthen, motivate and guide students through their high school experience.

History

One of America's oldest alternative public high schools, City-As-School was founded by Frederick J. Koury (who died July 7, 2010) and Rick Safran in 1972.

In an interview with student Belinda Day ('10), co-founder Fred Koury recalled the founding of the school:

Before he founded City-As-School, teacher Fred Koury took students on field trips whenever possible. These off-campus trips inspired Koury: connect the classroom to the real working world. Koury believed that learning could come from sources beyond the classroom. Book-learning, Koury thought, was only half of the equation. By linking experience to academics, a student's educational path was widened.

"Learning is an adventure a book alone can’t teach you," said Koury.

As conceptualized by Koury and Safran, New York City would be the schoolhouse. Their proposal was approved by the board of education; financing for a new public high school would be allocated.

In its founding years the school experienced some difficulties. Entrenched methods had to be rewritten; old habits would not go away easily. City-As-School had many naysayers counting on its failure.^{[citation needed]} Regardless, CAS received its BOE money and with some additional grants, including the Ford Foundation, opened with a handful of students in 1973.

In order to reach out to potential students, CAS advertised on WABC radio, reaching out to students considering dropping out. Commercials would ask questions such as, "Is your school boring you?" City-As-School recruiters looked for tough cases and continued to grow.

One of the biggest challenges Koury and his colleagues faced was selling the idea to parents, one of whom called it a "phony alternative."

The class of 1973 started with ten seniors and ultimately grew to 61 students.

Along with Koury and Safran, other early employees included educators Arthur Greenberg, Camri Masterman, Iris Yigdal, Paul Forestieri, Lester Denmark, Pat Ofshe, Linda Loffredo and Dick Downey.

Koury said, " Curiosity is the key that opens the door to adventure. For those first students, coming to CAS changed their perception of education. Students who once hated school had new inspiration and motivation."

Administration and Organization

Currently, City-As-School is led by Antoniette Scarpinato, an educator for 35 years; she is a former math teacher who has been with CAS for 12 years.

Past principals are:

• Fred Koury 1972–1989
• Rick Safran (acting interim) 1989–1990
• Marsha Brevot 1990–1992
• Paul Forestieri (acting interim) 1992–1993
• Bob Lubetsky 1993–2006
• Michael Edwards (acting interim) 2006–2007
• Toni Scarpinato 2007–2010
• Alan Cheng 2010–Present

Admissions

Students are required to register for an internship each cycle; a cycle is half the time of a regular semester. Currently, CAS has over 500 open internship relationships.

Graduation from CAS is through a portfolio presentation before a panel of adult and peers.

Some of CAS students are eligible to take classes at local colleges tuition free.

In order to apply to City-As-School, a student must be at least 16 years old and have a minimum of 20 high school credits, ergo new students have usually completed about 2 years of high school elsewhere. Additionally, there is a required admissions process of open house and personal interview.

Internships

Teachers who coordinate internships are called Resource Coordinators, overseeing internship opportunities in the following fields:

• Accounting, Finance, Economics and Real Estate
• Advertising and Public Relations
• Architecture and Urban Planning
• Animal Care
• Art, Galleries, Museums and Arts Administration
• Business Administration, Secretarial and Clerical
• Community Action and Advocacy Groups (non-governmental)
• Computers and Word Processing
• Crafts
• Culinary Arts, Hotel and Restaurant Management
• Education and Child Care
• Environment, Plant Care and Science
• Fashion Design & Merchandising
• Government Agencies, Elected Officials, Social Services
• Health Care and Medical Services
• Historical Sites and Museums
• International Issues and Organizations, Foreign Culture
• Journalism, Publishing and Communications
• Law and Legal Service
• Media and Media Technology
• Music and Music Technology
• Performing Arts (Acting, Singing, Dance, etc.)
• Photography
• Recreational Sports
• Theater Administration, Entertainment Industry

Academics

Although guided by an advisor, students are responsible for registering for classes and internships four times (cycles) a year. This flexible procedure is designed to enable a student to keep a focus on the path to their diploma.

At CAS there are no letter grades; students receive either credit (C) or no credit (NC).

Campuses

The main campus of City-As-School is at 16 Clarkson Street in Greenwich Village in New York City. It has two satellites: in the Bronx at Tremont Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard and in Brooklyn on Flatbush Avenue next to the Brooklyn Bridge. City-As-School Queens opened in 1995 and closed in 2002. The original school was in a brownstone on Schermerhorn Street in Brooklyn. The first class was held in September 1973.

Notable former City-As-School students

• Patty Smyth (born 1957): New York born rock musician; married to tennis star John McEnroe.
• Ivan Myjer (born 1958): Works with stone and masonry, preserving buildings, sculpture, monuments and historic burying grounds.
• Ira Peppercorn: Deputy Federal Housing Commissioner under Bill Clinton; served in the Indiana state government; real estate and consultant.
• Michael Katims: translator for film, writer and consultant, lives in Paris.
• Ayodele Maakheru: Musician, composer, and bandleader. ASCAP songwriter award (2004).
• Sunny Bak (born 1958): Celebrity and commercial photographer.
• David Lida (born 1959): Author, journalist, blogger from Mexico City and New Orleans.
• Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960–1988): Brooklyn-born graffiti artist turned international art star, a protégé and friend of Andy Warhol.
• Seth Zvi Rosenfeld (born 1961): Playwright and screenwriter, raised on the upper west side
• Vincent Spano (born 1962): Brooklyn-born television and film actor.
• Adam Horovitz a.k.a Ad-rock of the Beastie Boys (born 1966): Musician/rapper born in South Orange, New Jersey; father is playwright Israel Horovitz.
• Jose Yenque (born 1966): Television and movie actor, activist.
• Malik Yoba (born 1967): Bronx born film and television actor.
• Ephrem Lopez a.k.a. DJ Enuff(born 1969): Brooklyn-born, L.E.S. raised DJ and radio personality.
• Charles "Malik" Whitfield (born 1970): Film and television actor.
• Timothy Hunter (born 1972): Singer/dancer, appeared on Broadway.
• Julian Alonzo (born 1972): Executive chef at restaurant Brasserie 8½ in Manhattan.
• Dante Terrell Smith a.k.a. Mos Def (born 1973): Bed-Stuy-born musician and actor.
• Mekhi Phifer (born 1974): Harlem-born film actor.
• Mia Tyler (born 1978): Plus-size model, daughter of Aerosmith lead singer, Steven Tyler, and actress Cyrinda Foxe.

Aquil Khan Web Designer, Business developer born 1979

• Jo-Ann Makovitzky: Co-owner and founder of N.Y.C. restaurant, Tocqueville.
• Alex Roman: Novelist from the South Bronx.
• Victor Rasuk: (born 1984) Harlem-born actor. Winner, Independent Spirit Award (2002).