HORACE GREELEY HIGH SCHOOL

PROFILE 2008

Counseling Office

70 Roaring Brook Road

Chappaqua, New York 10514

Tel. No. (914) 861-9464/9465/9466

Fax No. (914) 238-6652

CEEB #331-315

     Administration

                        David Fleishman, Superintendent

                        Andrew Selesnick, Principal

                        Mark Bayer, Asst. Principal

                        Michele Glenn, Asst. Principal

                        Michael Taylor, Asst. Principal

   Counseling Department 

                        Dennis Cuddy, Chairperson

                        John Brennan

                        Tinuke Colpa   

                        Patrick Dougherty

                        John Dunphy

                        Bernadette Kenny

                        Emily Morton

                        Rebecca Mullen                            

                        Christine Petrillo (on leave)

                        Kelly Sposito

Community

Chappaqua is located in Westchester County, 35 miles north of New York City. The population is approximately 17,000. It is a suburban community; most parents commute to New York City or to one of the growing business centers in the county or in Connecticut. Most parents are college graduates. The community has high expectations and very strong support for education and for Horace Greeley High School.

THE SCHOOL

The stated mission of Horace Greeley High School is to create a community for learning, where students, parents and staff are joined in the pursuit of academic excellence and personal growth in a caring environment. The school is a campus arrangement of 12 buildings. The student body is approximately 1300 and faculty numbers over 100. Academics are the core of Greeley - most students take English, Social Studies, Math, Science and Foreign Language through their senior year. In addition, Greeley has a tradition of excellence in the Fine and Performing Arts. Students are busy. Two-thirds participate in interscholastic sports. There are over 70 clubs as well as two student newspapers.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

95% of the Class of 2008 went on to higher education; 93% to four year colleges. The Advanced Placement offerings are extensive. In 2008, 18 AP courses were offered; 579 students took 1154 exams.

The Class of 2008 had 13 National Merit Semi-finalists and 33 commended students.

CURRICULUM AND PROGRAM

The strength of the curriculum at Horace Greeley lies in the depth and breadth of the offerings:

ENGLISH   All 9th and 10th grade students take a two-year curriculum of literature, language, speech and composition (English 9/10). Juniors and seniors select from a number of semester electives: American Lit, American Currents, British Lit, Ancient Greek Lit, Forces of Myth in Lit, Ethics and Existence, Film Study, Humanities (interdisciplinary), Individual Literary Analysis (a tutorial in literature and

analysis), AP English, Non-Fiction Film, Psychology in Lit, Writing/Communications Seminar, Childhood Lit.  All courses are designed to challenge students of all ability levels, and, with the exception of IE English, are heterogeneously grouped.

SOCIAL STUDIES  Global Studies and European Civilization are required and grouped heterogeneously. AP European History is offered to a select group of sophomores. In the junior year, admitted students may take either AP American History or AP European History. Other juniors take U.S. History and Government. Juniors and seniors select a fourth year of social studies by choosing from among the following elective offerings: American Foreign Policy Since 1945, Constitutional Law, Contemporary Issues, Economics, History Through Film, Humanities, Nationalism, Psychology, Women’s Studies and Chinese Language & Society.

SCIENCE    Students begin with Earth Science or Biology, followed by Chemistry and Physics. Chemistry has 2 levels: A and B. Physics has 3 levels: AP, Regents, Physics & Design.  Six AP science courses are offered including AP Psychology.  In addition Astronomy/Geology is an advanced elective.

MATH   Math classes are homogeneously grouped: fundamental, standard, enriched and honors. Math courses are numbered in increasing level of difficulty - 03, 05, 07, 09. More than 4 years of college prep math are offered to accommodate a range of abilities. AP offerings: Calculus, AB and BC, Statistics, Computer Science AB.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE   French, Latin, Spanish are offered as well as a one year program in Italian Language and Culture and two year program in Chinese.  French and Spanish students are tracked: the Honors Track is labeled 9, 10, 11, & AP; the regular track is labeled 1,2,3,4,5. AP is available in all languages.

ARTS  Extensive course offerings are supplemented by regularly scheduled performances and exhibits. Visual Dynamics is a pre-requisite for all art courses. Teachers in these areas co-teach three interdisciplinary courses (Humanities, Physics & Design, and Production Workshop). An on-site pre-school program for three and four year olds gives students the opportunity to observe and interact in the Child Study Program.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION  Five semesters are required. The program is geared to the health and fitness of the individual.

LIFE SCHOOL  is an on-campus alternative for approximately 45 juniors and seniors. While completing an academic program equal in rigor to the main campus, students take a major role in designing their learning experiences that will include an internship, independent projects, and other off campus experiences. Students in L.I.F.E. may also take courses on the main campus as their schedules permit.

PERFORMING ARTS The HGHS Performing Arts Department offers a complete music and theater programs including Band, Chorus, Orchestra, Acting and Stagecraft Classes. These classes are open to all students without audition. Students may audition for smaller ensembles including Stage Band, Madrigal Choir, Chamber Orchestra, and Theater Repertory Classes. A rich elective program, including AP music Theory, is complemented by a diverse offering of after school productions, including many student-directed plays and the annual school musical.

CUMULATIVE AVERAGE

The cumulative average, computed at the end of eleventh grade, includes all subjects in which a student received a final grade, as designated below:

            A         =          95-100 =          4.0

            A-        =          90-94   =          3.5

            B          =          85-89   =          3.0

            B-        =          80-84   =          2.5

            C         =          75-79   =          2.0

            C-        =          70-74   =          1.5

            D         =          65-69   =          1.0

            F          =      Below 65 =          0.0

Advanced Placement courses are weighted (.4).

CLASS RANK

Horace Greeley does not assign a rank in class to students.

The following chart represents the distribution of grades for the Class of 2008.

DISTRIBUTION OF CUMULATIVE AVERAGES

OF THE CLASS OF 2008

                Cumulative Avg.  # of Students          % of Class

                  4.0 - 3.8                       63                    17

                  3.7 - 3.5                       61                    16

                  3.4 - 3.0                       135                  36

                  2.9 - 2.5                       65                    17

                  2.4 - 2.0                       34                     9

                  Below 1.9                     18                     5

                         Total                    376

GRADUATION MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS - 22 CREDITS

English and Social Studies - 4 credits; Math and Science - 3 credits; Foreign Language 1 credit; Health - 1/2 credit; Art, Music or Theatre -1 credit; Physical Education - 5 semesters. Most students complete well over 22 credits including four years of foreign language and 4 or 5 years of math and science.

SAT I   AND  SAT II  SCORES, CLASS OF 2008

SAT I

            SCORE RANGE         VERBAL                  MATH                WRITING

                  75%ile                        670                             700                        700     

                  50%ile                        600                             650                        630

                  25%ile                        540                             590                        550

                    MEAN                    610                             637                        625

Total number in class:   269             

Total number reporting SAT I:         100%

SAT II

       Subject Tests:                             Mean

      American History                              694  

      Biology E                                          674

      Biology M                                         693                          

      Chemistry                                          730

      Literature                                          665

      Math IC                                            664

      Math IIC                                           730

COLLEGE ATTENDANCE - CLASS OF 2005

                        Higher Education             95%

                        Four Year Colleges         93% 

                        Two Year Colleges         2%

ADVANCED PLACEMENT PROGRAM PARTICIPATION

2007/2008     (579 students took 1154  exams in May 2008)

Departmental approval and/or prerequisites are required for AP courses.

All students enrolled in AP courses are required to take the exam.

Subject                               # of Exams Taken     # of 5’s       # of 4’s        # of 3’s

Art: Drawing                                       15                       01                 04                06

Art 2D: Design                                    22                       04                 10                07

Comp. Sci. A                                      1                         00                 01                00    

Comp. Sci. AB                                    11                       04                 03               02

English:  Lit & Comp.                          39                       18                  17               03

Gov't & Pol.                                        1                         00                  01               00

History: US History                             206                      53                 63                50

History: European History                   107                      31                  43               28

Language: Chinese                              1                          00                  00               01

Language: French                               31                         02                  05               15   

Language: Spanish                              76                        10                  16               24

Language: Latin-Vergil                        14                        02                  02               04

Math: Calculus AB                             78                         53                 20                04

Math: Calculus BC                             24                         22                 01                01

Math: Statistics                                   42                         15                 11                10

Music Theory                                     18                         06                  03               07

Psychology                                        73                         28                  23                15

Science: Biology                                110                       30                  35                25

Science: Chemistry                            45                         32                  10                02

Science: Environmental Sci.               91                         29                  29                13

Science: Physics C: Mechanics          101                       08                  22                27

Science: Physics C: Elec & Mag        26                         10                  09                02

                            TOTAL             1132

                                    % of total with 3 or better:  82%