The Obvious and Secret reasons for Bronx Science's Success
In this Substack, we discuss how abundance and opportunity work in New York City, and how we can dramatically increase it. In this post, we'll be taking a deep dive into one of New York City's elite public high schools, Bronx Science, and explore what makes it so spectacular.
Bronx Science, like the other seven specialized high schools in the city, admits students based on a test. It has an enrollment of approximately 3,000 students. This year, it will be celebrating its 85th anniversary. Like its peers Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Tech, Bronx Science possesses an unusually strong brand name in the city's educational landscape.
So, what makes Bronx Science so special? To answer this question, I spoke to three alumni of the school in addition to internet research. Here are the key takeaways:
First, Bronx Science provides a unique opportunity for students to form close bonds with ambitious peers. All three of the alumni I interviewed emphasized the positive impact that being around like-minded individuals had on their high school experience. To paraphrase one of the alumni, Bronx Science is one whole school full of academically-focused students that are usually just one clique of many at a typical high school.
Second, Bronx Science exposes its students to college-like curriculum and organization while still in high school. The school has 10 academic departments and teachers host what are essentially office hours for students. I suspect this is unusual to see at a high school. Additionally, many students get technical research experience and mentorship from university professors through programs like the Regeneron Science Talent Search. Humanities classes are also a highlight of attending Bronx Science. “You arrive at college and know how to write an essay well”, one the alumni explained to me.
These two ingredients are the most obvious contributors to Bronx Science's success. Next, I want to highlight two not-so-obvious "secret" ingredients in the school's playbook for abundance in achievement.
The first of these is the school's nationally recognized extracurricular opportunities, which double as marketing for the school. The Speech & Debate team, for example, has about 450 members (over 10% of the student body) and is often ranked as the best such team in the country. The team hosts an annual tournament for local high schoolers called the Big Bronx, which has been running for over 50 years. Another organization, Model United Nations, has been hosting a similar conference for almost 17 years. Overall, Bronx Science has over 100 student organizations. According to the alumni I spoke to, there is a clear and repeatable process for proposing and starting new student organizations.
The second secret ingredient are the active and well-funded parent and alumni associations. The Bronx Science PTA has revenues of $350K and half a million dollars in assets, while the alumni association had almost $3.5M in revenue with over $10M in assets in 2018. (As far as I can tell, Bronx Science has a budget of $52M). These associations fund grants for building renovations, student extracurriculars, and college scholarships for graduating seniors.
This post is the first in a two-part series on elite New York City schools. In the next post, I’ll discuss how we can extend more of the Bronx Science playbook to other New York City schools, and if this topic is even worth focusing on if increasing abundance in New York City is our goal. But for now, let's celebrate Bronx Science's 85th anniversary and the remarkable impact it has had on so many lives 🙂
You'll probably get into this in part 2, but... (and maybe I'm using substack wrong but I assume its for discourse) ----
I wonder about the ontology and aim of public education purported in the context of this definition of "success" (I'm reading it as academic, maybe aligned with a prosperity consciousness)? How might "success" be expanded when describing a public school within the landscape of a city that contains many disenfranchised and oppressed populations? I'd love to see some data about barriers to entry in Bronx Science and average house-hold income and demographics compared to other public schools. (Median house-hold income in NYC in 2019 was $63,799 according to U.S. Census Bureau).
"Success" within a macro-analysis of NYC's public-school system might look like students receiving an education that facilitates the attainment of social capital, cultural capital, healthy relationships, mentorships, enhanced sense of agency, expanded spheres of belonging, and improved health amidst lacking economic capital and other challenges. Some of these elements of success might fall outside of a conventional use of the word. I am sure that many students at Bronx Science represent under-resourced demographics. I am curious what percentage of the student body and how these students fair within a school ecosystem that features more privileged students? What resources are allotted to them? What efforts are schools like Bronx Science and Laguardia doing to broaden their student body? How is primary school 'choice' factoring into which students have the opportunity to attend specialized high schools? (maybe research has already been done on this)
I think it's quite interesting that some of these findings about what facilitates "success" are not curricular or directly in the control of public policy. Alumni funding indicates a historied siphoning of resources that greatly serves some folks, but doesn't offer a blue print to translate to other public schools that don't boast the same "success," other than increased public funding/resources. Some of these findings seem transferrable - the healthy/enriching consequences offered by extra-curricular programming, and the excitement for learning that is embedded in the culture due to like-minded peers. These things can be achieved through subcultural human-centric movements within a school even without huge financing changes.
For bonus background: on January 25, 2023, the City Council education committee held a hearing about the city's public school admissions process (among other things). The committee report is a pretty good primer for people looking to get up to speed with how things work, what's changing now, what's being considered, etc.
Anyone can find the committee report (the City Council staff's brief for council members about a hearing subject matter), the transcript, and public testimony via Legistar, and this particular hearing's docs are here: https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=5986179&GUID=350EEE56-40D7-4BC1-B742-78B5D429B437&Options=&Search=