Harvey Milk High School
Encyclopedia
Harvey Milk High School is a public high school
in the East Village
of New York City
designed for, though not limited to, gay
, lesbian
, bisexual, and transgender
young people, as well as those questioning their sexuality. It is named after assassinated San Francisco, California
supervisor Harvey Milk
, the first openly
gay man to be elected to office and one of the best known politicians of the 20th century. He was assassinated along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone on November 27, 1978.
(HMI), an organization that provides social support to at-risk youth, especially non-heterosexuals. After becoming a fully accredited public school in 2002, the high school is now administered by the New York City Department of Education
, separate from HMI. The school and the non-profit still share space in the same building, with Hetrick-Martin providing a majority of the school's arts and culture programming.
The school was founded in 1985 as a small, two-room program with just over a dozen students by HMI in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education
's Career Education Center. The Department of Education administers the school and is responsible for admissions. Harvey Milk was created as an alternative education program for youth who find it difficult or impossible to attend their home schools due to threats, violence
, or harassment
.
Students must themselves apply to transfer to the high school, like other transfer schools in New York City. The school has a 92% graduation rate, far above the state average, and 60% of students attend institutions of higher learning.
authorized a $3.2 million capital expansion of the school as one of its last acts prior to becoming a mayor
al agency. At this time, the school also became a four-year, fully accredited high school.
The capital provided by the Board of Education allowed for the renovation of the school building. Enrollment jumped from 50 to 100 students. In 2003, “[t]he new school’s principal, William Salzman, said the school will be academically challenging and will follow mandatory English
and math
programs. It also will specialize in computer technology
, arts
and culinary arts.”
Nevertheless, it has been alleged that the school practices discrimination
. In general, the opposition comes from social conservatives
. State Conservative Party chairman Michael Long also criticized the creation of the school as social engineering
, asking, “Is there a different way to teach homosexuals? Is there gay math? This is wrong… There’s no reason these children should be treated separately.” Others claim that the school is trying to indoctrinate students in sexual minority
culture by teaching about the history of gay people and creating an almost exclusively homosexual environment. Many assert that the solution to harassment is a zero tolerance
policy against it in all public schools, not isolating gay students, while educators familiar with LGBT issues point out that harassment continues despite similar measures and speak to larger cultural biases.
Supporters contend that this school is a pragmatic solution, providing an alternative path to a diploma for students who are unable to succeed in a mainstream high school due to intolerance. Nor are all arguments against the school divided along partisan lines. Independent mayor Michael Bloomberg
supported the renovation of the school while Democratic N.Y. State Senator Rubén Díaz opposed it.
In 2004, the HMHS underwent a 17,000 square foot (1,600 m²) expansion and an increase to eight classrooms and 110 students.
Print
In Marvel Comics
' Ultimate X-Men
series, Northstar
, one of Marvel's most prominent homosexual mutant superheroes, mentions his coming out experience and his mother trying to enroll him in the Harvey Milk School. He refused due to his belief that enrolling would only promote segregation of hetero- and homosexual students. Consequently, he refuses an offer by the X-Men
to enroll at Professor X
avier's mutant school, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning for similar reasons.
and ADA Alexandra Cabot while discussing the situation of male-to-female transsexual Cheryl Avery, they made mention of her teachers suggesting a transfer to Harvey Milk School.
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
in the East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
designed for, though not limited to, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, bisexual, and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
young people, as well as those questioning their sexuality. It is named after assassinated San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
supervisor Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk
Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors...
, the first openly
Closeted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
gay man to be elected to office and one of the best known politicians of the 20th century. He was assassinated along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone on November 27, 1978.
History
The school was originally run by the Hetrick-Martin InstituteHetrick-Martin Institute
The Hetrick-Martin Institute is a New York City based non-profit organization devoted to serving the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning youth. The institute was founded in 1979 as the "Institute for the Protection of Lesbian and Gay Youth" by Dr. Emery Hetrick, a...
(HMI), an organization that provides social support to at-risk youth, especially non-heterosexuals. After becoming a fully accredited public school in 2002, the high school is now administered by the New York City Department of Education
New York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...
, separate from HMI. The school and the non-profit still share space in the same building, with Hetrick-Martin providing a majority of the school's arts and culture programming.
The school was founded in 1985 as a small, two-room program with just over a dozen students by HMI in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education
New York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...
's Career Education Center. The Department of Education administers the school and is responsible for admissions. Harvey Milk was created as an alternative education program for youth who find it difficult or impossible to attend their home schools due to threats, violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, or harassment
Harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
.
Students must themselves apply to transfer to the high school, like other transfer schools in New York City. The school has a 92% graduation rate, far above the state average, and 60% of students attend institutions of higher learning.
Mission statement and vision
According to the schools mission statement and vision:Expansion
HMHS came to national attention in 2002, when the Board of EducationNew York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...
authorized a $3.2 million capital expansion of the school as one of its last acts prior to becoming a mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
al agency. At this time, the school also became a four-year, fully accredited high school.
The capital provided by the Board of Education allowed for the renovation of the school building. Enrollment jumped from 50 to 100 students. In 2003, “[t]he new school’s principal, William Salzman, said the school will be academically challenging and will follow mandatory English
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
and math
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
programs. It also will specialize in computer technology
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
and culinary arts.”
Nevertheless, it has been alleged that the school practices discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
. In general, the opposition comes from social conservatives
Social conservatism
Social Conservatism is primarily a political, and usually morally influenced, ideology that focuses on the preservation of what are seen as traditional values. Social conservatism is a form of authoritarianism often associated with the position that the federal government should have a greater role...
. State Conservative Party chairman Michael Long also criticized the creation of the school as social engineering
Social engineering (political science)
Social engineering is a discipline in political science that refers to efforts to influence popular attitudes and social behaviors on a large scale, whether by governments or private groups. In the political arena, the counterpart of social engineering is political engineering.For various reasons,...
, asking, “Is there a different way to teach homosexuals? Is there gay math? This is wrong… There’s no reason these children should be treated separately.” Others claim that the school is trying to indoctrinate students in sexual minority
Sexual minority
A sexual minority is a group whose sexual identity, orientation or practices differ from the majority of the surrounding society. The term was coined most likely in the late 1960s under the influence of Lars Ullerstam's ground breaking book "The Erotic Minorities: A Swedish View" which came...
culture by teaching about the history of gay people and creating an almost exclusively homosexual environment. Many assert that the solution to harassment is a zero tolerance
Zero tolerance (schools)
A zero-tolerance policy in schools is a policy of punishing any infraction of a rule, regardless of accidental mistakes, ignorance, or extenuating circumstances. In schools, common zero-tolerance policies concern possession or use of drugs or weapons...
policy against it in all public schools, not isolating gay students, while educators familiar with LGBT issues point out that harassment continues despite similar measures and speak to larger cultural biases.
Supporters contend that this school is a pragmatic solution, providing an alternative path to a diploma for students who are unable to succeed in a mainstream high school due to intolerance. Nor are all arguments against the school divided along partisan lines. Independent mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
supported the renovation of the school while Democratic N.Y. State Senator Rubén Díaz opposed it.
In 2004, the HMHS underwent a 17,000 square foot (1,600 m²) expansion and an increase to eight classrooms and 110 students.
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' Ultimate X-Men
Ultimate X-Men
Ultimate X-Men is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of its Ultimate Marvel imprint...
series, Northstar
Northstar
Northstar is a fictional character, a superhero who appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the twin brother of Aurora. Through his mutation, Northstar gains superhuman powers, which he uses for the betterment of society...
, one of Marvel's most prominent homosexual mutant superheroes, mentions his coming out experience and his mother trying to enroll him in the Harvey Milk School. He refused due to his belief that enrolling would only promote segregation of hetero- and homosexual students. Consequently, he refuses an offer by the X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
to enroll at Professor X
Professor X
Professor Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero known as the leader and founder of the X-Men....
avier's mutant school, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning for similar reasons.
Television
In the Law & Order: SVU Season 4 episode Fallacy, detective Olivia BensonOlivia Benson
Det. Olivia "Liv" Benson is a fictional character on the NBC police procedural drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Mariska Hargitay. She is the former partner of Elliot Stabler. In Season 13, her partner will be Nick Amaro...
and ADA Alexandra Cabot while discussing the situation of male-to-female transsexual Cheryl Avery, they made mention of her teachers suggesting a transfer to Harvey Milk School.
External links
- NYC DOE Portal
- "Classes open at gay high school" – CNN
- Boston Phoenix synopsis of the school's role
- "Queer High School Opens to Cheers and Jeers", The Indypendent, September 9, 2003