School Without Walls, located in
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...
, United States, is a high school for students in grades 9-12, and is an example of an
alternative school
An alternative school is an educational establishment with a curriculum and methods that are nontraditional. Such schools offer a wide range of philosophies and teaching methods; some have political, scholarly, or philosophical orientations, wh ...
.
Demographics
*Hispanic 16.5%
*White 24.3%
*African American 57.0%
*Asian 1.5%
*Native American 0.8%
The free/reduced lunch rate is 68% of students.
History
In 1968, students at Monroe High School presented an idea to the principal for an
alternative education
Alternative education encompasses educational philosophy differing from mainstream pedagogy and evidence-based education. Such alternative learning environments may be found within state, charter, and independent schools as well as home-based ...
program. In October 1969, teachers began helping students attain their goal. Parents, teachers and students soon joined forces. Led by Lew Marks (1932-2010), an English teacher at the school, they presented a proposal for the School Without Walls to the District Superintendent in January 1971. On February 4, 1971, the Board of Education approved the proposal that created the School Without Walls, which opened in September 1971 at 4 Elton Street, sharing space with the
Visual Studies Workshop
Visual Studies Workshop (VSW) is a non-profit organization dedicated to art education based in Rochester, New York, in the Susan B. Anthony House, Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood. VSW supports makers and interpreters of images through education, pu ...
at the time.
Subsequent locations included the 5th floor of the building at 50 West Main Street, and a floor of the building at 400 Andrews Street, both in Rochester. School Without Walls moved to its present building, the former Sears Automotive building located near Monroe High School, in 1987. The middle school was closed in 2013.
Notable alumni
*
Branden Albert
*
Nicholson Baker
Nicholson Baker (born January 7, 1957) is an American novelist and essayist. His fiction generally de-emphasizes narrative in favor of careful description and characterization. His early novels such as ''The Mezzanine'' and ''Room Temperature ( ...
*
Jim Hilgartner
*
Joy Ladin
Joy Ladin (born March 24, 1961) is an American poet and the former David and Ruth Gottesman Chair in English at Stern College for Women at Yeshiva University. She was the first openly transgender professor at an Orthodox Jewish institution.
Ear ...
See also
*
Rochester City School District
References
External links
School Without Walls
{{authority control
Alternative schools in the United States
Educational institutions established in 1971
High schools in Monroe County, New York
Public high schools in New York (state)
Public middle schools in New York (state)