Townsend Harris High School

Townsend Harris High School is a public high school in Flushing in Queens, New York.

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Townsend Harris High School grew out of the yearlong secondary education curriculum of the Free Academy of the City of New York(which itself later became City College.) It was named for Townsend Harris, the first US consul to Japan, the negotiator of the "Harris Treaty" and the In became a separate city High School and survived until 1942 when it was closed by mayor Fiorello LaGuardia officially because of budgetary concerns. La Guardia later stated that while he rarely made mistakes this one was ?a beaut.?

Related Topics:
Townsend Harris - Fiorello LaGuardia

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Townsend Harris High School was refounded in 1984. It is currently located on the campus of Queens College, which students matriculate into as freshman during their senior year of High School.

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Entry into the school is based upon grades earned during middle school. Each year approximately 4-5000 students compete for 250 seats in the freshman class.

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The curriculum of the school is substantially different than that of the standard New York City public high school. Besides the aforementioned college courses, students are also required to take courses in linguistics as well as either Latin or Classical Greek in addition to a modern language.

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Fitting this classical standard of education all new students are required to recite the Ephebic Oath during the Founders' Day celebration, which celebrates the refounding of the school in 1984. This oath is an English version of the oath that the hoplites of Ancient Athens were required to swear upon their entry into the city's armed forces.

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Discipline at the school is considered to be very strict by NYC Board of Education standards. Attendance rates, scores on standardized examinations are also very high when compared to other public high schools.

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The school is a winner of the 2004 Blue Ribbon School of Excellence as well as the 2005 Lighthouse School Award.

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The first principal of the re-founded Townsend Harris High School was Dr. Malcolm Largmann. The second and current principal is Thomas Cunningham.

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