Beach Channel High School (BCHS) (also known as High School 410 or H.S. 410), was a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in the public school system of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, located at 100-00

Beach Channel Drive Beach Channel Drive is the main thoroughfare of the Rockaway Peninsula in the New York City borough of Queens. It extends from the Nassau County border at Inwood westward, to the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge at the end of Jacob ...

in Rockaway Park in the borough of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. The school opened in 1973 and, as of 2006, had an enrollment of 2,175 students. The school was built on the edge of Jamaica Bay and has a private dock. It offered a College Now program, which allows students to get college credit through programs at Rikers Island,

Kingsborough Community College Kingsborough Community College (KBCC) is a public community college in Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system and the only community college in Brooklyn.Southampton College Stony Brook Southampton is a campus location of Stony Brook University, located in Southampton, New York between the Shinnecock Indian Reservation and Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on the eastern end of Long Island. History Southampton College, L ...

(part of Stony Brook University), while

LaGuardia Community College LaGuardia Community College is a public community college in New York City. It is in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens in and part of the City University of New York. LaGuardia is named after former congressman and New York City mayo ...

offers classes for reading skills improvement. A separate

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

school was located in one wing of the campus. In November 2009, the

New York City Department of Education The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (or the New York City Public Schools) is t ...

announced that the school may be closed in 2010 as a low-performing school. Beach Channel High School graduated its last class in 2014. The building now houses several small schools, including the separate one-wing special education school.

Principals

* Dr. David Morris (October 2003–June 2014) * Barbara Pleener (September 2003—October 2003) * John Marcus, Acting Principal (February 2003–September 2003) * Andrea Holt (September 2002–February 2003) * Bernard Hopkins Gassaway (April 1997–June 2002) * Sandra C. Hassan (February 1988-April 1997) * Arthur Greenberg (September 1981-January 1987) * Robert L. Rappaport (September 1973-June 1981) Bernard Gassaway, principal from the late 1990s until 2002, is credited with improving the school over his tenure. He went on to become a superintendent of schools. In 2006, he published the book ''Reflections of an Urban High School Principal, Yo...'' about his experiences. In September 2003, Barbara Pleener was installed as principal. Controversy in the form of alleged "threatening and insubordinate" comments on the part of a faculty member followed. In October 2003, allegations surfaced regarding alleged improprieties at

Jamaica High School Jamaica High School was a four-year public high school in Jamaica, Queens, New York. It was operated by the New York City Department of Education. Jamaica High School was founded as the Union Free School in 1854, and located within a three-stor ...

, where Pleener had been principal in 1999; she was never charged. Students and parents protested and Pleener stepped down.

Economics

On November 11, 2006, BCHS's economics program received a "Blue Star" certification for the second year in a row for its

financial literacy Financial literacy is the possession of the set of skills and knowledge that allows an individual to make informed and effective decisions with all of their financial resources. Raising interest in personal finance is now a focus of state-run progr ...

program, as 49 of the 50 students who participated in the WISE Financial Literary Exam passed. The school was one of only 45 schools receiving certification from 139 that applied. The award, offered by the New York Financial Literacy Coalition, is a free program created to increase the number of high school students who are financially knowledgeable and literate.

Music

The Beach Channel High School Marching Band, Concert Band and Jazz Ensemble continue to be a vital force in Southern Queens. Under the direction of Barry Domfort the bands performed at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Queens College, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Forest Park, Boys and Girls High School, Brooklyn College, and Antun's. The Marching Band performed at St. Patrick's Day, Ethnic Pride and Memorial Day parades in Manhattan and Queens and has performed at Disney World on two separate occasions. The Jazz Ensemble has performed at various local venues including Russo's On The Bay and The Beach Club. The band has also performed for many important political figures including Bill and Hillary Clinton. BCHS has a history of great music educators, including Sidney Kolodney, Jack Nowinski, Louis Barella, Alex Leicht and Gerald Brazel.

Arts

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Art Department under Renee Darvin attracted a talented and diverse number of art teachers, including

Bruce Degen Bruce Degen (born June 14, 1945) is an American illustrator and writer with over forty children's books to his credit. He may be known best for illustrating ''The Magic School Bus'', a picture book series written by Joanna Cole. He has collab ...

who later went on to create '' The Magic Schoolbus'' series of children's books and television shows with Joanna Cole. Renee Darvin later went on to serve as Director of Art for the New York City Board of Education and to be a lecturer at the

Teachers College A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. During their tenure at Beach Channel, the arts program offered a wide array of near-college-level courses including an after school

life drawing A figure drawing is a drawing of the human form in any of its various shapes and postures using any of the drawing media. The term can also refer to the act of producing such a drawing. The degree of representation may range from highly detailed, ...

program for advanced students. In 2000, artist Julie Dermansky undertook a project for the Department of Cultural Affairs for New York City and decorated the fencing and floors of the

day care center Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

with works entitled ''Ocean Fence'' and ''Ocean Floor''.

Sports

The school teams are named the "Dolphins," after the school's mascot. Beach Channel High School has the only Crew (rowing) team in New York City. Christian Horn is the current head coach of the team, having taken over following the retirement of William Stein, who started the team over two decades ago. In 1983, the boys varsity team participated in the

Henley Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the three ...

Oxford, England Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

, with only one 8-man boat and 8 oars. Today the team has multiple racing shells; including fours, eights, a two-man, and a single shell. Since the late 1980s the team has been co-ed, made up of both boys and girls four (both consisting of five individuals; a

coxswain The coxswain ( , or ) is the person in charge of a boat, particularly its navigation and steering. The etymology of the word gives a literal meaning of "boat servant" since it comes from ''cock'', referring to the cockboat, a type of ship's boa ...

, two "port" rowers, and two "starboard" rowers), and an eight (a coxswain, four "port" rowers, and four "starboard" rowers). Now the team has a wide array of racing shells. In 2004/2005 the team received a brand new

Vespoli Vespoli USA is a manufacturer of rowing shells. It was founded by former Georgetown University rower and Olympian Mike Vespoli in 1980. History The company’s origins date back to the late 1970s when Mike Vespoli was the freshman rowing co ...

8, two brand new Vespoli 4s and 16 brand new concept 2 oars. Also the Dolphins made history by defeating the #2 rated school Curtis in the PSAL Playoffs becoming the first to do so in PSAL history. 2003 Boys Varsity Volleyball team won the Queens Division Championship, defeating Hillcrest High School. In 2004 they again played in the Queens Championship game losing to Richmond Hill High School.

Notable alumni

* Jill Eisenstadt (Class of 1981) — author * Folorunso Fatukasi —

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

for the New York Jets. * Perry Kivolowitz (Class of 1977) — Academy Award (SCITECH) winner, business person, teacher * Jeff Scott — Professor of French horn at Oberlin Conservatory. Award-winning musician and educator. * Steven Tublin (Class of 1976) — Noted psychotherapist. Ph.D., from Stanford University. *

Lauren Vélez Luna Lauren Vélez (born November 2, 1964) is an American actress and the identical twin sister of actress Lorraine Vélez. Her most notable television roles are as María LaGuerta on Showtime's ''Dexter'', Detective Nina Moreno on Fox's ''New Y ...

(Class of 1982) — actress *

Jay Walder Jay Walder was the CEO of Virgin Hyperloop One, an American transportation technology company. He has been the CEO of Motivate, a bike sharing company, and of the Hong Kong transit company MTR Corporation (MTRC), before resigning from that pos ...

— former chairman of the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

. * Curt Weiss (class of 1977) — Former drummer for the Rockats and Beat Rodeo and author of Stranded in the Jungle: Jerry Nolan's Wild Ride (2017).

References

{{authority control Rockaway, Queens Public high schools in Queens, New York Defunct high schools in Queens, New York