The Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science, & Engineering (also known as CSS) is a selective public, sixth- through twelfth-grade school that opened in 2007. A partnership between 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 ...

, the community, and

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 ...

, CSS serves students who have an interest in a program focusing on STEM fields. Columbia Secondary School has been cited as one of the most desirable schools in New York City.

Location

Columbia Secondary School is in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the

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 ...

borough of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. It lies across the street from Morningside Park. The school serves students from all over

, with most of its students coming from

and

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

History

On October 21, 2005,

announced that it would collaborate with the City of New York on the creation of a new public secondary school that would address the critical need to improve education in science, math, and engineering. The school was tentatively called the "Columbia Science, Math and Engineering Secondary School," though this name was later changed to "Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science, and Engineering." Beginning with a founding sixth grade class, the school added one grade per year until it reached its full enrollment of more than 700 students.

Academics

A wide range of Advanced Placement courses are offered at the school. Special programs offered in the school include the opportunity to take college courses at

as well as philosophy and engineering courses from 6th to 12th grade. Students are expected to go beyond the

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

graduation requirements of 44 credits and earn a total of 63 credits, successfully complete at least one

course, and successfully complete at least 150 community service hours in order to earn a diploma endorsed by the school.

Columbia University Partnership

CSS student benefits of the

partnership include, but are not limited to, the Columbia University/Columbia Secondary School High School Visiting Student Program, internship and job opportunity at the university, and admission preference into the Double Discovery Center program. Students also have access to the

Columbia University Libraries Columbia University Libraries is the library system of Columbia University and one of the largest academic library systems in North America. With 15.0 million volumes and over 160,000 journals and serials, as well as extensive electronic resources ...

, as well as the university's computing facilities and other academic support facilities. All students at CSS are allowed to apply to the Columbia University/Columbia Secondary School High School Visiting Student Program and would be chosen for the program if they have maintained academic excellence and exceptional behavior throughout their time at CSS. This program allows students from CSS, and CSS only, to take a limited range of college classes for free. Additionally, textbook and course materials are supplied by CSS and the university.

Extracurricular activities

Though there is a wide array of science and math oriented electives, electives also allow students also interested in the humanities to fulfill their interests in these fields. The school has also put on a musical each year since 2009. The school has also participated in the Future City Competition, and their 2013 and 2020 teams had won their New York Regional competition. In addition, CSS has several sports teams that compete in the

Public Schools Athletic League The Public Schools Athletic League, known by the abbreviation PSAL, is an organization that promotes student athletics in the public schools of New York City. It was founded in 1903 to provide and maintain a sports program for students enrolled in ...

(PSAL).

Publications

The school's official newspaper, the ''Columbia Pride'', has published a new issue seasonally since fall of 2012, and weekly since fall of 2018. It covers topics of student interest such as news within the school, giving recognition to those making a difference in the school's community, and personal opinions from students on current events. The newspaper is available for free in print and online. In 2014, the school released the inaugural issue of its philosophy journal, ''CONTRARIWISE'', which features students' essays, dialogues, roundtables, letters, stories, poems, and other writings on philosophical topics ranging from time to tyranny. The journal is published annually; copies are available for purchase at the school, at events, and through the journal's website.

External links

School Website

* ttp://www.nysun.com/article/42993 The New York Sun takes note of CSS's school promise to be a beacon of both academic excellence and diversity.

References

{{authority control Public high schools in Manhattan Public middle schools in Manhattan Educational institutions established in 2007 2007 establishments in New York City