Harvey Milk High School

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Harvey Milk High School
Established	1985
Type	Public secondary, college
Affiliations	Hetrick-Martin Institute, NYC Department of Education
Principal	Daniel Rossi
Founder	Dr. Emery Hetrick and Dr. Damien Martin
Students	Approx. 170 students
Grades	9-12
Location	2-10 Astor Place, New York City, New York, United States of America
Campus	Urban
Website	http://hmi.org
originally founded to be a safe space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) young people

Harvey Milk High School is a high school designed to be a safe space for students regardless of sexual orientation. The school is located in the East Village of New York City, and named after Harvey Milk, the first openly gay supervisor of San Francisco, California, who was assassinated along with San Francisco Mayor George Moscone on November 27, 1978. The school was originally run by the Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI), an organization that provides social support to at-risk youth, especially those who are LGBTQ.

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. 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. Approximately 95% of the students are African American or Latino. The school has a 95% graduation rate, far above the state average, and 60% of students attend institutions of higher learning.

Recent controversy

HMHS came to national attention in 2002, when the Board of Education authorized a $3.2 million capital expansion of the school as one of its last acts prior to becoming a mayoral agency. At this time, the school also became a four-year, fully-accredited high school. The capital provided by 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.”^[1] Nevertheless, the school has come under attack, with many alleging that it practices discrimination. In general, the opposition comes from social conservatives; for example, Fred Phelps protested outside the school when it opened as a public high school in 2003. 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.”^[1] 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. 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 traditional 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 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.

Notable alumni

• Finnegan the Poet

References on TV

In the Law & Order: SVU Season 4 episode Fallacy, detectives Benson and Stabler discussing the situation of pre-operative MTF Cheryl Avery, they made mention of her teachers suggesting a transfer to Harvey Milk School.

Notes

See also

• Education in New York City

External links

• NYC DOE Portal
• History of HMI and HMHS
• Q&As on HMHS
• HMI FAQ
• "First public gay high school to open in NYC" - CNN
• "Classes open at gay high school" - CNN
• Michael Long's criticism
• Prison Fellowship criticism
• "Is Harvey Milk High School really a good idea?" - Townhall.com
• Harvey Milk School a haven for GLBT students - Bay Windows
• Boston Phoenix synopsis of the school's role
• "Queer High School Opens to Cheers and Jeers", The Indypendent, September 9, 2003