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NYC plans public high school for gays |
Jul. 29, 2003 |
A small alternative public school program has been expanded
into a full-fledged school for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered
students.
New York City's Harvey Milk High School, an expansion of a 1984
city program
consisting of two small classrooms for gay students, will enroll
about 100 students and
will open in the fall. "I think everybody feels that it's
a good idea because some of the kids who are gays and lesbians
have been constantly harassed and beaten in other schools,"
Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a briefing Monday. "It
lets them get an education without having to worry. It solves
a discipline problem. And from a pedagogical point of view,
this administration-- and previous administrations--have thought
it was a good idea, and we'll continue with that."
The school, at 2 Astor Place in the East Village, is undergoing
a $3.2 million renovation approved by the last year's board
of education.
The Hetrick-Martin Institute, a gay rights youth advocacy group
that has managed and financed the program since its inception,
has hired William Salzman as principal of the new school. Salzman
is a former Wall Street executive who most recently served as
assistant principal of guidance and business at Brooklyn's Automotive
High School.
Salzman told the New York Post in Monday editions that the school
will be academically challenging and will follow schools chancellor
Joel Klein's mandatory English and math programs. It also will
specialize in computer technology, arts, and culinary arts.
State conservative party chairman Mike Long criticized the creation
of the school.
"Is there a different way to teach
homosexuals? Is there gay math? This is wrong,"
Long told the Post. "There's no reason these children should
be treated separately." . |
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