Top NYC High Schools that are Smaller in Size
Are you searching for a small high school in New York City that offers academic rigor with a personal touch? Many families want a learning environment where teachers truly know their students, listen to them, and support their unique strengths.
Smaller high schools often provide individualized attention, strong academics, and a supportive community, making them a great option for students who thrive in more personalized settings. If you’re looking for a school where your child feels seen, supported, and challenged, here are a few options to consider.
HSAS Lehman
HSMSE
NYC iSchool
NYC Lab School
Millennium Manhattan
NEST+m
Millennium Brooklyn
Leon Goldstein
Beacon
Richard R Green
Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science & Engineering - CSS - It’s like a mini-Stuyvesant
Essex St. Academy
UA Maker
UA Gateway
Telecommunications
Brooklyn Prospect Charter School
Brooklyn Collaborative
Essex, Harvest Collegiate, Humanities, Vanguard, Landmark, School of the Future (consortium schools)
Richard R Green
Also, be sure to check out the consortium schools as another option. The consortium schools are exempt from most of the Regents. This means that they don’t have to teach to the very rigid curriculum that specifically prepares students to take those tests. That great flexibility in curriculum allows them to adjust their teaching to match student’s interests and to support or encourage them in a variety of ways.
Instead of taking Regents, student have Performance Based Assessments. The student has the opportunity to follow their interests as they go in depth on the subject matter. Then they create a presentation that they submit to a panel to exhibit their knowledge.
The enthusiasm and breadth of knowledge I’ve seen from students working on PBAts far exceeds the drudgery of taking a Regents. This approach also instills skills that serve students well into adult life far better than filling in multiple choice bubbles.
One important thing to keep in mind: it’s often easier to make a large school feel small than to make a small school feel big. At this stage, peer relationships can be just as influential as teachers, so it’s important that students are able to find a community where they feel they belong. In very small schools, that can sometimes be more challenging. Larger schools also tend to offer more resources, programs, and extracurricular options. Of course, every child is different—but for many students, schools with 700 or more students provide enough diversity to find their people, while schools closer to 400 students may feel more limiting.
Q&A
Does not taking the regents affect college eligibility?
Not at all. First of all most states don’t even have Regents, and colleges really don’t seem to care about them that much.
Secondly, the PBAts are accepted as replacement for the Regents so these students get the same diploma as students who take the regents.
Lastly, most of these schools really support students in research and writing, making them extra prepared for college apps.
