The Beacon School is a college-preparatory public high school on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, near Lincoln Center and Columbus Circle. Beacon offers a dynamic inquiry-based education program with technology and arts infused throughout the curriculum. Beacon emphasizes a rigorous well-rounded liberal arts education based on the principle of shared exploration and problem-solving. The curriculum exceeds standards set by the New York State Regents. In assessments for graduation, students present performance-based projects to panels of teachers. Beacon offers extensive opportunities to participate in student organizations, varsity athletics, community service, and international travel.
Beacon features a Debate Club, Math Club, Drama Program, Film Making Club, Model UN, Photo Club, Arts Committee, Yearbook, Literary Magazine, and additional student clubs and activities. Beacon Ink is the student-run literary magazine that publishes exceptional creative writing and artwork. The literary magazine celebrates exceptional student work that might not otherwise be widely noticed, and provides students the opportunity to create a truly professional-quality publication.
The initial founding of Beacon in 1993 was intended as an alternative to the Regents Exam-based testing system in favor of portfolio-based assessment. The school's purpose was also purportedly to keep class sizes down and total student population at, or just above, one thousand students. The total population, for example, was once listed in a 1998 high school selection guide as "less than 600 students", though now has approximately 1,150 students. Over time, Beacon was forced to accept certain aspects of the Regents-based testing curriculum, and to abandon its portfolio-assessment system as the sole method of graduation, which it had been up until mid-1999. Beacon now utilizes, in its own words, "traditional testing ... our students' progress is largely assessed through performance-based projects, completed individually and in groups. To graduate, students must present their best work to panels of teachers."
Read more about The Beacon School: System of Classes, In-school Requirements, Internships and Community Service, Culture, Sports, References
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