H.S. 680 Bronx Coalition Community School
1300 Boynton Avenue BRONX, NY 10472
Phone: (718) 860-8200 | Fax: (718) 842-5151 Principal: Ms. Esmie D. Gaynor
Parent Coordinator: Eric Veras (347) 563-4900 | Website

At a Glance
Grade levels: 9 to 12
Enrollment: 497
Ethnicity %: 1 W 36 B 63 H 2 A
Attendance: 72%
Graduation rate: 53.4%
7-year graduation rate: 42.4%
Alternative District 79
Neighborhood: Soundview

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What's special: Portfolios and community service
Downside: Poor attendance and low achievement levels

Bronx Coalition Community School for Technology was established in September of 1994, when James Monroe High School was divided into six small schools. Three of the new schools were in the old building. Three others, including Fannie Lou Hamer, Bronx Coalition and Wings Academy, were created at different sites but accepted students who were zoned for the old Monroe. Bronx Coalition Community School is a member of the Center for Collaborative Education, and organization of small, progressive schools. The school is divided into "Beginnings," "Journeys" and the "Senior Institute." According to the school web site, students must successfully present three "portfolios" to be eligible for admittance into Senior Institute. Students begin "Introduction to Community Service" and complete 25 service hours, the web site said. Unfortunately, the school has been plagued with poor attendance and struggles to bring students with low levels of reading and math up to standard. Despite continued attempts, Insideschools.org has not been able to secure a visit to this school. (Jacquie Wayans, September 2003)

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H.S. 690 Monroe Academy for Business & Law
1300 Boynton Avenue BRONX, NY 10472
Phone: (718) 860-8140 | Fax: (718) 893-3262 Principal: Mr. Benito Herrero

At a Glance
Grade levels: 9 to 12
Class size: 28
Enrollment: 587
Ethnicity %: 1 W 37 B 60 H 3 A
Attendance: 77%
Graduation rate: 42.4%
7-year graduation rate: 45.5%
Alternative District 79
Neighborhood: Soundview

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What's special: Great baseball team
Downside: High turnover among administrators

Monroe Academy for Business & Law is one of four small schools created in the former James Monroe High School in 1994. Sadly, because the school must concentrate on giving students basic skills in reading and math, it offers few electives. It offers no business or law courses, despite its name, according to an August, 2003, article in the New York Post. Most students come in reading at very low levels and the school is on the state's list of failing schools, called schools under registration review or SURR, because of its students' low performance on the math Regents. Located in a neighborhood with many new immigrants, the school has a transient population. Students often don't stay long enough to master high school material. The school's mission statement says: "Upon graduation, students will be able not only to read, but also to comprehend what they have read." All special education students are involved in an "inclusion" model for instruction, the mission statement said. The school suffers from rapid turnover of administrators. One bright spot: the baseball team. The three high schools in the building, Business & Law, High School of World Cultures, and Monroe Academy for Visual Arts & Design, field a joint baseball team that's one of the best in the city. (Bronx Little School, which serves elementary students, is the fourth school in the building.) Administrators did not respond to our repeated requests to visit the school. (Jacquie Wayans, September 2003)

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H.S. 692 Monroe Academy for Visual Arts & Design
1300 Boyton Avenue BRONX, NY 10472
Phone: (718) 860-8172 | Fax: (718) 860-8110 Principal: Ms. Janet Reda
Parent Coordinator: Gloria Vargas (347) 563-4982

At a Glance
Grade levels: 9 to 12
Class size: 28
Enrollment: 565
Ethnicity %: 2 W 33 B 66 H 1 A
Attendance: 73%
Graduation rate: 34.3%
7-year graduation rate: 39.4%
Alternative District 79
Neighborhood: Soundview

More info

What's special: Great baseball team
Downside: High turnover among administrators

Monroe Academy for Visual Arts & Design is one of four schools created in 1994 in the former James Monroe High School. Although this school has better attendance and higher graduation rates than other schools in the building, it still struggles to deal with the needs of a transient, largely immigrant population. The school has had frequent turnover of administrators and teachers. One bright spot: the baseball team. The three high schools in the building, Monroe Academy for Business & Law, High School of World Cultures, and Visual Arts & Design, field a joint baseball team that's one of the best in the city. (Bronx Little School, which serves elementary students, is the fourth school in the building.) The administration did not respond to our repeated requests to visit. (Jacquie Wayans, September 2003)

What happened to James Monroe HS? When did it change?

When I went to Monroe a long time ago, I seem to remember that there were some references to "600" schools and that those were the places that you were sent to if you were a behavior problem or didn't want to learn. Is that why these schools have that number designation?