Manhattan Village Academy

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Coordinates: 40°44′31″N 73°59′31″W / 40.741868°N 73.992019°W / 40.741868; -73.992019
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Manhattan Village Academy
high school
School district2
PrincipalChristina White
Teaching staff29.84 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Grades9–12[1]
Number of students461[1] (2020–21[1])
Student to teacher ratio15.15[1]
Color(s)Navy Blue and Gray
MascotSilver Hawk
WebsiteManhattan Village Academy

Manhattan Village Academy (MVA) is a small, public high school located in the Flatiron District, New York City. It consists of grades 9–12 with an enrollment of 461 students. The school is part of the New York City Department of Education. The school was founded by veteran educator Mary Butz in 1993. The administration is currently headed by principal Christina White.

History

Manhattan Village Academy was founded in 1993 by Mary Butz, a 25-year veteran of the

New York City Board of Education. Butz was invited to establish this new small public high school by famed educator Deborah Meier, who worked closely with Ted Sizer and the Center for Collaborative Education. After selecting the site in a commercial loft building in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, Butz persuaded nationally known architect Beverly Willis
to collaborate with her to design the space for the school. Butz recruited the students and faculty, and shaped the culture of the school around the ideas of "reason, respect, and responsibility." The motto of the school from its inception was "a good school dedicated to the liberal arts." In the first graduating class, every student went on to attend college. The school was recognized by Chancellor Rudy Crew as one of the best high schools in the city and was regularly ranked among the city’s best public schools under Butz’s leadership. She maintained policies of open enrollment, project-based assessment, and close attention to punctuality and student deportment. When she left the school in 1999, she selected Hector Geager to succeed her. Christina White became the interim principal of the school In September 2019, and was appointed principal of the school in March 2020, following Mr. Geager's retirement.

Admissions became selective in 2005.

Incidents

In 2016 a 17-year-old student who had been bullied at the school left campus at lunchtime, stepped in front of a subway train, and was fatally struck.[2]

Facilities

Manhattan Village Academy is currently housed within three floors of an office building. It was part of a NYC Board of Education decision to place small, public schools in rented places. The historic

industrial-styled staircase. The designs for the school were completed in 1996 within a time period of 12 months[3][4]

Building design

Conceived as an alternative to the traditional high school, the Manhattan Village Academy was a replacement to the “old, assembly-line model of education with more active and personalized learning.”[5] The New York Times hailed the academy as having “the intimate feel of a private liberal arts high school.”[6]

The design by architect Beverly Willis created a customized program to fit the school's pedagogy and to support the administration, teaching, and learning process. Deborah Meiers, a leading national proponent of the concept of a small school education, saw Willis’ design approach to the MVA as a remedy to learning difficulties of high school students.

Located on three floors of two existing Beaux's Arts-style office buildings, the Board of Education's proposed plan for the loft was a set of standard plans for a series of classrooms off a corridor. Willis devised a locus plan− “a cluster of classrooms for each grade around an interior quad space, where teachers have a selection of a variety of spaces to fit a personalized approach to their students’ needs.”[7] At the Manhattan Village Academy, “the educational philosophy is embedded in the architecture.”[8] In addition to the reconfiguration of the classroom layout, Willis rejected the original plan's main entrance at the rear, adjacent to the freight exit. Instead, Willis designed “a grand high school faced in miniature; just inside the doors, four Greek-temple steps, done in marble, ascend to an aluminum spiral staircase, leading to the school’s second floor lobby.”[9]

The open space of the locus plan center accommodates up to 100 students and is surrounded by three interconnected classrooms and a science laboratory with a folding wall that opens up to one of the classrooms. The building also contains a cafeteria, library, home economics classroom, and auditorium. The design incorporates glass walls and office windows that look out onto corridors and common areas to allow for continuous monitoring of student activity.

Entrance requirements

Students applying for admission to Manhattan Village Academy are screened and a specified level of academic achievement is required for admission. Students and parents must attend an Open House event to be considered for admission.[10] In the 2009 school year, there were 2,883 applicants for admission for only 100 seats available for 9th grade.[11]

Partnerships

The school is partnered with

John Jay College, and Hunter College.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "MANHATTAN VILLAGE ACADEMY". School Directory Information. national Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Campanile, Carl; Moore, Tina; Rosario, Frank (April 5, 2016). "High school girl bullied to death". New York Post. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  3. ^ "Small School Prototypical Example: Manhattan Village Academy High School". Architect.org. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  4. ^ "Project Description". BeverlyWillis.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
  5. ^ Moed, Andrea (May 1999). "Class Conscious". Interiors: 62–63.
  6. ^ Kershaw, Sarah (May 24, 1995). "Alternative Schools: Career Preparation Or College; Combining Techniques Old and New". The New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  7. ^ AIA Committee on Architecture (2002). Educational Facilities- Exemplary Learning Environments. New York: American Institute of Architects.
  8. ^ Merkel, Jayne (September 1995). "Back to School". Oculus: 10.
  9. ^ Thrush, Glenn (September 1994). "One Size Fits None". Metropolis: 57.
  10. ^ "2015 Open House for Fall 2016 Admission - Manhattan Village Academy - M439 - New York City Department of Education". schools.nyc.gov. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Manhattan Village Academy". New York City Department of Education. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved May 26, 2011.

40°44′31″N 73°59′31″W / 40.741868°N 73.992019°W / 40.741868; -73.992019

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