Hs 560 City as School

City-As-School is one of the New York City Department of Education alternative high schools. It was created in 1972 and organized to serve the needs of children who learn by doing. Many students who come to City-As-School (CAS) were struggling in their former schools, and we believe that continued struggling will not change behavior positively. The school’s emphasis is on starting fresh and moving forward.

Forty years after its founding, CAS continues to address these very problems as it meets the needs of its ever-expanding, changing student population. From the engagement of young people with the strength of its commitment to experiential learning, disaffected students become revitalized. Learning takes place at the many businesses, community organizations, hospitals, schools, political offices, parks, and museums throughout New York City. Through internships that span the ordinary to the extraordinary, CAS students begin again to develop a keen interest in their own lives, education, and communities.

CAS students are 11th and 12th graders who come from any of the public, private or charter schools within the five boroughs. We utilize the facilities of over 400 New York City businesses at which students participate in professional activities.

The opportunity to experience education within the real world of work offers students a new prospective and permits them to form dynamic relationships with advisors who serve as supervisors and work-site colleagues. The strength of student relationships with work mentors and a caring staff in an environment rich with opportunities for “learning by doing”, is at the heart of CAS’s continuing success. These internships along with classroom learning form the basis of learning in math, history, English, science and other academic areas.