The 10 Best High Schools in New York State

Best High Schools: Perhaps it is not unexpected that the metropolitan area around New York City is home to a significant number of the state’s top high schools.

The greatest high schools in New York, which range from public and specialized public to private, stand out thanks to their skilled teacher cohorts, city-integrated structures and facilities, and community connections in STEM, business, and the arts.

The greatest high schools in New York have competitive admissions processes, thus most kids will apply to attend these exclusive schools. While some public colleges charge upwards of $60,000 in tuition, others offer an excellent four-year education completely free.

Many of the school environments on this list place a high priority on experiential and job-based learning. Students are also urged to participate in regular community service projects or are compelled to do so.

Learning languages like Russian, German, and Japanese, all of which are appreciated in the commercial and technological worlds, is easier when attending school in and around the diverse cultural center of New York City.

Our choices for the top high schools in New York State came from lists of rankings published by well-known magazines like Niche and U.S. News & World Report.

Read on to discover more about the fascinating educational options provided by these outstanding institutions!

The 10 best high schools in New York State

1. Bronx High School of Science (Bronx, NY)
2. The Horace Mann School (New York City, NY)
3. Jericho Senior High School (Jericho, NY)
4. High School of American Studies at Lehman College (Bronx, NY)
5. Riverdale Country School (Bronx, NY)
6. Staten Island Technical High School (Staten Island, NY)
7. Trinity School (New York City, NY)
8. Stuyvesant High School (New York City, NY)
9. Townsend Harris High School (Flushing, NY)
10. High School of Math, Science, and Engineering at CCNY (New York City, NY)

Bronx High School of Science (Bronx, NY)

One of the biggest specialized public high schools on this list is Bronx High School of Science, which has over 2,900 pupils enrolled.

The school’s alumni network includes eight Nobel laureates, eight Pulitzer Prize winners, and two winners of the Turing Award. Each year, 1,800 students take close to 5,000 AP tests. Opportunities for student involvement abound on campus. In one of several Launch Labs, the IDEAS Initiative pushes students to design and engineer solutions for contemporary issues.

National site visits, access to a summer design institute, and involvement in top robotics teams competing across the nation are all components of the related curriculum.

The debate team of Bronx High School of Science is also well-known; it consistently ranks among the top five debate teams according to the National Speech & Debate Association.

No student is turned away from participation; everyone is invited. This exciting group has members who total close to 300 each year!

The Horace Mann School (New York City, NY)

Five guiding principles serve as a direction for Horace Mann students: “life for the mind, mature behavior, mutual respect, a secure and healthful environment, and a balance between individual achievement and a caring community.”

These five principles are intertwined throughout every aspect of the independent school, which enrolls 735 students in its Upper Division (grades 9–12) and occupies an 18-acre campus in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx.

One of the most outstanding aspects of Horace Mann’s Upper Division curriculum is its service-learning program, which assigns groups of 100 students to charitable work at facilities for children and senior citizens.

To graduate, students must fulfill an 11th-grade multidisciplinary requirement, four years of team sports or physical education, and their CPR and First Aid certificates.

The annual cost of attending high school is close to $60,000. Financial aid is offered. Other resources at the school include over 100 electives for Upper Division students, a 320-acre outdoor education facility in Connecticut, and a weekly student news publication that has won awards for more than a century.

Jericho Senior High School (Jericho, NY)

Jericho High School, which has 1,263 students in grades 9 through 12, is a public high school 30 miles east of New York City.

In collaboration with Adelphi University, St. John’s University, Rochester Institute of Technology, and other post-secondary schools, it provides a variety of AP courses and dual enrollment alternatives.

Jericho has several interesting, practical courses in a variety of fields. In International Foods, students prepare meals employing techniques from many cuisines while debating nutrition and eating habits in other cultures.

Students in the course New Media Communications produce a brand-new online edition of the prestigious newspaper, the JerEcho.

The Jericho Theater Production Organization (JTPO), one of the most well-liked options for students to join groups, is available. Students who enjoy acting, dancing, singing, or putting on remarkable theatrical productions are the best candidates for the group.

High School of American Studies at Lehman College (Bronx, NY)

The High School of American Studies at Lehman College in the Bronx, New York is a public high school designed for superior students. It places a great emphasis on U.S. politics and history in its curriculum. Students engage in courses that are advanced or AP-level. Juniors and seniors that meet the requirements may enroll at Lehman College. Eighth and ninth-graders in New York City may take the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) to apply to the school.

The academic program of the High School of American Studies focuses on primary sources, biographies, and site visits to places of significance in the country. Scholars can choose electives like criminal law or the United States Constitution. Students are obligated to take their AP exams in world history and U.S. history in either their sophomore or junior year. Moreover, students are also required to take liberal arts, become multilingual, and attend seven classes that end by 2:50 each afternoon.

Riverdale Country School (Bronx, NY)

Riverdale Country School in the Bronx, New York is an independent school with almost 1,260 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. It intends to give students personalized attention by maintaining a 5 to 1 ratio of teachers to students. They encourage students in the Upper School to join student-led organizations that meet every other week during or after school or on weekends.

Some of the program’s offerings include AAPIC, a group that raises awareness of criminal justice in the present day, Animania, a group’s pursuit of producing a short animated film using anime and manga, and Citymeals, a group that delivers weekend meals to the elderly. Upper School students can participate in outdoor activities such as survival skills courses, recreational fitness, and research-based excursions. The Summer Science Research Program takes students to Alaska to conduct climate change analysis alongside wilderness camping and hiking.

Staten Island Technical High School (Staten Island, NY)

The specialized public high school at Staten Island Tech enrolls 1,330 students in STEAM, the humanities, and work-based learning opportunities as part of its comprehensive curriculum.

For the less than 400 openings each year, more than 15,000 students apply.

Students begin their exploration of STEAM with a course that introduces them to AV engineering and TV studios. Through the AutoCAD curriculum, they earn their Certiport certification in their second year.

They start taking lessons in advanced computer-aided design and career finance management in their junior and senior years. So that they can complete internships in their junior and senior years, sophomores in the tenth grade participate in a job-shadowing career exploration program.

The connection between Staten Island Tech and the Russian language sets it apart. Only 30 schools globally offer Russian, an “elite” subject in the realm of technology, and this institution is one of them. In their exciting careers, 50% of Staten Island Tech graduates who continue to college take Russian.

Trinity School (New York City, NY)

Trinity School, located in New York City, NY, holds a longstanding history as it was established back in 1709. It’s a private institution with a diverse student population of over 1,000 individuals from different socioeconomic backgrounds. To enroll, prospective families must submit an application, attend a campus tour and interview, and provide recommendations from a math teacher, English teacher, and administrator. Additionally, transcripts, standardized test scores, and an essay are also required for admission. Tuition for grades 9-12 is $58,495. While Trinity School has an Episcopal affiliation, its Chapel encourages the community to explore topics such as the value of human life, the nature of the universe, and how to live with integrity. The school also provides an Upper School social impact learning component, which allows students to lead philanthropic pursuits such as donation collections for the West Side Campaign Against Hunger or providing translation services for community partners.

Stuyvesant High School (New York City, NY)

Stuyvesant High School, situated in New York City, NY, is a specialized public high school that caters to gifted students. The curriculum is centered around science, mathematics, and technology programs, giving students the option to choose from 31 AP courses, achieving an average of 1510 on the SAT and 34 on the ACT composite. The Junior Engineering and Technical Society (JETS) team frequently places in the top ten spots, while the Ace Mentor Program selects Stuyvesant students to work in teams at architecture and engineering firms with the guidance of a mentor. Not only does the school excel in STEM but the humanities are also well-represented, highlighted through the oldest high school literary magazine in the United States published twice annually, Caliper, which features numerous works by Stuyvesant’s students and faculty.

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Townsend Harris High School (Flushing, NY)

Townsend Harris is a public high school that encourages students to leave Flushing better than when they arrived by upholding the Ephebic Oath.

The Department of global languages at the university enjoys a stellar reputation. Spanish, French, Japanese, Latin, or Greek are the five foreign languages that students can select from.

80% of students continue their study of a foreign language after the necessary three years, and 100% pass the three-year comprehensive Regents exams in their language and the National Latin Exam.

Students can enroll in electives in service and activism outside of the basic curriculum. All pupils in New York City may apply for admission to the ninth grade after a competitive examination. Readers of applications take into account grades from report cards and results from sixth-grade standardized tests.

High School of Math, Science, and Engineering at CCNY (New York City, NY)

HSMSE, a specialized public high school, has won praise for being New York City’s most diverse institution.

With an integrated approach to STEM and the humanities, its curriculum challenges pupils. Due to the school location on the CCNY campus, students are exposed to college life’s realities early on and have access to its resources.

Each year, all HSMSE scholars complete a minimum of five math courses and a science lab course. The majority complete a three-year German foreign language requirement, which is referred to as the “language of engineering.”

Students choose one of the following as their concentration during their sophomore year: engineering, mathematics, or biomedical research. The Mount Sinai School of Medicine’s scientists and medical professionals collaborated on the development and execution of the school’s biomedical research program.

Juniors and seniors do a research internship at one of the hospital departments, where they concentrate their research on fields like pediatrics, obstetrics, and gynecology, or cardiology.