NEW YORK "” The city is opening a full-fledged high school for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students -- the first of its kind in the nation, The Post has learned.
Operating for two decades as a small alternative program with just two classrooms, the new Harvey Milk High School officially opens as a stand-alone public school with 100 students in September.
The school is undergoing a $3.2 million in city-funded renovations approved by the old Board of Education in June of last year. It will eventually take in 170 students by September 2004, more than tripling last year' s enrollment.
The Hetrick-Martin Institute -- the gay-rights youth-advocacy group that manages and helps finance the school in conjunction with New York' s Department of Education -- has hired the school' s first principal.
In the past, Harvey Milk High School -- named after the slain gay San Francisco politician -- was assigned an " off-site" supervisor who also oversaw several other schools.
Principal William Salzman said Harvey Milk will be an academically rigorous school that will specialize in computer technology, arts and a culinary program.
" This school will be a model for the country and possibly the world," Salzman said.
" This is a not a touchy-feely situation. We intend to have 95 percent of our students go on to college. We have a lot of talent coming into the school. We want to steer these kids in the right direction."
But New York State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long blasted the school as " social engineering" that wastes tax dollars.
" Is there a different way to teach homosexuals? Is there gay math? This is wrong. This makes absolutely no sense," Long said. " There' s no reason these children should be treated separately."
Long said there are city and state discrimination laws on the books and that authorities should enforce them to stop gay-bashing.
" What next? Maybe we should have schools for chubby kids who get picked on. Maybe all kids who wear glasses should have special schools. It' s ridiculous," he said.
What burns Long most is the $3 million spent on renovations. " Maybe this is one of the reasons the city has no money," he said.
Arthur Larsen, who graduated from the program last month as valedictorian, is thrilled with its expansion into a full-fledged school. " I' m now an alumnus of a real school!" he said. " There' s going to be more students. In four years, I want to work here."
We want to steer these kids in the right direction.
UN..............REAL!!! I' m actually over here
Hey, I want to open up my own school for southern good ' ol boys with a touch of polish ancestry and no one else!!! Talk about discrimination. Or how about an all blonde female school. I' d definately get a sex change just for this!!!
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This is unreal," Is there a different way to teach homosexuals? Is there gay math? ...Yes 100 this fall, 170 later and the more SPECIAL attention they get the more will choose to join them!
If this isn' t social engineering, please tell me what qualifies? We all do not have to be alike but if we choose to segregate ourselves from others for any reason what so ever, it should be at our own exspense, not that of the tax payers.
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Now you have to picture a combination of PeeWEE Herman and Wally Cox but with less muscle tone, trying to be intimidating None of this is funny! Message edited by Cougar Mag -- 1/7/2005 1:16:42 AM >/b]
let the flood gates open!!!
i want to go to a special school. i learn best by " hands on" type things. they do not have a special school for " hands on" learners, especally one funded by the public. Heck, in high school i only went on 3 field trips, most of which we had to pay 20 dollars for. Thats great, couldn' t go on field trips b/c of no funding, but because kids are gay they get a brand new school.....
First of all... what do you have to do to enroll your kid? Do they have to prove they are gay???? Secondly, if it is for gay students only - isn' t that discrimination based on sexual preference??? The wacky world we live in. UNFREAKIN' believable
Stickemup and Hip, ROFLMAO. I notice the school doesn' t have interior decorating listed in the curriculum. Logs, I agree completely. This is just another form of segregation and discrimination and should not be paid for with tax dollars.
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I notice the school doesn' t have interior decorating listed in the curriculum.
A different story from the AP said that the curriculum was going to include Art and Culinary Cuisine....... close enough to interior decorating.
funny thing is, they said they were going to be heavy on the computer usage - a skill that is being sent to india and china faster than you can say " thay fella" .
This could be a good thing. A bunch of lisping poopy pushers together would obviously increase their already inflated affectations, once they " graduate" normal society would find their mannerisms so vile that they don' t bother with them at all.
A " touchy-feely" situation?
