For my senior project, it is my mission to disprove a common stereotype. I’m going to prove that Schenectady High School is not always “Low-Achieving” and “Persistently Dangerous”. Many people, especially outsiders, have this pre-conceived opinion of SHS; yet most of them don’t even know what goes on inside its doors.

I know it looks like a lot of reading, but what I want you to do is scroll down and explore the information I’ve provided… then give me some feedback. If I’ve changed your opinion on SHS, let me know.

One more thing: ANYONE can take part in this!

In order to really see how Schenectady High School students feel about the environment of our school, I conducted a survey.

When asked if they’ve ever been involved in a physical altercation on school grounds:

88% answered NO

When asked if they believe SHS should be labeled Persistently Dangerous, based on their personal experiences:

94% answered NO

As you can see, these are not perfect statistics. However, we all know that we cannot please everyone and that there are always going to be those who feel negatively about certain things; and they are absolutely entitled to their opinions.

For all we know, those who answered YES to the last question may be comparing SHS to other schools they’ve been to…

Schenectady High School is labeled as “Persistently Dangerous” due to the number of serious issues that have been reported throughout previous school years.

In 2009, and article was published about New York State’s Persistently Dangerous Schools list. One SHS incident that was reported was labeled as an Assault With a Deadly Weapon. Soon after, word got out that this Deadly Weapon was a water bottle, and the students involved in this incident were, in fact, friends with each other..

I’ll let you make your own conclusions.

*Click on the title and see for yourself.

Throughout the entire Capital Region, you will only find 2 High Schools with the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program; Schenectady High School is one of them. “Low-Achieving” schools and students can’t handle the IB program and it’s level of expectation. If the students at SHS are Low-Achieving, why are many of it’s seniors graduating with full IB Diplomas?

Click and Educate.

The outsiders label us as “Persistently Low-Achieving”.. but see for yourself. These are the places where Schenectady High’s success has been recognized. A truly Low-Achieving school wouldn’t have seniors accepted into any of these schools.. especially not Yale University.

ALFRED UNIVERSITY

CANISIUS COLLEGE

CASTLETON STATE COLLEGE

CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA

CAZENOVIA COLLEGE

CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY

CLARKSON UNIVERSITY

CLEMSON UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF ST. ROSE

CUNY HUNTER COLLEGE

CUNY MANHATTAN COLLEGE

DREXEL UNIVERSITY

EMERSON COLLEGE

FLORIDA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

FORDHAM UNIVERSITY ROSE HILL CAMPUS

GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY

HAMPTON UNIVERSITY

HARTWICK COLLEGE

HERKIMER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

HIGH POINT UNIVERSITY

HOLLINS UNIVERSITY

IONA COLLEGE

ITT TECHNICAL INSTITUTE

JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY

LANE COLLEGE

LASELL COLLEGE

LEMOYNE COLLEGE

LIM COLLEGE

LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY (BROOKLYN)

LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITY (C.W.POST)

MANHATTAN COLLEGE RIVERDALE NY

MARYMOUNT MANHATTAN COLLEGE

MARYWOOD UNIVERSITY

MASSACHUSETTS COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS

MASSACHUSETTS COLLEGE OF PHARMACY

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

MOUNT IDA COLLEGE

MOUNT ST. MARY COLLEGE

NEWBURY COLLEGE

NIAGARA UNIVERSITY

PACE UNIVERSITY

PLYMOUTH STATE COLLEGE

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY (BROOKLYN CAMPUS)

POTOMAC STATE COLLEGE OF WEST VIRGINIA

RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE

ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

RUSSELL SAGE

SAGE COLLEGE OF ALBANY

SCAD UNIVERSITY FOR CREATIVE CAREERS

SCHOOL ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO

SIENA COLLEGE

ST. BONAVENTURE UNIVERSITY

ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY (MA)

ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY (QUEENS CAMPUS)

SUNY ADIRONDACK COMMUNITY COLLEGE

SUNY ALBANY UNIVERSITY

SUNY BINGHAMTON

SUNY BROCKPORT

SUNY BUFFALO STATE COLLEGE

SUNY BUFFALO UNIVERSITY

SUNY CANTON TECHNOLOGY

SUNY COBLESKILL TECHNOLOGY

SUNY CORTLAND

SUNY FULTON MONTGOMERY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

SUNY GENESEO

SUNY HERKIMER COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

SUNY HUDSON VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

SUNY MOHAWK VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

SUNY MONROE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

SUNY MORRISVILLE TECHNOLOGY

SUNY ONEONTA

SUNY OSWEGO

SUNY PLATTSBURGH

SUNY POTSDAM

SUNY SCHENECTADY COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

SUNY SUFFOLK COMMUNITY COLLEGE

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY

TOWSON UNIVERSITY

UNION COLLEGE

UNIVERSITY OF HARTFORD

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AT AMHERST

UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AT LOWELL

UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT

UTICA COLLEGE OF SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

WAGNER COLLEGE

WESTERN NEW ENGLAND COLLEGE

 YALE UNIVERSITY