| 47 The American Sign Language and English Secondary School | |
|---|---|
 View of school from 23rd Street | |
| Location | |
 | |
225 East 23rd Street , 10010 United States | |
| Coordinates | 40°44′18″N73°58′53″W / 40.7383°N 73.9814°W /40.7383; -73.9814 |
| Information | |
| Former name | P.S. 47 |
| Established | 1908 |
| School district | New York City Department of Education |
| Teaching staff | 32.65 (FTE)[1] |
| Grades | 9-12[1] |
| Enrollment | 234[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 7.17[1] |
| Website | Official website |
47 The American Sign Language and English Secondary School, is a public high school for the deaf inKips Bay,Manhattan,New York City.[2] Operated by theNew York City Department of Education, it was previously known as"47" The American Sign Language and English Dual Language High School,[3]Junior High School 47M, School for the Deaf,[4] orJunior High School 47 (J.H.S. 47).[5]
As of 2021[update] it only serves high school students.[6] Elementary and middle school grades are covered by the separate PS 347 The 47 American Sign Language & English Lower School.[7] The two schools share a building.[8]
In the 1940s it was the only public school catering specifically to the deaf in New York City.[5][9] This remained true in 1998.[5][10]
It was established in 1908 and was originally P.S. 47.[11]
In 1998 the school was placed directly under the control of the NYC schools chancellor, and it was to begin teachingAmerican sign language before teaching theEnglish language.[5] This made JHS 47 to be the first school in the United States to designate itself as an ASL language school.[12] Despite its name at the time stating "junior high school", it actually served pre-kindergarten to the 10th grade. In 1998 the school announced it would serve up to grade 12, adding 25-40 students.[5] By 1998 it served infants up to age 21. Martin Florsheim became the first deaf principal of the school.[10]
In 2000 Florsheim attempted to move 35 teachers who did not have fluency in ASL out of his school and take in 35 who had ASL proficiency but theteachers' union opposed the move.[13]
In 2002, its name changed to "47" The American Sign Language and English School. On February 1, 2005Joel Klein, the chancellor of the school district, divided it into a K-8 and high school for budget reasons.[14]
In 2010, the Department of Education proposed moving students from the Clinton School for Artists and Writers into the deaf schools building. This caused controversy over community members who feared this would disrupt the deaf environment.[15]
In the 2020–2021 school year, the school had 234 students.[1]
The school uses ASL as its primary language. Previously the school had students use lip-reading, sign language, and whatever hearing abilities they had, which Jeff Archer ofEducation Week described as "an inconsistent mix".[10] Florsheim stated that therefore, "There was no real clear-cut communication policy in our school" and that the school taught "a watered-down version of a general education curriculum".[10] He stated that therefore the deaf students fell behind relative to hearing peers.[10]
 | This article'sfactual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. The reason given is: The information itself is sourced to proper sources, but it is important to find new secondary sources from the 2020s that describe the safety of this school. Keep in mind that such secondary sources may not exist. Be careful with using primary sources and do not draw conclusions from primary sources, as we don't want "Original research". Please do not remove historical information, but instead, just add new information sourced from secondary sources.. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(June 2024) |
In 2007, the State of New York had categorized it as a "persistently dangerous school".[16]
[...]the city's only public school for the deaf[...]
The school, the city system's only one devoted exclusively to serving the hearing-impaired,[...]
40°44′18″N73°58′53″W / 40.73833°N 73.98139°W /40.73833; -73.98139