John Dewey High School
50 Avenue X, Brooklyn, NY, 11223-5799 - Map Map

School Overview:
Definition of Terms
John Dewey High School
School Level High school
Grades Offered Grades 9 - 12
County Kings County, NY
Students & Faculty
Total Students 3294 students
% Male / % Female 47%  /  53%
Total Classroom Teachers 156 teachers
Students by Grade
Grade 9 - 1211 students
Grade 10 - 940 students
Grade 11 - 529 students
Grade 12 - 433 students
Grade Not Listed - 181 students
This School
(NY) School Average
Teacher : Student Ratio 1:21 1:14
Students by Ethnicity
This School
(NY) School Average
% American Indian n/a 1%
% Asian 32% 4%
% Hispanic 19% 17%
% Black 30% 19%
% White 19% 58%
Additional Student Information
This School
(NY) School Average
% Eligible for Free Lunch 69% 28%
% Eligible for Reduced Lunch 16% 6%
% Migrant Students Enrolled n/a n/a
School Performance:
(NY) Statewide Testing Performance
School Statewide Performance View Education Department Test Scores
School District:
School District Name New York City Public s School District
This School's Agency
(NY) District Average
Number of Schools Managed 36 4
Number of Students Managed 36,027 students 2,265 students
District Total Revenue n/a $31,819,000
District Expenditure n/a $31,869,000
District Revenue / Student n/a $14,048
District Expenditure / Student n/a $14,070
District Graduation Rates n/a 97%
In the News:
View all past news stories
School Notes:
  • John Dewey High School is a public school in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, founded and based on the educational principles of John Dewey. It opened in the Fall of 1969 and is located at 50 Avenue X at the Gravesend/Bensonhurst-Bath Beach border of Brooklyn. The school is under the banner of the New York City Department of Education.
  • It was established in 1969 and started out with only freshmen and sophomores. Gradually, the school grew to include juniors and seniors. Today, there are over 3,200 students are enrolled in the school. Though still relatively young compared to many Brooklyn public high schools, it counts as alumni many well known graduates, including filmmaker Spike Lee, Pulitzer Prize winner Donald Margulies, WWE wrestler Jayson Paul (aka JTG), producer and director Larry Charles, and scientist Robert Sapolsky.
  • Graduation requirements
  • In order to graduate from John Dewey High School, each student must take a certain amount of specific classes and maintain a body temperature roughly around the 90's. For example, each student must take 16 cycles of English; 8 literature classes, 4 writing classes, 2 communication classes, and 2 elective classes. For Social Studies, each student must take 16 cycles of classes. Students need 8 Global courses, 4 American History, 2 Economic classes, and 2 Participation in Government classes. Mathematics requires 12 cycles, each student must complete 3 years of math, and must complete Math A. The Science Department requires students to take 12 cycles of Science. John Dewey also offers many foreign languages. When a student chooses his or her preferred languages, they must take the course either for 1 year (4 cycles) or for 3 years (12 cycles). Art and Music are important in the Dewey curriculum. Each student must take 2 cycles of each. Also, like in every high school, John Dewey offers health education and physical education. Each student must take 14 cycles of phys. ed. and 2 cycles of health; totaling up to 16 cycles (4 years).
  • John Dewey High School offers many electives. A student may want to take Dance classes, or Business Education classes. It also offers Technology, Home Economics, Health Careers and Occupations.
  • There is also a COOP program that senior students can be a part of. This program allows the students to be in the corporate world. They work one week and go to school the next.
  • Race and Ethnicity
  • Academy of Finance
  • John Dewey High School houses the "first" Academy of Finance, which was started by Sandy Weill in 1982. The Academy of Finance prepares students for post-secondary education and careers through a theme-based, contextualized curriculum approach. Academic learning experiences are combined with hands-on work experience to help students develop the thinking and problem-solving skills so critical to postsecondary education and career success.
  • The Academy of Finance introduces high school students to the broad career opportunities of the financial services industry, opening the door to new options and equipping students to make sound choices for the future. One of three member programs of the National Academy Foundation, the Academy of Finance operates as a small learning community and is located in more than 275 high schools nationwide.
  • At John Dewey, each student is allowed to apply for the Academy of Finance. During the Sophomore year, a student who is interested in joining the Academy, gives in his or her application and waits for an interview with Academy coordinator. The Academy of Finance is only available to Juniors and Seniors who applies during their Sophomoreyear.
  • ARISTA | ARCHON
  • ARISTA is the scholastic honor society of John Dewey High School. Applicants must have achieved an overall scholastic average of 90 or above as a student at John Dewey High School. The student must also have a record of service performed each cycle in some facility in the school. In the early decades of operation, the school offered students no letter or number grades, and there was no school-wide academic honor society.
  • Sports
  • From its founding John Dewey has not fielded varsity sports teams. That lack of inter-school sports competition grew out of its educational design, meant to de-emphasize competition, winning and losing, and to encourage achievement for its own sake. The school does however have intramural athletic programs which students can take advantage of to play sports for recreation.
  • Notable alumni
  • Larry Charles, television/film writer, director, producer
  • Colin Quinn, comedian and television personality
  • Mike Abrams, national satellite radio personality
  • Foxy Brown, musical artist
  • Angie Martinez, radio personality
  • Gregory Crewdson, modern artist/photographer
  • Eric Francis, investigative reporter and astrologer
  • Elliot Goldenthal, composer
  • Arthur Lander, biologist
  • Spike Lee, director
  • Doris Ling-Cohan, New York State Supreme Court Justice
  • Michael Mandel, Chief Economist, Business Week Magazine
  • Donald Margulies, playwright
  • John Ortiz, actor
  • Geoffrey Owens, actor
  • Jayson Paul, professional wrestler
  • Domenic M. Recchia, Jr., New York City Council member
  • Ray Suarez, journalist and author
  • Michelle Ye, actress
  • External links
  • John Dewey High School 40th reunion site. June 12, 2010 on campus
  • John Dewey High School NYCDOE Page
  • Haitian flag fury unfurls at High School in Brooklyn - May 2006 article on the racist incident at the school.
  • Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
  • Add/edit information about this school (e.g., awards, news stories, notable alumni, fun facts)
 
School Zip Code:
About This Zip Code (11223)
School Zip (11223)
(NY) State Average
Population (Approximate) 77,691 people 18,208,943 people
% (age 25+) w/College Degree 27% 32%
Population Average Age 37 years old 34 years old
Average Household size 2.7 persons 2.6 persons
Median Household Income $32,104 $41,761
Avg. # of Rooms in Household 4 rooms 4.6 rooms
Median Age of Housing Structure 64 years old 56 years old
View Current Housing Listings View current housing listings in this area
Median Value of Housing Unit
Zipcode (11223)


Zillow Median Value of Housing Unit
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Zillow Median Value of Housing Unit
% Owning / % Renting 33% / 67% 42% / 58%
School Map:
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5. William E. Grady High School - 1659 students - 1.1 mi. away - view location
View all schools in: Brooklyn, Kings County, Zip 11223 
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Note: Data has been gathered from several government and commercial data sources. School data reflects 2006 statistics (most recent year available).

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