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Our Insights

What’s Special

Deaf and hearing students learn sign language

The Downside

Tiny size limits classes, sports and clubs

At The American Sign Language (ASL) and English Secondary School, hearing and deaf students learn alongside one another in classes staffed with professional sign interpreters. The school draws students from all over the city, including Staten Island and Far Rockaway. Roughly 15 percent of the students are deaf or hard-of-hearing and most others are hearing kids with deaf siblings or parents. The school also attracts hearing students interested in learning sign language.The school is housed in a 1920s-era building it shares with the American Sign Language and English Lower School, which has a separate administration and teaching staff. The high school’s facilities include large classrooms, a gym and weight room, computer lab, science lab and a library with couches and colorful rugs.

Students enjoy a calm and close-knit environment that embraces deaf culture, which Principal Wafta Shama describes as a culture of communication. “Hand gestures, feet stomping and touching people to get their attention are essential. In ASL it’s not rude to point,” said Shama.

About five percent of the teachers are deaf and roughly half of the staff knows sign language. Students and staff are given sign names by their deaf peers. “Only a deaf person can give you a sign name and it’s based on a personal trait,” said Shama whose sign name is three fingers forming a “W” swiped across the forehead. It represents leadership.

Parents and students feel welcome and safe in the school based on school surveys. The school is safe in part because it is so tiny, said long-time staffer Arelis Forty. “We get information before things get confrontational,” she said. 

Students receive daily instruction in American Sign Language (ASL) and are grouped according to skill level. Teachers encourage students to practice their signing by scheduling “voice off” days where kids are expected to sign in all their classes. Students also hone their skills via video presentations and record signing exercises for teachers to review.  

All other courses are taught in English with the assistance of sign language interpreters. Class sizes are capped at 18 so students have plenty of open space to communicate with each other. One downside to the school’s size is its limited selection of courses. It offers physics but not chemistry, and trigonometry is the highest level of math taught; for more advanced instruction, students may take classes at Baruch College and La Guardia Community College.

The school has few sports but what it does offer, it does at a high level. The Stunt (co-ed cheerleading) team has won the division B championship and the archery team has also been a regional champion. There is a basketball club and other clubs vary by year but have included knitting, a gamers club and a book club in recent years.  Arts classes include creative writing, film, dance and visual art.

Students receive college guidance and take college trips. Some graduates attend Gallaudet University, the only college in the world designed to serve deaf and hard-of-hearing students. Other popular choices include La Guardia Community College, which has a sign language interpretation program, and Rochester Institute of Technology and SUNY New Paltz, which both have deaf studies programs. (Lydie Raschka, interview and web reports, November 2018)

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School Stats

Citywide Average Key
This school is Better Near Worse than the citywide average

Academics

School
Citywide
How many students graduate in 4 years?
 
100%
How many students with disabilities graduate in 4 years?
 
100%
Average daily attendance
 
80%
How many students miss 18 or more days of school?
 
69%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school offers enough activities and services for their children's needs?
 
89%
How many parents of students with disabilities say this school works to achieve the goals of their students' IEPs?
 
100%
From the 2021-22 School Quality Guide and 2020-21 NYC School Survey

Students

199
Number of students
Citywide Average is 599

Race/Ethnicity


School
Citywide
Low-income students
 
83%
Students with disabilities
 
26%
Multilingual learners
 
4%
From the 2022-23 Demographic Snapshot

Safety & Vibe

School
Citywide
How many students were suspended?
 
0%
How many students say they feel safe in the hallways, bathrooms and locker rooms?
 
91%
How many students think bullying happens most or all of the time at this school?
 
30%
How many students say that some are bullied at their school because of their gender or sexual orientation?
 
17%
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey and 2019-20 NY State Report Card

Faculty & Staff

School
Citywide
How many teachers say the principal is an effective manager?
 
69%
14.2
Years of principal experience at this school
Citywide Average is 7
116
Number of students for each guidance counselor or social worker
Citywide Average is 157

Teachers’ Race/Ethnicity


How many teachers have 3 or more years of experience teaching?
 
47%
Are teachers effective?
From the 2020-21 NYC School Survey, 2021-22 School Quality Guide, 2019-20 Report on School-Based Staff Demographics, 2021 Guidance Counselor Report, and this school's most recent Quality Review Report

Advanced Courses

Which students have access to advanced courses at this school? Learn more

Calculus

 
9%

Computer Science

Not offered in 2019-20

Physics

 
17%

Advanced Foreign Language

 
93%

AP/IB Arts, English, History or Social Science

 
60%

AP/IB Math or Science

 
38%

Music

Not offered in 2019-20
From unpublished, anonymized data from the 2021-22 school year provided by the New York State Education Department, brought to you by

College Readiness

School
Citywide
How many students graduate with test scores high enough to enroll at CUNY without remedial help?
 
65%
How many students take a college-level course or earn a professional certificate?
 
99%
How many students who have graduated from this high school stay in college for at least 3 semesters?
 
74%
From the 2020-21 and 2021-22 School Quality Guide
How many students filled out a FAFSA form by the end of their senior year?
 
72%
From the 2022-23 FAFSA data released by Federal Student Aid, brought you by
For more information about our data sources, see About Our Data · More DOE statistics for this school

Programs & Admissions

From the 2024 High School Directory

American Sign Language Studies Program (M54A)

Admissions Method: Screened

Program Description:

Students partake in a four-year ASL program graduating with a proficiency in American Sign Language. Graduates can expect to obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to work with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities. In addition to learning American Sign Language, students are exposed to the culture and social perspective of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities.

Offerings

From the 2024 High School Directory

Language Courses

American Sign Language

Advanced Courses

Algebra II (Advanced Math), AP Calculus AB, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Environmental Science, AP Human Geography, AP United States Government and Politics, AP World History: Modern, Physics (Advanced Science), World Languages (Advanced World Languages)

Boys PSAL teams

Basketball

Girls PSAL teams

Volleyball

Coed PSAL teams

Stunt

Read about admissions, academics, and more at this school on NYCDOE’s MySchools

NYC Department of Education: MySchools

Contact & Location

Location

223 East 23 Street
Manhattan NY 10010

Trains: 6 Line to 23rd St; L Line to 3rd Av

Buses: BM1, BM2, BM3, BM4, BxM1, BxM10, BxM11, BxM18, BxM3, BxM4, BxM6, BxM7, BxM8, BxM9, M1, M101, M102, M103, M14A-SBS, M14D-SBS, M15, M15-SBS, M2, M23-SBS, M3, M34-SBS, M34A-SBS, M55, M9, QM21, SIM10, SIM11, SIM1C, SIM3, SIM31, SIM33C, SIM3C, SIM4C, SIM6, X27, X28, X37, X38, X63, X64, X68


Contact

Principal: Watfa Shama

Parent Coordinator: Delta Ortiz

Website

Other Details

Shared campus? Yes

This school shares the building with its Lower School

Uniforms required? No
Metal detectors? No

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