As of the 2014–15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 2,622 students and 169.7 classroom teachers (on an
FTE basis), for a
student–teacher ratio of 15.5:1. There were 2,061 students (78.6% of enrollment) eligible for
free lunch and 251 (9.6% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[1][4]
Facilities
John Adams has three floors and a basement. The basement contains the
cafeteria,
locker rooms, weight-training room, a
swimming pool, numerous classrooms, and a Northwell-LIJ School Based Health Center that opened in 2015. The campus of John Adams is roughly six by three
city blocks, with baseball, tennis, track, and
football fields behind the school. The school also has three gymnasiums. There is also a library, an auditorium, a Virtual Enterprise Room which is a simulated business class, and several
computer and science labs throughout all three floors.
Current School Grade: John Adams recently received a [D] from the Board of Education. - 2009–2010.[7]
Special programs
The school offers specialized programs in vision care as well as medical and dental technology.
Taking single sessions of math and English also frees up more time for students to enjoy electives and
Advanced Placement courses.
The school offers College Now, a program run by
CUNY offering accredited college courses on site at the high school.
The school has "collaborative team teaching" (CTT) classes, where two teachers work with a group of special- and general education students. (Laura Zingmond, October 2005)
All incoming freshman may take classes the summer before and after the 9th grade, which means that they can start the 10th grade with as many as 19 of the 44 credits required for graduation.
For older students who are at risk of dropping out, there is the PM program—an afternoon session designed to deliver instruction of core subjects in a single classroom environment.
The school offers special ed for those with learning challenges.
Notable people
Alumni
Eddie Buczynski, prominent
Wiccan and gay activist. He attended from 1962 until dropping out in 1964, largely because of the bullying that he had faced at the school.[8]
Jimmy Breslin, acclaimed columnist for the New York Herald Tribune, the Daily News, the New York Journal American, Newsday, and other venues and author of numerous books. He is also the winner of the
Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.
[1]
Jack Lord (John Joseph Patrick Ryan), American actor, director and the star of the long-running TV show "Hawaii Five-O," (the original version from the 1960s)
[4].
Richard (Dick) Parsons, International business leader, former CEO of Time-Warner, Citi-Bank, General-Consul to Vice President
Nelson Rockefeller, Presidential Advisor.
^Lloyd, Michael G. (2012). Bull of Heaven: The Mythic Life of Eddie Buczynski and the Rise of the New York Pagan. Hubbarston, MAS.: Asphodel Press. pp. 9–11.
ISBN978-1938197048.