D&D School Profile

DeWitt Clinton is an example of a school that has succeeded despite many possible obstacles. It is located in the Bronx, has an almost 100% minority population, with over 80% of the families of its students eligible for free lunch. Yet, it was cited by Redbook Magazine in its fifth annual listing of the Most Improved High Schools in America in 1996 and by U.S. News and World Report as one of 96 Best High Schools in 1999. Clinton has also become the archetype of the school improvement model proposed by Project Achieve! The school has been able to marshal its resources, in a time when these are diminishing, to maintain and even improve the educational standing of its students. Yet, the problems facing our students remain, and Clinton, like so many other urban schools, is ever on the precipice, carefully balancing to avoid a crash that would leave many hopeful young people unable to receive an education of excellence.

The school is located in the northwest corner of the Bronx. It is a large school, with a beautiful historic building. Students may attend from all over the Bronx. The large geographic district has often made transportation to and from the school difficult in bad weather. However, attendance is high (91%) and the dropout rate low (3.1%). Over 10,000 students applied for admission to the school, over half of all eighth grade students in the Bronx.

Almost all students at Clinton, including its 350 English language learners, take an academically rigorous Regents-level program. To a large degree, the majority succeed. English language learners, most of whom speak Spanish as a first language, outperform their ELL peers citywide in passing the English Regents exam and the Advanced Placement Spanish exam. In the past 5 years an average of 28% of bilingual students tested out of entitlement.