Located in the East 116th Street, Benjamin Franklin High School is one of the most diverse schools in the nation. Unlike many other schools in NYC, which are segregated in some way, Banjamin Franklin High School has embraced different ethnic groups as well as different socioeconomic classes. As a school aims to “coordinate and extend the limited facilities now available for the greater benefit of the children and the community”, the astonishing diversity we are seeing now in Benjamin Franklin High School is a crystallization of generation’s endeavor as well as the great diversity of East Harlem (115).
It’s hard to look into the history of Benjamin Franklin High School without talking about the history of East Harlem and a great man named Leonard Covello. Throughout the 20th century, various ethnic groups such as the Italian, Puerto Rican, and African American have thrived in East Harlem. However, since East Harlem was generally regarded as ghetto, the living condition was extremely harsh during the early to mid 20th century (such as The Great Depression), and kids could not receive proper education, a need for modern high school, where kids from different backgrounds can receive the amount of education that they are supposed to have, became self-evident. Leonard Covello and his associates aim to build Benjamin Franklin High School as the “first class High School for East Harlem”, “a Community High School which the Community would feel was its own school”, and most importantly “a school for all children of all people” (115). And Benjamin Franklin has not only become a great school for many students to absorb knowledge and improve themselves, but also a birthplace for community leaders from every background.
However, in my opinion, as I looked into the history and the circumstance of the school, I find that the success of Benjamin Franklin High School is really difficult to replicate. Despite the ingenuity and hard work of Leonard Covello and his team, the incredible diversity of the school, to some extent, is also a result due to unique demography of East Harlem, just as Rothestien argues in his paper “Why Our Schools Are Segregated”, the segregation of the schools is the result of residential segregation, while segregation is a result of various reasons such as policy and racially motivated law.
It is absolutely amazing, in my opinion, that Leonard Covello was able to build Benjamin Franklin High School in such a short period of time and it become so successful. The ethnic diversity, however, is not what surprises me, but the speed at which he was able to build and open the school to the public. As stated in the article, Harlem is home to many different peoples of many different backgrounds, so it makes sense that school zones would include these many different people. It would actually be harder to separate the different races of Harlem and would take more time.
The thing that I find interesting is that although the school is ethnically diverse, it is not economically diverse and is still a success. Although consisting of many different races, majority of the people are immigrants with either low-income or middle class. The success of this school reminds me of the W.E. DuBois and Rothstein readings: although economic and racial diversity may an advantage, it is not necessity as long as there are individuals determined to help create successful children.
Benjamin Franklin High School, in addition to these things, also adds evidence to class discussion proving that segregation is complicated and becomes even more so when trying to relate its different factors to success. There is no one thing standing on its own that can signify that a school is segregated, but that is a combination of both intentional and unintentional factors, as is the case when it comes to the educational success of the individuals affected by segregation.
It is absolutely amazing, in my opinion, that Leonard Covello was able to build Benjamin Franklin High School in such a short period of time and it become so successful. The ethnic diversity, however, is not what surprises me, but the speed at which he was able to build and open the school to the public. As stated in the article, Harlem is home to many different peoples of many different backgrounds, so it makes sense that school zones would include these many different people. It would actually be harder to separate the different races of Harlem and would take more time.
The thing that I find interesting is that although the school is ethnically diverse, it is not economically diverse and is still a success. Although consisting of many different races, majority of the people are immigrants with either low-income or middle class. The success of this school reminds me of the W.E. DuBois and Rothstein readings: although economic and racial diversity may an advantage, it is not necessity as long as there are individuals determined to help create successful children.
Benjamin Franklin High School, in addition to these things, also adds evidence to class discussion proving that segregation is complicated and becomes even more so when trying to relate its different factors to success. There is no one thing standing on its own that can signify that a school is segregated, but that is a combination of both intentional and unintentional factors, as is the case when it comes to the educational success of the individuals affected by segregation.
Thanks for these posts. I wonder, however, why both of you view Benjamin Franklin as a “successful” school. By what measure? At the time of its creation, enrollment was considered a mark of success (i.e., if students chose to attend high school at a time when not everyone went to high school this was seen as net positive for the community and school system). Today we don’t necessarily see the fact that students show up as enough of an indication that it’s a good school. So what was so positive about Benjamin Franklin?