N.Y.C. To Create Small, Theme-Oriented High Schools

By Ann Bradley

The New York City school system is moving on several fronts to create at least 15 small, theme-oriented high schools to provide more supportive environments for students and to expand their choices among the city's high schools.

While the typical New York high school serves 2,000 to 3,000 students, Chancellor Joseph A. Fernandez has announced plans to create 10 new high schools in the next two years that would enroll between 500 and 700 students each.

"The very size and general curricular focus of many of our older high schools tend to create an impersonal setting for youngsters in desperate need of a more personalized, caring environment,'' Mr. Fernandez noted in a memorandum to the city board of...