MVCSD to host annual High School Showcase Night for students and families

The Mount Vernon City School District will hold High School Showcase Night for eighth-grade students and their families at Mount Vernon High School on Wednesday, January 15, 2025, from 6 to 8 p.m. Each of the three theme-based high schools – Denzel Washington School of the Arts, Mount Vernon High School, and Mount Vernon STEAM Academy – will highlight what they have to offer to students who are considering their schools. 

“We are proud to offer three distinctive and academically rigorous high school options for Mount Vernon students,” said Acting Superintendent Dr. K. Veronica Smith. “You can personally see the opportunities that our high schools have for every type of student at High School Showcase Night. Whichever school they choose, these students will enter outstanding programs designed to prepare them for success in a wide variety of colleges, trade schools and careers.”

Families in attendance will have the opportunity to watch videos about each high school and hear from the principals about their particular program. Each school has something unique for its students, and they will see first-hand what types of opportunities will be available to them at each.

All three high schools are committed to student achievement and offer a wide range of honors, International Baccalaureate® (IB), and Advanced Placement (AP) coursework, giving students opportunities to earn college credits from a wide range of demanding math, science, social studies, and English AP offerings. 

Mount Vernon STEAM Academy provides an approach to teaching and learning that integrates the content and skills of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. The STEAM Academy actively engages students in a collaborative, learning environment while infusing an integrated STEAM-centered curriculum in their studies through project-based learning. These behaviors include engagement in inquiry, logical reasoning, collaboration, and investigation.

STEAM Academy students are participants in the coveted and nationally recognized Project Lead The Way in addition to having course opportunities in robotics, coding, programming, and esports.

This challenging curriculum based on solving real-life problems taken from the United Nations’ sustainability goals demonstrates and reinforces the practical applications and real-world connections that science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics have in everyday life.

Denzel Washington School of the Arts builds on its existing success in the arts field. Students transfer their creative skills to the classrooms to build and support the cognitive framework and affective mindset necessary to nurture strong readers, mathematicians, thinkers, and learners.

The program provides focused instruction in instrumental music, dance, theater, vocal music, and visual arts, similar to that of a college program, in addition to a rigorous academic program.

To be admitted, students must apply, audition, and participate in a family interview.
Admitted students then complete intensive theoretical, historical, and practical study in a specified art field, in addition to their general education requirements of New York State.

Mount Vernon High School provides a rigorous and comprehensive high school curriculum featuring a heavy emphasis on humanities, career, and technical programs.

The school – in July 2020 – received esteemed designation from the International Baccalaureate® (IB) Programme as an IB World School. The academic rigor of an IB World School provides the important experience and preparation that drives success in college. In the program, students will be guided by IB curricula and assessment. The IB Programme continues to grow at the school, as MVHS received approval and began its Career-related Programme this school year. 

In addition to IB, the school offers Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs with focuses on the content areas of automotive; business and marketing; family and consumer sciences; health occupations; technology; and trade and technical education.