Edward A. Reynolds West Side High School

Edward A. Reynolds West Side High School is a New York City Public Alternative High School located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Known for many years simply as "West Side High," it was renamed in honor of the school's longtime principal following his unexpected death in 2001.HistoryRegular planning for West Side High School began during the summer of 1972, with a few adults and a group of young students from local public junior high schools, primarily from Booker T. Washington Jr. HS 54 and Jr. HS 44 on West 77th Street. As soon as school was out that year, the summer planning phase for West Side High School began. Students and adults met five days a week to plan for the new school program. In addition to regular day-long planning the staff and students attended evening meetings with the community to justify the program, bolster support and try to gain approval; some members of the nearby community were not welcoming. The meetings were video taped; though no tapes have yet surfaced. Approval from the New York City Board of Education was granted during a NYC School Board public meeting where students, staff and parents all spoke in favor of the school (some dissenting voices were also heard). The first classes were in the Fall of 1972.West Side High was designed to be an alternative public school providing something more than the typical public high school fare. Early on, the school had 100 students, three full-time teachers, and a dedicated office manager, Doris Rosenblum. Directors and other staff members who were connected with the school in those first years, planning, operating and teaching in the school, were Michael Levien, Mike Bettinger, and Bob Lefcourt. By the mid 1970s the population of the school was about 125 students, which grew to 325 in 1980, and to 500 by the 1990s.