N.Y. Dept. Of Education, ESPN Team To Develop New High School

The N.Y. Department of Education is teaming up with ESPN to create the Business of Sports School (BOSS), "a new spin on career and technical high schools," according to Yoav Gonen of the N.Y. POST. The collaboration "will open in September with 81 ninth-grade students" and share space with the High School of Graphic Communication Arts in Midtown Manhattan. While the school "isn't the city's first business high school or the first to weave sports into its curriculum, BOSS will be the city's first to employ both aspects using a hands-on training model." The school "plans to emphasize real-world skills through mandatory internships at companies like ESPN The Magazine, ABC Sports and VitaminWater." While the school's sports theme is "sure to be a hit among active teens," BOSS' Josh Solomon said that it is the business angle that "will get the most emphasis in core classes like English and math." Solomon: "Sports will really engage the students, but they're really being prepared for the business world and the professional world more broadly. The skills are very transferable" (N.Y. POST, 2/4). ESPN in a statement this morning said, "Reports suggesting ESPN is launching a high school are overstated. ESPN the Magazine has made a non-financial commitment to help develop a curriculum, in addition to providing other volunteer-based support" (THE DAILY).