About Us

As a Career and Technical Education (CTE) school, BOSS reflects New York City’s vision of quality, relevant schools preparing students for 21st century standards. With ten pro sports teams, hundreds of minor league, community, and college athletic programs and venues, countless print, broadcast, and internet media outlets, and thousands of advertisers and sponsors, the city’s sports management and media industry offers countless career paths for young people who graduate high school with a foundation in reading and writing, technical business skills, and an understanding of professional conduct.

Real-life challenges and issues are integrated into every area of the curriculum, so that graduates leave with first-hand knowledge of the sports industry, the foundation of their own business networks, workforce skills, the ability to handle college-level coursework in each academic area, and experience working with top professionals in the field. The exciting world of management and entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on sports (including venue management, advertising, journalism, publishing, and merchandising), provides an accessible framework to engage students’ interests.

We integrate CTE and Regents-level academic instruction, encompassing the following design principles:

We offer a coherent program of study that promotes student success in both the workforce and in college and do not delineate between students’ academic and business classes. Rather, in every class, we emphasize workforce competencies focused on interpersonal skills, understanding of business principles, and clarity of communication, including public speaking, presenting, synthesis of research, and writing persuasively. Multi-step, authentic problems of the complexity and rigor that professionals encounter in the workplace will build 21st Century skills and assess student progress towards industry standards.
We establish active, substantive relationships with our industry partners and advisors, including an Industry Advisory Board. Our corporate partners have meaningful involvement in all aspects of school life, including curriculum development, establishment of our afternoon electives program, professional learning, and parent support and outreach. All teachers will interact with industry and community partners to develop courses and assignments that directly address 21st Century standards for learning.
We offer all students opportunities for internships in the sports, journalism, and business industries so that they can apply their academic and technical skills in a real-world setting, and begin developing a professional network. The internships will be structured with substantive assignments that build on problem-based learning in the classroom and fulfill requirements toward graduation.
We serve students of all performance levels and backgrounds. The program is targeted to meet the needs of all students who choose BOSS as their first preference for high school (selected by lottery). Many of our students — like students across the city — enter high school below grade level in reading and math and are of backgrounds historically underrepresented in business and management careers. They will graduate with the confidence that they can succeed amid the competition and demands of the professional workplace.

Our support for our students emphasizes strategies for success, workforce skills, internship preparation, and career and college readiness. Through nurturing advisories, targeted support, and guidance in career development, our students will gain the confidence to take academic and social risks and build their professional networks.

This school addresses an urgent need. An estimated 140,000 New York City teenagers are currently two or more years behind in school or have already dropped out. Developing schools that successfully educate many more students to succeed in high school and beyond demands more relevant curriculum and increased innovation and involvement of the corporate community.

Furthermore, interest in Career and Technical Education is growing throughout the country among business leaders, policymakers, and educators who have discovered the benefits of connecting academic learning to relevant career education. Both Mayor Bloomberg and Mayor de Blasio have made innovation in Career and Technical Education a citywide priority, noting that rapid changes in the global economy demand more complex skills. The Business of Sports School gives young people of New York a running start towards success in one of the city’s most important—and exciting—industries.

Our Vision

Our vision was founded on the belief that all young people should be prepared for high-skill and high wage-careers, engage in quality learning experiences, and exhibit college and career readiness upon graduation from high school. We prepare our students for meaningful career pathways in the business industry and readiness to compete in the 21st century workforce with critical thinking, communication and collaboration.

We use the shared language and interest in sports to focus students on obtaining technical business skills and certifications. Our students will graduate ready to pursue careers and/or training in a variety of professions including business analysts, journalists, accountants, advertising managers, and entrepreneurs.

Students participate in a rigorous and relevant program of studies that build business management and administration competencies within a core academic curriculum related to the sports and entertainment industry. Students will have opportunities for real-world learning in the sports and business community through internships, job shadowing, and career days with our numerous partners.

By the end of senior year, graduates will be prepared to make informed post-secondary choices that foster student success, and include options leading to acceptance to a two- or four-year college and a meaningful professional career.