Susan E. Wagner High School

Susan E. Wagner High School is a New York City public school located at 1200 Manor Road in Staten Island, New York. The school is owned and run by the New York City Department of Education. It opened in September 1968, and was named in honor of Susan E. Wagner (1909–1964), the late wife of former mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. On average, the school has about 3,300 students. Wagner's school colors are Navy and White, with the Falcon as the mascot. Wagner has a variety of programs including the Law and Politics program, the Virtual Enterprise program, the Scholars Academy, Air Force JROTC, Theatrical Arts program, and annual SING! productions. The school has the largest marching band in New York City, with over 150 members. The school received the Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in the 1988–1989 school year. History Wagner was founded in 1968 and was named in honor of Susan E. Wagner (1909–1964), the late wife of former mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. Joseph Brennan was the first principal from 1968 to 1970. Gary Giordano was principal of the school from 2002 to 2017. Afterwards, David Cugini, a former social studies teacher at the school, was given the job. Violence The school has seen some hardship throughout its legacy. In October 2021, there was a viral incident of a student with a knife partaking in a violent brawl at the school. In December 2021, there were two back-back firearm incidents at the school. The first with a student being beat up and pistol whipped right outside the school. The second, being the next day, involved two students from Wagner being involved in a shooting. Both incidents resulted in a lockdown. The following week, the students, led by Principal Cugini, staged a walkout captured by multiple news outlets. At the walk out, students were chanting for increased safety at the school. Since these incidents, many reforms and new procedures have gone into place, such as hall sweeps, increased security, and metal detectors. However, throughout these incidents Cugini made sure to note the schools resilience and upsides. Academic Courses Wagner follows Regents curriculum. They offer Regents courses in Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II/Trigonometry, Global History & Geography, United States History & Government, Living Environment, Earth Science, Chemistry, Physics, and English Language Arts.