Welcome to my web site.  My name is Victor Greez, and I am a teacher at the High School for Environmental Studies.  Our school is located on West 56th street in Manhattan which was once the home to 20th Century Fox Studios.  We are a New York City public school with approximately 1,200 students. Our students come from all over New York City and are as diverse as the city itself. 

I began teaching in September 1985 soon after receiving my Masters Degree from the State University at Albany.  After twelve years at Lehman High School in the Bronx, I transferred to the High School for Environmental Studies in September 1997.   Upon arriving at Environmental Studies, I was asked to teach Advanced Placement United States History.

The AP US History course takes place over two years.  Students enter the course in their junior year and take the AP exam in May of their senior year.  This two year comprehensive course focuses on the History yet also includes a detailed study of the US political and economic systems.  Students during their junior year focus on skills such as outlining, writing both free response and document based essays and writing a research paper. Two research papers are assigned with students responsible for proving an assigned thesis.  Students are then expected to debate their thesis with students who researched the opposite position. 

During the summer between junior and senior year students are assigned a summer reading project. Students are expected to select a book from a list and write a report on it. During the school year we hold seminars and discuss the books.  The list of books is provided on this site. In the fall of their senior year, I run the US History in film club.  Films are shown on Thursday afternoons and students are given extra credit for attending films.  However, they must see one film and write a critical review. The films and assignment are also on this site.  In the last semester students must use the internet to create and then respond to a document based essay question.  The last month of the course is spent in intense preparation for the Advanced Placement Exam.