Stuyvesant High School (commonly Stuy) is a public high school in New York City that specializes in math and science. It is one of several specialized schools run by the New York City Department of Education. The school opened in 1904 on Manhattan's East Side, and it only admitted boys for 65 years. Since 1969, Stuyvesant has been a coeducational school, and after moving to its Battery Park City building, the facilities for girls were put on par with those for boys.
Admission to Stuyvesant is by competitive examination and is open to all residents of New York City with no tuition fee. The school is noted for its famous alumni, its academics, and the large number of its graduates attending prestigious universities. There has been a friendly long-standing rivalry between Stuyvesant and the Bronx High School of Science over students' awards from the Intel Science Talent Search, with both schools claiming dominance at various times.
Classes were in session at Stuyvesant when a terrorist attack destroyed the nearby World Trade Center towers, and the school building served as a command post for several weeks afterwards. The school was temporarily relocated and shared facilities with Brooklyn Technical High School until it could return to its own building. The special issue of the The Stuyvesant Spectator on the tragedy was reprinted in The New York Times.
Stuyvesant High School routinely engages well-known cultural, academic, and political figures to speak at its annual commencement ceremonies. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton addressed the Class of 2002; United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan addressed the Class of 2004; and late night talk show host Conan O'Brien addressed the Class of 2006.
The school was established in 1904 as a manual training school for boys, hosting 155 students and 12 teachers. In 1907, it moved from its original location at 225 East 23rd Street to 345 East 15th Street, where it remained for the following 85 years. Its reputation for excellence in math and science continued to grow, and enrollment was restricted based on previous scholastic achievement starting in 1919.
The school went on a double session plan in 1919 to accommodate the rising number of students. The practice allowed double use of classroom space, with some students attending in the morning and others in the afternoon and early evening. All students still studied a full set of courses. Double sessions would run until 1956.
In the 1930s, entrance examinations were implemented, making admission to the school even more competitive. During the 1950s, the building underwent a $2 million renovation to update its classrooms, shops, libraries and cafeterias.
In 1969, 14 girls enrolled at Stuyvesant, marking the school's first co-educational year. Now, approximately 43% of students are female.
In 1957, a team of 50 students began construction of a cyclotron, a project sponsored by the physics department. By 1962, a low-power test of the device succeeded. Matt Deming '62 remembered that a later attempt at full-power operation "tanked the electrical system for the building and surrounding area". According to Abraham Baumel, Stuyvesant principal from 1983 to 1994, "... I can tell you with certainty that the cyclotron never worked at Stuyvesant any more than it did for Ernest Lawrence, and he was awarded a Nobel Prize for his invention of the cyclotron. The Russians never succeeded in getting one to work, either". In 1972, Brooklyn Tech, Bronx Science, Stuyvesant and Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts were chosen by the New York State Legislature as specialized high schools of New York City. The act called for a uniform exam to be administered for admission to Brooklyn Tech, Bronx Science and Stuyvesant High School. The exam, named the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT), tested students in math and science. Admission to LaGuardia High School was by audition rather than examination, in keeping with its artistic mission.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, at least four Stuyvesant teachers died from AIDS.
In 1992, a new, waterfront building was constructed to house the high school (see school facilities).
Stuyvesant is a quarter-mile (approx. 400 metres) from the former site of the World Trade Center, which was destroyed on September 11, 2001. The school was evacuated during the ordeal and the students were temporarily relocated to Brooklyn Tech starting September 21 while the Stuyvesant building was used as one of several bases of operations by rescue and recovery workers. This caused serious congestion at Brooklyn Tech and required the students to go to school in two shifts. Normal classes resumed three weeks later on October 9. Because of Stuyvesant's close proximity to Ground Zero, some were initially concerned about the possibility of asbestos exposure to Stuyvesant. Indeed, the Stuyvesant High School Parents' Association has contested that the US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) initial suggestion that the area was safe is not accurate. However, the EPA indicated at that time that Stuyvesant was safe from asbestos. Some problems have been reported, including respiratory problems of former teacher Mark Bodenheimer, who accepted a transfer to The Bronx High School of Science after having difficulty continuing his work at Stuyvesant. Other isolated cases similar to Bodenheimer's have been reported. Nonetheless, there is no definite evidence that such cases relate to Stuyvesant at all, and current exposure to asbestos at Stuyvesant is improbable.
Alumni who were killed during the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center include Daniel D. Bergstein '80 , Alan Wayne Friedlander '67 , Marina R. Gertsberg '93 , Aaron J. Horwitz '94 , David S. Lee '82 , Arnold A. Lim '90 , Gregory D. Richards '88 , Maurita Tam '97 and Michael Warchola '68 . Richard Ben-Veniste '60 was on the 9/11 Commission.
On October 2 2001, the school paper, The Spectator, included a special full-color 9/11 insert containing student photos, reflections and stories. The insert was reprinted in the November 20 2001 issue of The New York Times. In the months after 9/11, Annie Thoms, an English teacher at Stuyvesant, a 1993 alumna, and the theater adviser at the time, suggested that the students take accounts of staff and students' reactions during and after 9/11 and turn them into a series of monologues. Thoms then published these monologues as With Their Eyes: September 11th – The View from a High School at Ground Zero (ISBN 0060517182). Alexander Epstein of The Stuyvesant Standard , an independent newspaper serving the school's community, contributed the section Out of the Blue to the book At Ground Zero: Young Reporters Who Were There Tell Their Stories (ISBN 1560254270).
When Stuyvesant's official web site crashed on September 11 2001, and during the days right after, Gary He's website was the only online source of information and moral support for the distraught Stuyvesant community. Stuynet.com now lives on under its new alias, stuycom.net.
During the 2003-2004 school year, Stuyvesant celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding with a full year of activities. Events included a parade from the 15th Street building to the Chambers Street one; a meeting of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology; an all-class reunion; and visits and speeches from notable alumni. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan spoke at the graduation of Stuyvesant's class of 2004.
Those who score in the second-highest score bracket are offered admission to their second-choice school, while those who score in the third-highest bracket are offered admission to their third choice school. According to Article 12 of New York education law, "Admissions to the Bronx High School of Science, Stuyvesant High School, and Brooklyn Technical High School shall be solely and exclusively by taking a competitive, objective, and scholastic achievement examination, which shall be open to each and every child in the city of New York". The current admission policy is available from the NYC Department of Education. According to the Department of Education, Stuyvesant accepts students solely based on their performance on the SHSAT, although former Mayor John Lindsay and community activist group ACORN have argued that the exam may be biased against African and Hispanic Americans.
Stuyvesant has contributed to the education of several Nobel laureates, winners of the Fields Medal and the Wolf Prize, and a host of other accomplished alumni. It consistently leads the nation in the number of National Merit Scholarships awarded and regularly trades off the leading position in the number of Intel Science Talent Search Semi-Finalists and Finalists with Bronx Science. Stuyvesant sends nearly all its students off to four year universities, and around 15 percent go on to the Ivy League. Stuyvesant graduates have an average SAT score of about 1400 (685 verbal, 723 math). Recently, there were two students who achieved perfect scores on their SAT I and SAT II tests, an unusual accomplishment. Stuyvesant also was the high school with the highest number of Advanced Placement exams taken, and also the highest number of students reaching the mastery level.
The New York City Department of Education reports that public per student spending at Stuyvesant is slightly lower than the city average. However, Stuyvesant also receives some private contributions. Shortly after the new building was completed, the $10 million TriBeCa Bridge was built to allow students to enter the building without having to cross the busy West Street.
The new building is one of the 5 additional sites of P721M, a school for older (aged 15-21) students with multiple disabilities and mental retardation. Wheelchair-bound students can sometimes be seen throughout the building. Some teachers remark on the unusual juxtaposition of the gifted with the disabled.
Glass boxes set into various places in the building's wall hold mementos from the year of each graduating class. Items displayed include water from most large rivers, mud from the Dead Sea, a Revolutionary War button, pieces of the 15th Street Stuyvesant building and of monuments around the world, and various chemical compounds. In 1997, the mathematics floor was dedicated to Dr. Richard Rothenberg, the math department chairman before his death from a sudden heart attack in 1997. The Rothenberg memorial, commissioned in his honor, is a wall made up of 49 of these boxes, each featuring a concept in mathematics.
Stuyvesant offers students a broad selection of elective courses. Some of the more unusual offerings include robotics, physics of music, astronomy, and the mathematics of financial markets. Most students take calculus, and the school offers math courses through differential equations and linear algebra. A year of technical drawing used to be required; students learned how to draft by hand in its first semester and how to draft using a computer (CAD) in the second. Now, students take a one-semester class called Technology Graphic Communications (equivalent to the former year of drafting), and a semester of introductory computer science in order to introduce the mainly science-oriented students to computer programming early in their careers.
A variety of Advanced Placement courses (31 are available at Stuyvesant ) offer students the chance to earn college credits. A few students earn enough college credit to start college as sophomores. In 2004, Stuyvesant began complying with Department of Education regulations mandating that Advanced Placement courses be weighted by a factor of 1.1 in grade point averages. However, this caused widespread outcry among students, faculty, and teachers, and in 2005, Stuyvesant was granted special permission to revert the weight of AP courses back to 1.
Computer science enthusiasts can take two additional computer programming courses after the completion of advanced placement computer science: systems level programming and computer graphics. There is also a 2 year computer networking sequence which can earn students Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) certification.
Stuyvesant's foreign language offerings rival those of many colleges, including the basics like French and Spanish as well as German, Latin, Hebrew, Japanese, and Italian. In 2000, Mandarin Chinese and Korean for native speakers were introduced in response to Stuyvesant's burgeoning Asian American population. Courses are also offered in Arabic and Greek, but these courses, along with Korean, may only be taken as electives.
Stuyvesant's Biology and Geo-science department offers courses in molecular biology (a course sequence comprised of a molecular science class in the Fall and a molecular genetics class in the Spring), human physiology, medical ethics, medical and veterinary diagnosis, human disease, anthropology and sociobiology, vertebrate zoology, laboratory techniques, medical human genetics, botany, the molecular basis of cancer, nutrition science, and psychology. The Chemistry and Physics department offers organic chemistry, physical chemistry, astronomy, engineering mechanics, and electronics.
Although primarily known for its strength in math and science, Stuyvesant is also home to a robust music program and offers students ten music groups, ranging from a symphony orchestra and jazz ensemble to a chamber choir. Comprehensive programs in the humanities offer students courses in British and classical literature, philosophy, existentialism, debate, acting, journalism, and a host of creative writing and poetry classes. The history core requires a year of ancient, European and American history, as well as a semester of economics and government. Humanities electives include American foreign policy, civil and criminal law, Jewish history, "prejudice and persecution", "race, ethnicity and gender issues", small business management, and Wall Street.
Stuyvesant has recently entered into an agreement with City College of New York, in which the college funds advanced after-school courses that are taken for college credit but taught by Stuyvesant teachers. Some of these courses include physical chemistry, linear algebra, advanced Euclidean geometry, and women's history.
Grade point averages at Stuyvesant are calculated to two decimal places; some argue that the distinction is overly fine and encourages excessive grade competition, while others use the theory of significant digits to argue that they are irrelevant. Nevertheless, the practice continues. The practice is not entirely unprecedented; in calculations for honors and other designations, the University of Chicago calculates grade point averages to four decimal places.
Unlike most American high schools, every sports team at Stuyvesant has its own name, like the Peaches (softball), the Ballers (boys soccer), the Penguins (girls swimming), the Phoenix (girls basketball), and the Mimbas (girls soccer). These names tend to change with time and lend each Stuyvesant team a unique flavor.
In 2000, Stuyvesant added a varsity ice hockey team, the first public school in New York City to do so. The team was run by students without administrative assistance for several years. There is also an annual alumni game, where notable Stuyvesant alumni hockey players such as Tim Robbins and Len Berman often appear. The team has been in first place in its 8-team Chelsea Piers league every year, though it often plays teams from outside the league. Stuyvesant is also a powerhouse in fencing with a string of city championships from 1986 through 1989. Stuyvesant does not, however, have a football field, baseball field, or tennis court, though the new building does have a pool.
Stuyvesant hosts 25 publications, including many departmental magazines.
The Spectator, founded in 1915, is one of Stuyvesant's oldest publications. It has a long-standing connection with its older namesake, Columbia University's Columbia Daily Spectator, and it has been recognized by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism's Columbia Scholastic Press Association on several occasions, most recently in 2002.
Despite its youth, The Standard is now one of the largest organizations at Stuyvesant. Its alumni remain close to the current staff and are very active in the paper.
Although Stuyvesant students must reside in New York City, there is a long-standing belief that some students reside in New Jersey or Long Island, in contravention of New York City law.
New York City Department of Education statistics reveal that as of 2005, the student body was approximately 51% Asian and 38% Caucasian, with Blacks and Hispanics each constituting roughly three percent of the population. Russian and Indian students are well-represented, and Jews continue to maintain a strong presence. About 30% of the incoming freshman class are immigrants to the United States, while 20% are first-generation Americans. As of 2005, the most common countries of origin of immigrant students were China, Russia, and Bangladesh.
In 1996 community activist group ACORN published two reports called "Secret Apartheid" and "Secret Apartheid II", calling the SHSAT "permanently suspect" and a "product of an institutional racism", and claiming that Black and Hispanic students did not have access to proper test preparation materials. Along with Schools Chancellor Rudy Crew, they began an initiative for more diversity in NY's gifted and specialized schools, in particular demanding that since only a few districts send the majority of Stuyvesant's and Bronx Sciences's students, that the SHSAT be suspended altogether "until the Board of Education can show that the students of each middle school in the system have had access to curricula and instruction that would prepare them for this test regardless of their color or economic status". Jesse Shapiro, Stuyvesant valedictorian, and Micah C. Lasher, then a sophomore, published several editorials in response, and the outcome was averted.
An Asian Students Association and a Black Students' League exist, although a 2000 request for a White Students' League was denied, with administration claiming the name connoted racism.
Stuyvesant is like most high schools in that many pay attention to fashion; perennial favorites for girls include flares, either denim or nylon, while the boys' preferences are more fickle, ranging from JnCos during the mid-1990s to smaller jeans and North Face jackets in the later 1990s. Beat up sneakers à la Moby and brightly colored clothing are popular among Stuy's Manhattan "raver" contingent, while a few clad themselves in black gothic apparel. Fishnet stockings and thigh-high boots are not uncommon. Stuyvesant has no dress code, save the physical education department, which allows students to wear shorts and t-shirts of their choice.
Stuyvesant has produced a steady stream of professional mathematicians, including more leading figures in the field than are associated with most major universities. A number of leading physicists and chemists are also Stuyvesant alumni, as well as several well known entertainers and authors, including Charlie's Angels star Lucy Liu and The Shawshank Redemption star Tim Robbins.
Stuyvesant alumni include four Nobel laureates:
Author Frank McCourt taught English at Stuyvesant before the publication of his novels Angela's Ashes, 'Tis, and Teacher Man. Teacher Man's third section, titled Coming Alive in Room 205, is all about McCourt's time at Stuyvesant, and mentions a number of students and faculty.
See also Category:Stuyvesant High School alumni
One of the members of the Beastie Boys in the Fight For Your Right (To Party) music video is wearing a boy's red Stuyvesant High School Physical Education Leader T-shirt. This has occasionally sparked a rumor that one or all of the Boys attended Stuyvesant. They did not, however Kate Schellenbach, the band's original drummer, did.
Stuyvesant has been chronicled in popular literature based in New York City. The Jonathan Lethem novels Motherless Brooklyn and Fortress of Solitude are prominent examples of this trend.
Actress Amanda Bynes, as "Holly", attends Stuyvesant in the primetime television show What I Like About You.
A documentary, entitled THE TICKET, is currently being filmed about the Student Union elections at Stuyvesant. Alec Klein '85, a reporter for the Washington Post, is currently researching a book "which strives to explain what sets Stuyvesant apart from other high schools". The Alumni Spectator, Spring 2006
Educational institutions established in 1904 | High schools in New York City | Magnet schools | Magnet schools in New York | National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology schools | New York City Department of Education | Public education in New York City | Stuyvesant High School | Specialized High Schools of New York City
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