English High School of Boston
Encyclopedia
The English High School of Boston, Massachusetts is the first public high school in America, founded in 1821. Originally called The English Classical School, it was renamed The English High School upon its first relocation in 1824. The current building is located in Jamaica Plain.
. From 1844 to 1922, Boston English was a next door neighbor of the Boston Latin School
, first near downtown Boston and then in a building on Warren Street (now demolished) in the South End. From 1954 to 1989, the school was across the street from Boston Latin at 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur. This site is now part of the Harvard Medical School. Its first head master was Dr. George B. Emerson, an early leader in educational reform. The School Committee establishing English High School was chaired by Samuel Adams Wells, the grandson of Governor Samuel Adams. The school was created at the urging of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association and was modeled after the Royal High School of Edinburgh, Scotland. English, like Boston Latin School, only admitted boys for the first 151 years of its history and did not become coeducational until 1972--although a separate high school for girls was established in Boston by Dr. Emerson in 1824.
In 2010 - 2014 the motto of the school was: "The aim of every English High School boy is to become a man of honor and achievement." The current motto of the school is "College For All"
Nowadays, English High has opened up its curriculum to include more liberal arts subjects such as foreign languages and writing as well as performing arts and more college preparatory courses. It is currently in the second year of an experimental "Commonwealth Co-Pilot School" status, which is geared toward improving the curriculum of urban schools. For a while, the school had an award winning mock trial team as well. English High School class of 1996 has a total of 11 seniors who went on to attend Boston College. Those students were accepted into Boston College School of Nursing, School of Management, School of Education and Arts and Science.
. AVID is the acronym for Advancement Via Individual Determination, an American college-readiness system. AVID is designed to increase the number of students who enroll in four-year colleges, focusing on students in the academic middle by raising the expectations of students. Originating at the high school level, the program now serves grades 4-12 (roughly, ages 10–18).
since 1887, English has played Boston Latin School
in football
in the oldest continuing high school rivalry
in the United States. It is also the fourth longest U.S. high school rivalry of all time. In the 1993 football season, the football team made history by being the first team in school history to ever qualify for the Massachusetts State Championship. The Bulldogs (or Blue & Blue) defeated the Nantucket Whalers by the score of 16-7 to claim its school's first state championship. The '97 football team was the first team to go undefeated with a 12-0 record and English's second football state championship. Since 2005 the baseball team has started by a winning record of 18-0 and defeating their rivals the Brighton Bengals, and since then the baseball team has never let up and has won 2 city championships. English High also has competitive basketball, softball, volleyball, and track teams. Up until the 1980s, the school had a boys' hockey team, a golf team, and swimming teams for both boys and girls.
program. The program is led by Col. D. Bennett and First Sergeant Alford. The students participate in drill performances and parades. The most up to date parade is the Veterans Day Parade. This program is funded by the US Army.
History
Since its founding, English High School has had seven locations. Its first, on Derne Street at the rear of the Massachusetts State House, is marked by a metal plaque. Its second home (still standing), on the corner of Pickney and Anderson Streets, eventually became the Phillips School, a school for then free born and emancipated African Americans before the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. From 1844 to 1922, Boston English was a next door neighbor of the Boston Latin School
Boston Latin School
The Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States....
, first near downtown Boston and then in a building on Warren Street (now demolished) in the South End. From 1954 to 1989, the school was across the street from Boston Latin at 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur. This site is now part of the Harvard Medical School. Its first head master was Dr. George B. Emerson, an early leader in educational reform. The School Committee establishing English High School was chaired by Samuel Adams Wells, the grandson of Governor Samuel Adams. The school was created at the urging of the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association and was modeled after the Royal High School of Edinburgh, Scotland. English, like Boston Latin School, only admitted boys for the first 151 years of its history and did not become coeducational until 1972--although a separate high school for girls was established in Boston by Dr. Emerson in 1824.
Joshua Gregory
The man heIn 2010 - 2014 the motto of the school was: "The aim of every English High School boy is to become a man of honor and achievement." The current motto of the school is "College For All"
Curriculum
English High was created originally to educate working class schoolboys in preparation for business, mechanics, and engineering trades as opposed to "latin-grammar" schools like Boston Latin that prepared schoolboys for the college, ministry and scholarly pursuits, and private academies that were open only to affluent residents. Its original curriculum consisted of such courses as English, surveying, navigation, geography, logic, and civics as well as a strong emphasis on mathematics.Nowadays, English High has opened up its curriculum to include more liberal arts subjects such as foreign languages and writing as well as performing arts and more college preparatory courses. It is currently in the second year of an experimental "Commonwealth Co-Pilot School" status, which is geared toward improving the curriculum of urban schools. For a while, the school had an award winning mock trial team as well. English High School class of 1996 has a total of 11 seniors who went on to attend Boston College. Those students were accepted into Boston College School of Nursing, School of Management, School of Education and Arts and Science.
AVID
This is one of the few schools that offer AVIDAdvancement Via Individual Determination
Advancement Via Individual Determination is an American college-readiness system designed to increase the number of students who enroll in four-year colleges, focusing on students in the academic middle. The formula is to raise expectations of students...
. AVID is the acronym for Advancement Via Individual Determination, an American college-readiness system. AVID is designed to increase the number of students who enroll in four-year colleges, focusing on students in the academic middle by raising the expectations of students. Originating at the high school level, the program now serves grades 4-12 (roughly, ages 10–18).
Athletics
Each ThanksgivingThanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
since 1887, English has played Boston Latin School
Boston Latin School
The Boston Latin School is a public exam school founded on April 23, 1635, in Boston, Massachusetts. It is both the first public school and oldest existing school in the United States....
in football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
in the oldest continuing high school rivalry
English/Latin Rivalry
Since 1887, the oldest public school in the United States, the Boston Latin School, has faced off against the oldest public high school in AmericaEnglish High School of Boston, in an annual football rivalry which now takes place on Thanksgiving day at Harvard Stadium...
in the United States. It is also the fourth longest U.S. high school rivalry of all time. In the 1993 football season, the football team made history by being the first team in school history to ever qualify for the Massachusetts State Championship. The Bulldogs (or Blue & Blue) defeated the Nantucket Whalers by the score of 16-7 to claim its school's first state championship. The '97 football team was the first team to go undefeated with a 12-0 record and English's second football state championship. Since 2005 the baseball team has started by a winning record of 18-0 and defeating their rivals the Brighton Bengals, and since then the baseball team has never let up and has won 2 city championships. English High also has competitive basketball, softball, volleyball, and track teams. Up until the 1980s, the school had a boys' hockey team, a golf team, and swimming teams for both boys and girls.
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
This school offers a JROTCJunior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a Federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools across the United States...
program. The program is led by Col. D. Bennett and First Sergeant Alford. The students participate in drill performances and parades. The most up to date parade is the Veterans Day Parade. This program is funded by the US Army.
Notable alumni
- J. P. MorganJ. P. MorganJohn Pierpont Morgan was an American financier, banker and art collector who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation during his time. In 1892 Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and Thomson-Houston Electric Company to form General Electric...
- financierFinancierFinancier is a term for a person who handles typically large sums of money, usually involving money lending, financing projects, large-scale investing, or large-scale money management. The term is French, and derives from finance or payment... - Louis SullivanLouis SullivanLouis Henri Sullivan was an American architect, and has been called the "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism" He is considered by many as the creator of the modern skyscraper, was an influential architect and critic of the Chicago School, was a mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, and an...
- architectArchitectAn architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the... - Samuel Pierpont LangleySamuel Pierpont LangleySamuel Pierpont Langley was an American astronomer, physicist, inventor of the bolometer and pioneer of aviation...
- onetime directorBoard of directorsA board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the Smithsonian InstitutionSmithsonian InstitutionThe Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines... - Matthew RidgwayMatthew RidgwayMatthew Bunker Ridgway was a United States Army General. He held several major commands and was most famous for resurrecting the United Nations war effort during the Korean War. Several historians have credited Ridgway for turning around the war in favor of the UN side...
- major-general - Leonard NimoyLeonard NimoyLeonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
- actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity... - Louis FarrakhanLouis FarrakhanLouis Farrakhan Muhammad, Sr. is the leader of the African-American religious movement the Nation of Islam . He served as the minister of major mosques in Boston and Harlem, and was appointed by the longtime NOI leader, Elijah Muhammad, before his death in 1975, as the National Representative of...
- Percy Jewett BurrellPercy Jewett BurrellPercy Jewett Burrell was an author and director of historical and civic pageants, or dramas, and was known for his skills in oratory and elocution, . He also taught public speaking and drama, and was known as a "public reciter"...
- dramatist and playwrightPlaywrightA playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder... - William H.C. Whiting - ConfederateConfederate States ArmyThe Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
general - Allan CriteAllan CriteAllan Rohan Crite Allan Rohan Crite Allan Rohan Crite (March 20, 1910 – September 6, 2007 was a Boston-based African-American artist born in North Plainfield, New Jersey.He has won several honors, such as the 350th Harvard University Anniversary Medal.-Personal life:...
- artistArtistAn artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only... - Herb ChambersHerb ChambersHerb Chambers is owner and CEO of Herb Chambers Companies, a group of 46 car dealerships in the greater Boston MA area. A directory of Herb Chambers Car Dealerships lists their OEM brand portfolio in Massachusetts and New England....
- A. Nicholas Vardac - Film ProducerFilm producerA film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
- Paul X. KelleyPaul X. KelleyGeneral Paul Xavier Kelley was the twenty-eighth Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, from July 1, 1983 to June 30, 1987....
- CommandantCommandant of the Marine CorpsThe Commandant of the Marine Corps is normally the highest ranking officer in the United States Marine Corps and is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...
of US Marine Corps, 1983–1987 - Richard F. O'Donnell, Sr. - John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Co. Senior Consultant
- Bill Overton - ActorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
- NFLNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
player - Dallas CowboysDallas CowboysThe Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
& Kansas City ChiefsKansas City ChiefsThe Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
Demographics
- 44% BlackBlack peopleThe term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
- 54% HispanicHispanicHispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
- 1% WhiteWhite peopleWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
- 1% AsianAsian peopleAsian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
Further reading
- Annals of The Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association, 1795-1892. The Massachusetts Charitable Mechanics Association, Boston, MA. http://www.amazon.com/Massachusetts-Charitable-Mechanic-Association-1795-1892/dp/1270861824
- Semi-centennial Anniversary of the English High School, May 2, 1871. Robert Cassie Waterston, Editor. Boston: Printed for the English High School Association, 1871 Google books
- Annual Report of the School Committee of Boston, Boston, MA,1820-1821. http://books.google.com/books?id=vkAOAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=boston+school+committee+meetings++1820&source=bl&ots=DJXo0AjXoo&sig=KWZUSZTCVDVL_UHfJOLAMwDyZv8&hl=en&ei=hv_QTvK-Nebz0gGlmd3UAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCsQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=boston%20school%20committee%20meetings%20%201820&f=false
External links
- English High School
- Wikimedia for English High School: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:English_High_School_%28Boston,_Massachusetts%29