Polytechnic School
Encyclopedia
Polytechnic School, often referred to as simply Poly, is a college preparatory
private school
in Pasadena, California
.
. It descends from the Throop Polytechnic Institute founded by Amos G. Throop
, the same institution which grew into the present California Institute of Technology
.
In the spring of 1907, the Institute decided to focus on the college level and closed the grammar school. Citrus tycoon and powerful eugenicist
Ezra S. Gosney donated $12,500, a sum matched by twelve other donors. This money allowed them to purchase the property at the present site, originally an orange grove. The school opened in October 1907 with 106 students. At the time, the school was named Polytechnic Elementary School
. The school added a ninth grade in 1918 and expanded to high school in 1959. After instituting a ninth grade, the name changed to Polytechnic Elementary
and Junior High School
. Polytechnic ended its pre-Kindergarten
program in 2005.
Poly offers Advanced Placement and honors
classes as well as arts and athletic programs. According to a College Board
report, Polytechnic School was named a world leader in student participation and performance on Advanced Placement exams. Furthermore, the report also named Polytechnic as the top small school in the world for having the largest part of its students achieve a 3 or above on the AP Calculus
AB examination in both 2004 and 2005. In 2007, Polytechnic School was ranked 4th in the world by The Wall Street Journal
in success rate in sending students to Harvard University
, Princeton University
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Williams College
, Pomona College
, Swarthmore College
, the University of Chicago
and Johns Hopkins University
, higher than many older, better known east coast prep schools such as Exeter
and Andover
. In the 2006-07 class, 42% of class were National Merit
Finalists & Commended students and 84% of students were accepted to 'highly-selective' top tier universities.
In the September 2008 issue, Los Angeles Magazine listed Pasadena Poly among the best high schools in Los Angeles. Poly was praised for its “national reputation for producing scholars, artists and athletes.”
The school is divided by Cornell Road into two campuses, north (lower and middle school) and south (upper school), and is adjacent to the Caltech campus. Most of the north campus buildings were designed by Myron Hunt
, who also designed the Rose Bowl
and The Huntington, and Elmer Gray, who designed the Beverly Hills Hotel
and the Pasadena Playhouse
. The Cornett Mansion, designed in 1907, in the south campus serves as the administration building and houses several classrooms for the upper school.
In April 2005, the city of Pasadena approved Polytechnic's Master Development Plan, which over the following ten years will permit the construction of an aquatics facility (opened in May 2006), an underground parking structure, and other facilities and new structures. Currently, a capital campaign is in the works to renovate and replace some of the school's older and outdated buildings. Changes include the modernization of Myron Hunt
's historical
buildings, the addition of a new library and administration-classroom building on the north campus and a new math and science building and the renovation of the administration building on the south campus.
Currently, the aquatics facility and the renovated "Haaga House" (the Upper School's administrative building) have been completed. The Middle School buildings and underground parking structure are set to be finished before the next school year begins in the fall. Renovations to the Garland arts facility and auditorium and the surrounding science building have begun and are expected to be completed within a year.
is named "Babcock Field," named after former Head of School Mike Babcock. The school's mascot is a panther. Poly's athletic rival is Flintridge Preparatory School
, casually referred to as "Prep," in La Cañada, California . This rivalry is over fifty years old, and as such certain traditions have stemmed from it. For example, the golf
teams at both schools compete for the "mystic niblick" every spring, a trophy
given to the team with the lowest overall scores over their two matches against one another. This tradition has its origins in the 1980s.
Poly competes in virtually every CIF sport except wrestling and added a co-ed, competitive fencing
team in 2008. In the 2009-2010 school year, it fielded a total of 38 different teams. Poly's athletic successes include over 150 Prep League Championships, 46 CIF Championships, and 74 CIF Academic Championships.
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
.
History
The school was founded in 1907 as the first private non-sectarian, non-profit elementary school in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It descends from the Throop Polytechnic Institute founded by Amos G. Throop
Amos G. Throop
Amos Gager Throop was a businessman and politician in Chicago, Illinois during the 1840s and 1850s. Most famously he was known for being a staunch abolitionist prior to the Civil War. In Chicago he lost two campaigns to be that city's mayor in 1852 and 1854. In both elections he was the nominee of...
, the same institution which grew into the present California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
.
In the spring of 1907, the Institute decided to focus on the college level and closed the grammar school. Citrus tycoon and powerful eugenicist
Eugenics
Eugenics is the "applied science or the bio-social movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population", usually referring to human populations. The origins of the concept of eugenics began with certain interpretations of Mendelian inheritance,...
Ezra S. Gosney donated $12,500, a sum matched by twelve other donors. This money allowed them to purchase the property at the present site, originally an orange grove. The school opened in October 1907 with 106 students. At the time, the school was named Polytechnic Elementary School
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
. The school added a ninth grade in 1918 and expanded to high school in 1959. After instituting a ninth grade, the name changed to Polytechnic Elementary
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
and Junior High School
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
. Polytechnic ended its pre-Kindergarten
Pre-Kindergarten
Pre-kindergarten refers to the first formal academic classroom-based learning environment that a child customarily attends in the United States. It begins between the ages of 3-5 depending on the length of the program...
program in 2005.
Academics
Honors course
Honors course is a distinction applied in the United States to certain classes to distinguish them from standard course offerings. The difference between a regular class and the honors class is not necessarily the amount of work, but the type of work required and the pace of studying...
classes as well as arts and athletic programs. According to a College Board
College Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...
report, Polytechnic School was named a world leader in student participation and performance on Advanced Placement exams. Furthermore, the report also named Polytechnic as the top small school in the world for having the largest part of its students achieve a 3 or above on the AP Calculus
AP Calculus
Advanced Placement Calculus is used to indicate one of two distinct Advanced Placement courses and examinations offered by the College Board, AP Calculus AB and AP Calculus BC....
AB examination in both 2004 and 2005. In 2007, Polytechnic School was ranked 4th in the world by The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
in success rate in sending students to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
, Pomona College
Pomona College
Pomona College is a private, residential, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. Founded in 1887 in Pomona, California by a group of Congregationalists, the college moved to Claremont in 1889 to the site of a hotel, retaining its name. The school enrolls 1,548 students.The founding member...
, Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
, the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, higher than many older, better known east coast prep schools such as Exeter
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
and Andover
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy is a selective, co-educational independent boarding high school for boarding and day students in grades 9–12, along with a post-graduate year...
. In the 2006-07 class, 42% of class were National Merit
National Merit Scholarship Program
The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and college scholarships administered by National Merit Scholarship Corporation , a privately funded, not-for-profit organization. The program began in 1955...
Finalists & Commended students and 84% of students were accepted to 'highly-selective' top tier universities.
In the September 2008 issue, Los Angeles Magazine listed Pasadena Poly among the best high schools in Los Angeles. Poly was praised for its “national reputation for producing scholars, artists and athletes.”
Campus information and the capital campaign
Myron Hunt
Myron Hunt was an American architect whose numerous projects include many noted landmarks in Southern California...
, who also designed the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl (stadium)
The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...
and The Huntington, and Elmer Gray, who designed the Beverly Hills Hotel
Beverly Hills Hotel
The Beverly Hills Hotel is a hotel on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California. It was opened on May 12, 1912 by Margaret J. Anderson and her son, Stanley S. Anderson, who had been managing the Hollywood Hotel. The original main building of The Beverly Hills Hotel was designed by Pasadena...
and the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
. The Cornett Mansion, designed in 1907, in the south campus serves as the administration building and houses several classrooms for the upper school.
In April 2005, the city of Pasadena approved Polytechnic's Master Development Plan, which over the following ten years will permit the construction of an aquatics facility (opened in May 2006), an underground parking structure, and other facilities and new structures. Currently, a capital campaign is in the works to renovate and replace some of the school's older and outdated buildings. Changes include the modernization of Myron Hunt
Myron Hunt
Myron Hunt was an American architect whose numerous projects include many noted landmarks in Southern California...
's historical
California Historical Landmark
California Historical Landmarks are buildings, structures, sites, or places in the state of California that have been determined to have statewide historical significance by meeting at least one of the criteria listed below:...
buildings, the addition of a new library and administration-classroom building on the north campus and a new math and science building and the renovation of the administration building on the south campus.
Currently, the aquatics facility and the renovated "Haaga House" (the Upper School's administrative building) have been completed. The Middle School buildings and underground parking structure are set to be finished before the next school year begins in the fall. Renovations to the Garland arts facility and auditorium and the surrounding science building have begun and are expected to be completed within a year.
Athletics
Poly's playing fieldPlaying field
A playing field is a field used for playing sports or games. They are generally outdoors, but many large structures exist to enclose playing fields from bad weather. Generally, playing fields are wide expanses of grass, dirt or sand without many obstructions...
is named "Babcock Field," named after former Head of School Mike Babcock. The school's mascot is a panther. Poly's athletic rival is Flintridge Preparatory School
Flintridge Preparatory School
Flintridge Preparatory School, familiarly known as Flintridge Prep or simply Prep, is a day school for grades 7-12. Founded in 1933, it is located in La Cañada Flintridge, California.-Facilities:...
, casually referred to as "Prep," in La Cañada, California . This rivalry is over fifty years old, and as such certain traditions have stemmed from it. For example, the golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
teams at both schools compete for the "mystic niblick" every spring, a trophy
Trophy
A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...
given to the team with the lowest overall scores over their two matches against one another. This tradition has its origins in the 1980s.
Poly competes in virtually every CIF sport except wrestling and added a co-ed, competitive fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
team in 2008. In the 2009-2010 school year, it fielded a total of 38 different teams. Poly's athletic successes include over 150 Prep League Championships, 46 CIF Championships, and 74 CIF Academic Championships.
Notable alumni
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, screenwriter, actor, and film producer - Bruce Beutler, 2011 Nobel Laureate in Medicine
- Otis Booth, billionaire investor and philanthropist
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, author - David EbershoffDavid EbershoffDavid Ebershoff is an American-born writer, editor, and teacher.-Biography:Born in Pasadena, California, he is a graduate of Brown University and the University of Chicago, and studied at Keio University in Tokyo....
author of the international bestselling novels, The Danish Girl and Pasadena - Kevin GreutertKevin Greutert-External links:...
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