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Stuyvesant High School

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Stuyvesant High School, founded in 1904, is a math and science public secondary school in New York City, New York. Admission to Stuyvesant, which handles grades 9 through 12, is based solely on an entrance exam, and tuition is free. Stuyvesant is one of the most prestigious public high schools in the United States.

File:Stuy4.jpg
Stuyvesant High School, view of the school looking northwest from Chambers St. and West St.

Overview

Admission to Stuyvesant High School is open to residents of New York City entering high school. Enrollment is based solely on performance on the Specialized Science High School Admission Test (SSHSAT). Of the 20,000 students who take the exam each year, only about 800 students who score in the highest score bracket are admitted. Those who score in the second highest score bracket are offered admission to the Bronx High School of Science, and those who score in the third highest bracket are offered admission to Brooklyn Technical High School.

Known for its excellence in mathematics and science, "Stuy," as it is often known, has produced numerous Nobel Prize laureates and a host of accomplished alumni. It consistently leads the nation in number of National Merit Scholarships as well as Intel Science Talent Search Semi-Finalists and Finalists. A 1958 study found that Stuyvesant graduates earned more Ph.Ds than those of any other high school in the nation. Stuyvesant will celebrate the graduation of its centennial class in 2004 with many events and reunions scheduled to take place throughout the year, including an All-Class Reunion on June 6, 2004.

Academics

Stuyvesant students undergo a rigorous college preparation curriculum. Requirements include four years of English, history, and a lab-based science, three years of math (though most student opt to take four years) and foreign language, and a semester each of introductory art, music, health, computer science, and a lab-based technology course.

Stuyvesant offers students a broad selection of electives; 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 drafting used to be required; in its first semester students learned to draft by hand and in the second drafting was done by computer (CAD). 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 career. A variety of Advanced Placement courses offer students the chance to earn college credits; a few students earn enough to start college as a sophomore. Computer buffs can take system level programming as well a computer networking sequence which can earn them CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) certification. Stuyvesant's foreign language offerings include the basics like French and Spanish as well German, Latin, Hebrew, Japanese, Italian. In 2000, Mandarin Chinese and Korean for native speakers were introduced in response to Stuyvesant's burgeoning Asian American population. The Muslim student body has been pushing for Arabic to be taught, and although it was expected to be offered in 2004, it has been cut due to budgetary constraints.

Stuyvesant's Biology and Geo-science department offers courses in oceanography, meteorology, Molecular Genetics/Biology/Science, human physiology, medical ethics, medical and veterinary diagnosis, human disease, nutrition science, anthropology and sociobiology, vertebrate zoology, laboratory techniques, medical human genetics, botany, and psychology. The Chemistry and Physics department offers organic chemistry, physical chemistry, calculus-based physics, modern physics, astronomy, engineering mechanics, and electronics.

Although primarily known for its strength in math and sciences, Stuyvesant is also home to a robust music program and offers students eight music groups, ranging from a symphonic orchestra and jazz ensemble to a chamber choir. Comprehensive programs in the humanities offer students courses in early 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.

For those interested in physical as well as mental development, Stuyvesant fields 26 varsity teams, including a well-decorated swimming team, as well as golf, bowling, volleyball, soccer, basketball, gymnastics, wrestling, fencing, baseball/softball, handball, tennis, track/cross country, and football teams. Academic teams include a speech and debate team, a chess team, and a math team.

Stuyvesant High School

Seal of Stuyvesant High School
Pro scientia atque sapientia
(For knowledge and wisdom)

Established 1904
School type Public
Principal Stanley Teitel
Location New York City
Enrollment approx. 3,000
Campus Urban
Homepage www.stuy.edu

History

Stuyvesant High School is named after Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch governor of New Netherland before the colony was taken over by England in 1664.

The school was established in 1904 as a manual training school for boys, hosting 155 students and 12 faculty. 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 the school had to be put on a double session in the early 1920s to accommodate the rising number of students. In the 1930s, admission tests were implemented, making it even more competitive. During the 1950s, a $2 million renovation was done on the building to update its classrooms, shops, libraries and cafeterias. In 1969, 14 girls enrolled, marking the first co-educational year. Now, approximately 43 percent of students are female.

Stuyvesant High School moved downtown to 345 Chambers Street in Battery Park City, TriBeCa in 1992. The new ten-floor, $250 million building has 12 laboratories(including a molecular biology lab and an analytical chemistry lab), a large cafeteria, with a skylight, overlooking the Hudson River, 12 shops, 3 gymnasia, a 25-yard, six-lane swimming pool, over 450 computers on 13 networks, and a 26" color RCA television in almost every room. Moviegoers may be able to recognize the school from several scenes in the movie Hackers, filmed in November, 1994 using upperclassmen students as extras.

Shortly after the new building was completed, a bridge was built at a cost of $10 million to allow students to enter the building without having to cross the extremely busy and dangerous West Street. The bridge is now the primary method by which students enter the building, and many Stuyvesant students will have memories of crossing it twice a day.

Demographics

Although heavily Jewish in its formative years, the student body as of 2004 was approximately 52 percent Asian and 39 percent Caucasian, with Blacks and Hispanics in severe underrepresentation, each constituting roughly three percent of the population. Russian and Indian students are well-represented, and Jews continue to maintain a strong presence.

September 11 and Stuyvesant

Stuyvesant is a quarter-mile from the former site of the World Trade Center, which was destroyed on September 11, 2001 attacks. 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. Normal classes resumed three weeks later on October 9. The following is a list of the Stuyvesant alumni who were killed during the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center:

Richard Ben-Veniste '60 was on the 9/11 Commission.

Notable Alumni

List of Notables

Also of note, Frank McCourt taught English at Stuyvesant before the publication of his novels Angela's Ashes and 'Tis.

See also

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