Hunter College High School
Hunter College High School | |
---|---|
View of Hunter College High School Mihi Cura Futuri The Care of the Future is mine | |
Address | |
71 East 94th Street New York, NY United States | |
Information | |
Type | Public, Selective Magnet |
Established | 1869 |
School district | New York City Department of Education |
Oversight | Hunter College |
Principal | Dr. Tony Fisher |
Director | Dean Ketchum |
Grades | 7–12 |
Enrollment | approx. 1,200 |
Campus | Urban |
Color(s) | Lavender White |
Athletics conference | PSAL |
Team name | Hawks |
Accreditation | MSA |
Newspaper |
What's What The Observer (unofficial) |
Yearbook | Annals |
Website |
www |
Hunter College High School is an American secondary school for intellectually gifted students located on Manhattan's Upper East Side in New York City, New York. It is administered by Hunter College, a senior college of the City University of New York, and by the New York City Department of Education. There is no tuition fee and it is publicly funded. Hunter is noted for sending a very large percentage of students to the Ivy League and other top-ranked colleges and universities. It has been ranked as the top public high school in the United States by The Wall Street Journal and Worth magazine. [1][2][3]
History
Hunter was established in 1869 as The Female Normal and High School, a private school to prepare young women to become teachers. The original school was composed of an elementary and a high school. A kindergarten was added in 1887, and in 1888 the school was incorporated into a college. The high school was separated from what would become Hunter College in 1903. In 1914, both schools were named after the Female Normal School's first president, Dr. Thomas Hunter.[4] It was almost closed by Hunter College President Jacqueline Wexler in the early 1970s.
Hunter was an all-girls school for the first 78 years of its existence, with the official name Hunter College High School for Intellectually Gifted Young Ladies. The prototypical Hunter girl was the subject of a song entitled "Sarah Maria Jones," who, the lyrics told, had "Hunter in her bones." In 1878, Harper's Magazine published an approving article about the then-new school:
- "The first thing to excite our wonder and admiration was the number – there were 1542 pupils; the second thing was the earnestness of the discipline; and the third was the suggestiveness of so many girls at work in assembly, with their own education as the primary aim, and the education of countless thousands of others as the final aim, of their toil.
- "Girls all the way from fourteen to twenty years of age, from the farther edge of childhood to the farther limit of maidenhood; girls with every shade of complexion and degree of beauty; girls in such variety that it was amazing to contemplate the reduction of their individuality to the simple uniformity of their well-drilled movements.
- The catholicity and toleration crystallized in the country's Constitution prevail in the college: about two hundred of the students are Jewesses, and a black face, framed in curly African hair, may occasionally be seen.
- The aim of the entire course through which the Normal students pass is not so much to burden the mind with facts as it is to develop intellectual power, cultivate judgment, and enable the graduates to take trained ability into the world with them."
The school became co-ed in 1974 as a result of a lawsuit by Hunter College Elementary School parents, a development which was described by the New York Daily News with the headline "Girlie High Gets 1st Freshboys". In January 1982, the school was featured in a New York Magazine article entitled "The Joyful Elite."[5]
The high school has occupied a number of buildings throughout its history, including one at the East 68th Street campus of the College (1940–1970). For several years in the 1970s, it was housed on the 13th and 14th floors of an office building at 466 Lexington Avenue (at East 46th Street). Since 1977, it has existed in a nearly windowless structure at East 94th Street between Park and Madison Avenues on the Upper East Side. Formerly, this was the site of the 94th Street Armory; today, part of the armory's empty shell (including two abandoned towers) stretches for the entire block of Madison Avenue in front of the school. The greater part of the armory building has been demolished. Designed to resemble the previous structure, the school is known for its near absence of sunlight, poor ventilation and low air quality.[6] Because of its architectural peculiarities, Hunter is often called "The Brick Prison."[7][8] Its students are housed in this building from grades K through 12, since it contains both the high school and Hunter College Elementary (collectively known as the Hunter College Campus Schools).
Dr. Tony Fisher is the principal of the high school. Dean Ketchum is the principal of the elementary school and is the Director of the Campus Schools. Sonya Mosco is the deputy director of the Campus Schools.
Admissions
Admission to the high school is only granted in seventh grade, and is a two-step procedure. Students from the five boroughs of New York City with strong scores on standardized tests are eligible to take the Hunter College High School Entrance Exam in the January of their sixth grade school year. Eligible students must first meet Hunter's standards in reading and mathematics proficiency on fifth grade standardized exams.[9] For example, in 2011, sixth grade students who wished to enter Hunter during the 2011–2012 school year must have achieved scores of at least 689 out of 770 on the reading test and 722 out of 780 on the math test, that is, scores in the 90th-and-above percentile of all test takers.
The admissions test has thirty-five multiple-choice mathematics questions, sixty multiple-choice English questions, and an essay-writing portion. Out of about 2,500 test-takers, about 175 are offered admission on the basis of the exam.[10] This 6.7% admissions rate, not considering the many students denied the chance to take the exam because they did not meet the state exam requirements, makes it harder to admit into Hunter than it is to admit into Harvard which has an admissions rate of about 8%. This makes Hunter one of the most selective high schools in the nation.
Approximately 50 students from Hunter College Elementary School also enter the 7th grade class each year. Beginning with incoming students in the 2010–2011 school year, elementary school students must make 'satisfactory progress' by fifth grade in order to gain admission to the high school.[11] Prior to this, students at Hunter College Elementary School were guaranteed admission into the high school. In total, entering 7th grade class contains approximately 225 students.
Most students, commonly known as "Hunterites," who enter the high school remain there through their senior year. In eighth grade, some Hunter students take the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test to transfer to other competitive public high schools in New York City, although most choose to stay at Hunter. The graduating class usually retains about 200 students. The total enrollment from grades 7 through 12 is approximately 1,200 students.
Hunter is an open campus, allowing students to go outside during lunch and free periods.
Criticism
Author and alumnus Chris Hayes in "Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy" highlights the ways in which the school's sole reliance on the one test for admissions reproduces societal inequalities. Namely, students whose families cannot afford intensive test prep courses are less likely to earn competitive scores on the entrance exam. As a result, in recent years, the number of African-American students admitted to the school has been increasingly non-proportionate to their presence in the public school system. Hayes quotes Hunter College High School's 2010 graduate Justin Hudson's commencement speech: "If you truly believe that the demographics of Hunter represent the distribution of intelligence in this city then you must believe that the Upper West Side, Bayside and Flushing are intrinsically more intelligent than the South Bronx, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Washington Heights, and I refuse to accept that." [12]
Academics
All Hunter students pursue a six-year program of study. The curriculum is a college preparatory program that provides a liberal arts education. The majority of subjects are accelerated such that high school study begins in the 8th grade and state educational requirements are completed in the 11th. During the 12th grade, students take electives, have the option to attend courses at Hunter College (for transferable credit), undertake independent academic studies, and participate in internships around the city.
Students in grades 7 and 8 are required to take courses in communications and theater (a curriculum that includes drama, storytelling, and theater). Students in grades 7–9 must take both art and music, each for half a year, and then choose one to take in tenth grade. One of the four available foreign language courses (French, Latin, Chinese, or Spanish) must be taken each year in grades 7–10, and AP language electives are offered through the 12th grade. A year each of biology, chemistry, and physics must be completed in addition to the introductory science classes of life science and physical science in the 7th and 8th grades, respectively. During 7th and 8th grades, students must also participate in the school's science fair; the fair is optional for older students. After the introductory 7th grade social studies course, 5 semesters (spanning two and a half years) of global studies must be completed, then 3 semesters of American history. A series of English and mathematics courses are taught from 7th through 11th grades. (The math curriculum is split into a track of "honors" and a track of "extended honors" classes for students of different strengths after 7th grade). If students pass a placement test, they are able to skip a grade and attend classes of a higher grade (for example, a student who passes the test in 7th grade and is currently in 8th grade can take 9th grade "extended honors" mathematics.) Two semesters of physical education are taught each year, including swimming in the 8th grade (held at Hunter College). In 9th grade, students are required to take a CPR course for one semester. Starting in their junior year, students are allowed to take a limited number of electives and Advanced Placement courses. The senior year, however, is free of mandated courses except for a year of physical education electives and courses to fulfill leftover educational requirements.
Hunter has an English Department, which incorporates reading dense novels and writing analytical papers beginning in the 7th grade. Students have historically graduated with strong writing and reading comprehension skills, reflected by the school's high average SAT scores in Critical Reading and Writing, and by the number of students who have earned recognition by the Scholastic Writing Awards.
Upper-level electives and advanced placement courses are offered by all six academic departments. Advanced placement courses include: AP Computer Science, AP Calculus AB and BC, AP Microeconomics and Macroeconomics, AP Psychology, AP European History, AP Chemistry, AP Physics C, AP Biology, AP Statistics, AP Spanish, AP French and AP Latin (Vergil). The English Department previously offered AP English and Literature but has since replaced it with the elective Advanced Essay Writing. Other electives include: Intro to African-American Studies, "Race, Class, and Gender", International Relations, US Constitutional Law, Classical Mythology, Photography, Astrophysics, Advanced Art History I & II, Organic Chemistry, Creative Writing, Joyce's Ulysses, Shakespeare's Comedies & Romance/Shakespeare's Tragedies & Histories, and Physiology. Hunter's AP offerings are currently being evaluated by the Faculty and Curriculum Committee.
There are six guidance counselors serving the student population. Each junior and senior is assigned a college guidance counselor. In recent years (classes of 2002 through 2005), nearly 99% of Hunter's students have gone on to college, and about 25% of these students accept admission into an Ivy League school.[1] In 2006–2007, 73 of the graduating seniors were accepted into at least one Ivy League school, constituting approximately 40% of the whole class. In the graduating class of 2015, out of about 190 students, Hunter received 89 total acceptances from the Ivy League, and ultimately, 56 students matriculated into one of the eight Ivy League schools.
Hunter students win many honors and awards during their high school careers,[13] including numerous Scholastic Writing Awards. Hunter wins approximately 23% of all New York State Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Of particular fame are the winners of the Intel Science Talent Search- the first-place winner in 2005 was Hunter senior David L. V. Bauer ('05), while the 1991 winner was Adam Cohen ('97, now a professor in the Chemistry and Physics Departments at Harvard). In addition, two of New York State's four 2005 Presidential scholars were Hunter College High School seniors. Sandra Fong ('08) represented the United States in the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing. She competed in the rifle shooting competition.
In light of its academic excellence, The Wall Street Journal recently identified Hunter College High School as the top public schools in the nation and a feeder to Ivy League and other leading colleges.[1][14] Newsweek has also stated that Hunter College High School is one of the top public schools with high performers on the SAT and ACT tests.[15]
According to the National Center of Education Statistics, the average SAT score (verbal and mathematics) in the 2001–2002 school year was a 1390.[16] The 2400-scale average for the class of 2007 was a 2156 (1436 on a 1600-point scale), and 2200 for the class of 2012–13. For the graduating class of 2016, the average SAT score was a 2208.
Extracurricular activities
The dozens of clubs and organizations at Hunter cater to a variety of interests, from politics to film and music to knitting. Clubs and organizations at Hunter are all student-run, with faculty members as advisers. Hunter has many extracurricular programs to offer. There is also a club open house; where the members of the student body have the opportunity to spend a few minutes of their lunch time and sign up for different clubs. Each club is in the auditorium to persuade people to join.
Student government
The General Organization (G.O.) represents the student body. The executive board is made up of tenth through twelfth graders, elected by the student body, and comprises six members: president, administrative vice president, activities vice president, treasurer, publicity secretary, and recording secretary.
These officers organize school activities and communicate with the administration and faculty, frequently becoming involved in school policy. The G.O. organizes school-wide events such as Spirit Day, a school-wide outdoor recreation day usually held in October, and Carnival, held at the end of the school year.
Term Councils are grade governing bodies. They elect two senators for each grade to represent their ideas to the General Organization. They plan grade-wide events such as dances and fundraisers, as well as the Semiformal and Prom.
Co-curricular activities
Students can choose to further pursue their academic interests through school activities such as the National Economics Challenge, Hunter United Nations Society (HUNS), Fed Challenge (economics), Mock Trial, Debate Team, Math Team, the Hunter Chess and Go Teams, Quiz Bowl, Science Bowl, History Bowl, First Robotics, and the Washington Seminar. The Economics Challenge (run by the Council for Economic Education) team was formed in 2013 by two juniors and one sophomore, who subsequently led the Hunter team to become National Champions of the David Ricardo division in their inaugural year. The Hunter Chess Team is famous nationwide for winning numerous tournaments and championships. The Washington Seminar on Government in Action was introduced in the 1950s; students selected for this program research public policy issues throughout the year. They arrange meetings with various public figures in Washington, D.C., and then meet with them for questioning and discussion regarding their researched issue during a three-day trip in May. The Mock Trial team was the top team from New York City in 2015. The debate team is completely student run and yet is still nationally recognized and attends various tournaments throughout the year including tournaments at prestigious universities such as Harvard, Yale and Princeton. The Middle School debate team is a top-ranked team, that among other accomplishments took the top three spots at the Middle School Public Debate Program (MSPDP)'s National Invitational Tournament at Claremont McKenna College in 2013.[17] Hunter's Quiz Bowl team was started in 2006, does similarly well, and was nationally ranked in its inaugural year. The Quiz Bowl team went on to gain the title of national champions at the 2012 PACE National Scholastics Competition. The History Bowl team has also gained the title of national champions by taking part in the 2012 National History Bee and Bowl during its second year. The Robotics team, started in 2009, takes part in First Robotics Competition (FRC) and has since seen victory, winning the Chesapeake regional in 2012. The Science Bowl team has placed 4th and 9th at the National Science Bowl championships in 2011 and 2012.
Musical extracurriculars
Students with substantial musical training can choose to enroll in the String Ensembles, Band, and/or Chorus groups. In 2002, the music groups toured in Spain, performing a number of collaborative pieces. They toured Greece in 2006 and Budapest in 2008.
The string ensembles are divided into "Strings" and "Chamber Orchestra", the latter being a much more selective group. They have performed a number of both contemporary and traditional pieces. The band is a woodwind-brass-percussion ensemble, and their focus is mainly on contemporary music, though they sometimes branch off into classical pieces such as Mozart's Horn Concerto in E Flat. Chorus is divided into the concert choir and the chamber choir. The concert choir is a larger group than the chamber choir, and consists of members from the tenth to twelfth grades. There is also a selective jazz chorus, founded by former music teacher Campbell Austin, which focuses solely on jazz and pop. The Jazz Band performs arrangements of jazz music.
Students may also audition for Junior Orchestra (grades 7–8, except in special cases) or Senior Orchestra (grades 9–12, except in special cases), which perform in the two semi-annual concerts at Hunter, the Winter Concert and the Spring Concert. The concerts for the Junior Orchestra and Senior Orchestra are divided into two distinct concerts, the "Middle School Concert" and the "Winter (or Spring) concert", respectively.
Sports
Many teams are called "Hunter Hawks" because the school mascot is a hawk.[18] Some exceptions, however, are the boys' volleyball team (Hunter Hitmen), the girls' volleyball team (Headhunters), the girls' swim team (Hunter Duckies), and the co-ed Ultimate Frisbee team (Hunter Halcyons).
Hunter has several sports teams that compete in the Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL).[19] These sports are bowling (co-ed varsity), cross-country (boys' and girls' varsity), fencing (boys' and girls' varsity), soccer (boys' and girls' varsity and middle school), swimming (boys' and girls' varsity), volleyball (boys' varsity and girls' varsity and middle school), golf (boys' and girls' varsity), basketball (boys have two middle school teams, one junior varsity team, and one varsity team, while the girls' have one middle school and one varsity team), indoor track (boys' and girls' varsity, middle school, and recently it was extended to the elementary school as well), outdoor track (boys' and girls' varsity, middle school and elementary), baseball (boys' middle school and varsity), softball (girls' middle school and varsity), and tennis (boys' and girls' varsity). In 2006, an ultimate team, co-ed middle school swimming and a co-ed middle school wrestling team were added to Hunter's athletic curriculum. A handball team was also added in 2008. Hunter's sports teams are competitive given the school's size; several, including both Girls' and Boys' Volleyball, Swimming, Fencing, Golf, and Tennis are usually among the top 10 in the city.
In the 1983–84 school year, the Hunter Heat, Hunter's bowling team, finished as the top team in Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx, losing to Cordozo High School (number one team in Queens and Brooklyn) in the PSAL city championship. Recent graduate Benjamin Sobel ('12) currently bowls for The Ohio State University after great success in the high school level, both in PSAL and nationally.[20]
In 1984 the boys' cross country team, in its second year in existence, defeated George Washington High School for the Manhattan Championship. The boys' X-C team upset a George Washington squad that had not lost the Manhattan X-C championship in twelve years.
In 1988 and 1995, the boys' volleyball team won the New York City PSAL title. In more recent years, a few teams have made runs at the city championship. During the 1998–2001 era, an unusual concentration of athletic talent led the basketball team deep into the PSAL playoffs for 3 consecutive seasons. In 2005, the boys' volleyball team finished 4th in the city, the girls' soccer team reached the playoff semifinals, and co-ed fencing finished 3rd in the city. In 2008 the girls middle school soccer team were undefeated in the entire season and won the league. In the winter of 2005, co-ed fencing captured the city title. This was quickly followed, on November 22, 2005, with the Hunter Girls Varsity Volleyball team's defeat of JFK High School to become the New York City Champions.
Boys' and girls' swimming were also successful in 2005. The boys' swimming team defeated its rival, Bronx Science, breaking a 15-year dry spell against the school. The girls had the first ever tie in PSAL Playoff history against Brooklyn Technical High School (47–47). The win was later awarded to Hunter. In 2009 Hunter's girls swim team beat rival school Bronx Science for the first time in nine years by six points.
During the 2005–2006 school year, the girls' volleyball team won the PSAL city championship after many years of falling short of the championship, losing in the semifinals and finals.
The girls' and boys' tennis teams also did well in the 2006 season, with the girls' team ranked 4th in the city, and the boys' team ranked 7th. In 2008, the tennis team reached the A division finals but lost to top-seeded Beacon.
In the winter of 2006 the boys' fencing team won the PSAL city championship for the second year in a row, beating rival school Stuyvesant in the finals. It has since captured the silver medal in winter 2008, losing to Stuyvesant in the final, and the bronze medal in winter 09, again losing to Stuyvesant, after beating them twice during an undefeated regular season to win the division championship. It proceeded win the city championship again in 2011, followed by bronze in 2012, and silver in 2013. Following another undefeated season, the team took first place in 2014, winning in a single-touch tie-breaker against rival Brooklyn Technical High School.[21]
In the 2009-2014 seasons, the Girls' Varsity Fencing Team won five consecutive PSAL championships.[22]
Hunter's varsity baseball and basketball teams were relegated to the B Division at the beginning of the 2006–07 school year, and reacted well to these changes. Both teams made deep playoff runs, with basketball losing in the second round, and baseball upsetting the second seeded team and losing in the quarterfinals. In the spring of 2008, the baseball team lost in the second round of the playoffs to eventual finalist and top-seeded Bayard Rustin. In the 2008–2009 school year, the varsity basketball team rejoined the A division and achieved an impressive undefeated record.
At the beginning of the 2007–08 school year, Hunter's boys varsity soccer team also moved to the B Division of the PSAL, and finished the season with a 7–1 record, culminating in a heartbreaking playoff loss.
In 2010, Hunter's boys varsity soccer team, under the lead of returning Coach Asumana Randolph, defied all odds by winning their division, and winning the first round of playoffs in overtime, a game which in past seasons has been the last. They went on to win the quarter finals, playing the defending champion, Queens Vocational, and also to win semi-finals. Hunter continued their streak to the championship, where they played Monroe Campus and won in a shut out; 3–0, becoming the first Hunter Boys' soccer team to win the PSAL championship. A rough game, the championship was won at the cost of broken leg of Captain Emmett Kim, who was injured while scoring a goal. Coach Asumana Randolph, ecstatic about the magnificent season, promised the team an African dinner; motivation which helped them push through each playoff round.
In 2011, both the Boys' and Girls' varsity lacrosse teams won the PSAL Bowl Division Championships. In 2013 Boys' Lacrosse won the City Championship against Tottenville.[23] That season, prior to winning the City Championship, they were ranked third overall among all city schools, both public and private (after first-ranked Dalton and second-ranked Tottenville).[24]
In the 2012 season, the Boys' Middle School Soccer Team were the Citywide PSAL Champions winning the finals against Salk.[25]
The Athletic Association (AA) is an organization of varsity athletes that promotes school spirit and the interests of student athletes. The AA organizes intramural tournaments, sells Hunter apparel, and promotes sporting events. The AA coordinates and executes Sports Banquet and the annual Junior-Senior football games during Spirit Day as well.
Student publications
Hunter has many student publications, including What's What, the official school newspaper since 1922, and its rival independent paper, The Observer. Weekly circulations include "What's G.O.ing On", a joint presentation of the G.O. and What's What. The Eclectic is Hunter's fully online student publication. Student-produced magazines include Argus (poetry and prose), The Hunter Economist (political and economic commentary), Chapter 11 (satire), Tapestry (science fiction and fantasy), Radicals (math), The Desk (literary magazine for lower-termers), Annals (the school's yearbook), The Leading Strand (science), F-Stop (photography), Hunter Political Magazine, E magazine (popular culture and fashion magazine), Rewind Magazine (movies and media), Playback (music magazine), "Storyboard" (graphic stories), "Artillery" (student art), T.H.A.T. Theatre Review (theater), "Food For Thought" (recipes, restaurant reviews, and food-interest stories), and Polyglot (foreign language literature).
Theater productions
The Hunter theater program is an active one, often with a season of four main-stage productions and many other showcase productions. In a season of four main-stage productions, they normally fall into these categories: a Shakespeare play; a Musical (Musical Repertoire, often referred to as REP); Hunter Classics, for students in grades 7 through 9; and the Brick Prison Playhouse, showcasing several student-written plays. There are likewise two Theater Production Practicum (TPP) showcases, with student-directed one-act plays (through the class TPP), as well as a 7th grade play festival. Many cultural clubs also produce performances highlighting their culture.
School events and traditions
Students at Hunter often enjoy various social events that are sponsored by the school administration, faculty and the student-run General Organization. These include:
- Seventh Grade Picnic: an orientation and welcoming event held in Central Park in September. Seventh-graders play various sports and become more familiar with each other under the supervision of 11th grade "Big Sibs."
- Parental Safety Patrol: For a few days every few years, student parents are required to patrol the nearby area. Schedules of such require secure login to the school website.
- Spirit Week: a week in October in which each day consists of activities centered around a "theme" (e.g. retro) as designated by the G.O. It was created in the 1990s as a replacement for a spring "Field Day", which was once organized by the Athletic Association.
- Spirit Day: the second to last day of Spirit Week. (Unless it rains, then Spirit Day is held sometime in the spring.) It is a day-long school-wide excursion to a recreation spot. The trip is often to Bear Mountain State Park, but in certain years, the destination has been Belmont Lake State Park, Playland, or Central Park. It includes the annual Senior-Junior football game.
- Homecoming: a day in which the previous year's graduates return to the school to revisit current students in December.
- Senior Walkout: carried out on the first day of snowfall. Seniors leave class for the day to engage in snowball fights or pursue other activities outside of the school. Often these snowball fights will take place in the school courtyard. During years without snowfall, Senior Walkout is transferred to the first day of the year in which the temperature tops 90° Fahrenheit. In recent years, the Hunter Administration has attempted to restrict and ban Senior Walkout, due to violence in recent years. Differing from past practice, Hunter's Term Council now consults with the Hunter Administration for an appropriate day to have a sanctioned Senior Walkout. After 2008, Hunter seniors were forced to remain in the courtyard during walkout, and prohibited to leave the school grounds. In the winter of 2010, the Hunter administration suspended two senior students for "interrupting the school community." No specific charges were brought or announced. For the Class of 2011, however, the Hunter Administration attempted to cancel Senior Walkout indefinitely. The Class of 2012, however, brought the return of the unsanctioned walkout, as seniors left with neither administrative sanction nor snow.
- Ski trip: occurs the last weekend of January.
- Carnival: a major end-of-year event for the student body. It usually has a theme, features both live and recorded music, and stalls run by various school clubs that showcase games, food, or other items of interest. The 2012 theme was Where's Waldo?
- Senior Week: traditionally the week after Carnival and before graduation. During this week, there are events designed to say goodbye to the graduating seniors. They include:
- Senior Tea: students of the graduating class are presented with white carnations and served refreshments by their teachers.
- Senior Barbecue: graduating students serve lunch to the faculty.
- In addition to these, the hall of the graduating class becomes off limits to all but members of said graduating class. In 2011, an agreement was reached to let faculty through.
- "Intel Trip": A trip run by the Hunter Science department that takes students to Washington D.C. to view Intel Science Project finalists and sightseeing in surrounding areas.
Several formal dances are arranged throughout the year:
- Prom is a similar event to many proms held all across the United States, consisting of formal dress and a sit-down dinner. The event is usually followed by an after-party at a student's house. In June 2001, Prom was held at the World Trade Center (Windows on the World). Prom is held on a Thursday evening. Attendees return to school on Friday in their finery so students and teachers can admire their glamorous outfits.
- Semi-formal is the "junior prom," held for eleventh graders.
- Lower-termers have their own annual dances, including dances for Valentine's Day and Halloween for the seventh and eighth graders. In some years, there may also be themed dances; for example, in 2006, dances included the Halloween and Valentines' Dances as well as a "Black, White, and Silver Dance" for seventh and eighth graders.
Several classes and extracurricular groups hold annual trips outside of New York City. International trips include the bi-annual AP Art History trip, the Shakespeare Etc. club trip, and trips taken by various school-run musical groups (such as Jazz Band or Chorus).
Alumni
Notable alumni include:[26]
- Shirley Abrahamson (class of 1950) – first female Chief Justice, Wisconsin Supreme Court; past President, Conference of [Supreme Court] Chief Justices
- Randy Altschuler (class of 1989) – co-founder, OfficeTiger; U.S. Congressional Candidate, New York's 1st congressional district
- Birdie Amsterdam (class of 1918) – first female New York State Supreme Court Justice[27]
- Charles Ardai (class of 1987) – founder and CEO, Juno; managing director, D.E. Shaw; author, editor, publisher/co-founder of Hard Case Crime, TV producer of Haven
- Martina Arroyo (class of 1953) – opera singer, fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences; member, National Council of the Arts; director, Carnegie Hall and Hunter College
- Eli Attie (class of 1985) – TV writer and producer, Emmy winner and former chief speechwriter for Al Gore
- Rachel Axler (class of 1995) – TV writer, two-time Emmy winner and playwright
- Kyle Baker (class of 1983) – comic book artist/writer, cartoonist, animator and satirist
- Etel Billig (unknown) – actress and founder of Illinois Theatre Center
- Jeremy Blachman (class of 1996) – author, journalist, lawyer
- Angela Bofill (class of 1972) – jazz singer
- Carol Burnett (class of 1952) – first African-American Asst. Dean, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
- Michael A. Burstein (class of 1987) – science fiction writer
- Hortense Calisher (class of 1928) – novelist, President American Academy of Arts and Letters
- Sewell Chan (class of 1994) – editor, New York Times
- Perry Chen (class of 1994) – co-founder, Kickstarter
- Adam Cohen (class of 1997) – chemist and physicist, Harvard University
- Christopher Collet (class of 1986) – actor
- Olivia Cole (class of 1960) – actress, first African-American Emmy winner
- Nicholas Confessore (class of 1994) – Pulitzer Prize-winning political correspondent, New York Times
- Marie Maynard Daly – first black woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry.[28]
- Jon Daniels (class of 1995) – Texas Rangers General Manager; youngest-ever MLB GM
- Amy Davidson (class of 1988) – executive editor of The New Yorker.[29]
- Lucy Dawidowicz (class of 1932) – Holocaust historian
- Manohla Dargis (class of 1979) – chief film critic, New York Times
- Ruby Dee (class of 1939) – National Medal of Arts, Grammy, Emmy, Obie, Drama Desk, SAG and SAG Lifetime Achievement Award winning actress; nominee for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress; African American rights activist,[30] poet, playwright, screenwriter and journalist
- Desmond Devlin (class of 1982) – writer, MAD Magazine
- Ophelia Devore (class of 1936) – first mixed-race model, founder-Grace Del Marco agency.
- Diane di Prima (class of 1951) – poet
- Mark Jason Dominus (class of 1987) – programmer
- Mildred S. Dresselhaus (class of 1947) – Presidential Medal of Freedom winner; Institute Professor of physics and electrical engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; National Medal of Science winner; past President, American Association for the Advancement of Science[31]
- Sandi Simcha DuBowski (class of 1988) – filmmaker
- Dujeous (class of 1995) – (original members), hip-hop group
- Helen Epstein (class of 1965) – first female tenured journalism professor, New York University, author
- Jewlia Eisenberg (class of 1988) – composer and musician
- Yvette Fay Francis-McBarnette (class of circa 1941) – pioneering hematologist[32]
- Sandra Fong (class of 2008) – Olympic athlete (shooting)[33]
- Richard (DiMasi) Fontana (class of 1986) – free software and open source lawyer
- Michael C. Frank (class of 1999) – developmental psychologist, Stanford University
- Susan Fuhrman (class of 1961) – President, Teachers College, Columbia University; President, National Academy of Education; former Dean, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
- Jeffrey P. Greenfield (class of 1990) - pediatric neurosurgeon, cancer biologist, Weill Cornell Medical College, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
- Irene Greif (class of 1965) – computer scientist[34]
- Eleanor Glueck (class of 1916) – criminologist, Harvard University
- Brett Haber (class of 1987) – Emmy-winning former ESPN SportsCenter anchor
- Avril Haines (class of 1987) – first female Deputy National Security Advisor; first female Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency [35]
- Evelyn Handler (class of 1950) – first female President of both the University of New Hampshire and Brandeis University
- Christopher Hayes (class of 1997) – host, "All In with Chris Hayes", MSNBC, editor-at-large, "The Nation"
- Bernadine Healy (class of 1962) – first female NIH director and Red Cross president[36]
- Carrie Kei Heim (class of 1991) – actress, lawyer
- Taina Hernandez (class of 1992) – broadcaster
- Jonathan Hoefler (class of 1988) – typeface designer
- Steve Hofstetter (class of 1997) – comedian/radio personality
- Adam Horowitz (class of 1990) – TV writer and producer, screenwriter
- Florence Howe (class of 1946) – feminist activist
- Immortal Technique (class of 1996) – rapper/political activist
- Elena Kagan (class of 1977) – United States Supreme Court Justice, former United States Solicitor General and Dean of Harvard Law School
- Eric Kaplan (class of 1985) – TV writer and producer
- Max Kellerman (class of 1991) – host, HBO Boxing, ESPN SportsNation
- Alice Kober (class of 1924) – classicist, the major contributor to the deciphering of Linear B form of Ancient Greek
- Karen Kornbluh (class of 1981) – U.S. Ambassador to OECD, primary drafter of 2008 Democratic Party platform
- Barbara Krumsiek (class of 1970) – CEO Calvert Investments
- Jean Kwok (class of 1986) – novelist
- Diane Lane (dropped out) – Academy Award nominee for best actress
- Evelyn Lauder (class of 1954) – philanthropist[37]
- Jennifer 8. Lee (class of 1994) – New York Times journalist and author
- Judy Lewent (class of 1966) – director of Dell, GlaxoSmithKline, Motorola and MIT and former Exec. VP and CFO of Merck
- Robert Lopez (class of 1993) – Avenue Q and Book of Mormon composer-lyricist, youngest EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) winner
- Audre Lorde (class of 1951) – poet, professor
- Mynette Louie (class of 1993) – film producer
- Nava Lubelski (class of 1986) – artist and author
- Nnenna Lynch (class of 1989) – track and cross country runner
- Mike Maronna (class of 1995) – actor The Adventures of Pete & Pete
- Donna Minkowitz (class of 1981) – writer and journalist
- Lin-Manuel Miranda (class of 1998) – winner of a Grammy, an Emmy, a Pulitzer Prize and two Tony awards; creator and lead, In The Heights and Hamilton (musical)
- Thisbe Nissen (class of 1990) – novelist
- Cynthia Nixon (class of 1984) – actress 'Sex & the City'
- Mollie Orshansky (class of 1931) – statistician
- Cynthia Ozick (class of 1946) – novelist
- Ellen Ash Peters (class of 1947) – first female Chief Justice, Connecticut Supreme Court, first female President, Conference of Supreme Court Chief Justices
- Pearl Primus (class of 1936) – choreographer/dancer
- Jennifer Raab (class of 1973) – President, Hunter College
- Mina Rees (class of 1919) – Mathematician, King's Medal for Service in the Cause of Freedom (UK) winner; National Academies of Science Public Welfare Medal winner; President, Graduate School and University Center at CUNY; first female President of American Association for the Advancement of Science[38][39]
- Vivian Reiss (class of 1970) – artist
- Bruce Schneier (class of 1981) – security expert
- Susan Sheehan (class of 1954) – journalist, Pulitzer Prize winning author
- Martin Shkreli (dropped out) - entrepreneur and pharmaceutical executive. Donated $1 million to the school.
- Amy Sohn (class of 1991) – novelist
- Christina Sormani (class of 1987) - mathematician, AMS Fellow
- Katie Spencer (class of 2004) – singer / keyboardist for Jesse McCartney, Grammy nominated, actor, TV producer
- Jeannie Suk (class of 1991) – first female Asian-American tenured professor, Harvard Law School
- Deborah Tannen (class of 1962) – professor of Linguistics, Georgetown University, author, You Just Don't Understand
- Judith Jarvis Thomson (class of 1946) – professor emerita of philosophy, MIT
- Michal Towber (class of 1998) – singer-songwriter, Emmy winning composer
- Alma S. Woolley (class of 1950) – dean and professor emeritus of Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies, author, historian
- Marvin "Young MC" Young (class of 1985) – rapper, music producer and songwriter
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Wall Street Journal rankings reprint
- ↑ How The Schools Stack Up
- ↑ http://www.elegantbrain.com/edu4/classes/readings/edu-eliteschools.htm "Getting Inside the Ivy Gates". Worth Magazine.
- ↑ Milestones in Hunter College's History
- ↑ "The Joyful Elite," a 1982 article about the school
- ↑ Hunter Hilites: A Publication of the Hunter College High School Parent Teacher Association.
- ↑
- ↑ A history of the armory building that now houses the school
- ↑ High School admissions website
- ↑ Decline In Hunter College HS Hopefuls
- ↑ Insideschools.org: Hunter College Elementary School
- ↑ Hayes, Christopher (2012). Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy. Crown/Archetype. pp. 31–40. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ↑ Hunter College High School Honors and Awards
- ↑ Cynthia Nixon Addresses Hunter College High School Graduates
- ↑ Newsweek's "The Public Elites"
- ↑ http://www.blackboardawards.com/downloads/highschools2004.pdf
- ↑ "Hunter College Middle School Sweeps Top Awards at National Debate Tournament". Hunter College. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
- ↑ Official school handbook
- ↑ PSAL Reference
- ↑ http://collegebowling.com/teams/playerlist.asp?SchPL=S0146
- ↑ http://www.psal.org/articles/article-detail.aspx#23972
- ↑ http://www.psal.org/articles/article-detail.aspx?23529
- ↑ http://hchshawks.olinesports.com/news_details.php?sport=617&news_id=1985
- ↑ http://hchshawks.olinesports.com/news_details.php?sport=617&news_id=1965
- ↑ http://hchshawks.olinesports.com/schedule.php?sport=590
- ↑ Some alumnus information comes from HCHS Distinguished Graduate Awardees
- ↑ Saxon, Wolfgang (July 10, 1996). "Birdie Amsterdam, 95, a Pioneer for Female Judges in New York". New York Times.
- ↑ Oakes, Elizabeth H. (2007). Encyclopedia of World Scientists. Infobase Publishing. p. 169.
- ↑ http://www.newyorker.com/contributors/amy-davidson
- ↑ The History of Jim Crow
- ↑ Institute Professor and Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/08/nyregion/yvette-fay-francis-mcbarnette-a-pioneer-in-treating-sickle-cell-anemia-dies-at-89.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0
- ↑ Archived April 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/03/the-first-woman-to-get-a-phd-in-computer-science-from-mit/284127/
- ↑ Jennifer Skalka Tulumello; Christian Science Monitor (June 13, 2013). "Why Obama chose woman with no CIA experience for No. 2 CIA job". csmonitor.com.
- ↑ The Baltimore Case: A Trial of Politics, Science, and Character
- ↑ ["The Last Lady Philanthropist", The New York Observer, October 13, 2009]
- ↑ Biographies of Women Mathematicians
- ↑ Computer Oral History Collection, 1969–1973, 1977
Coordinates: 40°47′8.92″N 73°57′14.04″W / 40.7858111°N 73.9539000°W
External links
- Hunter College High School
- Hunter College High School wiki
- Hunter College High School Alumnae/i Association
- Hunter College High School PTA
- Hunter Athletics
- Hunter Quiz Bowl Team