Classical High School
| Classical High School | |
|---|---|
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| Location | |
| Providence, Rhode Island, USA | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public Secondary |
| Motto | Certare, Petere, Reperire, Neque Cedere/ To Strive, to Seek, to Find, and Not to Yield |
| Established | 1843 |
| Principal | Scott Barr |
| Faculty | 72 |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 1085 |
| Campus | Urban |
| Color(s) | Purple and White |
| Mascot | Lady Purple/Athena |
| Website | classicalhighschool.org |
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Classical High School, founded in 1843, is a public exam school in the Providence School District, in Providence, Rhode Island, United States.[1] It was originally an all-male school, but has since become co-ed. Its motto, the Latin phrase Certare, Petere, Reperire, Neque Cedere, is a translation of the famous phrase taken from Tennyson's Ulysses, "To Strive, to Seek, to Find, and Not to Yield". It has been rated "High Performing and Sustaining" by its performance in 2005 on the New Standards Reference Exam, placing it third highest in the state.[2] Classical High School stands roughly at the intersection of the Federal Hill, West End, and Upper South Providence neighborhoods.
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[edit] Mission statement
Classical High School, a demanding college preparatory examination school, serves a diverse community and provides its students with the means to achieve high standards in a rigorous learning environment. Classical encourages its students to pursue academic, artistic, athletic, and personal growth so they will experience success in colleges and universities, and will demonstrate excellence in leadership within the community.
[edit] Architecture
Classical High School's current building was finished in 1970 and is one of few buildings in the area created in the Brutalist architectural style, making it an adventitious addition to the West End neighborhood of Providence.[3] The original school buildings had become outdated by the 1950s and after several fires and years of study, the city launched a competition for a new education complex in 1963. The winning design was by noted local Architects Harkness & Geddes in collaboration with the famous Boston firm started by starchitect Walter Gropius TAC. [4]The school's large faces of concrete, few windows, and lack of natural light gives the building a somewhat prison-like appearance, the reason for a persisting but likely spurious rumor that firm constructing it had specialized in prison construction.
The design is not popular among the students, mostly citing poor circulation and lack of natural light. William McKenzie Woodward, a well-known architectural historian and staff member of the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission, does not agree aesthetically with the building, going so far as to write in his Guide to Providence Architecture, "It's no wonder Modernism has gotten such a bad reputation in Rhode Island."[3] In 1986 McKenzie had however admitted in his survey for the Preservation Commission that "The new complex, the first of its kind in Providence built to serve a stable rather than expanding population, was well received as an ample and functional facility." Quoting John Ware Lincoln, then chairman of the Division of Design at Rhode Island School of Design as having noted: "The new Classical buildings are fine architecture, by the old standards, but they are also exemplary of the new concept of the architect as an environmental planner, working with social and civic sciences, demography, transportation engineering, building technologies, and, in this case, education philosophy." [5]
The previous building, a yellow brick building with a peaked roof (under which was the study hall), was considerably smaller and was bounded by Pond Street which was consumed in the creation of the new campus. When the old building was razed the yellow bricks were sold to students and alumni. As of 2011 the science depart got renovated. It is quite modernized with smartboards and up to date lab equipment.
[edit] Famous alumni
- John Orlando Pastore — Former Governor of Rhode Island, United States Senator
- S. J. Perelman — American Humorist
- Bruce Sundlun — Former Governor of Rhode Island
- Rudolph Fisher — pioneering Black radiologist and writer of the Harlem Renaissance
- Irving R. Levine — Former NBC News Economics Correspondent
- Frank Licht — Former Governor of Rhode Island
- George Macready — American actor
- A.O. Scott — Chief New York Times Movie Critic
- Stanley Fish — Literary theorist and legal scholar[6]
- Michael Kang — Filmmaker
- George Macready — Film Actor
- C. M. Eddy, Jr. — Renowned Author
- Lauren Corrao - President of original programming and development for Comedy Central. Former Fox executive, helped develop That '70s Show and Mad TV
- William A. Barnett — Economist.
- Robin Green - Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning television producer for The Sopranos and Northern Exposure, among others.
- Angel Taveras - First Latino Mayor of Providence, RI
[edit] References
- ^ Classical High School - Providence, Rhode Island/RI - Public School Profile
- ^ www.eride.ri.gov/.../high%20school%20classifications%202005%20V2.pdf Rhode Island Department of Education 2005 High School Classification
- ^ a b Woodward, William McKenzie (2003). PPS/AIAri Guide to Providence Architecture. Providence, RI: Providence Preservation Society. p. 207. ISBN 0-9742847-0-X.
- ^ William McKenzie Woodward and Edward F Sanderson; Providence, a Citywide Survey of Historical Resources; Rhode Island Historic Preservation Commission, 1986
- ^ William McKenzie Woodward and Edward F Sanderson; Providence, a Citywide Survey of Historical Resources; Rhode Island Historic Preservation Commission, 1986
- ^ Fish, Stanley (June 7, 2010). "A Classical Education: Back to the Future". New York Times. http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/a-classical-education-back-to-the-future/. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
