English High School of Boston

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The English High School of Boston
Location
144 McBride St, Boston, MA
Boston, MA, United States
Information
School type Public high school
Established 1821
School district Boston Public Schools
Headmaster Dr. Sito Narcisse
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 770
Color(s) Columbia blue and Navy Blue

         
Nickname Blue & Blue

mascot= English Bull Dog
Rival Boston Latin School
Newspaper The English High School Record
Information 617-282-2424
Website English High School

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.[1] The current building is located in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, MA.

Contents

[edit] 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 War. 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.

The motto of the school has been: "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"

[edit] 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.[2]

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.[3]

[edit] AVID

This is one of the few schools that offer AVID. 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).

[edit] Extracurricular activities

[edit] Athletics

Each Thanksgiving 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.

[edit] Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps

This school offers a JROTC 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.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Demographics

[edit] Image gallery

  • Former building of English High School, Pinckney St., Boston (photo 2010)

  • English and Latin Schools, Boston, ca.1881

  • English High School, 1920

[edit] References

  1. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica 1993 ed. "Education, History of", page 49
  2. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica 1993 ed. "Education, History of", page 49
  3. ^ http://www.doe.mass.edu/boe/annual/07.doc/

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: English High School (Boston, Massachusetts)

Coordinates: 42°18′23″N 71°06′34″W / 42.3063°N 71.1094°W / 42.3063; -71.1094

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=English_High_School_of_Boston&oldid=467204933"
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