John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics & Science
| Motto | Achieve not just any college, but the best colleges. |
|---|---|
| Type | Public/Examination School, 7-12 |
| Established | 1893 |
| Headmaster | Joel Stembridge |
| Location | |
| Enrollment | c. 1,162 |
| Mascot | Tiger |
| Website | www.obryant.us |
The John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science (officially abbreviated as O'B) is a college preparatory public examination school that specializes in mathematics and science in Boston, Massachusetts. The school is currently located on 55 Malcolm X Boulevard in the area of Roxbury, Massachusetts. With a student body of 1162 7th-12th graders, this school is part of the Boston Public Schools.
History
The school is over one hundred years old starting as the Mechanic Arts High School in 1893. In 1944, the school became Boston Technical High School. The original building containing the various shops, woodworking, machine shop, forge shop and drafting rooms was built around 1900 and was located on the corner of Dalton and Belvidere Streets in the Back Bay. The Hilton Hotel is located there today. In 1909 the five story class room, chemist and physics labs building was completed on Scotia Street adjacent to the older building. In the seventies the school moved to the building that originally housed Roxbury Memorial High School (1930 to 1960) at 205 Townsend Street in Roxbury, Massachusetts. That school building is now the home of Boston Latin Academy. Boston Technical High School remained there until 1987 when it relocated to new building at 55 New Dudley Street (Now Malcolm X Boulevard.) In 1989, Boston Technical High School and Mario Umana Technical High School merged but still kept the name of Boston Technical High School. At one point in its history it was an all boy's school. In 1992, the school was renamed after Boston's eminent education leader, John D. O'Bryant.
Academics
This school is a science and math specialized institution and it is one of the examination schools in the greater Boston Area. It is a relatively new exam school that offers many advanced placement courses in math and science and it's a school with many excellent students. It is the most diverse of the three exam schools and it's one of the hosts of the JROTC club. Through partnerships with MIT, Northeastern University, Microsoft, and other area businesses and institutions, the O'Bryant looks to lead science, technology, engineering, and math instruction and programming for the city of Boston.
Requirements
Admission to O'Bryant is determined by a combination of a student's score on the Independent School Entrance Examination (ISEE) and the student's recent grades, and is limited to residents of Boston proper. Although the O'Bryant runs from the 7th through the 12th grade, it only admits students into the 7th, 9th & 10th grade. Unlike the other two Boston examination schools, the day is composed of six periods instead of seven.
Gateway Program
Gateway to Higher Education, a successful program of New York that prepares low-income and minority students for high-level careers in medicine, science, and engineering. The gateway program involves extra instructional periods, after-school tutorial and internships with science-based institution. Overshadowed by the more prestigious exam schools, Boston Latin School and Boston Latin Academy the Gateway program is almost certain to elevate O'Bryant's status. Applications are open to eight graders and they start it when they enter ninth-grade. The students of the program must take the classes/courses that it offers until they graduate high school.
Solar Panel Project
This school is home to a state-of-the-art solar energy system created by students at the school in June, 2004. The 2kW photovoltaic (PV) array, installed on the southeastern wall of the school, uses semiconductor technology to convert sunlight into pollution-free electricity. The solar equipment was donated by the MIT Space Systems Laboratory through a grant from NASA. The O'Bryant School also received support on curriculum development from the MIT Edgerton Center. Heliotronics of Hingham, MA provided a Solar Learning Lab, which gives students real-time system data on power production, efficiency, and weather conditions for analysis.
MCAS
In the year 2006, the O'Bryant ranked #3 in the entire state for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) 10th Grade Mathematics. Over 98% of the students who took the test received "Advanced" or "Proficient" on the 10th grade MCAS exam, taken in the spring of 2006. The O'Bryant also ranked #8 in the entire state for the MCAS in reading & literature. Over 95% of the students who took the test received 'Advanced" or "Proficient" on the 10th grade MCAS exams, taken in the spring of 2006.
College Scholarships
Based on excellent performance on the 2006 MCAS, a total of 899 students in the Boston Public Schools have qualified for the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship, which provides four years of free tuition to any state university or college in Massachusetts. To qualify for the scholarship, students had to score in the Advanced category (Level 4) on either the English Language Arts or Math sections of the MCAS exams and in at least Proficient (Level 3) on the other. Also, the students' scores had to rank in the top 25% of the district. In order to maintain the scholarship, students must complete their college program in four years or less and maintain a 3.0 grade point average.
Advanced Placement
The O'Bryant School was awarded the Siemens Award for Advanced Placement in 2003 by the Siemens Foundation. The O'Bryant offers an abundance of Advance Placement (AP) classes such as Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Calculus, statistics, English, U.S. History and Spanish.
Extracurricular Activities
All students must maintain a 2.67 GPA (B-) or higher in order to partake in any extracurricular activities. The extra curricular activities include fall, winter and spring sports. With it's ties to colleges such as MIT, Harvard University, Microsoft & Northeastern University; the students at the O'Bryant school are offered with many programs that revolves around science, technology, math and engineering.
Sports
The mascot for all the teams at the O'Bryant is the Tiger, since it was Mechanic Arts High School. Teams at the O'Bryant include Baseball, Basketball, Cheer leading, Football, Hockey, Rowing, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball. The Girls Rowing Team (G-ROW) is the constitutive district champion. The School's colors are blue and white.
Clubs
There are a full range of clubs and programs that the school offers. Clubs include Chess, Drama, Step, Asian and Haitian Clubs, Key Club, and a junior chapter of the NSBE, Student Council, Talented and Gifted (TAG), National Honor Society, a Mock Trial Team, a Math Team, Invent Team, Environmental Club, Robot Science, e and a robotics team. All students are welcomed to join any club in the school.
Publications
The School Newspaper, the O'B Edition, is the monthly school news paper, made possible by the journalism classes taken at the school. The newspaper covers community news, student opinion, entertainment news, an advice column and a sport section. The year book team, publishes the year book named The Technician until the year 1992, when Boston Technical High School changed it's name to John D. O'Bryant School.
John D. O'Bryant
John D. O'Bryant was born in Boston on July 15, 1931. He attended and graduated from the Boston public schools and went on to Northeastern University earning both his bachelor's and master's degrees from there. Mr. O’Bryant served in the United States Army and then became a teacher and guidance councilor from 1955 to 1969, the same year he was elected the vice president of Northeastern University. Mr. O’Bryant was the first African American ever to serve Vice President. He kept that position until his sudden death in 1992. Mr. O'Bryant was a tireless advocate for the children of Boston, taking the time to meet with students young and encourage them to set high goals and pursue a college education for a successful life.
Notable Alumni
*Graduate - Achievement - Graduation Year
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