DeWitt Clinton High School
DeWitt Clinton High School is a public high school located since 1929 in The Bronx, New York, United States. Opened in 1897 in Lower Manhattan and initially operated as an all-boys school, it maintained that status for nearly 100 years. In 1983 it became co-ed. From its original building on West 13th Street in Manhattan, it moved in 1906 to its second home on 59th Street and Tenth Avenue (now the site of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice). In 1929 the school moved to its present home on Mosholu Parkway in the Bronx.
DeWitt Clinton High School | |
---|---|
Address | |
100 West Mosholu Parkway South , 10468 United States | |
Coordinates | 40°52′52″N 73°53′11″W |
Information | |
Type | Public high school |
Motto | Latin: Sine Labore Nihil (Without Work Nothing Is Accomplished) |
Established | 1897 |
Principal | Pierre Orbe[1] |
Teaching staff | 87.80 (FTE) (2017–18)[2] |
Grades | 9–12 |
Enrollment | 1,228 (2017–18)[2] |
Student to teacher ratio | 13.99 (2017–18)[2] |
Color(s) | Red Black |
Team name | Governors |
Newspaper | The Clinton News |
Yearbook | Clintonian |
Website | www |
After more than a century of operations, producing a raft of accomplished alumni, DeWitt Clinton High School in the early 21st century has faced serious problems involving student performance and security.[3][4]
History
Clinton opened in 1897 at 60 West 13th Street at the northern end of Greenwich Village under the name of Boys High School,[5] although this Boys High School was not related to the one in Brooklyn. This school was renamed for New York governor DeWitt Clinton in 1900.[5]
In 1906 it moved to a newly constructed building on Tenth Avenue between 58th Street and 59th Street in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood—the same year as the opening of the nearby DeWitt Clinton Park where students "farmed" plots in what was the first community garden in New York.
The school's H-shaped building, designed by Charles B. J. Snyder, was said to be the biggest high school building in the United States at the time.[6] After the school moved to the Bronx, this building became Haaren High School. It is now Haaren Hall on the campus of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.[7]
Until a high school education became compulsory in the early 1930s, Clinton, like all other public schools in the city, had a Classics Department, where Greek and Latin were taught. Perhaps its most famous teacher was history teacher Dr. Irwin Guernsey, known to generations of students as "Doc" Guernsey. He came to Clinton in the fall of 1914 and retired in the spring of 1959, due to illness. A cripple with two "Irish" canes, he taught from the chair and won twice in his lifetime the title of Master Teacher in New York City. He was also head of the Honors Association, Arista. The History wing is named "Guernsey Hall" in his memory, and one can still see the library cart named "Doc's Special" on which he sat while students wheeled him to class during the last years of his tenure when he was sick.
The school moved to a new building on a 21-acre (85,000 m2) campus at 100 West Mosholu Parkway South and East 205th Street in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx in 1929,[5] where it has remained. Paul Avenue, which runs to the side of the school from Mosholu Parkway to Lehman College, is named after a DeWitt Clinton High School principal, Dr. Paul. It was under this principal that the school moved to its current location in the Bronx.
In the 1930s its enrollment peaked at 12,000 and it was said to be the largest high school in the world. Enrollment by 1999 was about 4,000.[8][9]
It remained the last gender-segregated public school in New York City until 1983.
In 1996, Clinton was selected by Redbook magazine as one of the five most improved schools in America. In 1999, US News and World Report designated Clinton as one of 96 outstanding schools in America.[8]
In 1999, Geraldine Ambrosio became the first woman to hold the principal's post at the school.
The school receives government aid because of the low income status of its students. As of 2006, the school has a large Hispanic population, followed by African-Americans and Asians. Non-Hispanic Whites, primarily Albanians, comprise a tiny minority.
Recently, DeWitt Clinton High School has received poor evaluations from the New York City Department of Education. In the latest Progress Report (2010–11) the school received a grade of F (39.4 out of 100) with the worst marks in school environment and closing the achievement gap.[10] The Quality Report for the academic year 2011-12 rated the school as "underdeveloped," its lowest rating. It particularly faulted the school for failing to design "engaging, rigorous and coherent curricula" and for failing to ensure that teaching was "aligned to the curriculum, engaging, and differentiated to enable all students to produce meaningful work products."[11] In 2013, to address these issues, the city's Department of Education tapped Santiago Taveras, one of its former deputy chancellors, as the school's principal to replace the retiring Ambrosio.[12] In November 2016, after Department of Education investigators found evidence of grade tampering, Taveras was removed as principal.[13]
Organization-houses/small learning communities
Clinton is split into several small learning communities. They include the Macy Honors Gifted Program (internally often called the Macy House), Health Professions, Veterinary Professions, Public Service, Business Enterprise, Future Educators, Academy House, and Varsity House.
The Macy Program, begun in 1985 with funding from the Macy Foundation,[8] attracts intelligent, hard-working children and preparing them for exceptionally selective colleges. The Macy program has been expanded to serve 1,200 students. The current Macy coordinator is Ernesta Consolazio.[14] The Macy Honors Gifted Program in the Sciences and Humanities has its own teachers, and a nine-period day compared to the regular New York City eight-period day. The program offers Specialized and Advanced Technology (SMT) courses, Science, Math, English, Law, Government, Philosophy and Great Books. All students in the program are required to have a minimum average of 80 and not to fail any courses. When Macy students are removed from the program, they are placed in Excel, a special Macy-run program just for its kick-outs and drop-outs, before being fully demoted to the lower programs. From at least 1998 to 2002 some students went directly into the Excel program.
Advanced Macy students are invited to join the even more selective Einstein Program, which has about 50 students in each grade. This program has even more rigorous academic performance requirements. Einstein students in their junior year are required to take a College Now course for philosophy and government science, in their first and second semester, respectively. These courses allow students to earn college credits. Einstein students are automatically assigned to honors and AP classes as early as freshman year, followed by the mandatory AP United States History and AP English Language for Einstein students who make it to their junior year.
Many Macy students are invited to MASTERS, a month-long summer program that offers many hands-on college courses emphasizing mathematics and science. These include Forensic Science, Robotics, Anatomy, Business, Consumer Chemistry and Electricity.
Student organizations
The school has over 40 academic and interest clubs.
The Clinton News, the school's newspaper,[15] is written and managed by its students. However, like many other outstanding Clinton possessions, The Clinton News publishes several multi-page full color papers a year by a grant from the Christian A. Johnson Endeavour Foundation.
Another Clinton High School publication is The Magpie. Published yearly, the historic color edition of this magazine came out May 2007. This literary collection received the most attention for its association with the Harlem Renaissance.[16]
Sports
DeWitt Clinton teams are known as the Governors; there are approximately 35 teams. Some teams which no longer exist, such as fencing and rifle. Teams for the 2007–2008 school year included:[17]
- Baseball: boys' varsity, boys' JV
- Basketball: boys' varsity, boys' JV, girls' varsity, girls' JV
- Bowling: boys' varsity, girls' varsity
- Cricket: co-ed
- Cross country: boys' varsity, girls' varsity
- Football: boys' varsity, boys' JV
- Golf: girls' varsity
- Gymnastics: boys' varsity, girls' varsity
- Handball: girls' varsity
- Indoor track: boys' varsity, girls' varsity
- Outdoor track: boys' varsity, girls' varsity
- Soccer: boys' varsity, girls' varsity
- Softball: girls' varsity, girls' JV
- Step: girls'
- Swimming: boys' varsity, girls' varsity
- Tennis: boys' varsity, girls' varsity
- Volleyball: boys' varsity, girls' varsity
- Wrestling: boys' varsity
The cricket team's formation was encouraged by the large number of South Asians.
School facilities
DeWitt Clinton High School is located at 100 West Mosholu Parkway South. It dominates the entire block, excluding the ground at the south where the Bronx High School of Science is situated. Facing the main entrance of the building, Paul Avenue runs to the east and Goulden Avenue to the west. The school faces Mosholu Parkway, and has its turf field and track behind it, followed by the softball field, and then the school's baseball and grass football field, Alumni Field. It is after this point that DeWitt Clinton's territory ends, meeting that of Bronx Science.[18]
Clinton has a small branch of Montefiore Medical Clinic within it, capable of supplying essential services to the students of the campus.[19]
The school is located at Latitude: 40.88111 : Longitude: -73.8875[20]
The ceiling of a hallway had a 1930s mural by Alfred Floegel called "Constellations", a part of the Federal Art Project. In 2018 the mural was painted over accidentally as part of a roof repair.[21]
In the media
The institution was featured in A Walk Through The Bronx with David Hartman and historian Barry Lewis. In it, Hartman and Lewis take a peek at the library.[22]
The DeWitt Clinton Chorus performed songs in the 2000 production, Finding Forrester.[23]
A book has been written about the school: Pelisson, Gerard J., and James A. Garvey III (2009). The Castle on the Parkway: The Story of New York City's DeWitt Clinton High School and Its Extraordinary Influence on American Life. Hutch Press. ISBN 978-1-883269-30-2.
Clintonites made headlines and New York City School history in September 2005, when they walked out. The 1,500 strong walk out was a result of the installation of metal detectors.[24]
Notable alumni
- Don Adams (1923–2005), actor, best known for his work in the TV series Get Smart[25][26]
- Lincoln Alexander (1922–2012), Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and first black Canadian Member of Parliament. William Roth Medal Recipient
- Charles Alston (1907–1977), artist, muralist (class of 1925)[27][28]
- Robert Altman (class of 1961)
- Allan Arbus (1918–2013), actor (class of 1933)[29]
- Nate Archibald (born 1948), Hall of Fame basketball player (class of 1966)[30][31]
- Ben Auerbach (1919–1993), professional basketball player
- Richard Avedon (1923–2004), photographer (class of 1941)[32]
- William Axt (1888–1959), film composer, The Thin Man (1935) (class of 1905)
- Sanjay Ayre (born 1980), runner (including silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the 4 x 400 meters relay) (class of 1999)[33][34]
- Harold Baer, Justice, New York State Supreme Court (class of 1923)[35]
- James Baldwin (1924–1987), writer (class of 1942)[32][36][37][38]
- Martin Balsam (1919–1996), actor (class of 1938)[39]
- Samuel Bea (1932–2013), New York State Assemblyman and community activist[40]
- Romare Bearden (1911–1988), artist (1925–1928)[35]
- David Begelman (1921–1995), President of Columbia Pictures (class of 1938)[35]
- Lou Bender (1910–2009), pioneer player with the Columbia Lions and in early pro basketball; later a successful trial attorney[41]
- Ira Berlin (1941–2018), historian, author (class of 1959)[35]
- Pandro S. Berman (1905–1996), film producer (class of 1923)[35]
- Edward Bernays (1891–1995), "father of public relations" (class of 1908)[42]
- Robert Blackburn (1920–2003), artist[43]
- A Boogie wit da Hoodie (born 1995), artist, rapper
- Pedro Borbón Jr. (born 1967), professional baseball pitcher (class of 1985)[44]
- Robert Butler, M.D., winner of the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1976 (class of 1944)[35][45]
- B. Gerald Cantor (1916–1996), founder of Cantor Fitzgerald (class of 1934)[46]
- Richard Carmona (born 1949), former Surgeon General of the United States, dropped out at age 16[26][47]
- Al Casey (1915–2005), jazz guitarist (class of 1931)[48]
- Gilbert Cates (1934–2011), producer of Academy Award telecasts (class of 1951)[49]
- Paddy Chayefsky (1923–1981), screenwriter (class of 1939)[26][50]
- Richard Condon (1915–1996), author, The Manchurian Candidate, Prizzi's Honor (class of 1933)[51]
- Avery Corman (born 1935), author, Kramer vs. Kramer, Oh, God! (class of 1952)[52]
- Frank Corsaro (born 1924), stage and opera director (class of 1942)[53]
- Salvatore A. Cotillo (1886–1939), Italian-born New York lawyer and politician; first Italian-American to serve in both houses of the New York State Legislature and the first to serve as Justice of the New York State Supreme Court[54]
- Ellis Cousens, Executive VP and CFO of John Wiley & Sons (class of 1970)[35]
- Milton Cross, Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts announcer (class of 1915)[35]
- George Cukor (1899–1983), film director (class of 1917)[38]
- Countee Cullen, poet (class of 1922)[55][56]
- Lloyd Cutler, attorney, counsel to US presidents (class of 1932)[35]
- Pedro de Cordoba, actor (class of 1900)[35]
- Charles DeLisi, scientist, "father of the human genome project" (class of 1959)
- Peter De Rose, composer (class of 1917)[35]
- Don Devlin, actor and writer-producer (class of 1947)[57]
- Dean Dixon, first black conductor of the New York Philharmonic (class of 1932)[35]
- DJ Red Alert, impresario (class of 1974)[58]
- George Duvivier, bass player (class of 1937)[35]
- Fred Ebb, lyricist (class of 1944)[35]
- Will Eisner, "father of the modern graphic novel" (class of 1936)[26]
- Eliot Elisofon, photographer (class of 1929)[35]
- Eugene Emond, World War II B-17 pilot and Officer of the New York Federal Reserve (class of 1928)
- Edward S. Feldman, film producer, Witness, The Truman Show (class of 1944)[35]
- Herbert Fields, playwright and screenwriter (class of 1916)[35]
- Joseph Fields, playwright and screenwriter (class of 1913)[35]
- Bill Finger, author, co-creator of Batman (class of 1933)[35]
- Avery Fisher, electronics pioneer (class of 1924)[35]
- Bernie Fliegel, early professional basketball player (class of 1934)[59]
- Bruce Jay Friedman (born 1930), novelist, playwright and screenwriter[60]
- Ace Frehley, KISS guitarist (did not graduate)
- Budd Friedman, IMPROV founder (class of 1951)[35]
- Frank D. Gilroy, Pulitzer Prize playwright (class of 1943)[35]
- Leo Gottlieb, New York Knicks basketball player (class of 1938)[35]
- George Graff Jr., songwriter, "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" (class of 1903)
- Bill Graham (1931–1991), rock promoter (class of 1949)[38]
- Luther Green, NBA basketball player
- Adolph Green, lyricist, screenwriter (class of 1932)[35]
- Stanley Greenstein (1928–2020), mortgage broker, president and owner of The Seldin Organization, Inc. (class of 1945)[61][62]
- George Gregory Jr., first black All-American college basketball player; New York City official (class of 1927)[35]
- George Gresham, president, 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East (class of 1973)
- Ernest A. Gross (1906–1999), diplomat (class of 1922)[35]
- Sam Gross, cartoonist, New Yorker magazine (class of 1950)[35]
- Gary Gubner, shotputter and weightlifter, Olympic athlete and world record holder (class of 1960)[35]
- Jerry Harkness, professional basketball player and civil rights activist (class of 1959)[35]
- Michael Hafftka, artist (class of 1971)[35]
- Arnold Hano (born 1922), writer and editor (class of 1937)[63][64]
- Hubert Harrison, writer, orator, editor, activist, and "father of Harlem Radicalism"[65]
- Richard Heffner, creator and host of The Open Mind, historian, professor, editor of Democracy in America, and former chairman of the Motion Picture Association of America film rating system[66]
- Tom Henderson, NBA basketball player; Olympic medal winner (silver) in 1972 (class of 1969)[35]
- Bernard Herrmann, composer (class of 1931)[35]
- Judd Hirsch, actor (class of 1952)[26]
- Robert Hofstadter, 1961 Nobel Prize in Physics (class of 1931)[34]
- Irving Howe, author, essayist (class of 1936)[35]
- Irving Jaffee, speed skater who won two gold medals at the 1932 Winter Olympics (Class of 1922)[35]
- Leo Kadanoff, physicist, National Medal of Science (class of 1953)[35]
- Bob Kane, co-creator of Batman (class of 1933)[26]
- Ralph Kaplowitz (1919–2009), professional basketball player
- Stanley Kauffmann, New Republic film critic[67]
- Stubby Kaye, actor (class of 1936)[35]
- Theodore W. Kheel, former New York Labor mediator, civil rights activist, entrepreneur (class of 1931)[35]
- Benjamin Ralph Kimlau, USAF pilot killed during World War II; square named for him in Chinatown, NYC (class of 1937)[35]
- Robert Klein (born 1942), comedian, actor, author (class of 1958)[52]
- George Kleinsinger, composer, Tubby the Tuba (class of 1930)[35]
- George Kojac, won two gold medals at the 1928 Summer Olympics (class of 1927)[35]
- Kool Keith, hip hop MC, member of Ultramagnetic MCs and a solo artist (class of 1981)[35]
- Stanley Kramer, film producer and director (class of 1930)[35]
- William Kunstler (1919–1995), attorney[68]
- Burt Lancaster (1913–1994), actor (class of 1930)[26][69]
- Don Lane (1933–2009), entertainer, talk-show host, sportscaster. Once the highest paid person on Australian television. (class of 1952)[35]
- Joseph P. Lash, Pulitzer Prize author and historian (class of 1927)[35]
- Ralph Lauren (born 1939), designer (class of 1957)[26][52][70]
- Butch Lee, NBA basketball player (class of 1974)[35]
- Howard V. Lee, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, Vietnam, Marine Corps Officer (class of 1951)[35]
- Stan Lee, (1922–2018) year comic book publisher (class of 1939)[26]
- Barry Leibowitz (born 1945), American-Israeli basketball player
- Alfred Leslie, artist (class of 1945)[35]
- Seymour Leslie, founder of Pickwick International record company; president of MGM Home Video (class of 1940)
- Edward Lewis, co-founder of Essence magazine (class of 1958)[35]
- Joe E. Lewis, entertainer (class of 1919)[35]
- Robert Q. Lewis, actor, television host (class of 1938)[35]
- Eric Linden, actor (class of 1926)[35]
- Frank Loesser, composer and lyricist; Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama; Tony Award winner (class of 1926)[35]
- Eddie Lopat, New York Yankee pitcher (class of 1935)[35]
- Robert O. Lowery, first black fire commissioner of the FDNY (class of 1934)[35]
- William E. Macaulay, private equity investor, Forbes 400 billionaire, Chairman and CEO of natural resources buyout firm First Reserve Corporation[71]
- George Macy, publisher (class of 1917)[72]
- Vito Marcantonio, US Congressman (class of 1921)[35]
- Garry Marshall, director, producer, actor (class of 1952)[35]
- Donald McKayle, stage and film choreographer (class of 1947)[35]
- Abel Meeropol, teacher at DWC; lyricist, "Strange Fruit", "The House I Live In" (class of 1921)[35]
- The Kid Mero, media personality, Viceland (class of 2001)[35]
- Hal Miller, actor, Sesame Street, Law & Order; singer; lyricist; poet; painter
- Paul Milstein, real estate developer, philanthropist (class of 1940)[35]
- Walter Mirisch, film producer (class of 1938)[35]
- Tracy Morgan comedian, also attended Clinton and with the approval of the New York City Department of Education, Morgan was awarded an honorary diploma in 2003.
- Jerome Moross, film composer, The Big Country (class of 1929)[35]
- Howard Morris, actor (class of 1936)[35]
- Ralph Morse, photographer, developed the camera that went to the moon in 1969 (class of 1935)[35]
- Jerry Moss, co-founder of A & M Records (class of 1953)[35]
- Johnny Most, radio play-by-play announcer for the Boston Celtics basketball team (class of 1940)[35]
- Jan Murray, actor, television host (class of 1934)[35]
- Lou Myers, cartoonist, writer for The New Yorker (class of 1933)[35]
- Andrea Navedo, actress and singer (class of 1988)[73]
- Frank H. Netter M.D., anatomy artist (class of 1923)[35]
- Roy Neuberger, financier (class of 1921)[35]
- Barnett Newman, artist (class of 1923)[35]
- Herbie Nichols, pianist, songwriter, "Lady Sings the Blues"; left at age 15 to attend City College of New York[74]
- Barnet Nover, longtime Washington bureau chief for the Denver Post[35]
- Basil Paterson, labor lawyer, political leader in New York (class of 1942)[35]
- Jan Peerce, Metropolitan Opera tenor (class of 1922)[35]
- Abraham Polonsky (1910–1991), blacklisted screenwriter[38]
- Bud Powell, jazz pianist and composer; dropped out at age 15[75]
- Mel Powell, Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz composer (class of 1937)[35]
- Robert Poydasheff, former mayor of Columbus, Georgia[76]
- Henry F. Pringle, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for his 1931 biography of Theodore Roosevelt (class of 1915)[35]
- Mario Procaccino, New York City Comptroller and politician (class of 1931)[77][78]
- DeWitt Clinton Ramsey, admiral, US Navy (class of 1908)[35]
- John Randolph, actor (class of 1932)[35]
- Charles Rangel, United States congressman[79]
- Maurice M. Rapport, biochemist who identified the neurotransmitter serotonin (class of 1936)[80]
- Seymour Reit, co-creator, Casper, the Friendly Ghost (class of 1934)[35]
- Sugar Ray Robinson, champion prizefighter (class of 1938)[35]
- Richard Rodgers, Emmy Award, Grammy Award, Academy Award, and Tony Award winner (class of 1919)[26]
- A.M. Rosenthal, The New York Times journalist; 1960 Pulitzer Prize winner for International Reporting (class of 1938)[26][35]
- Bob Rothberg, songwriter and author (class of 1919)
- William Ruder, co-founder of Ruder-Finn (class of 1938)[35]
- Jack Rudin, real estate developer, philanthropist (class of 1942)[35]
- Lewis Rudin, real estate developer, philanthropist (class of 1944)[35]
- Juan Ramon Sánchez, judge, US District Court PA (class of 1974)[35]
- Dolph Schayes, NBA Hall of Fame basketball player (class of 1945)[35]
- Danny Schechter, journalist, filmmaker, author[81] (class of 1960)
- Daniel Schorr, journalist (class of 1933)[35]
- M. Lincoln Schuster, co-founder of Simon & Schuster publishers (class of 1913)[35]
- Barry Schwartz, co-founder of Calvin Klein (class of 1959)[35]
- Sherwood Schwartz, creator of Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch (class of 1934)[82]
- Gil Scott-Heron (1949-2011) musician, poet, and activist. Did not graduate, transferred to The Fieldston School.
- Barney Sedran (1891–1964), NBA Hall of Fame basketball player
- Bobby Sharp (songwriter), songwriter, "Unchain My Heart" (class of 1942)[35]
- Steve Sheppard, played for the Chicago Bulls; won a gold medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics (class of 1973)[35]
- Gerald Shur (1933-2020), founder of the United States Federal Witness Protection Program[83]
- Neil Simon, playwright and screenwriter; recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, various Emmy Awards, Tony Awards, and a Golden Globe (class of 1944)[38]
- Aaron Siskind, abstract photographer (class of 1921)[35]
- Ricky Sobers, professional basketball player (class of 1971)
- Lionel Jay Stander (1908–1994), actor in films, radio, theater and television
- Louis Stark, The New York Times reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner for Telegraphic Reporting in 1942 (class of 1907)[35][84]
- Sol Stein (born 1926), author[36]
- Milton Steinberg (1903–1950), prominent rabbi, philosopher, theologian and author; Valedictorian, class of 1921
- Larry Storch, actor (class of 1941)[35]
- Charles Strouse, composer (class of 1944)[35]
- Howard Taubman (1907–1996), music and theater critic for The New York Times (class of 1925)[85]
- Sammy Timberg, musician and composer (class of 1919)
- Laurence Tisch, head of Loew's Hotels, CBS (class of 1939)[35]
- Doug "The Greaseman" Tracht, radio personality (class of 1968)[35]
- Marvin Traub, former head of Bloomingdale's department store (class of 1942)[35]
- Lionel Trilling (1905–1975), educator and literary critic (class of 1921)[35]
- Ozzie Virgil Sr., major league baseball player (class of 1950)[35]
- Fats Waller, jazz pianist (did not graduate)
- Ed Warner, college basketball player; central figure on point shaving scandal (class of 1948)
- Ben Wattenberg, host of Think Tank on PBS; author (class of 1951)[35]
- Jerome Weidman, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (Class of 1930)[35]
- Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States (class of 1954)[35]
- Grover Whalen, "Mr. New York", WNYC founder, President of World's Fair Corporation (class of 1906)[34]
- Woodie W. White, bishop of the United Methodist Church (class of 1953)[35]
- Willie Worsley, community leader and basketball player (class of 1964)[35]
- Lester Wunderman, advertising expert, consultant, professor, author, photographer (class of 1936)[86]
- William Zeckendorf, real estate developer (class of 1921)[35]
Distinguished visitors
Visitors who have addressed Clinton assemblies include:
Records
- DeWitt Clinton High School students organized one of the largest high school walkouts in New York on September 19, 2005. The protest occurred over installation of airport-style metal detectors and x-ray scanners, which had already been installed in many other schools throughout New York City.[87]
References
- "DeWitt Clinton High School". New York City Department of Education. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
- "Search for Public Schools - Dewitt Clinton High School (360008701940)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
- Samuels, Tanyanika; Chapman, Ben (August 29, 2012). "DeWitt Clinton High School makes dishonor roll: Judged most heavily armed with 33 weapons seized, 252 'violent or disruptive' events in 2010". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
- Trangle, Sarina (November 28, 2012). "Two 'F' grades in a row lead city to mull closing DeWitt Clinton". The Riverdale Press. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
- Jackson, Kenneth T. The Encyclopedia of New York City, The New York Historical Society; Yale University Press; 1995. p.332.
- "To Open De Witt Clinton High School Bids; Detailed Plan for New Structure on Tenth Avenue. Designed to be the Largest Building and One of the Best Appointed for Such an Institution in the Country". The New York Times. May 10, 1903. p. 24.
- Nash, Eric P. (December 16, 2001). "F.Y.I." The New York Times. p. Section 14, pg. 2.
- Lakhman, Marina. "Making it Work; F's to A's in the Bronx", The New York Times, March 14, 1999.
- The DeWitt Clinton Way, dewittclintonalumni.com. Retrieved July 30, 2008.
- Progress Report 2010-11: DeWitt Clinton High School New York City Department of Education. Accessed May 6, 2013.
- Quality Review Report, 2011-2012: DeWitt Clinton High School New York City Department of Education (Review dates: February 13–15, 2012). Accessed May 6, 2013.
- Anand, Anika (June 25, 2013). "Santiago Taveras, a former DOE official, returning as a principal". Gotham Schools. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
- Edelman, Susan; Algar, Selim (November 23, 2016). "Principal removed for changing grades to boost graduation rates". New York Post. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
- "Macy, Coordinator: P. McCabe-Department Information". Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2008.
- "DeWitt Clinton High School- School Newspaper". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved July 7, 2007.
- "The Magpie Sings The Great Depression". Archived from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved October 15, 2007.
- "PSAL School Profile". Retrieved July 30, 2007.
- "DeWitt Clinton High School Google Maps". Retrieved November 2, 2007.
- "New York State Hospital Profile". Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
- "DeWitt Clinton High School, Bronx, New York, USA". Archived from the original on December 7, 2007. Retrieved November 2, 2007.
- "A historic decades-old mural was painted over at a New York high school during a repair project". CNN. June 18, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
- "A Walk Through The Bronx. about the Program". Retrieved December 28, 2007.
- "DeWitt Clinton High School Chorus-Trailer-Showtimes-Cast-Movies-New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
- "The Real Cost of Prisons Weblog". Retrieved December 28, 2007.
- Buckman, Adam. "He's Agent 86'd – 'Get Smart' Star Don Adams Dies", The New York Post, September 27, 2005. Accessed September 14, 2009. "Graduated from DeWitt Clinton HS in The Bronx."
- "DeWitt Clinton High School, Bronx, New York". Retrieved July 30, 2007.
- "Charles Alston Oral History Interview". Retrieved March 30, 2008.
- "About the Charles Henry Alston Papers", Archives of American Art. Accessed September 14, 2009. "Found here are Charles Henry Alston's resumes, vital information, a copied marriage certificate, memorial information, and educational records from Dewitt Clinton High School and Columbia University."
- Boehm. "Theater; Lured Back for One Last Great Role", Los Angeles Times, December 31, 2000. Accessed September 14, 2009. "Arbus says he yearned to be an actor from his early teens, when he had a moment of special clarity while playing in a student production at DeWitt Clinton High School."
- "Mainpage- Hoopedia". Retrieved July 22, 2009.
- Herzog, Bob; and Barker, Barbara. "Ewing, Five Former Knicks Among NBA's 50 Greatest", Newsday, October 30, 1996. Accessed September 14, 2009. "Three former Nets, Julius Erving (Roosevelt High), Rick Barry (Roselle Park, N.J., High) and Nate Archibald (DeWitt Clinton), also were selected"
- Staff. "Richard Avedon", The Daily Telegraph, October 2, 2004. Accessed September 14, 2009. "He also edited the school magazine at DeWitt Clinton High, on which the black American writer James Baldwin was literary editor."
- Miller, Bill. "Plus: Track and Field – National Scholastic Championships - Ayre of the Bronx Speeds to Victory", The New York Times, June 13, 1999. Accessed September 14, 2009. "Sanjay Ayre of the Bronx, who attended DeWitt Clinton but did not compete for the school this year as a senior, won the boys' 400 meters in a swift 46.25 seconds last night in the Foot Locker national scholastic championships at North Carolina State in Raleigh."
- "The DWC Alumni Website- Notable Alumni Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on July 9, 2011. Retrieved April 2, 2008.
- Allyn, Bobby "DeWitt Clinton's Remarkable Alumni", The New York Times, July 21, 2009. Accessed May 28, 2012.
- Lester, Julius. "Afterglow; BALDWIN Early Novels and Stories By James Baldwin Edited by Toni Morrison; The Library of America; Volume I: 970 pp., $35; Volume II: 870 pp., $35", Los Angeles Times, February 15, 1998. Accessed September 15, 2009. "He attended New York's prestigious DeWitt Clinton High, where his classmates included writers Emile Capouya and Sol Stein and photographer Richard Avedon. He graduated in 1942 and, upon the death of his stepfather a year later, moved to Greenwich Village."
- James Baldwin at aalbc.com
- Kipen, David. "Flawed look at career of blacklisted director", San Francisco Chronicle, August 29, 2001. Accessed September 14, 2009.
- Van Gelder, Lawrence. "Martin Balsam Is Dead at 76; Ubiquitous Character Actor", The New York Times, February 14, 1996. Accessed September 14, 2009. "He grew up on Mosholu Parkway and became involved in theater and music at DeWitt Clinton High School."
- Cunningham, Jennifer H. (August 26, 2013). "Longtime activist and Assemblyman Samuel Bea is dead at 80". New York Daily News. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
- Mallozzii, Vincent M. "Lou Bender, Columbia Star Who Helped Popularize Basketball in New York, Dies at 99", The New York Times, September 12, 2009. Accessed September 13, 2009.
- Colford, Paul D. "A Birthday Salute to the Father of Public Relations - For Immediate Release: Edward Bernays Is 100", Newsday, December 5, 1991. Accessed September 14, 2009. "Through most of his life, home base was Manhattan, where Bernays grew up and graduated from P S 184 and DeWitt Clinton High School, then at 10th Avenue and 58th Street, before going on to Cornell University."
- Berstein, Alice. "Harlem artist Robert Blackburn remembered", The New York Beacon, October 22, 2003. Accessed September 14, 2009. "Blackburn's early work at DeWitt Clinton High School, where classmates included artists Burton Hasen, David Finn and Harold Altman, was recently exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum."
- China, Stacy Y. "World Series / No Ordinary Path / After up-and-down times, Bronx' Borbon Jr. up again", Newsday, October 6, 1995. Accessed September 14, 2009. "He attended DeWitt Clinton High School, and was coached by Steve Nathanson."
- Columbia University "1976 Winners", Pulitzer Prize, 1976. Accessed May 28, 2012.
- Staff. "Securities Firm Founder Cantor Dies", Los Angeles Times, July 6, 1996. Accessed August 14, 2009. "Cantor was born in the Bronx in 1916 and attended DeWitt Clinton High School."
- Burger, Timothy J. "Prez Taps Maverick for Surgeon General", Daily News (New York), March 27, 2002. Accessed September 14, 2009. "Carmona, 52, who dropped out of DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx at 16 and later joined the Army, got a GED and was a Green Beret in Vietnam, where he was wounded twice."
- Voce, Steve. "Al Casey: Swinging guitarist with Fats Waller", The Independent, September 15, 2005. "Once in New York he studied guitar at DeWitt Clinton High School before his uncles sent him to the Martin Smith Music School for three years."
- Champlin, Charles. "Another Year, Another Oscar Strategy – Movies: Gilbert Cates finds a different set of circumstances for this year's Academy Awards, his second as producer of the annual awards show.", Los Angeles Times, February 26, 1991. Accessed September 14, 2009. "He started fencing at Dewitt Clinton High School in the Bronx and, he says, you spent three months of exercise just getting in shape to fence."
- via The New York Times, "'Marty' And 'Network' Author Dies", Star-Banner, August 2, 1981. Accessed September 14, 2009. "He was born in the Bronx in 1923 and attended DeWitt Clinton High School."
- Buckley, Tom. "The Literary Conspiracies of Richard Condon", The New York Times, September 2, 1979. Accessed September 14, 2009.
- Wasserstein, Wendy. "Theater, A Place They'd Never Been: the Theater", The New York Times, June 20, 1999. Accessed September 15, 2009. "DeWitt Clinton High School, named for the 19th-century New York mayor and governor, is the alma mater of the comedian Robert Klein, the designer Ralph Lauren and the writers James Baldwin and Avery Corman."
- Henahan, Donal. "When the stage director takes on the opera; Says Frank Corsaro: 'My productions are supposed to be so sensational and sexual, but what in God's name is the theater all about? Theater is vulgar in the best sense'", The New York Times, November 12, 1972. Accessed September 15, 2009. "'I attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx for a while and the Immaculata High School on East 33rd Street, but they threw me out after awarding me a prize for oratory. So I went back to DeWitt Clinton.'"
- Justice Cotillo Dead Here at 53, The New York Times, July 28, 1939
- "About Countee Cullen's Life and Career". www.english.uiuc.edu.
- "DeWitt Clinton Hidh School, Bronx, New York". Retrieved July 30, 2007.
- "Don Devlin". Internet Movie Data Base. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
- "New York Daily News".
- "Fliegel, Bernie". jewsinsports.org. 2011. Archived from the original on December 6, 2010. Retrieved May 7, 2011.
- Greenfield, Josh. "Bruce Jay Friedman Is Hanging by His Thumbs", The New York Times, January 14, 1968. Accessed September 15, 2009. "While attending DeWitt Clinton High School, Friedman became interested in writing for the first time."
- https://www.newsweek.com/when-mortgages-made-sense-95147
- https://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/10/nyregion/long-islanders-she-founded-a-shopping-service-for-mortgages.html
- Waddles, Hank. "Bronx Banter Interview: Arnold Hano". Alex Belth Bronx Banter. September 28, 2009. Retrieved August 25, 2015. "I grew up in the Bronx and went to DeWitt Clinton High School, which is the high school at the north end of the Bronx, and we were there until I was maybe fourteen or fifteen when we moved into Manhattan. [...] So I was writing at that age, and when I went to college – I started college when I was fifteen – I was going to be a doctor."
- "Writer Creates a Scholarship for Journalists" Archived September 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. LIU Planned Giving. Retrieved August 25, 2015. "Arnold Hano B'41 is creating a scholarship in his will for journalism majors so the next generation of students can improve their lives as he did at LIU."
- Jeffrey B. Perry, "Hubert Harrison: The Voice of Harlem Radicalism, 1883-1918", Columbia University Press, 2008, pp. 56–57.
- "In Memoriam: Richard D. Heffner 1925 – 2013 - The Open Mind, Hosted by Alexander Heffner". April 19, 2014.
- Grimes, William (October 9, 2013). "Stanley Kauffmann, Critic, Dies at 97; Spent a Half-Century at the Movies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
- Langum, David J. "William M. Kunstler: the most hated lawyer in America", p. 25. New York University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-8147-5150-4. "Kunstler attended DeWitt Clinton High School at its annex on West End Avenue."
- Buford, Kate. "Burt Lancaster: An American Life", Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. Accessed September 14, 2009. "Before he graduated from DeWitt Clinton, where he was a basketball star, his mother was dead of a cerebral hemorrhage."
- Staff. "Selling a Dream of Elegance and the Good Life", Time (magazine), September 1, 1986. Accessed September 15, 2009. "At DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, Lauren attended business classes but paid little attention to studies. His adolescent idols were British and American style setters: the Duke of Windsor, for example, and Katharine Hepburn, who stole the show in The Philadelphia Story with her pants-and-pearls look."
- Vardi, Nathan. "The Connecticut Oil Baron". Forbes. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- "A Heritage Press Retrospective-How These Books Came to Be". Archived from the original on May 31, 2008. Retrieved April 3, 2008.
- "The Newsletter" (PDF). Dewitt Clinton Alumni Association. September 2019. p. 5. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
- Garraty, John Arthur; Carnes, Mark Christopher (1999). American National Biography. 16. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 388. ISBN 0195127951.
- Ramsey, Guthrie P." (2013). The Amazing Bud Powell: Black Genius, Jazz History, and the Challenge of Bebop. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 49. ISBN 9780520243910.
- Williams, Chuck (March 14, 2015). "Sunday Interview with Bob Poydasheff: 'Fort Benning is Columbus and Columbus is Fort Benning'". Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- Pincus, Arthur (September 27, 1973). "A Winning Tradition". The New York Times. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
- van Gelder, Lawrence (December 21, 1995). "Mario A. Procaccino, 83, Who Lost to Lindsay in 1969, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
- "Rangel, Charles B. – Biographical Information". Retrieved July 22, 2009.
- Grimes, William (September 2, 2011). "Maurice M. Rapport, Who Studied Serotonin, Dies at 91". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 23, 2017.
- Roberts, Sam (March 23, 2015). "Danny Schechter, 'News Dissector' and Human Rights Activist, Dies at 72". The New York Times. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
- "Brady World-Sherwood Schwartz". Retrieved July 22, 2009.
- Genzlinger, Neil (September 6, 2020). "Gerald Shur, Architect of Witness Protection Program, Dies at 86". New York Times. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
- Columbia University "1942 Winners", Pulitzer Prize, 1942. Accessed May 28, 2012.
- Severo, Richard. "Howard Taubman, 88, a Times Music Critic", The New York Times, January 9, 1996. Accessed October 18, 2009.
- "Lester Wunderman's Facebook Page". Retrieved May 31, 2014.
- Fernanda Santos (September 21, 2005). "Protest Over Metal Detectors Gains Legs as Students Walk Out". The New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2007.
Bibliography
- Kelley, Frank Bergen, ed. The DeWitt Clinton Book, New York: Clinton Memorabilia Society, 1906.
External links
- Official website
- Alumni Association
- Profile at insideschools.org
- Then and Now, Clinton Cultivates Young Activists
- "Writings of James Baldwin", broadcast from DeWitt Clinton High School from C-SPAN's American Writers
Images: