August Martin High School is a
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
public
In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
located in
South Jamaica, Queens
South Jamaica (also commonly known as "The Southside") is a residential neighborhood in the Borough (New York City), borough of Queens in New York City, located south of downtown Jamaica, Queens, Jamaica. Although a proper border has not been est ...
, at 156-10 Baisley Boulevard. The school focuses on
aviation
Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot air ...
(students can obtain their
pilot's certification while studying there) and other vocational areas. Presently, the school comprises the following four academies, which as of 2014 had a combined enrollment of 853 students:
* Aerospace and Technology Academy
* Communication Arts Academy
* Law Scholars Academy
* Culinary Arts Academy
In addition, two separate alternative high schools share the same building:
* Foundry High School, enrollment 108
* Voyages Preparatory High School South Queens, enrollment 150
As of the 2014-15 school year, the school had an enrollment of 678 students and 42.6 classroom teachers (on an
FTE basis), for a
student–teacher ratio of 15.9:1. There were 468 students (69.0% of enrollment) eligible for
free lunch
A free lunch is the providing of a meal at no cost, usually as a sales enticement to attract customers and increase revenues from other business. It was once a common tradition in saloons and taverns in many places in the United States, with th ...
and 42 (6.2% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.
[School data for August Martin High School]
National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...
. Accessed December 12, 2016.
History
Plans for the school, originally the Woodrow Wilson High School, existed as early as 1930, to relieve crowding in
Jamaica High School
Jamaica High School was a four-year public high school in Jamaica, Queens, New York. It was operated by the New York City Department of Education.
Jamaica High School was founded as the Union Free School in 1854, and located within a three-stor ...
. The school's building opened in 1942 as Woodrow Wilson Vocational High School. Quotes from former President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
still adorn the school building's facade. Initially it trained thousands of people to join defense-related industries during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
,
although it was planned in 1940, prior to the nation's entry into the war.
Woodrow Wilson closed in 1971 when August Martin High School opened in the same building. The primary goal of the new school was to train
African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
to enter the aviation industry. The school's namesake,
August Martin (1919-1968), was trained as a military pilot during World War II as one of the
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the United States Army ...
, and after the war became the first African American commercial airline
pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
. Martin graduated from
DeWitt Clinton High School
, motto_translation = Without Work Nothing Is Accomplished
, image = DeWitt Clinton High School front entrance IMG 7441 HLG.jpg
, seal_image = File:Clinton News.JPG
, seal_size = 124px
, ...
in the
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
in 1938 and lived in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
for much of his life. He died in 1968 when the plane he was piloting crashed during a
humanitarian relief
Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until the long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and ...
mission to the
Biafra
Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the predominantly Igbo-populated form ...
region of
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
.
In 2012, neighborhood residents, elected officials, and students protested a plan to close August Martin High School, considered to be under-performing by the New York City Department of Education's leadership, and open new schools in the same building under different names. This practice had been followed previously at other schools around the city. The protesters stressed the importance of the name to the community. As of 2015, the school continues to operate as August Martin High School, and this name is still prominently engraved over the door, although the building also hosts two smaller high schools that use different names.[
]
Notable alumni
*Lloyd Banks
Christopher Charles Lloyd (born April 30, 1982), better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of East Coast hip hop group G-Unit, alongside childhood friends 50 Cent and Tony Yayo. After th ...
, (born 1982), rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
in the group G-Unit
G-Unit (short for Guerilla Unit) was an American hip hop group formed by longtime friends and East Coast rappers 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, and Lloyd Banks. After amassing a string of self-released mixtapes in the early 2000s, the group released t ...
; dropped out in 1998
*Byron Brown
Byron William Brown II (born September 24, 1958) is an American politician who is the current mayor of Buffalo, New York. He has served as Buffalo's 62nd mayor since January 2006, the City's first African-American mayor and longest serving ...
, (born 1958), mayor of Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
* Ed Lover (born 1963), African-American radio personality, and former MTV VJ
This is a list of people who have been VJs on MTV, the music video channel in the U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North ...
.
*Najee
Jerome Najee Rasheed (born November 4, 1957, New York City), known professionally as Najee, is an American Jazz-Smooth Jazz saxophonist and flautist.
Early life
Najee was born in the lower west side of Manhattan in New York City and lived his te ...
, (born 1957), jazz and smooth jazz saxophonist and flautist
*Kelly Price
Kelly Cherelle Price (born April 4, 1973) is an American R&B and gospel singer. She started her singing career in 1992. Price originally garnered attention by singing backing vocals for Mariah Carey on multiple songs, including her ''Billboar ...
(born 1973), R&B and soul singer, formerly on the Def Soul label.
*Freedom Williams
Frederick B. Williams (born February 13, 1966), better known by his stage name Freedom Williams, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter, who gained fame as the lead vocalist on C+C Music Factory's biggest hits.
Career
Born in Brooklyn in 1 ...
(born 1966). African American entertainer and rapper and co-founder of the seminal dance hip-hop group C+C Music Factory
C, or c, is the third letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''cee'' (pronounced ), plural ''cees''.
History
"C" ...
.
*Russell Simmons
Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. Simmons' ...
, (born 1957), African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
entrepreneur, the co-founder, with Rick Rubin
Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records.
Rubin helped popula ...
, of the pioneering hip-hop label Def Jam
Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
The ...
, and creator of the clothing fashion line Phat Farm
Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. Simmons' ...
. Graduated in 1975.[Shin, Paul H.B. (April 6, 2001).]
Class Act for Celebs
. ''Daily News'' (New York, New York). p. 31.
References
External links
Review of August Martin HS at insideschools.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, August High School
Public high schools in Queens, New York
Jamaica, Queens