Martin Van Buren High School (MVBHS) is a

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 ...

Queens Village Queens Village is a mostly residential middle class neighborhood in the eastern part of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bound by Hollis to the west, Cambria Heights to the south, Bellerose to the east, and Oakland Gardens to the north ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The school is operated by the

New York City Department of Education The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) is the department of the government of New York City that manages the city's public school system. The City School District of the City of New York (or the New York City Public Schools) is t ...

Academics

The high school is accredited by the

New York State Board of Regents The Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York is responsible for the general supervision of all educational activities within New York State, presiding over University of the State of New York and the New York State Education Depa ...

.Martin Van Buren High School: School Profile
. ''New York Department of Education''. Retrieved December 21, 2019. Of the school's graduates, 90% enroll in college. Students may take a

pre-med Pre-medical (often referred to as pre-med) is an educational track that undergraduate students in the United States pursue prior to becoming medical students. It involves activities that prepare a student for medical school, such as pre-med course ...

sequence of classes, a pre-engineering sequence of classes, or a

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

and

forensics Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and crimina ...

sequence of classes. The school offers Advanced Placement classes in

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

calculus Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithm ...

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

environmental science Environmental science is an interdisciplinary academic field that integrates physics, biology, and geography (including ecology, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geograp ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

U.S. history The history of the lands that became the United States began with the arrival of Settlement of the Americas, the first people in the Americas around 15,000 BC. Native American cultures in the United States, Numerous indigenous cultures formed ...

, and

world history World history may refer to: * Human history, the history of human beings * History of Earth, the history of planet Earth * World history (field), a field of historical study that takes a global perspective * ''World History'' (album), a 1998 albu ...

. Students can take college-level courses on campus in

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

, and

algebra Algebra () is one of the broad areas of mathematics. Roughly speaking, algebra is the study of mathematical symbols and the rules for manipulating these symbols in formulas; it is a unifying thread of almost all of mathematics. Elementary a ...

, and they can take classes at

John Jay College of Criminal Justice The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts c ...

Queensborough Community College Queensborough Community College (QCC) is a community college in Bayside, Queens, New York. One of seven community colleges within the City University of New York (CUNY) system, Queensborough enrolls more than 12,000 students and more than 770 ...

, and York College. The

New York State Department of Education The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is the department of the New York state government responsible for the supervision for all public schools in New York and all standardized testing, as well as the production and administration o ...

had given Priority School status to Van Buren High School because of low graduation rates and low scores on state testing.Matua, Angela (December 4, 2017).
Martin Van Buren High School in Queens Village removed from list of struggling schools
. ''QNS.com''. Retrieved January 27, 2018. On December 1, 2017, Van Buren High School was removed from Priority School status because its four-year graduation rates had increased.

Demographics

There are 1,157 students enrolled at Martin Van Buren High School. Of the students, 49% are black, 27% are Asian, 18% are Latino, 9% are white, 9% are American Indian, and 2% are Pacific Islander. Students come from more than twenty countries.

History

In 1952, the New York City Board of Education approved the construction of a new high school at 229th Street and Hillside Avenue.$59,765,000 Schools Proposed for 1953
. ''The New York Times''. June 2, 1952. p. 18. Queens Village's population had greatly increased, and the school was needed to reduce overcrowding at

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-story ...

, Bayside High School, and Andrew Jackson High School. The Board of Education originally approved a budget of $3,000,000 for construction, but a few months later it increased the budget to $5,500,000. The budget was increased again to $6,000,000 (),New Queens School Approved by the Board
. ''The New York Times''. November 13, 1953. p. 29. making it the costliest school in New York City at the time.Costliest School in City Authorized
. ''The New York Times''. December 24, 1953. p. 12. The school was designed by Eliot B. Willauer of the notable architectural firm

Eggers & Higgins Eggers & Higgins was a New York architectural firm partnered by Otto Reinhold Eggers (August 4, 1882 – April 23, 1964) and Daniel Paul Higgins (September 12, 1886 – December 26, 1953). The architects were responsible for the construction phase ...

, architects on the

Thomas Jefferson Memorial The Jefferson Memorial is a presidential memorial built in Washington, D.C. between 1939 and 1943 in honor of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence, a central intellectual force behind the Am ...

, as part of the Board of Education's half-billion dollar post-World War II expansion program.American Architect Directory: 1956
. ''

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

''. Archived fro
the original
on March 16, 2012. The school was designed as a three-story building with 40 classrooms and a 1,120-seat auditorium, with a total school capacity of 3,000 students.Mayor Sees Hope for New Schools
. ''The New York Times''. October 28, 1955. p. 52. The school would sit on 12 acres of land, 5.5 acres of which were for outdoor athletics.School Ground Breaking
. ''The New York Times''. January 3, 1954. p. 46. The official groundbreaking ceremony was held on January 6, 1954.Wagner to Speed School Program
. ''The New York Times''. January 7, 1954. p. 33. Caristo Construction Corporation built the building. The working name for the school had been East Queens High School, but before it opened the school was officially named Martin Van Buren High School, after the

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (Uni ...

, the eighth

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

and the first U.S. president born in New York state. It opened to students on September 12, 1955.

Notable alumni

This is a partial list of notable alumni of Martin Van Buren High School. *

Jon Bauman Jon "Bowzer" Bauman (born September 14, 1947) is an American singer, best known as a member of the band Sha Na Na, and game show host. Bauman's Sha Na Na character, "Bowzer", was a greaser in a muscle shirt. Biography and career Bauman was ...

(Class of 1964) – Sha Na NaMorales, Tina (December 24, 1989).
School of the Week: Martin Van Buren High School
. ''Newsday''. p. 5. *

Steve Blank Steve Blank (born 1953) is an American entrepreneur, educator, author and speaker based in Pescadero, California. Blank created the customer development method that launched the lean startup movement, a methodology that recognized that startups ...

(Class of 1971) - entrepreneur and entrepreneurship guru *

Abby Joseph Cohen Abby Joseph Cohen (born February 29, 1952) is an American economist and financial analyst on Wall Street. , she continues to serve as an advisory director at Goldman Sachs, after retiring from leadership of its Global Markets Institute. Prior to ...

(Class of 1969) – economist and financial analyst *

Donny Deutsch Donald Jay Deutsch (born November 22, 1957) is an American branding and marketing professional, television personality, and former Chairman of advertising firm Deutsch Inc. He joined his father's advertising firm, David Deutsch Associates, in 19 ...

(Class of 1975) – advertising executive and television personality *

Ilene Graff Ilene Susan Graff (born February 28, 1949) is an American actress and singer. Life and career The Queens, New York native began her professional career as a teenager when she performed as a background singer and commercial actress while attendi ...

(Class of 1966) – American actress and singer *

Madeline Kahn Madeline Gail Kahn (''née'' Wolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an American actress, comedian and singer, known for comedic roles in films directed by Peter Bogdanovich and Mel Brooks, including '' What's Up, Doc?'' (1972), '' ...

(Class of 1960) – movie actress and singer *

Arthur Kane Arthur Harold Kane Jr. (February 3, 1949 – July 13, 2004) was a musician best known as the bass guitarist for the pioneering glam rock band the New York Dolls. Kane was a founding member of the Dolls in 1971 and remained an integral part of the ...

– member of the

New York Dolls New York Dolls were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1971. Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, they were one of the first bands of the early punk rock scenes. Although the band never achieved much commercial succe ...

* Stephen Katz (Class of 1963) – Academy Award-winning sound engineer *

Al Kooper Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. ...

– songwriter, record producer and musician *

Martin Kove Martin Kove () (born ) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as John Kreese, the main antagonist of ''The Karate Kid'' (1984). He reprised the role in ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986), ''The Karate Kid Part III'' (1989), and the ...

(Class of 1964) - actor *

Ray Kurzweil Raymond Kurzweil ( ; born February 12, 1948) is an American computer scientist, author, inventor, and futurist. He is involved in fields such as optical character recognition (OCR), text-to-speech synthesis, speech recognition technology, and e ...

(Class of 1965) – inventor and futurist * Martin Lang (born 1949) – Olympic fencer *

Robert Mapplethorpe Robert Michael Mapplethorpe (; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-p ...

(Class of 1963) – photographer * Rob Parker (Class of 1982) – sports columnist and TV personality *

Tom Pecora Tom Pecora (born January 21, 1958) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach at Quinnipiac. Pecora was originally hired as associate head coach at Quinnipiac on March 28, 2017, under new head coach Baker Dunleavy. P ...

– men's basketball head coach of Fordham University *

Julian Phillips Julian Phillips may refer to: * Julian Phillips (TV presenter) * Julian Phillips (basketball) See also * Julian Philips Julian Philips is a British composer. Philips' works have been performed at major music festivals, including The Proms, ...

(Class of 1973) – television personality *

Alvin Roth Alvin Eliot Roth (born December 18, 1951) is an American academic. He is the Craig and Susan McCaw professor of economics at Stanford University and the Gund professor of economics and business administration emeritus at Harvard University.

–

Nobel prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner in economics 2012 *

Mario Savio Mario Savio (December 8, 1942 – November 6, 1996) was an American activist and a key member of the Berkeley Free Speech Movement. He is most famous for his passionate speeches, especially the "Bodies Upon the Gears" address given at Sproul ...

(Class of 1960) – American political rights activist *

Lynne Stewart Lynne Irene Stewart (October 8, 1939 – March 7, 2017) was an American defense attorney who was known for representing controversial, famous defendants. She herself was convicted on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terror ...

(Class of 1957) – imprisoned civil rights lawyer *

Frank Wilczek Frank Anthony Wilczek (; born May 15, 1951) is an American theoretical physicist, mathematician and Nobel laureate. He is currently the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Founding Direct ...

(Class of 1967) – awarded the 2004

Nobel Prize in Physics ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , alt = A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then " ...

. * DJ Zeke (Class of 2003) – professional DJ *

Thomas G. Zimmerman A wired glove (also called a dataglove or cyberglove) is an input device for human–computer interaction worn like a glove. Various sensor technologies are used to capture physical data such as bending of fingers. Often a motion tracker, such ...

(Class of 1975) – Inventor of VR PowerGlove

References

External links

* {{authority control Public high schools in Queens, New York Educational institutions established in 1955 1955 establishments in New York City

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 ...