Soldan International Studies High School (also known as Soldan High School) is a public

magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

high school in the Academy neighborhood of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

that is part of the St. Louis Public Schools. Soldan was known for its wealthy and predominantly Jewish student population, from its opening in 1909. The student population underwent a rapid change in demographics, starting in the 1950s. It was predominantly African American by the mid-1960s. The school was renovated and reopened as a magnet school, with a focus on

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

, in the early 1990s. Soldan currently offers its students several athletic and academic opportunities, that include: cross country, football, soccer, tennis, softball, and volleyball. Its dropout rate is lower than the state average, and it is accredited by the

North Central Association of Colleges and Schools The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It w ...

. It has several notable alumni and former students, including politicians, authors, academics, and athletes.

History

Construction and early years

The population of the city had increased to more than 575,000, by the end of the 1890s. The St. Louis Public Schools had operated only one high school since 1855. The school district built two new high schools in 1904, in order to meet the need for greater space for high school students. The district began building a fourth high school, three years later, which became Soldan.Norbury L. Wayman
Yeatman
History of St. Louis Neighborhoods, St. Louis Missouri.org. The school was known during its construction as Union Avenue High School. The school was renamed Soldan High School upon opening, in honor of Frank Louis Soldan, the superintendent of St. Louis schools from 1895 until his death in 1908. Land acquisition costs for the building were $10,000, and construction cost $630,000. William B. Ittner's design for the school received praise from the

United States Bureau of Education The Office of Education, at times known as the Department of Education and the Bureau of Education, was a small unit in the Federal Government of the United States within the U.S. Department of the Interior from 1867 to 1972. It is now separated ...

for its attention to detail and to the needs of students It was designed to stylistically complement the nearby Clark School, which was designed in

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style, with fittings and brickwork to suggest a Tudor period Gothic structure built in approximately 1620. With a capacity of 1,600 students, the building originally occupied an area of 288 by 256 feet and had three stories. The original design of the building had 41 classrooms, with 23 designed for 48 students and 18 for 35 students. The building's 18 science demonstration rooms and laboratories accommodated physiology, physiography, chemistry, botany, and physics, and in the basement, the building was designed with shops for woodworking, machining, and domestic science. The building also had four art rooms with skylights for studio work and three mechanical drafting rooms. The auditorium was the largest in the school system up to that time, with a seating capacity of 1,750, while the music room was built with a capacity of more than 300 students. To provide for ample physical education opportunities, the school was built with two gymnasiums.Fletcher B. Dresslar, ''American Schoolhouses'', Bulletin (United States, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education) 1910, no. 5, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing House, 1911, OCLC 4818576, pp. 111–15
online at Google Books
The school originally had two separate cafeterias for male and female students, although the practice of gender segregation at lunch was ended in the late 1940s. During the 1930s and 1940s, the school became widely known as the city's "predominantly Jewish" school, with students from several notable or wealthy families in the

Central West End The Central West End is a neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, stretching from Midtown's western edge to Union Boulevard and bordering on Forest Park with its outstanding array of free cultural institutions. It includes the Cathedral Basilica of ...

. Although the school remained open on Jewish holidays, it often had significantly lower attendance. During its early years, Soldan graduated several notable individuals, including William McChesney Martin, Jr., the longest-serving Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, and

Clark Clifford Clark McAdams Clifford (December 25, 1906October 10, 1998) was an American lawyer who served as an important political adviser to Democratic presidents Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Jimmy Carter. His official governme ...

, a presidential adviser and

United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...

. In 1922, Clifford and Martin were

tennis doubles Traditionally, tennis is played between two people in a singles match, or two pairs in a doubles match. Tennis can also be played on different courts, including grass courts, clay courts, hard courts, and artificial grass courts. Standard types ...

partners on the school's team. It also was during the 1920s that

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

attended the school; in the 1940s, Soldan received notability as the school attended by some of the characters in Williams' ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...

''. In 1948, the school received students after the closure of nearby rival Blewett High School, which was located one block from Soldan. After the merger, the school was briefly known as Soldan-Blewett; it returned to its original name in 1955.

Integration

After the Brown v Board of Education decision in 1954, white parents and students of Soldan were among the most welcoming in the city toward integration. On the first day of integration, the school saw no protests, although national media personalities such as NBC evening news anchor

John Cameron Swayze John Cameron Swayze (April 4, 1906 – August 15, 1995) was an American news commentator and game show panelist during the 1940s and 1950s who later became best known as a product spokesman. Early life Born in Wichita, Kansas, Swayze was the ...

covered the event. Neither black nor white students reported significant incidents of racial tensions or problems, although black students often chose to eat in separate areas of the building from whites in the cafeteria. Despite the relatively uneventful process, Soldan experienced a rapid change in the demographics of its student population. During the 1940s, more than 90 percent of Soldan students were Jewish whites; by the early 1960s, the majority were African American. By 1965, only one white student attended Soldan, and many of the school's African American students had moved into the area from poorer neighborhoods such as Mill Creek Valley after

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...

projects had displaced them.

Renovation and magnet status

Starting in the late 1980s, St. Louis schools were required to improve physical conditions and create magnet schools as part of promoting a court-ordered desegregation program. The international studies magnet program originally was set for implementation at Northwest High School, but in August 1988, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh revised the district magnet school program. Among the changes was that Soldan would become a magnet school for international studies, and that it would become the highest part of a "cluster" of magnet schools focused on international relations, with lower-level schools having a focus on foreign languages. Also part of the court desegregation plan was the physical improvement of city schools. Significant renovations to Soldan began in late 1989 and included interior renovations and the replacement of the school's two 2,000-square-foot gymnasiums with one 10,000-square-foot gymnasium. Due to the renovations, the building was closed from the 1990–1991 to the 1992–1993 school years, and its students were reassigned to Roosevelt High School. While the building was undergoing renovations, the city's Center for Management, Law and Public Policy magnet school was folded into the international studies program at Soldan. After three years of construction, the renovated building reopened on September 2, 1993. However, an electrical rewiring of the school and the installation of a synchronized clock system, which were to be completed as part of the renovation work, were not finished until early 1995 owing to a contractual dispute with an electrical company. After the conversion to a magnet school, Soldan became home to a significant international student population. By 1996, nearly 40 percent of students were from 32 countries other than the United States. As part of the merger of the Center for Management, Law and Public Policy, the school became the only high school in the state to have a law library as part of its facilities. During the 2010–2011 school year, as part of a district budget process, Soldan began to accept seventh and eighth grade students.

Current status

In 2011 it had an enrollment of 801, making it the 119th largest high school in Missouri.

Activities

For the 2010–2011 school year, the school offered seven activities approved by the

Missouri State High School Activities Association The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) is the governing body for high school activities throughout the state of Missouri. Approximately 580 high schools are members of MSHSAA. The MSHSAA conducts championship-level activi ...

(MSHSAA): boys' and girls' cross country, 11-man football, boys' and girls' soccer, girls' tennis, girls' softball, and girls' volleyball.MSHSAA: Soldan
/ref> In addition to its current activities, Soldan students have won several state championships, including: * Boys' Basketball: 1981, 2012 *Boys' Swimming and Diving: 1938, 1941 *Boys' Indoor Track and Field: 1961, 1970 *Ciara Jones - Women's Track and Field: 400m Dash 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 200m 2003 and 2004 and 100m Dash 2003 and 2004 Ronnie Pines-Men's Track and Field: 100 meter dash Missouri Class 3 state champion in 2002 and 2003 The school also has produced one tennis doubles state champion and three boys' outdoor track and field individual events champions.MSHSAA: Championship Histories by Sport
/ref>

Demographics

In the 2009–2010 school year, Soldan had an enrollment of 749 students with 53.6 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio of 13.97. In 2010, more than 80 percent of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunches. Since 2006, more than 65% of the student population at Soldan has been African American and the white student population has declined by roughly half.

Academic and discipline issues

Soldan has a low dropout rate; for the 2009–2010 school year, 1.8 percent of students dropped out compared to the Missouri state dropout rate of 3.5 percent. Soldan also has a discipline incident rate of 3.1 percent, which is comparable to the average Missouri rate.The discipline incident rate is calculated by the number of incidents resulting in a removal from school for ten or more days divided by the number of students in the school. Since the passage of

No Child Left Behind The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education ...

in 2001, Soldan has met the requirements for

adequate yearly progress Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing ac ...

(AYP) twice. In 2006, Soldan students achieved 17.2 percent proficiency in communication arts, allowing the school to meet AYP via making satisfactory progress. In 2009, the school met AYP in communication arts via a confidence interval.

Notable people

Alumni

Fontella Bass Fontella Marie Bass (July 3, 1940 – December 26, 2012) was an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter best known for her number-one R&B hit " Rescue Me" in 1965. She has been nominated for a Grammy Award twice. Early life Fontella Bass was b ...

(1958), singer * Jerry Berger, columnist and press agent * Gerald Boyd, managing editor and metropolitan editor of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' *

, presidential adviser and

from 1968 to 1969 *

Willis Crenshaw Willis Clarence Crenshaw (born July 16, 1941) is a former National Football League (NFL) running back from 1964 through 1970. High school and college career Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Crenshaw played for Soldan High School and Kansas State U ...

, NFL player *

Georgia Frontiere Georgia Frontiere (born Violet Frances Irwin; November 21, 1927 – January 18, 2008) was an American businesswoman and entertainer. She was the majority owner and chairperson of the Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams NFL team and the most prominent fema ...

, owner of the

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

, an NFL team *

Louis A. Gottschalk __FORCETOC__ Louis August Gottschalk (August 26, 1916 – November 27, 2008) was an American psychiatrist and neuroscientist. Gottschalk earned his M.D. at Washington University in St. Louis in 1943 and his Ph.D. from New Center for Psychoanaly ...

, psychiatrist *

Thomas M. Graber T. M. "Tom" Graber (May 27, 1917 – June 26, 2007) was an American orthodontist known for his contributions to the field of orthodontics. Graber wrote 28 books on orthodontics and dental anatomy. He also wrote chapters in more than 20 books and o ...

, American orthodontist *

Lee Handley Lee Elmer Handley (July 13, 1913 – April 8, 1970) was an American professional baseball second baseman and third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball from 1936 to 1947 for the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia Phill ...

, MLB player *

Emily Hahn Emily "Mickey" Hahn (, January 14, 1905 – February 18, 1997) was an American journalist and writer. Considered an early feminist and called "a forgotten American literary treasure" by ''The New Yorker'' magazine, she was the author of 54 books a ...

, author *

Johnny Haymer Haymer Lionel Flieg (January 19, 1920 – November 18, 1989), known professionally as Johnny Haymer, was an American actor known for his role as Staff Sergeant Zelmo Zale, a recurring character in the television series ''M*A*S*H''. He appeared i ...

, actor *

Thomas C. Hennings Jr. Thomas Carey Hennings Jr. (June 25, 1903September 13, 1960) was an American political figure from Missouri. He was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives (from 1935 until 1940) and the United States Senate (from 1951 u ...

(1920),

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

and United States Representative from Missouri *

Erin Marie Hogan Erin Marie Hogan (born September 22, 1985) is an American actress and activist from St. Louis, Missouri. Hogan is mostly seen in direct-to-video horror films and American cable television. She is a mental health advocate, who in 2015 announced th ...

, actress *

A.E. Hotchner Aaron Edward Hotchner (June 28, 1917 – February 15, 2020) was an American editor, novelist, playwright, and biographer.Newman's Own Newman's Own is an American food company headquartered in Connecticut. Founded in 1982 by actor Paul Newman and author A. E. Hotchner, the company donates all of its after-tax profits to charity through the Newman's Own Foundation, a private non ...

food company *

Larron Jackson Larron Deonne Jackson (born August 26, 1949) is a former professional American football Guard (American football), guard in the National Football League (NFL). Jackson was drafted in the fourth round of the 1971 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers. H ...

, NFL player *

Raynard Jackson Raynard Jackson is an American Republican Party (United States), Republican Political consulting, political consultant, lobbyist, and radio host based in Washington, D.C. He served on the presidential campaigns of George H. W. Bush and George W. ...

, Republican Party consultant *

Stan Kann Stan Kann (December 9, 1924 – September 29, 2008) received national recognition in the 1960s when he was a frequent guest on ''The Tonight Show'' and daytime television talk shows, showcasing his collection of vacuum cleaners. Kann also was known ...

, vacuum cleaner collector and organist *

Harold Koplar Harold Koplar (February 27, 1915 – May 3, 1985) was a Russian-American hotelier and businessman in St. Louis, Missouri. Biography Early life and education Harold Koplar was born February 27, 1915. His father, Sam Koplar, built the Park Plaz ...

, hotelier *

Melvin Kranzberg Melvin Kranzberg (November 22, 1917 – December 6, 1995) was an American historian, and professor of history at Case Western Reserve University from 1952 until 1971. He was a Callaway professor of the history of technology at Georgia Institute of ...

, historian and co-founder of the

Society for the History of Technology The Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) is the primary professional society for historians of technology. SHOT was founded in 1958 in the United States, and it has since become an international society with members "from some thirty-five ...

* Con Maffie, theater and radio organist. *

William McChesney Martin William McChesney Martin Jr. (December 17, 1906 – July 27, 1998) was an American business executive who served as the 9th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1951 to 1970, the longest serving in that position. He was nominated to the post ...

, longest-serving Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve *

Virginia Mayo Virginia Mayo (born Virginia Clara Jones; November 30, 1920 – January 17, 2005) was an American actress and dancer. She was in a series of comedy films with Danny Kaye and was Warner Brothers' biggest box-office money-maker in the late 1940s. ...

, actress * Paul McRoberts, NFL player *

Agnes Moorehead Agnes Robertson Moorehead (December 6, 1900April 30, 1974) was an American actress. In a career spanning four decades, her credits included work in radio, stage, film, and television.Obituary ''Variety'', May 8, 1974, page 286. Moorehead was th ...

, Hollywood actress Co-star "Bewitched" TV Show *

Greg Osby Greg Osby (born August 3, 1960) is an American saxophonist and composer. Biography Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Osby studied at Howard University, then at the Berklee College of Music. He moved to New York City in 1982, where he played with Jaki ...

, jazz saxophonist *

Ken Rothman Kenneth Joel Rothman (October 11, 1935 – April 26, 2019) was an American lawyer and politician from Missouri. He served as the 41st Lieutenant Governor of Missouri from 1981 to 1985. Biography Rothman was born and raised in St. Louis and at ...

, Lieutenant Governor of Missouri from 1981 to 1985 *

Muddy Ruel Herold Dominic "Muddy" Ruel (February 20, 1896 – November 13, 1963) was an American professional baseball player, coach, manager and general manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1934. One of the top defensive ca ...

, former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player (

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, Washington Senators,

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

) and manager (

Saint Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

) *

Guy Stern Guy Stern (born Günther Stern; January 14, 1922) is a German-American decorated member of the secret Ritchie Boys World War II military intelligence interrogation team. As the only person from his Jews, Jewish family to flee Nazi Germany, he c ...

, author, director of the

Holocaust Memorial Center The Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan, near Detroit, is Michigan's largest Holocaust museum. History The Zekelman Holocaust Center, found as the Holocaust Memorial Center (The HC), the first free-standing institution of ...

, and member of the

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* Julian A. Steyermark, botanist *

Charles Richard Stith Charles R. Stith (born 29 August 1949) is an American businessman, diplomat, former educator, author and politician. He is currently the Chairman of The Pula Group, LLC., which invests in high value opportunities in Africa. He is the non-execut ...

United States Ambassador to Tanzania The present country of Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, was created upon the union of the formerly independent countries of Tanganyika and the People's Republic of Zanzibar (P.R.Z.). Tanganyika became independent from the Un ...

from 1998 to 2001 *

David Thirdkill David Thirdkill (born April 12, 1960) is an American retired basketball player. He played in the NBA, and was the 1993 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP. NBA career He was selected by the Phoenix Suns in the first round (15th overall) of th ...

, NBA basketball player; 1993

Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP The Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP, or Israeli Basketball Super League MVP, is an annual basketball award that is presented to the most valuable player in a given season of the Israeli Basketball Premier League, which is the top-tier lev ...

Kay Thompson Kay Thompson (born Catherine Louise Fink; November 9, 1909''"In the St. Louis Registry of Births, in the volume covering the period July 1909 – January 1910, on page 85, is the following entry: "Catherine Louise Fink, November 9, 1909."''

, author and actress * Marko Todorovich, basketball player *
Joe Torry Joe Torry is an American actor and comedian. Filmography Film Television References External links * *Joe Torry's Giving Back the Love Foundation Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living ...
, comedian and actor

Others
*
Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...
, playwright, attended for one year prior to transfer to University City High School

References
{{authority control High schools in St. Louis Educational institutions established in 1909 Public high schools in Missouri Magnet schools in Missouri 1909 establishments in Missouri Buildings and structures in St. Louis