Hutchinson Central Technical High School
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Hutchinson Central Technical High School, informally known as Hutch-Tech, is a high school in the City 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 Sou ...
. Its founding on September 14, 1904 under the name ''Mechanics Arts High School'' marked the beginning of technical education on the secondary level in the city of Buffalo. The current principal is Gabrielle Morquecho.


History

The school was first housed in the then ''Elementary School No. 11'' on Elm Street near Clinton Street. Daniel Upton, the founder of the school and its first principal, began operations with a faculty of four teachers and a pupil registration of sixty-four. In September 1905, the school's name was changed to ''Technical High School'', pending the move to a new building to be built on Cedar Street and Clinton Ave; the cornerstone was laid on November 14, 1912. The Cedar Street building opened on July 14, 1918 with an enrollment of 1009 students, 863 boys and 146 girls. It offered evening classes, the first of its kind in Buffalo at the time. The program of studies at Technical High School differed from that of other Buffalo high schools, in its introduction of Industrial Chemistry Machine Design, Engineering College Preparatory, Electrical, Commercial Art and Building Design and Construction to the program of the high school at this point. The school received a charter from the Regents of the State of New York (now the New York State Education Department) under the name ''Technical High School of Buffalo'' in 1918, and remained in this building until 1954. In the spring of 1921, Tech began issuing entrance exams and became what is now known as a
magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...
, even though with its course load it would normally fall into the classification of a
vocational-technical school A vocational-technical school, often called a vo-tech school, is a high school in the United States and Canada designed to bring vocational and technical training to its students. Proponents claim that students bound for college may be able t ...
. That practice still continues today to help select classes, which now consist of roughly 200-300 students. The school was in great demand during its forty years of instruction at this location. Most of Technical High School's equipment was transferred to the building formerly occupied by Hutchinson Central High School. This building, located at South Elmwood Avenue and Chippewa Street, was completely renovated, remodeled and repainted. It is located within the boundaries of the West Village Historic District. Hutch-Tech was one of the world's first high schools with a digital computer, acquiring an
IBM 1620 The IBM 1620 was announced by IBM on October 21, 1959, and marketed as an inexpensive scientific computer. After a total production of about two thousand machines, it was withdrawn on November 19, 1970. Modified versions of the 1620 were used as ...
(Level C) in 1961. This computer, with 20,000 BCD words of memory, was quite advanced for the time, and classes were taught in assembly language, symbolic programming, Fortran, COBOL, and
numerical analysis Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation (as opposed to symbolic manipulations) for the problems of mathematical analysis (as distinguished from discrete mathematics). It is the study of numerical methods ...
. Many Hutch-Tech graduates from the 1960s became pioneers in computing. Perhaps the best known of these is astronomer and computer security expert
Clifford Stoll Clifford Paul "Cliff" Stoll (born June 4, 1950) is an American astronomer, author and teacher. He is best known for his investigation in 1986, while working as a systems administrator at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, that led to t ...
. The curriculum has been revamped and expanded continuously over the second half of the 20th century, for entrance into schools of engineering and or the training of technicians for entry-level positions in current technical fields. The programs the school now offers includes bio-chemical technology,
computer technology Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...
, and
engineering technology An engineering technologist is a professional trained in certain aspects of development and implementation of a respective area of technology. Engineering technology education is even more applied and less theoretical than engineering education ...
. Instruction in electricity and electronics is also provided. Hutch-Tech also offers a selection of college prep courses including Advanced Placement that both helped their major, and helped them meet their general education requirements that most colleges require. The courses include
AP English Language and Composition Advanced Placement (AP) English Language and Composition (also known as AP English Language, APENG, or AP Lang) is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program. When AP exams were first impleme ...
,
AP English Literature and Composition Advanced Placement (AP) English Literature and Composition (also known as Senior AP English, AP Lit, APENG, or AP English IV) is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program in the United Stat ...
,
AP Biology Advanced Placement (AP) Biology (also known as AP Bio) is an Advanced Placement biology course and exam offered by the College Board in the United States. For the 2012–2013 school year, the College Board unveiled a new curriculum with a greate ...
,
AP Chemistry Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry (also known as AP Chem) is a course and examination offered by the College Board as a part of the Advanced Placement Program to give American and Canadian high school students the opportunity to demonstrate thei ...
,
AP Calculus Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus (also known as AP Calc, Calc AB / Calc BC or simply AB / BC) is a set of two distinct Advanced Placement calculus courses and exams offered by the American nonprofit organization College Board. AP Calculus AB cover ...
, AP Spanish Language, AP Physics-C, and
AP United States History Advanced Placement (AP) United States History (also known as AP U.S. History or APUSH () is a college-level course and examination offered by College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program. Course The AP U.S. History course is designe ...
. More recently the building was set for renovation as part of a citywide plan to renovate dozen of schools in the city of Buffalo. The renovation took place from the summer of 2005 until the summer of 2007. The "New" building has more and updated classrooms with
Promethean Ltd Promethean World Ltd is a global education technologies company that develops, integrates and implements learning environments. Promethean is held by NetDragon Websoft, a Chinese video game company, who acquired Promethean in 2015. The company's ...
smart boards, a brand new gymnasium, new engineering and electrical equipment, and new science rooms. While the building was being renovated, school operations took place at Kensington High School on the city's East Side. At the end of the 2010 School Year, David Greco retired after nearly fifteen years of service as head administrator at Hutch-Tech, and nearly twenty-five years as a history teacher, and administrator elsewhere, including Bennett High School, Buffalo Traditional, and others. This is five years later than his original retirement date of 2005, but Greco made a promise to see the renovations through, and see the students back to the building on South Elmwood. Greco's successor was Sabatino Cimato. In November 2015, Sabatino Cimato was appointed to associate superintendent in charge of leadership for Buffalo Public Schools. Dr. Gabrielle Morquecho was named interim principal for the remainder of the school year. In July 2016, Dr. Morquecho was appointed Principal of Hutch-Tech.


Former principals

''Previous assignment and reason for departure denoted in parentheses'' *Daniel Upton–1904-1909 (Teacher - Mechanic Arts High School, named Principal of State Normal School in Buffalo) *Author S. Harrell–1909-1916 (unknown, named Assistant Superintendent of
Indianapolis Public Schools Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) is the largest school district in Indianapolis, and the second largest school district in the state of Indiana as of 2021, behind Fort Wayne Community Schools. The district's headquarters are in the John Morton ...
) *David H. Childs–1916-1935 *Richard R. Dry–1935-1946 (Vice Principal - Hutchinson Central Technical High School, unknown) *C. Gordon Ryther–1946-1947 (Vice Principal - Hutchinson Central Technical High School, returned to VP post) *Martin H. Kuehn–1947-1959 (unknown, died) *Ernest Zeferjahn–1960-1971 (unknown, retired) *Russell Guest nterimndash;1971 (Assistant Principal - Hutchinson Central Technical High School, retired) *Martin J. O'Donnell–1971-1974 (Principal - Grover Cleveland High School, retired) *Anthony D. Vetrano–1974-1986 (Principal - Fillmore Middle School, named Director of Vocational Education for Buffalo Public Schools) *Joseph Gentile–1986-1994 (unknown, named Principal of Clarence High School) *David M. Greco–1994-2010 (Principal - Buffalo Traditional School, retiredBuffalo Public Schools (2010, May 12).
Meeting of the Board of Education: Administrative Appointments
'.
) *Sabatino Cimato–2010-2015 (Principal - North Park Academy, named Associate Superintendent in Charge of Leadership of Buffalo Public Schools)


Clubs and extra-curricular activities

The school offers a number of extra-curricular activities. Sports teams include: football,
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
,
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
,
softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
, soccer,
hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
,
swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...
,
rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...
,
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
, and Track. The school also features a number of clubs and organizations including: Student Council, Students Against Drunk Driving, GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance), Kappa Sigma Phi, Drama Club,
JROTC The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a Federal government of the United States, federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools acr ...
, Foreign Language Clubs,
Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
Organizations, Drill Team,
Cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...
and a school newspaper club. Staff-led musical instruction supports several musical groups including a jazz ensemble, concert band and marching band.


In the news

In recognition of its unique programs and past accomplishments, Hutchinson Central Technical High School was honored as a
National School of Excellence The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...
in 1988-1989 by the
U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
. In 1996, '' Redbook'' magazine cited HCTHS as one of the top 150 high schools in the country. In October 2005, the
New York Civil Liberties Union The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) is a civil rights organization in the United States. Founded in November 1951 as the New York affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union, it is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization with nea ...
successfully pressured the school to release students from their mandatory
Junior ROTC The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military ...
program, arguing that the practice violates the State's Education Law, which provides that no child may be enrolled in JROTC without prior written parental consent. In the end, Greco did release the student in question, and all others, but not without the attention of the local media.
WGRZ WGRZ (channel 2) is a television station in Buffalo, New York, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Delaware Avenue in downtown Buffalo, and its transmitter is located on Warner Hill ...
, the local
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
broadcast channel, carried the story, as did the local publication ''Artvoice''. On November 21, 2008, John Hoffmeister, former CEO of Shell Oil in Houston, spoke to the student body about alternative energy, in an event organized by the Buffalo Urban League. Following the theft of a student's bicycle from Hutch Tech in March 2009, the administration announced a policy that in essence banned bike riding to and from the school. The student brought the matter before the Buffalo school board, and the first bike rack at Hutch Tech was installed, contributed by a local bicycling advocacy group. The superintendent of schools expressed a desire and plan for bike racks throughout the Buffalo Public School District. In 2009, Hutchinson Central Technical High School was ranked 86th out of 131
Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all sources agree WNY i ...
high schools in terms of academic performance. In the 2011 '' U.S. News & World Report'' analysis of United States Best High Schools, Hutch Tech received a ''Bronze Star'' for exceeding state performance in its ''Poverty-Adjusted Performance Index'', and greatly exceeding overall state average performance by its disadvantaged students. The school's college readiness score prevented receiving a higher ranking. In the 2013 analysis of United States Best High Schools, Hutch Tech was upgraded to receive a Silver Award'' f''or far exceeding state performance in its ''Poverty-Adjusted Performance Index'', exceeding state average performance when not Poverty-Adjusted, as well as an improved college readiness score. On April 4, 2014, Hutchinson Central Technical High School went into lockdown after a
bomb threat A bomb threat or bomb scare is a threat, usually verbal or written, to detonate an explosive or incendiary device to cause property damage, death, injuries, and/or incite fear, whether or not such a device actually exists. History Bomb threat ...
was posted on
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
. However, no explosive device was found in the school and after two hours, the lockdown was lifted. The 15-year-old sophomore student that police say posted the threat was arrested.


Notable alumni

* Harold Arlen,
Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
winning Composer most famous for writing the music for Over the Rainbow from the Wizard of Oz. * Michael Curry, 27th presiding Bishop of the United States Episcopal Church * Michael Bennett, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning Choreographer, (Attended for 2 years.) *
Charles Clough Charles Clough may refer to: * Charles Clough (artist) (born 1951), American painter * Charles Clough (geologist) Charles Thomas Clough MA, LLD, FGS, FRSE (23 December 1852 – 27 August 1916) was a prominent British geologist and mapmaker. Th ...
, Painter * Wallace E. Cunningham, Noted Architect * Chester A. Kowal, Buffalo mayor, 1962–1965 * Stanley M. Makowski, Buffalo mayor, 1974–1977 *
Kevin Roberson Kevin Lynn Roberson (born January 29, 1968 in Decatur, Illinois) is a former professional baseball player. He played from to for the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was an outfielder. When Roberson hit a ho ...
, standout basketball player at the University of Vermont * Frank A. Sedita, Buffalo mayor, 1958–1961, 1966–1973 *
Clifford Stoll Clifford Paul "Cliff" Stoll (born June 4, 1950) is an American astronomer, author and teacher. He is best known for his investigation in 1986, while working as a systems administrator at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, that led to t ...
, Astronomer, inventor, computer security expert. *
Leonard F. Walentynowicz Leonard Frederick Walentynowicz (1932–2005) was United States Assistant Secretary of State for Security and Consular Affairs from 1975 to 1977; an Republican lawyer and the long-time executive director of the Polish American Congress. Biog ...
, Former Assistant Secretary of State


References


External links


Official site

Official Alumni Association



NYS Accountability and Overview Report for HCTHS 2008 – 2009

NYS Comprehensive Information Report for HCTHS 2008 – 2009
{{authority control Public high schools in New York (state) High schools in Buffalo, New York Magnet schools in New York (state) Magnet schools in Buffalo, New York Educational institutions established in 1904 1904 establishments in New York (state)