New Utrecht High School 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 ...

located in

Bensonhurst Bensonhurst is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bordered on the northwest by 14th Avenue, on the northeast by 60th Street, on the southeast by Avenue P and 22nd ...

, a neighborhood of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

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 ...

under District 20, and serves students of grades 9 to 12. It is one of the largest high schools 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 ...

in terms of enrollment.

History

New Utrecht High School was established in 1915 as an offshoot of the nearby

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

Bay Ridge High School Bay Ridge High School was a school based in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Initially the school was co educational, but when New Utrecht High School was formed it became an all girls high school. It served as the sister school to Brooklyn Technical High S ...

. This resulted in New Utrecht High School becoming an all-boys school, while Bay Ridge High School became an all-girls school. The first location of the school was a wooden building on 86th Street and 18th Avenue, and it had a population of 350 students. Irving Hazen was the founding principal, and he adopted the white and green colors of his alma mater,

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

, as the colors of the school. In November 1924, the school moved to its present location on 80th Street and 16th Avenue, with 2,300 students. In February of the following year, girls were admitted, resulting in the school becoming coeducational. Over the next few years the school continued to grow, until it consisted of a main building and four annexes, and with a student population of nearly 11,000. It was the largest student body in the world at the time. New Utrecht High School was the scene of several racial conflicts between

blacks Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...

and

whites White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as " ...

within the community in the 1970s to 1990s. In 1974, 300 black students stormed the school after a fight between a black student and a white student ended up with the former being injured, which spurred up rumors that it was a racial attack. In 1990, a black student was shot by a group of white students stemming from an incident in the locker room. In the 2000s, New Utrecht High School underwent a major overhaul. It added a new, two-story

cafeteria A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school ...

building, which replaced the old cafeteria located in the main building. The old cafeteria was subsequently turned into classroom space. A new entrance was also created, accompanied by a corridor which conjoined the cafeteria building with the main building. Today, New Utrecht High School functions as a zoned school primarily serving students living in the neighborhoods of

and

Dyker Heights Dyker Heights is a predominantly residential neighborhood in the southwest corner of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is on a hill between Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Borough Park, and Gravesend Bay. The neighborhood is bounded by 7th and ...

Activities

Student Government

New Utrecht High School has an active

student government A students' union, also known by many other names, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, ...

, which is elected every October. For close to a century the student government positions were mayor, deputy mayor, secretary, treasurer, and student representatives from each grade. The mayoral theme was a longstanding tradition that stemmed from the fact that the neighborhood of

New Utrecht New Utrecht ( nl, Nieuw Utrecht) was a town in western Long Island, New York (state), New York encompassing all or part of the present-day Bath Beach, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Borough Park, Brooklyn, Borough Park, Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton n ...

was named by Dutch settlers after the city of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. In 2015, the student government decided to change the name of the two major positions of mayor and deputy mayor to student body president and student body vice president. The New Utrecht High School Student Government is responsible for allocating funds to clubs, as well as organizing a School Spirit Week, a Thanksgiving Dinner, a Toy Drive, and other annual school-wide events. There is also a Senior Council composed of a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. The Senior Council is responsible for organizing Senior events, such as the Senior Class Brunch and Senior Trip, creating the Senior Class sweatshirts, voicing concerns of the Senior Class to the administration, and keeping the Senior Class informed.

School Leadership Team

The School Leadership Team (SLT) consists of representatives from the school administration, parents, teachers and students. The students are usually two active students, one junior and one senior, who voice the concerns of the student body. The SLT meets monthly to discuss and work on issues related to implementation of the school's mission and vision. A PTA meeting follows immediately after.

Productions at New Utrecht High School

There are four productions held annually at New Utrecht High School: the Talent Show, the Chinese New Year Show, the Fashion Show, and the International Show. The Talent Show is open to anyone who has talent, whether it be singing, dancing, magic, comedy or any other form of entertainment. The sound crew, lighting crew, stage crew, construction crew and booklet crew are composed entirely of students. The show is usually held in December. The Chinese New Year Show is put on near the

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar. In Sinophone, Chinese and other East Asian cultures, the festival is commonly r ...

. It has singing, dancing, acting and other forms of entertainment, revolving around Chinese culture. The Chinese Club at New Utrecht High School has a partnership with a non-profit organization called the

Chinese-American Planning Council Founded in 1965, the Chinese-American Planning Council, Inc. (CPC) () is one of the largest non-profit providers of educational, social, and community services for Asian Americans, Asian-Americans in the United States. It now services over 8,000 ...

. The Fashion Show production at New Utrecht High School is student run and consists of students in the New Utrecht Fashion Society creating their own clothes and having their friends model them. The show is usually held in March or April. The International Show is held in April or May and, like the others, is completely student run. It is similar to the Talent Show but focuses on other countries around the world.

Advanced Placement

New Utrecht High School offers

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

courses, including: * AP Calculus AB * AP Calculus BC * AP World History/Human Geography * AP United States History * AP United States Government and Politics * AP Comparative Government and Politics * AP Microeconomics * AP Macroeconomics * AP English Language and Composition * AP English Literature and Composition * AP Chemistry * AP Physics * AP Biology * AP Psychology * AP Computer Science A

Academies

There are several academies (programs that offer employment-oriented training in specialized fields) at New Utrecht High School, which include: * Academy of Business of Technology * Academy of Medical Professions and Health Careers * Academy of Legal Studies * Academy of Hospitality and Tourism * Academy of Art and Design * Honors Academy Some academies are associated with

NAF The Naf River ( bn, নাফ নদী ''Naf Nodi'' ; my, နတ်မြစ် ; rki, ) is an international river marking the Bangladesh–Myanmar border, border of southeastern Bangladesh and northwestern Myanmar. Geography The Naf Rive ...

, a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

originally known as the National Academy Foundation.

Alumni

Notable alumni of New Utrecht High School include: * Walter Adams (1922–1998): economist, university president *

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(born 1959): singer *

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(born 1985): rapper * Lord Have Mercy (born 1973): rapper *

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(1923–1978): criminal *

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(1936–1997): politician * Eli Friedman (born 1933): nephrologist *

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: Broadway photographer *

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(born 1943): media mogul *

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(1920–1992): diplomat *

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: television comedian *

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: poet, author *

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: actress *

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(1917–2004): opera singer *

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(1930–2018) : psychologist famous for the Marshmallow Test and contributions to personality and social psychology *

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: TV personality *

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In popular culture

New Utrecht High School is the venue for key scenes in the 1947 movie ''

It Happened in Brooklyn ''It Happened in Brooklyn'' is a 1947 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical romantic comedy film directed by Richard Whorf and starring Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Peter Lawford and Jimmy Durante, and featuring Gloria Grahame and Marcy McGuire. ''It ...

'', starring

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...

Kathryn Grayson Kathryn Grayson (born Zelma Kathryn Elisabeth Hedrick; February 9, 1922 – February 17, 2010) was an American actress and coloratura soprano.Ronald Berganbr>Obituary '' London Guardian'', February 19, 2010. From the age of twelve, Grayson train ...

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, vaudevillian, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced song ...

, and

Peter Lawford Peter Sydney Ernest Lawford ( Aylen; 7 September 1923 – 24 December 1984) was an English-American actor.Obituary ''Variety'', 26 December 1984. He was a member of the " Rat Pack" and the brother-in-law of US president John F. Kennedy and sen ...

. The front and rear views of the school building were used in the opening and closing scenes of the TV sitcom ''

Welcome Back, Kotter ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class called the "Sweathogs." Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the series ...

'', which starred alumnus

Gallery

File:NewUtrechtHS2.JPG, The entranceway of the
school, 2013 File:New Utrecht High School 2007.JPG, The rear of the school, 2013 File:New Utrecht High School 2003 (2).jpg, The school in 2003 File:New Utrecht High School 2003 (3).jpg, The school in 2003 File:New Utrecht High School 2003.jpg, The school in 2003

References

External links

School Website

DOE Website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1915 Public high schools in Brooklyn Bensonhurst, Brooklyn 1915 establishments in New York City