Rice High School was a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, college preparatory

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in the

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

neighborhood of New York City, United States. It is located within the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the New York (state), State of New York. It encompasses the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island in New York ...

. The school closed in 2011 due to financial difficulties.

Background

Rice High School was established in 1938 in Central Harlem by the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers (; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Edmund Ignatius Rice, Edmund Rice. Their first school opened in Waterford, Ireland in 1802. At the time of its ...

, who continued to fund the school through much of its existence. Named for Irish missionary and educator Edmund Rice, it was located at 124th Street and Lenox Avenue and was known as a basketball powerhouse producing alumni that included

Kemba Walker Kemba Hudley Walker (born May 8, 1990) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is a player enhancement coach for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was picked ninth overall by the C ...

. The school's basketball team won the CHSAA championship in 1994 with a roster that included Felipe López. The school was the subject of a 2008 book by Patrick McCloskey, ''The Street Stops Here: A Year at a Catholic High School in Harlem''. Amid declining enrollment, reduced endowment and increasing operational costs, the school made the decision to close in 2011 after they could not raise the needed funds to move to a cheaper building. It held its final graduation ceremony on May 27, 2011 and vacated the building on June 30 of that same year. As of August 2021, a group of alumni are working to reopen the school, although there is no clear timeline for this.

Notable alumni and staff

* Shagari Alleyne, basketball player, Class of 2002 *

Andre Barrett Andre Rashawd Barrett (born February 21, 1982) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Obras Sanitarias of the Liga Nacional de Básquet. He played college basketball for the Seton Hall Pirates. Professional career Barr ...

, basketball player, Class of 2000 *

Steve Burtt Jr. Steven Dwayne Burtt Jr. (; born March 7, 1984) is an American-born naturalized Ukrainian professional basketball player. Born in the United States, he received Ukrainian citizenship in 2011 and played for the Ukraine national basketball team, Uk ...

, basketball player, 2007-08 top scorer in the Israel Basketball Premier League *

Bill Campion William Campion (born 1952) is a retired American basketball player. He stands and played the center (basketball), center position in college and professionally. Campion is best known for his career at Manhattan College. Before graduating in 19 ...

, basketball player, Class of 1971 * Keydren Clark, basketball player, Class of 2002 * Nelson A. Diaz, Esq. - Former Philadelphia City Solicitor, Court of Common Pleas Judge and General Counsel of HUD * Chris Fouch, basketball player, Class of 2008 * Tom Gorman, baseball player and umpire, former coach at Rice * Charles Hamilton, hip hop artist, Class of 2005 *

Curtis Kelly Curtis Ezell Kelly (born April 11, 1988) is an American former professional basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compet ...

, basketball player, Class of 2006 * Bob Lienhard, basketball player, Class of 1966 * Felipe López, basketball player, Class of 1994 *

Darryl McDaniels Darryl Matthews McDaniels (born May 31, 1964), also commonly known by his stage name DMC (or D.M.C.), is an American rapper and record producer. He is a founding member of the Hip-hop, hip hop group Run-DMC, and is considered one of the pioneers ...

, founding member of the hip hop group Run–D.M.C. * David Freeman Wooley, director, producer, author and entrepreneur, Class of 1978 *

Dean Meminger Dean Peter "the Dream" Meminger (May 13, 1948 – August 23, 2013) was an American basketball player and coach. He played college basketball for Marquette where he was the NIT MVP in 1970 and a Consensus first-team All-American in 1971. He late ...

, basketball player and coach, Class of 1967 *

Russell Robinson Russell Robinson Jr. (born January 24, 1986) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Levski Lukoil of the NBL. He played college basketball for the University of Kansas where he won an NCAA championship in 2008. He h ...

, basketball player, Class of 2004 *

Kenny Satterfield Kenneth Alexander Satterfield (born April 10, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played for the Cincinnati Bearcats beginning in 1999. In 2001, after a successful sophomore ...

, basketball player, Class of 1999 * Durand Scott, basketball player, Class of 2009 * Edgar Sosa, basketball player, Class of 2006 *

, basketball player, Class of 2008 *

Charlie Yelverton Charlie Yelverton (born December 5, 1948) is an American former professional basketball player. At a height of 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) tall, he played as shooting guard-small forward. He is a member of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame. ...

, basketball player, Class of 1967

References

External links

{{authority control Education in Harlem Educational institutions established in 1938 Educational institutions disestablished in 2011 Defunct high schools in Manhattan Congregation of Christian Brothers secondary schools Defunct boys' schools in the United States Private high schools in Manhattan Defunct Catholic secondary schools in New York City Boys' schools in New York City 1938 establishments in New York City 2011 disestablishments in New York City