| Curtis High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
 | |
105 Hamilton Ave , 10301 United States | |
| Coordinates | 40°38′43″N74°4′54″W / 40.64528°N 74.08167°W /40.64528; -74.08167 |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | February 9, 1904 |
| School district | New York City Department of Education |
| NCES School ID | 360010301939[1] |
| Principal | Greg Jaenicke |
| Teaching staff | 152.32 (on anFTE basis)[1] |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 2,153 (2022-2023)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 14.13[1] |
| Campus | City: Large |
| Colors | Maroon and White |
| Mascot | Warriors |
| Newspaper | Curtis Log |
| Yearbook | Crosswinds |
| Website | www |
Curtis High School, operated by theNew York City Department of Education, is one of seven public high schools located inStaten Island, New York City,New York. It was founded on February 9, 1904, the first high school onStaten Island.
Curtis High School is named after nationally prominent Republican writer and oratorGeorge W. Curtis, who lived nearby. The school was the first public building built following the consolidation of Greater New York. It was part of a plan to erect a major high school in each of the outlying boroughs, withErasmus Hall High School inBrooklyn,Morris High School in theBronx, andFlushing High School in Queens being the other three. It was designed by the architectC. B. J. Snyder. The cornerstone was laid in 1902, it was completed and opened 1904. The original building of brick and limestone is dominated by a large square turreted tower inspired by English medieval models. The first principal wasColumbia graduate Oliver Durfee Clark, who served 1904 to 1906. The second principal (1906–1912) was Harry Freeman Towle, a graduate ofDartmouth College. Additions were made to the building in 1922, 1925 and 1937. John M Avent (Columbia Graduate, author) was principal from 1924 to the late 1940s. Curtis was designated a New York CityLandmark on October 12, 1982. The gym and cafeteria wings were added at a later date as additions to the original building'sneo-Gothic architecture.
Curtis offers anInternational Baccalaureate Scholarship Honors programs IB-DP and IB-CP with accelerated curriculum andAdvanced Placement courses, and courses include nursing,NJROTC, performing arts, visual arts, business/computer institute, CoOp, human and legal studies, and journalism.
Curtis offers a robotics team, National Honor Society, chess club, Key Club, black and Hispanic awareness clubs, film club, Moot Court, the Curtis Players, jazz band, orchestra, dance, symphonic band, theCurtis Log (newspaper),Crosswinds (yearbook), math team, criminal law and justice mentoring program, peer mediation and conflict resolution programs.
Curtis fields over thirty varsity teams, including aswimming team, as well asgolf,bowling,volleyball,soccer,basketball,wrestlingbaseball/softball,tennis,track/cross country,gymnastics,lacrosse andfootball teams. In addition, Curtis club teams include boys' varsity and junior varsity, and girls' varsityUltimate teams. The Curtis High School Track was named afterAbel Kiviat and the Baseball Field was renamedBobby Thomson Field in 2007
Curtis has a total enrollment of about 3,006 and is open to residents of New York City entering either ninth or tenth grade. Enrollment requirements vary depending on which of the ten "houses" the student is going to be enrolled. There are zoned programs where enrollment is based mostly on geography, with Staten Island residents having priority over all other boroughs. Within Staten Island, geographical areas closer to the school have priority over all other areas of Staten Island. Most other programs rely either on the prospective student's grades and city standardized tests or specialized enrollment tests.
The school's population is 38% African American, 31% Hispanic, 22.9% White and 7.5% Asian.[2]
All New York City students entering high school must apply to schools, as there are no zoning boundaries for high schools in New York City. Only special zoned programs have geographical restrictions whereby certain areas of Staten Island have priority over all of the rest of New York City.
| Name | Year | Profession | Notability | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vincent R. Capodanno | 1947 | Priest | Priest and Missioner who was killed in action during theVietnam War | [3] |
| Joseph F. Merrell | 1944 | Soldier | Medal of Honor recipient | [4] |
| Jeb Stuart Magruder | 1952 | Politician | Advisor toRichard Nixon andWatergate scandal conspirator | [5] |
| Ralph J. Lamberti | 1948 | Politician | Staten IslandBorough president from 1984 to 1989 | [6] |
| Alfred E. Santangelo | 1930 | Politician | Former United States congressman | [7] |
| Loring McMillen | 1924 | Historian | Official Staten Island historian | [8] |
| Florina Kaja | Transferred (attended until 1998) | Reality TV personality | Bad Girls Club andBad Girls All-Star Battle | [9] |
| Lois Lowry | Transferred (attended until 1952) | Writer | Children's book author | [10] |
| Amy Vanderbilt | Transferred (attended until 1924) | Writer | author of the best-selling Complete Book of Etiquette (1952 | [11] |
| Emily Genauer | 1929 | Art Critic | Pulitzer Prize for Criticism winner | [12] |
| Mario Buatta | 1953 | Interior Designer | interior designer who designed for several famous clients | [13] |
| Betty Aberlin | 1959 | Actress | Best known for PlayingLady Aberlin onMister Rogers' Neighborhood | [14] |
| Selita Ebanks | 2001 | Model | Victoria's Secret Model | [15] |
| RZA | 1987 | Musician | hip-hop recording artist, and producer, and member of theWu-Tang Clan | [16] |
| Richie Castellano | 1998 | Musician | singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist and keyboard player for theBlue Öyster Cult | [17] |
| David O. Stewart | 1969 | Author | historian and author | [18] |
| Michael Henry Heim | 1961 | Author | literary translator, inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences | [19] |
| Bobby Thomson | 1942 | Baseball Player | baseball player for theNew York Giants, famous for "the Shot Heard 'Round the World" | |
| Jack Hynes | 1938 | Soccer Player | Soccer Hall of Fame and MVP of the American Soccer League | [20] |
| Frank Fernández | 1961 | Baseball Player | MLB player, Yankees, Athletics, Senators, Cubs | [21] |
| James Jenkins | 1987 | Football Player | Former Tight End for the Washington Redskins | [22] |
| Dominique Easley | 2010 | Football Player | NFL first round pick who played for the Patriots and Rams | [23] |
| Halil Kanacević | 2009 | Basketball Player | Professional basketball player in Europe; played college basketball atSaint Joseph's | [24] |
| Abel Kiviat | 1908 | Runner | Olympic Silver Medalist in the 1500m run | [25] |
| Hassan Martin | 2013 | Basketball Player | Professional basketball player in Europe and Asia; played college basketball atRhode Island | [26] |
| Hank Majeski | 1935 | Baseball Player | MLB Player; Braves, Yankees, Athletics, White Sox, Indians, Orioles | [27] |
| Steve Gregory | 2002 | Football Player | NFL Player; Chargers, Patriots | [28] |
| Mouhamadou Gueye | 2016 | Basketball Player | Forward for theToronto Raptors | [29] |
| Vernon Turner | 1986 | Football Player | former NFL Player | [30] |
| Anthony Varvaro | 2002 | Baseball player | Former MLB pitcher and NYPD police officer | [31] |
| Shemiah LeGrande | 2004 | Football Player | Former NFL Player | [32] |
| Isaiah Wilkerson | 2008 | Basketball Player | Professional basketball player in Mexico and Europe; played college basketball atNJIT | [33] |
| Irv Constantine | 1928 | Football Player | Played 1 NFL game for theStaten Island Stapletons | [34] |
| Sonny Ruberto | 1964 | Baseball Player | Former MLB player and coach | [citation needed] |
| Terry Crowley | 1965 | Baseball Player and Coach | 3x World Series Champion | [35] |
| Elmer Ripley | 1921 | Basketball Coach | Basketball Hall of Famer | [36] |
Parents collaborate with the school's administration and its staff through monthly PTA meetings, PTA newsletters, School Leadership Team meetings, Gear-Up, Principal's Consultative Council, Health Fair, HIV AIDS Team, and the football, track, robotics and performing arts parents clubs.
Partnerships:
Curtis alumn Jason Defazio was killed on 9/11. He worked on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center at Cantor Fitzgerald.
