Brookline High School

Brookline High School is a four-year public high school in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts. It is a part of Public Schools of Brookline.

Brookline High School
Location
115 Greenough Street
Brookline, MA 02445
Coordinates42°20′0″N 71°7′48″W
Information
School typePublic, High School
Established1843 (1843)
School districtPublic Schools of Brookline
HeadmasterAnthony Meyer[1]
Teaching staff196.15 (FTE) (2018–19)[2]
GradesPre-K, 9–12[2]
Enrollment2,101 (2018–19)[2]
Student to teacher ratio10.69 (2018–19)[2]
Color(s)  Red
  Blue
MascotSpartan Warrior
Team nameWarriors
NewspaperThe Sagamore
Websitebhs.brookline.k12.ma.us

Brookline High School has received the Gold Medal for Best High Schools from U.S. News & World Report.[3] In addition, Boston Magazine has frequently ranked BHS as one of the best high schools in Massachusetts for academic performance; in 2008, it was ranked top in the state.[4][5]

As of the 2011–12 school year, 1,804 students were enrolled in the high school, served by 150 teachers (on an FTE basis), the student to teacher ratio was approximately 11.6 to 1,[6] and students represented 76 nations and spoke 31 different languages.

All students at Brookline High School must complete three credits' worth of electives, with the intent of fostering student creativity. A newly opened film program, facilitated through Brookline Access Television (BATV), enables students to produce their own films with state-of-the-art technology.

History

The school was founded in Spring, 1843 on the lower floor of the Town Hall on Walnut Street with one teacher. The school met here until 1856. The second location was a small, new, two-story building on School Street that opened on November 3, 1856 next to the Pierce School. The third and present location was purchased, and a new three-story building opened in Fall, 1895. The Manual Arts building was built at a cost of $100,000 on Tappan Street, and opened in September, 1903. The ninth grade moved from the School of Practical Arts in the elementary schools to the high school in September 1921. An addition to the main building was finished at that time to increase the capacity to 1500 students. The main building was expanded and remodeled in 1965 with a budget of $1.5 million.[7]

Architecture

The school has Symbolic Panels made by the sculptor John A. Wilson.[8] In May 2018, Brookline voters supported a debt exclusion override to fund the expansion and renovation of Brookline High School. This building project will include the construction of a new building at the 111 Cypress Street site, a new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) building to replace the building at the corner of Tappan and Greenough Streets, renovations to the 3rd floor of the main building and the Tappan gymnasium, as well as improvements to Cypress Field.[9]

Academics

In 2010, Boston Magazine ranked Brookline High as the 7th best public school in the state.[10] The magazine ranked Brookline High School the number one Massachusetts public school in 2008.[11] As of 2016, BHS was ranked #32 nationally for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), according to US News.[12]

Although the Advanced Placement (AP) program at BHS is smaller than at other high schools, it has grown dramatically over the past 10 years. In 2009, 370 students took 679 AP exams, and 93% of students scored “3” or above on these exams.[13]

Brookline High School does not calculate a weighted GPA for its students. Students receive only an unweighted GPA out of 4.0, so grades in Advanced Placement classes do not contribute any more to a student's GPA than grades in Honors and Standard level classes. Furthermore, grades from freshmen year are not calculated in one's GPA, as students are still making the transition from elementary school.

Most Advanced Placement classes are only available to juniors and seniors. Honors level classes are considered rigorous, and students who excel in these classes often receive top scores on SAT Subject Tests. Students who decide to take AP level classes are encouraged not to take more than 2 or 3 of them at one time, as these classes feature difficult research projects and labs in addition to standardized material.

Athletics

Brookline High School features the largest interscholastic athletics program in New England, with 71 teams in 40 sports.[13] Some of the atypical sports include squash curling, golf, Ultimate disc, crew, sailing, water polo and rugby.

The most popular athletics program at Brookline High School is Ultimate Disc with participation of over 110 students in 2017.

Since 1894, the Brookline High football team plays rival Newton North High School in the traditional Thanksgiving Day game. This is one of the oldest high school football rivalries in Massachusetts and on the List of high school football rivalries (100 years+).

In 2007, Brookline's boys cross country team made history by winning the first ever Nike Team Nationals northeast regional meet by just one point over Danbury High School at Bowdin Park, NY.[14] They went on to place 7th at Nike Team Nationals in Portland, OR.[15] In addition to the 2007 campaign, in the 2006 and 2009 seasons the team placed 3rd at the Massachusett's Division 1 State Meet, in 2005 they finished 2nd, and on November 20, 2010, won their second state championship giving them their fifth top 3 finish in six years and second 1st-place finish in four. On November 19, 2011, they won their third state championship, for a run of 3 championships in five years.

In 2005, Brookline High School's Rugby team captured the DI New England Championship, its first since 1987. In 2009, the team captured the DII title in the NERFU tournament in Pembroke, New Hampshire. The rugby players defeated Belmont 29-0 to win the New England title for the second time in five years (first in DII). In 2014, the rugby team again won the DII rugby state championship against Milton High School under head coach Craig Mackenzie. The rugby team again had successful seasons in 2015 and 2016 making it to the finals and semi finals in both years.

In 2014, Brookline High School rebranded their athletics program's identity. The new logo featured a Spartan Warrior's helmet, successor to the arrowhead logo. A new color scheme was introduced as well, as navy blue replaced royal blue.

In 2013, the boys crew team took home their first national championship; the winning lightweight double featured athletes who would later go on to row on the Cornell and Princeton lightweight teams.[16][17] In 2014, the boys took a bronze at nationals in the openweight double, only to win another national title in the double in 2015.[18] In 2016, the boys lightweight four won their regional championship, but fell short of a third national title, placing 5th at nationals.[19]

School Within A School

School Within A School (SWS) is an alternative, democratic education program based in Brookline High School.[20] It was created in the school year of 1969/70. Made up of about 120 students, SWS promotes democratic education in the form of a Town Meeting every Wednesday. All classes are for honors credit. English classes, chosen by students, are mixed grade level. They are usually discussion based and papers are the main form of assessment. Furthermore, students refer to all SWS staff on a first name basis. A number of committees, created during Town Meeting or outside of class, convene during the student's free blocks. The program governs itself during Town Meeting, and teachers and students participate in a fair and equal democratic community. Admission to SWS is done via lottery with affirmative action during a student's freshman year. Students in SWS are responsible for their own attendance.

The Sagamore

The Sagamore is a school-affiliated publication (newspaper) produced monthly by the students of Brookline High School. The first issue appeared in January, 1895.[7]

The newspaper is independent; the production is funded entirely through the means of advertisement. It receives no funding from the high school.[21]

Over the past few years, the paper has publicized and discussed issues in and around the school, including racism and teenage pregnancy. The school is noted for its tradition of high tolerance of sensitive topics discussed in the newspaper. In 2011, New England Scholastic Press Association awarded The Sagamore "Highest Achievement" in Newspaper Class I category.[22]

Notable incidents

Members of Fred Phelps' anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church protested at the 2005 graduation ceremony against Brookline High's strong tolerance of homosexuality. They were met by dozens of supporters and counter-protesters.[23] Members from the Westboro Baptist Church protested again in 2009. They were met with about 2,000 counter-protesters, including students and members of Brookline High School's staff and PTO, and various other groups from surrounding areas. Surrounded and barricaded by police and deans of Brookline High, the 'silent, not violent' counter-protest (organized by the school's GSA) took place with no altercations between the two groups.

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Leadership". Brookline High School. Retrieved August 18, 2019 – via bhs.brookline.k12.ma.us.
  2. "Search for Public Schools - Brookline High (250315000415)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  3. USNews. Accessed June 13, 2012.
  4. Matt Rocheleau, Boston Globe, "Newton high schools make Boston Magazine's top 10", Boston.com, August 26, 2009.
  5. Best Public High Schools chart, Boston Magazine, September 2008, archived at the Wayback Machine August 30, 2008.
  6. , Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Accessed June 13, 2012.
  7. Holland, Bertram H. (1993). Safeguard of the Republic. Brookline High Alumni Association.
  8. James Cameron. More About New Glasgow. 1974. p. 194
  9. "Expansion Project". Brookline High School. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  10. Boston Magazine Public School Ranking Chart 2010 Archived November 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine URL accessed on July 26, 2011
  11. Boston Magazine High School Rankings Archived 2012-07-22 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed June 13, 2012.
  12. "The Best STEM High Schools in America". www.usnews.com. Retrieved 2016-07-25.
  13. Brookline Schools website Archived May 22, 2006, at the Wayback Machine URL accessed on June 2, 2006
  14. "Webcast: Nike Team Nationals 2007", DyeStat. Accessed February 16, 2008.
  15. "Oregon Runners: Nike Team Nationals" Archived 2008-02-03 at the Wayback Machine, Nike Team Nationals. Accessed February 22, 2008.
  16. Youth National Championships Oak Ridge, TN June 7-9, 2013, USRowing. Accessed December 22, 2016. Click on results for Sunday; see 5F1. Mens Ltwt Youth 2x A Final.
  17. Friedman, Alex. "Brookline rowers dubbed best lightweight youth pair in USA", Wicked Local Brookline, June 11, 2013. Accessed December 22, 2016. "While most seniors were throwing their cap into the air celebrating their graduation, five seniors from the Brookline High School varsity crew team were preparing, racing and recovering from the Youth National Championships, where two Brookline rowers took home the gold.... Senior Jack Ruske and sophomore Jordi Cabanas destroyed all competition in the mens lightweight youth 2x A final, finishing two seconds ahead of second-place Miami Beach."
  18. http://brookline.wickedlocal.com/article/20150617/NEWS/150616665 "Brookline rowers take home gold"], Wicked Local Brookline, June 17, 2015. Accessed December 22, 2016. "The Brookline High rowing team had a very successful run last weekend at the US Rowing Youth National Championship in Sarasota, Fla., last weekend. Seniors Jordi Cabanas and Aviv Preminger won gold in the Men's 2X."
  19. Youth Nationals Mercer Lake, West Windsor, NJ June 10-12, 2016, USRowing. Accessed December 23, 2016. Click on results for Saturday; See 13F1 W. Mens Ltwt Youth 4+ A Final.
  20. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-01-24. Retrieved 2013-04-02.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. http://www.thesagonline.com/2011/08/mission/
  22. http://www.thesagonline.com/2011/09/awards/
  23. News & Features | NOT IN KANSAS Archived December 4, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  24. Jeff Adrien Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Connecticut Huskies men's basketball. Accessed December 23, 2016. "Averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds as a senior at Brookline HS... As a senior at Brookline, Jeff was team captain, first team All-League, League MVP and named to the Boston Globe Super Team and Boston Herald Dream Team."
  25. Smith, Jessie Carney. Notable Black American Women: Book 2. USA: Gale Research, 1991. 503. Print.
  26. Lashinsky, Adam (September 28, 2009). "The Enforcer". Fortune. 160 (6): 117–124. Archived from the original on January 11, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
  27. Adrian, Jack. "Obituary: Hugh B. Cave; Prolific writer of pulp (`pure' supernatural, `Spicy', SF, romance, westerns, hard- and soft-boiled detective fiction, weird-menace and shudder- pulp) over eight decades.", The Independent, June 30, 2004. Accessed April 18, 2008. "His astonishing career spanned all but the first couple of decades of the 20th century and into the 21st, his first published writing, as a 15-year-old student at Brookline High School, Massachusetts, being a short story in The Boston Globe entitled 'Retribution'..."
  28. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2014-02-10.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  30. Layman, Tom. "All-points bulletin on James Driscoll", Boston Herald, June 19, 2014. Accessed December 23, 2016. "Driscoll, a Brookline High School graduate, currently sits in 125th place in the points standings for the PGA Tour's playoff system, meaning if the season had ended before this week’s Travelers Championship he would technically be the last player in the field."
  31. "Fanfares for Michael Dukakis", The New York Times, July 23, 1988. Accessed February 5, 2008. "And then the candidate, once a trumpeter in the Brookline High School band, took the podium and performed his own Fanfare for the Common Man."
  32. Beggy, Carol; and Shanahan, Mark. "Monet goes to Vegas; Kerry goes out on the town", The Boston Globe, November 6, 2003. Accessed February 17, 2008.
  33. The "Challenge Constantly Renewed", Huntington Theatre Company. Accessed December 23, 2016. "Richard N. Goodwin has been a major presence over the past four decades as a relentless and probing commentator on American society and the challenges of liberal democracy.... Born December 7, 1931, in Boston, he attended Brookline High School and Tufts University, graduating first in his class from Harvard Law School in 1958, and serving as president of the Harvard Law Review."
  34. Chase, Katie Johnston. "True to his nerd: John Hodgman finds a niche as 'Daily Show' resident expert, mendacious author, and dorky PC", The Boston Globe, September 24, 2006. Accessed December 3, 2007. "Fletcher graduated from Brookline High School a year before he did, and the two have been together since Hodgman was 17."
  35. Borchers, Callum. "Seven things you should know about Sam Kennedy", The Boston Globe, March 23, 2014. Accessed December 23, 2016. "Kennedy and Epstein — classmates at Brookline High School — were suddenly reunited in leadership positions for their hometown team."
  36. Cromie, Robert. "Kenney of the Fifth!", Chicago Tribune, November 14, 1943. Accessed December 23, 2016. "Caption: George C. Kenney at the time he was graduated from Brookline High School in 1907."
  37. Baird, Susanna. "KRAFT CEMENTS HIS LOVE FOR THE OLD ALMA MATER", The Boston Globe, November 14, 2004. Accessed April 18, 2008. "Robert Kraft's hands have pressed down into history. Brookline High School, alma mater of the NFL's winningest owner, has instituted a Hollywood-esque Walk of Fame, complete with concrete handprints. Kraft, "Bobby" to his peers in the BHS class of 1959, is the walk's first inductee."
  38. Sheasley, Chelsea (June 30, 2012). "Horror show: Q&A with Brookline's Nicholas McCarthy". Wicked Local. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
  39. Athletic Hall of Fame Archived 2008-02-28 at the Wayback Machine, Brookline High School. Accessed February 21, 2008.
  40. Brozan, Nadine. "Chronicle", The New York Times, March 16, 1993. Accessed April 21, 2008. "The year is being bracketed by two celebratory weekends -- one last June, one this June -- that include class reunions. Last year's event brought more than 2,000 graduates back to the school, including Mr. Wallace, Alan Rachins, a star of "L.A. Law," and former Gov. Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts and his wife, Kitty."
  41. USATF profile for Jonathon Riley, January 10, 2014
  42. "Brookline High School Alumni Newsletter, Winter 2006" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-31. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
  43. Brozan, Nadine. "Chronicle", The New York Times, March 16, 1993. Accessed February 5, 2008. "MIKE WALLACE is lending a hand to his old school, Brookline High School, at a benefit -- unusual for a Massachusetts public school -- in New York tomorrow evening. Mr. Wallace, class of '35, will interview the school's acting headmaster, Dr. ROBERT J. WEINTRAUB, at a cocktail party that is expected to draw 60 or so Brookline graduates to the University Club on West 54th Street."
  44. Muddy River Annual. Brookline: Brookline High School. 1989.
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