James Madison High School (Brooklyn)

James Madison High School is organized in accordance with the house system. There are eight houses, each having a Teacher Coordinator, a Guidance Counselor, and an Assistant Principal assigned to supervise and assist students.

James Madison High School is a six-floor red brick building with many rooms.

• Basement: The cafeteria is located in the building's basement.
• 1st Floor: Main offices such as guidance and programming, main entrance to the theater, Music Department, library, swimming pool
• 2nd Floor: English Department, Access to Gym 1.
• 3rd Floor: Science Department, IT House, Language Department, Teachers Cafeteria access to Gym 2.
• 4th Floor: Science Department, Math Department, Social Studies Department, Law Department.
• 5th Floor: Science Department, Computer Repair Room, Art classes, Social Studies Department.
• 6th Floor: Offices and Photography.
• Athletic fields: Football Field, Soccer Field, Baseball Field, Tennis Courts, Track, Lacrosse Field, Roller Blading, and several more athletic facilities.

In May 2010, the James Madison High School Mock Trial team became the New York State Champions, while representing their region of New York City in Albany. The team competed against about 600 schools for first place. It was Madison's second time appearing in Albany after 5 years, and their first time winning. It was also the first time any New York City public school had ever won the State championship. The team accomplished their victory with the help of attorneys from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.

Madison also offers a wide range of Boys And Girls PSAL Varsity and Junior Varsity Sports: Football, Soccer, Basketball, Track and field, Wrestling, Baseball, Softball, Tennis, Volleyball, Swimming, Cross Country, Handball, Cheerleading, and Lacrosse.

The James Madison Baseball Team is among the most successful in the school ranked fourth in the New York City PSAL and sixth including Catholic High Schools. The program has seen three of its players turn professional: Frank Torre, Cal Abrams and Harry Eisenstat. The Madison Wrestling Team has won many NYC Mayors Cup and City Champions, and has posted a winning record and made the playoffs 10 out of the last 12 seasons,

SING!, a musical competition between the grades, has been a Madison tradition for over 50 years. On November 15, 2008, the Senior/Sophomore team lost to the Junior/Freshman team for the first time in 6 years, on the 60th anniversary of SING!. A competition called Brooklyn SINGS, also known as "InterSING", started in 2014. InterSING is a competition between Madison, Midwood, & Murrow High Schools to see who has the best SING performance. The winning team at Madison, Midwood, & Murrow will advance on to InterSING. In 2014-2015, InterSING took place in the Joseph Anzalone Theater in Edward R. Murrow High School in Midwood, Brooklyn. InterSING is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.

• William Frauenglass
• Clarence Taylor

Notable alumni of James Madison High School include:[1]

• Cal Abrams (1924-1997, class of 1942), Major-League Baseball player.[2][3]
• Maury Allen (born Maurice Allen Rosenberg; 1932-2010, class of 1949), sportswriter.[3]
• Roger B. Andewelt (1946-2001, class of 1963), attorney, federal judge US Court of Federal Claims
• Arthur Ashkin (1922–2020, class of 1940), Nobel Prize winner, physics.[4]
• Julius Ashkin (1920-1982, class of 1936), Manhattan Project physicist.[5]
• Gary Becker (1930-2014, class of 1948), Nobel Prize winner, economics.[6]
• Paul Bender, attorney, author, judge, law professor, and former Dean of the Arizona State University College of Law.
• Mimi Benzell (1918-1970), opera singer.[7]
• Walter Block (born 1941, class of 1959[8]), Austrian School economist, anarcho-capitalist theoretician, professor of economics
• Harry Boatswain (1969-2005, class of 1987), former professional NFL football player.[9]
• Andrew Dice Clay (born 1957 as Andrew Clay Silverstein), comedian.[10]
• Stanley Cohen (1922–2020, class of 1939), Nobel Prize winner, medicine.[7][11]
• Norm Coleman (born 1949, class of 1966), former US Senator (Republican of Minnesota).[12]
• Paul Contillo (Born July 8, 1929, New Jersey State Senator)
• Robert Dallek (born 1934, class of 1952), historian.[3]
• Roy DeMeo (1942-1983, class of 1959), mobster.[13]
• Harry Eisenstat (1915-2003, class of 1935), Major League Baseball player[2]
• Devale Ellis (born 1984), professional football player.[14]
• Harvey Feldman (born 1931, class of 1949) US Diplomat: known for planning the 1972 Nixon trip to China, US Ambassador to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, Alternative US Representative to the United Nations
• Sandra Feldman (1939-2005, class of 1956), President of the American Federation of Teachers.[3]
• Stan Fields (born 1955, class of 1973) US biologist: discovered the two-hybrid system
• Norman Finkelstein (born 1953) political scientist, activist, professor, author.
• Sonny Fox (born 1925), TV personality.[15]
• Kevin Francis, class of 2011 CFL player
• Fran Fraschilla (born 1958, class of 1976), American basketball commentator and former college basketball coach [16]
• Leonard Frey (1938-1988, class of 1956), actor.[17]
• Joseph S. Fruton (1912–2007), born Joseph Fruchtgarten, Jewish Polish-American biochemist and historian of science.
• David Frye (1933-2011; born David Shapiro), comedian.[18]
• Sid Ganis (born 1940, class of 1957), motion picture executive.[3]
• William Gaines (1922-1992, class of 1939), founding publisher of Mad magazine.[19]
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg (1933–2020, class of 1950), Associate Justice, US Supreme Court.[7]
• Richard D. Gitlin (born 1943, class of 1959) – National Academy of Engineering, co-invention of DSL Bell Labs
• Marty Glickman (1917-2001, class of 1935), Olympian and broadcaster.[7][20]
• Ron Haigler (born 1953, class of 1971), basketball player.[21]
• Stanley Myron Handleman (1929-2007, class of 1947), comedian.[15]
• Ellis Horowitz (born 1944, class of 1960), computer scientist, professor
• Garson Kanin (1912-1999, class of 1927), writer and director of plays and films.[7]
• Stanley Kaplan (1919-2009, class of 1935), test preparation entrepreneur.[20]
• Buddy Kaye (1918-2002), songwriter, musician, producer, author and publisher.[15]
• Carole King (born 1942 as Carole Klein, class of 1958), singer and songwriter.[22][23]
• Paul L. Krinsky (born 1928, class of 1946), U.S. Navy rear admiral.[3]
• Martin Landau (1928-2017), Academy Award-winning actor.[7][15]
• Rudy LaRusso (1937–2004), five-time All-Star NBA basketball player.[20]
• Mell Lazarus (1927-2016), cartoonist.[15]
• Andrew Levane (1920-2012, class of 1940), professional basketball player.[24]
• David Lichtenstein (born 1960), billionaire real estate investor[25]
• Elaine Malbin (born 1932, class of 1948), opera singer.[3]
• Marvin Miller (1917-2012, class of 1933), MLB players union executive director.[26]
• Bruce Morrow (born 1935, class of 1953), radio personality.[3]
• Herbert S. Okun (1930-2011, class of 1947), diplomat.[3]
• Martin Lewis Perl (born 1927, class of 1942), Nobel Prize winner, physics.[27]
• Sylvia Porter (1913-1991, class of 1930), economist and journalist.[20]
• Deborah Poritz (born 1936, class of 1954), N.J. Attorney General then Chief Justice, N.J. Supreme Court.[3]
• Chris Rock (born 1965), comedian and actor who withdrew before graduation.[28]
• Norman Rosten (1913-1995), poet, playwright and novelist.[7][20]
• Abdel Russell (born 1977, class of 1995), Author, Record Label Executive, Philanthropist, Entrepreneur.
• Dmitry Salita (born 1982), professional boxer.[29]
• Murray Saltzman (1929–2010, class of 1947), Reform Jewish rabbi.
• Bernie Sanders (born 1941, class of 1959), US Senator, (Independent of Vermont) as well as a 2016 and 2020 U.S. Presidential candidate.[30]
• Larry Sanders (born 1935), British politician and brother of Bernie Sanders.[31]
• Babe Scheuer (1913–1997), American football player
• Harvey Schlesinger (born 1940, class of 1958), US District Judge for the Middle District of Florida
• Ted Schreiber (born 1938), Major League Baseball player.[2]
• Chuck Schumer (born 1950, class of 1967), U.S. Senator (New York)[12]
• Irwin Shaw (born Irwin Gilbert Shamforoff; 1913-1984, class of 1929), playwright, screenwriter and novelist.[7]
• Judith Sheindlin (born 1942, class of 1960), television personality (Judge Judy).[3]
• Janis Siegel (born 1952, class of 1969), vocalist for Manhattan Transfer and winner of ten Grammys.[32]
• Barry Simon (born 1946, class of 1962), IBM Professor of Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at Caltech.
• Robert Solow (born 1924, class of 1940), Nobel Prize winner, economics.[6][33]
• Irving Terjesen (1915–1990, class of 1934), All-American college basketball player for NYU and early professional.[34]
• Frank Torre (1931-2014, class of 1950), professional baseball player.[2]
• Sidney Verba (born 1932), political scientist.[35]
• David Wohl (born 1954, class of 1971) television and film character actor.
• Joel Zwick (born 1942, class of 1958), film, television and theater director.[3]

• James Madison High School
• James Madison High School Jewish Culture Club