Stuyvesant High School - History

History

Stuyvesant High School is named after Peter Stuyvesant, the last Dutch governor of New Netherland before the colony was transferred to England in 1664. The school was established in 1904 as a manual training school for boys, hosting 155 students and 12 teachers. In 1907, it moved from its original location at 225 East 23rd Street to a building designed by C. B. J. Snyder at 345 East 15th Street, where it remained for 85 years. Its reputation for excellence in math and science continued to grow, and enrollment was restricted based on scholastic achievement starting in 1919. Stuyvesant went on a double session plan in 1919 to accommodate the rising number of students, with some students attending in the morning and others in the afternoon and early evening. All students studied a full set of courses. Theses double sessions ran until 1956.

The school implemented a system of entrance examinations starting in 1934. The examination program was later expanded to include the newly founded Bronx High School of Science, and was developed with the assistance of Columbia University. During the 1950s, the building underwent a $2 million renovation to update its classrooms, shops, libraries and cafeterias. In 1956, a team of six students designed and began construction of a cyclotron. The team was headed by Martin Gersten and included John Sutherland, Charles Abzug and Robert Rudko. The faculty advisor was Mr. Abraham Kerner of the Chemistry Department. By 1962, a low-power test of the device succeeded. Matt Deming (1962) remembered that a later attempt at full-power operation "tanked the electrical system for the building and surrounding area".

Prior to 1969, Stuyvesant did not accept female students. That year, 14 girls were admitted to Stuyvesant and 12 enrolled at the start of September, marking the school's first co-educational year. As of 2002, female enrollment had grown to 42%. New York State Legislature passed the Hecht-Calandra act in 1972, designating Brooklyn Tech, Bronx Science, Stuyvesant, and The High School of Music & Art (now Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts) as specialized high schools of New York City. The act called for a uniform exam to be administered for admission to Brooklyn Tech, Bronx Science and Stuyvesant High School. The exam, named the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT), tested students in math and verbal abilities. Admission to LaGuardia High School is by audition rather than examination, in keeping with its artistic mission.

Stuyvesant moved into a new waterfront building in Battery Park City in 1992. The 15th St. building remains in use as of 2012, as "Old Stuyvesant Campus", and houses the Institute for Collaborative Education, the High School for Health Professions and Human Services and P.S. 226. During the 2003–2004 school year, Stuyvesant celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding with a full year of activities. Events included a procession from the 15th Street building to the Chambers Street one; a meeting of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology; an all-class reunion; and visits and speeches from notable alumni. In recent years, keynote graduation speakers have included future Attorney General Eric Holder (2001), former President Bill Clinton (2002), United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan (2004), and Late Night comedian Conan O'Brien (2006).

A major cheating scandal, which eventually implicated seventy students, emerged in late June 2012. According to the Department of Education, a student used a smartphone to send text messages to other students during a state examination. Some students involved were suspended as a result.