Boys and Girls High School
Encyclopedia
Boys and Girls High School, the oldest public high school in Brooklyn, is a comprehensive high school
in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York. The 3,600 student body school is located at 1700 Fulton Street
.
Brooklyn's first public high school, the Central Grammar School (named "Central" rather than "Free" to avoid controversy over providing free "higher education" for poor children), opened, September 1878 in a rented building on Court & Livingston Streets. A new building was planned on the east side of Nostrand Avenue
between from Halsey and Macon Streets, designed by Superintendent of Buildings James W. Naughton
, but by the time it opened in 1886, enrollment had increased to the point where it was decided to use this building as the Girls High School
and to and build a separate building for the boys. The boys remained in the Court Street space. As there were now effectively two schools, in 1891 they were renamed as the Girls' High School and the Boys' High School. A new building for the boys was begun in 1891, on Marcy Avenue, between Madison Street & Putnam Avenue. it opened as Boys High School
on November 1, 1892. In 1975 the two schools were merged once again, and shortly afterwards moved into their present building at Fulton Street
and Utica Avenue
.
From 1986 until 2004, the school's principal was Frank Mickens
, who dealt with the school's many problems during the 1980s, and turned into a excellent college preparatory institution for poor and marginalized young men and women. By 1989 some 70 percent of graduates were enrolled in colleges. Though Mickens methods were attacked on the grounds that he was steering undesirable students to other institutions, his success was hard to question;, and there had been no objections during the long years in which both Boys' and Girls' had been in decline, largely due to "steering" good students to other places.
Comprehensive high school
Comprehensive high schools are the most common form of public high schools in the United States and are meant to serve the needs of all students, as compared to the common practice in other nations in which examinations are used to sort students into different high schools for different populations...
in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York. The 3,600 student body school is located at 1700 Fulton Street
Fulton Street (Brooklyn)
Fulton Street, named after engineer Robert Fulton, exists mainly in two parts in what are today two boroughs of New York City which Fulton linked by his steam ferries, and each segment has its own distinct identity. This entry deals with Fulton Street in Brooklyn, which now begins at the...
.
Brooklyn's first public high school, the Central Grammar School (named "Central" rather than "Free" to avoid controversy over providing free "higher education" for poor children), opened, September 1878 in a rented building on Court & Livingston Streets. A new building was planned on the east side of Nostrand Avenue
Nostrand Avenue
Nostrand Avenue is a major street in Brooklyn, New York, that runs north from Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay to Flushing Avenue in Williamsburg, where it continues as Lee Avenue. From Flushing Avenue to Farragut Road, Nostrand Avenue is a two-lane street...
between from Halsey and Macon Streets, designed by Superintendent of Buildings James W. Naughton
James W. Naughton
James W. Naughton was an American architect, the Superintendent of Buildings for the Board of Education of the City of Brooklyn. He was born in Ireland and immigrated to the United States in 1848, at age eight. He worked as an apprentice in the office of J & A Douglas in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ...
, but by the time it opened in 1886, enrollment had increased to the point where it was decided to use this building as the Girls High School
Girls High School
Girls' High School is an historically and architecturally notable public secondary school building located at 475 Nostrand Avenue in the Bedford–Stuyvesant, neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. It was built in 1886 and is the oldest public high school building in New York City that is still...
and to and build a separate building for the boys. The boys remained in the Court Street space. As there were now effectively two schools, in 1891 they were renamed as the Girls' High School and the Boys' High School. A new building for the boys was begun in 1891, on Marcy Avenue, between Madison Street & Putnam Avenue. it opened as Boys High School
Boys High School
Boys High School is an historic and architecturally notable public school building in the Bedford–Stuyvesant, neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. It is regarded as "one of Brooklyn's finest buildings.-Architecture:...
on November 1, 1892. In 1975 the two schools were merged once again, and shortly afterwards moved into their present building at Fulton Street
Fulton Street
-New Orleans:Fulton Street is a pedestrian mall in the New Orleans Central Business District.-New York City:In New York City, the name is frequently associated with Robert Fulton, who invented a steam boat...
and Utica Avenue
Utica Avenue
Utica Avenue is a major avenue in Brooklyn, New York, one of several named for cities in Upstate New York. It runs north–south with its south end at Flatbush Avenue, and is continued by Malcolm X Boulevard in Bedford-Stuyvesant north of Eastern Parkway....
.
From 1986 until 2004, the school's principal was Frank Mickens
Frank Mickens
Dr. Frank Mickens , was a nationally recognized New York City educator as principal of Boys and Girls High School at 1700 Fulton Street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, one of America's toughest areas. The seventeenth largest high school in the United States, Boys and Girls High...
, who dealt with the school's many problems during the 1980s, and turned into a excellent college preparatory institution for poor and marginalized young men and women. By 1989 some 70 percent of graduates were enrolled in colleges. Though Mickens methods were attacked on the grounds that he was steering undesirable students to other institutions, his success was hard to question;, and there had been no objections during the long years in which both Boys' and Girls' had been in decline, largely due to "steering" good students to other places.
Noted alumni
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