William Cullen Bryant High School
Encyclopedia
William Cullen Bryant High School, or William C. Bryant High School, and Bryant High School for short, is a secondary school
located in Queens
, New York City
, New York
, United States
serving grades 9 through 12.
, an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post. He is most known for his work as one of the creators of Central Park in Manhattan, New York.
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
located in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
serving grades 9 through 12.
Name
It is named in honor of William Cullen BryantWilliam Cullen Bryant
William Cullen Bryant was an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post.-Youth and education:...
, an American romantic poet, journalist, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post. He is most known for his work as one of the creators of Central Park in Manhattan, New York.
Statistics
Approximately 3,200 students are enrolled. The ethnic make-up of the school is 50% Hispanic, 27% Asian, 15% White, and 8% African American. The school has a relatively low graduation rate of 50.3% and an attendance rate of 88.8% The school has a low progress report grade in comparison with its peer schools. In 2010, New York City Department of Education gave the school a letter grade of C. As of 2008, the school principal is Mr. Aaron Perez.The school in popular culture
- William Cullen Bryant was the school in the popular film A Bronx TaleA Bronx TaleA Bronx Tale is a 1993 American crime drama film set in The Bronx during the turbulent era of the 1960s. It was the directorial debut of Robert De Niro, and follows a young Italian-American teenager as his path in life is guided by two father figures, played by De Niro and Chazz Palminteri...
. Robert DeNiro visited the school. - Two episodes of the hit TV show Ugly BettyUgly BettyUgly Betty is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which premiered on ABC on September 28, 2006, and ended on April 14, 2010. The series revolves around the character Betty Suarez and is based on Fernando Gaitán's Colombian telenovela soap opera Yo soy Betty, la fea...
were shot in the School. One was shot in the lunch room. The episode featured Lindsay LohanLindsay LohanLindsay Lohan is an American actress, pop singer and model. She began her career as a child fashion model before making her motion picture debut in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap at the age of 11...
who also visited the school. The episode was called "Granny PantsGranny Pants"Granny Pants" is the fifth episode in the third season, the 46th episode overall, of the American dramedy series Ugly Betty, which aired on October 23, 2008...
".
Notable alumni
- Winifred LenihanWinifred LenihanWinifred Lenihan was an American actress, writer and director. She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts before making her debut in 1918...
(1898–1964), stage actress and director who played Joan of ArcJoan of ArcSaint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
in George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's play Saint JoanSaint Joan (play)Saint Joan is a play by George Bernard Shaw, based on the life and trial of Joan of Arc. Published not long after the canonization of Joan of Arc by the Roman Catholic Church, the play dramatises what is known of her life based on the substantial records of her trial. Shaw studied the transcripts...
on its debut in 1923. - Ethel MermanEthel MermanEthel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
(1908–1984), star of musical comedies on Broadway and in Hollywood, was born in Astoria and graduated from Bryant. The school's auditorium was named the Ethel Merman Theater in 1989 during its centennial celebration. - Moe SpahnMoe Spahn-Early life, and college basketball career:Spahn, who was Jewish, was born in New York, New York. He attended Bryant High School, in Queens, New York, where he played basketball....
(1912-91), basketball player - Veronica GedeonVeronica GedeonVeronica Gedeon was a 20-year-old commercial model from Long Island City whose murder during Easter Weekend in 1937 captivated New York City. It was reported widely in newspapers there...
(1917–1937), Long Island City native, commercial model, 1937 New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
murder victim. - Billy LoesBilly LoesWilliam Loes was an American right-handed pitcher who spent eleven seasons in Major League Baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers , Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants...
, (1929–2010), former Major League Baseball pitcher who played in the World Series, winning for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1955, was born in the area and attended Bryant High School. He also played for the Baltimore OriolesBaltimore OriolesThe Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
and the San Francisco GiantsSan Francisco GiantsThe San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
. - Suze RotoloSuze RotoloSusan Elizabeth Rotolo , known as Suze Rotolo , was an American artist, but is perhaps best known as Bob Dylan's girlfriend between 1961 and 1964 and a strong influence on his music...
(1943–2011), an AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artistArtistAn artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, book artist, authorAuthorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, but best known as Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's girlfriend between 1961 and 1964. She is the woman walking with him on the cover of his album The Freewheelin' Bob DylanThe Freewheelin' Bob DylanThe Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released in May 1963 by Columbia Records. Whereas his debut album Bob Dylan had contained only two original songs, Freewheelin initiated the process of writing contemporary words to traditional melodies....
. - Richard KlineRichard KlineRichard Kline is an American actor and television director. He is best known for playing the sleazy neighbor and used car salesman, Larry Dallas, on the sitcom, Three's Company.-Early life:...
(1944– ), played "Larry Dallas" on classic ABC-TV sitcom "Three's CompanyThree's CompanyThree's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
". He also performed on Broadway in "City of AngelsCity of Angels (musical)City of Angels is a musical comedy with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by David Zippel, and book by Larry Gelbart. The musical weaves together two plots, the "real" world of a writer trying to turn his book into a screenplay, and the "reel" world of the fictional film.-Productions:City of Angels...
" and is a member of the Lincoln Center Repertory Company. - Joel KleinJoel KleinJoel Irwin Klein was Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, the largest public school system in the United States, serving more than 1.1 million students in more than 1,600 schools...
(1946– ), New York City Department of Education Chancellor - Panayiota BertzikisPanayiota BertzikisPanayiota Bertzikis is a United States Coast Guard veteran who founded the Military Rape Crisis Center, providing free counselling and advice to victims of sexual assault. This occurred after Bertzikis was herself sexually assaulted, resulting in her discharge from the Coast Guard...
(1981– ), Founder and Executive Director of Military Rape Crisis Center