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Polytechnic School
President of the Board	Wendy Munger
Head of School	Deborah E. Reed (since 2002)
Assistant Head of School	Greg Feldmeth
School Directors	Lower: Mariana Robles Middle: Carmie Rodriguez Upper: Jamie Neilson
School type	Private
Religious affiliation	None at present, but has Unitarian roots
Founded	1907
Location	Pasadena, California
Faculty	163
Campus surroundings	Residential
Campus size	15 acres
School Colors	Orange & White
Mascot	Panther

File:Polysc.jpg

Polytechnic Upper School

Polytechnic School, often referred to as Poly, is a college preparatory private school in Pasadena, California.

The school was founded in 1907 as the first private non-profit elementary school in California, descended from the Throop Polytechnic Institute founded by Amos G. Throop, (who also founded the Throop Unitarian Universalist Church, originally the New Unitarian Church), the same institution which grew into the present California Institute of Technology. The school added a ninth grade in 1918 and expanded to high school in 1959. Polytechnic ended its pre-Kindergarten program in 2005.

In the spring of 1907, the Institute decided to focus on the college level and closed the grammar school. A philanthropic citrus tycoon and eugenicist, Ezra S. Gosney, donated $12,500 which was matched by eighteen other donors. This money allowed them to purchase the property at the present site, originally an orange grove. The school opened in October of 1907 with 106 students. At the time, the school was named Polytechnic Elementary School. After instituting a ninth grade, the name changed to Polytechnic Elementary and Junior High School.

Poly has a reputation as having very rigorous academic programs, including Advanced Placement and honors classes, as well as strong arts and athletic programs. Many graduates comment on the emphasis Poly places on the traditional liberal arts. Virtually all graduates go on to attend major universities around the nation. The school stresses strong moral and ethical values and has a community service requirement for graduation. The school newspaper is The Paw Print.

According to a College Board report, Polytechnic School was named a world leader in student participation and performance on Advanced Placement exams. Furthermore, the report also named Polytechnic as the top small school for having the largest part of its students achieve a 3 or above on the AP Calculus AB examination in both 2004 and 2005.

The school is divided by Cornell Road into two campuses, north (lower and middle school) and south (upper school), and is adjacent to the Caltech campus. Most of the north campus buildings were designed by Myron Hunt, who also designed the Rose Bowl and The Huntington, and Elmer Gray, who designed the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Pasadena Playhouse. The Cornett Mansion, designed in 1907, in the south campus serves as the administration building and houses several classrooms for the upper school.

In April 2005, the city of Pasadena approved Polytechnic's Master Development Plan, which over the following ten years will permit the construction of an aquatics facility (opened in May 2006), an underground parking structure, and other facilities and new structures. On December 19, 2005, it was announced that Jamie Neilson would become the new Upper School Director starting in July of 2006, after Grace Hamilton stepped down earlier that year. Wendy Munger, the president of the board, is the daughter of investment tycoon, Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. She is also on the board of Stanford University.

Poly's athletic rival is Flintridge Preparatory School in La Cañada, California. Poly's playing field is named "Babcock Field."

Every year, in the last week of April, Poly holds the "Poly Pet and Hobby Show," where students can display their pets, hobbies, or talents in a "carnival" atmosphere.

Alumni

Notable alumni include:

Anna Andresian, author, Looking at Latin
John Battelle, author, journalist, and co-founder of Wired magazine
Alec Berg, screenwriter, actor, and film producer
James Blakeley , actor
Erin Sones Borchard, USA diving team member, wife of Joe Borchard
Stephen J. Cannell, television producer
Otis Chandler, publisher, The Los Angeles Times
Julia Child, television chef and personality
Dominic Crapuchettes,creator of the game Cluzzle and Wits & Wagers
Cara DiMassa, staff writer, Los Angeles Times
David Ebershoff author of the international bestselling novels, The Danish Girl and Pasadena
Ted Griffin, screenwriter, actor, and film producer
R. Stanton Hales, president of the College of Wooster
Catherine Hamilton, artist, co-creator of the game Cluzzle
Clifford Heinz, philanthropist, son of H.J. Heinz
Harriet Huntington Doerr, author of Stones for Ibarra, Consider This, Senora, and The Tiger in the Grass
John Horn, entertainment writer, The Los Angeles Times
Joe Mathews, The Los Angeles Times writer and author
Peter McAniff, financial investment author
Steve McCoy-Thompson, author
Randall Miller, director
Drew Pinsky, psychiatrist, radio and television personality
Alison Sweeney, actress
Kyra Thompson, director
Mike White, film director, screenwriter, and actor
Ari Wiseman, Assistant Director, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
David Wiseman, designer-artist
Gloria Wong, entertainment editor, Teen People
Koko Archibong, former player for Los Angeles Lakers

School Credo

The Polytechnic School Credo, adopted in 1986, states:

We are committed to honesty, justice, charity, and the pursuit of knowledge.

We respect the dignity and worth of all human beings—their thoughts, their feelings, and their individuality.

We seek to celebrate the joy, the love, and the creativity that emanate from the human spirit.

We strive to be responsible and contributing members of our families, our school community, and the world.

External links

@@ Line 39: / Line 39: @@
 Poly has a reputation as having very rigorous academic programs, including [[Advanced Placement]] and honors classes, as well as strong arts and athletic programs. Many graduates comment on the emphasis Poly places on the traditional liberal arts. Virtually all graduates go on to attend major universities around the nation.  The school stresses strong moral and ethical values and has a community service requirement for graduation. The school newspaper is ''The Paw Print''.
-According to a [[College Board]] report, Polytechnic School was named a world leader in student participation and performance on [[Advanced Placement]] exams.  Furthermore, the report also named Polytechnic as the top small school for having the largest part of its students achieve a 3 or above on the AP Calculus AB examination in both 2004 and 2005. In 2007, every student achieved a 3 or above on the AP Biology and AP US History examinations who sat for them, according to faculty.
+According to a [[College Board]] report, Polytechnic School was named a world leader in student participation and performance on [[Advanced Placement]] exams.  Furthermore, the report also named Polytechnic as the top small school for having the largest part of its students achieve a 3 or above on the AP Calculus AB examination in both 2004 and 2005.
 The school is divided by Cornell Road into two campuses, north (lower and middle school) and south (upper school), and is adjacent to the [[Caltech]] campus.  Most of the north campus buildings were designed by [[Myron Hunt]], who also designed the [[Rose Bowl (stadium)|Rose Bowl]] and [[The Huntington]], and Elmer Gray, who designed the [[Beverly Hills Hotel]] and the [[Pasadena Playhouse]].  The Cornett Mansion, designed in 1907, in the south campus serves as the administration building and houses several classrooms for the upper school.