Horace Mann School
- This article is about the Horace Mann School in New York City. For others of a similar name, see Horace Mann School (disambiguation)
| Horace Mann School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
231 West 246th St., Riverdale, NY 10471 , | |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent, college preparatory school |
| Motto | Magna est veritas et prævalet (Great is the truth and it prevails) |
| Established | 1887 |
| Dean | Randal L. Castleman, Dr. Susan Delanty '79 |
| Head of School | Dr. Thomas M. Kelly |
| Grades | Nursery 3's-12th |
| Enrollment | approx. 1,750 |
| Campus | Urban and Suburban |
| Color(s) | Maroon and white |
| Mascot | Lions |
| Newspaper | The Record |
| Yearbook | The Mannikin |
| Website | http://www.horacemann.org |
The Horace Mann School is an independent college preparatory school in New York City. Founded in 1887, Horace Mann spans from nursery school to the twelfth grade and is a member of the Ivy Preparatory School League. Its Upper, Middle, and Lower Divisions are located in Riverdale, a neighborhood of the Bronx, and the Nursery School is located in Manhattan. In addition, the school has a 168 acre campus in Washington Depot, Connecticut, that is visited by students throughout the year as a bonding experience or a retreat for its clubs and athletics teams. Horace Mann is known for its rigorous academic program, and is ranked as one of the best high schools in the United States.[1]
History
The school was founded in 1887 by Nicholas Murray Butler as a co-educational experimental and developmental unit of Teachers College at Columbia University. Its first location was a building at 9 University Place in Manhattan, but it was moved in 1901 to 120th Street in Morningside Heights. Columbia University followed suit soon afterwards, moving northwards to its present campus. The name of the school can still be seen on the western-most building at the Columbia campus, named Horace Mann Hall. However, Horace Mann was becoming a school in its own right instead of just a teaching laboratory, and it became more independent of the University and Teachers College. The Teachers College therefore created the Lincoln School to continue its experiments in teaching.
Shedding its co-educational roots, the school split into separate all-male and all-female schools. In 1912, the Boys' School moved to 246th Street in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, and during the 1940's it severed formal ties with Columbia University and became Horace Mann School. The Girls' School merged with the Lincoln School in 1940, and then finally closed in 1946.
The New York School for Nursery Years (founded in 1954 on 90th Street) became the Horace Mann School for Nursery Years in 1968. In 1972, Horace Mann merged with the nearby Barnard School to form the Horace Mann-Barnard Lower School for kindergarten through grade six, located on the former Barnard School campus. In 1975, the Horace Mann School returned to its roots as a co-educational learning environment and began admitting women to the Upper School. In 1999, the sixth grade moved from the Horace Mann-Barnard campus to the main 246th Street campus and formed a distinct Middle School along with the seventh and eighth grades.
Institution
Divisions
There are four divisions of the school, all co-educational: a Nursery Division (three year olds through kindergarten) located on 90th Street in Manhattan, a Lower Division (kindergarten through fifth grades) on the Horace Mann campus on Tibbett Avenue in Riverdale, a Middle Division (sixth through eighth grades) on the 246th Street campus in Riverdale, and an Upper Division (ninth through twelfth grades) also on the 246th Street campus. There is also the John Dorr Nature Laboratory, located on 168 acres of land in Washington Depot, Connecticut, used for extended field trips for classes of students starting in second grade and an orientation program for new students entering the Middle or Upper Divisions.
Each division of the school has its own Division Head. The Middle and Upper Divisions have separate student government organizations. The entire school is overseen by a Head of School. The current Head is Dr. Thomas M. Kelly, who, as the ninth Head of School, succeeded Dr. Eileen Mullady, on July 1, 2005. Formerly of Princeton University and the Lawrenceville School, Dr. Mullady was the namesake of one of the new buildings erected under her term. Prior to Dr. Mullady, the long-standing Head was the late R. Inslee Clark, Jr., previously Dean of Admissions at Yale University. Dr. Kelly previously served as Superintendent of Schools in Valhalla, NY. The current Horace Mann Nursery Division Head is Patricia Zuroski, the current Lower Division Head is Dr. Steven B. Tobolsky, the current Middle Division Head is Robin Ann Ingram, and the current Upper Division Interim Head is Dr. Barbara Tischler. The school is in the process of selecting a permament Upper Division head who will take the post for the 2007-2008 academic year. Glenn Sherratt is the current Director of the John Dorr Nature Laboratory.
Academics
Horace Mann is known for its academic rigor. The school offers 20 Advanced Placement courses and 10 foreign languages. Its 220 faculty members hold 210 master's degrees and 25 doctoral degrees.
Students in the Upper Division are required to study English, Atlantic World History, United States History, Biology, Chemistry and/or Physics, Geometry, Algebra II and Trigonometry, and meet various requirements in the Arts, Computer Science, Health & Counseling, and Physical Education. Students must go beyond these basic requirements in at least some, if not all, subjects. They are also required to take at least three years of either French, German, Japanese, Latin, or Spanish. Additional classes in Greek, Italian, and Russian are offered. Mandarin is now also an option.
Starting in eleventh grade, students have more flexibility with their requirements and can choose from courses in Economics, Psychology, Classical History, Political Philosophy, United States Legal History, Calculus, Statistics, Science and Public Policy, and many other elective classes.
Independent Study and Senior Projects, where students create their own coursework and present their findings in weekly meetings, are also common. Additionally, many students develop original research projects with faculty at Columbia University, Cornell University Medical Center, NYU, and Rockefeller University.
Arts
Horace Mann has an extensive arts program, offering a variety of courses in the fields of Performing and Visual arts. At least 1.5 arts credits are required for graduation, with at least one half-credit course in performance/studio arts and one half-credit course in art history/appreciation.
Horace Mann has two major instrumental ensembles: The Horace Mann Orchestra and the Horace Mann Jazz Band. Both ensembles perform at least two to three concerts per year along with performing all over the United States and Europe. Horace Mann also has an established Glee Club, which performs several concerts each year, including past performances at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space, and Alice Tully Hall of Lincoln Center. In 2006, the Jazz Band performed at the world famous BB King's jazz club. On February 25 2007, the Horace Mann Jazz Band performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center in the world famous Allen Room.
Admission
Admission to Horace Mann is highly selective. Decisions are based on an applicant's recent grades, an interview, and the candidate's score on either the ISEE or SSAT test.
Sixth grade is Horace Mann's largest entry point, with between 50 and 55 places available each year. In the ninth grade, Horace Mann traditionally enrolls between 35 and 45 new students. A smaller number of students are accepted in other grades, although there are no admissions to the twelfth grade. The admissions office maintains a substantial waiting list.
Rankings
The Wall Street Journal ranks Horace Mann as the fourth best high school in the United States, as measured by student admission rates to exclusive colleges.[1] In fact, each year almost all Horace Mann graduates attend nationally-ranked universities.[2] Worth Magazine ranked Horace Mann seventh out of all the nation's high schools based on the proportion of graduates attending Harvard, Princeton, and Yale Universities.[3]
Co-curricular activities
Co-curricular activities, or "clubs", are an integral part of Horace Mann. These clubs give students the opportunity to produce publications, hone their debating skills, participate in activism and much more.
Student clubs and organizations
The school has a considerable number of clubs, especially in the Upper Division. Prominent clubs include:
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Student publications
The Record, established in 1903, is the weekly, student-run newspaper of the Horace Mann School. Throughout its history, The Record has won national journalism awards and has been staffed by students who went on to become distinguished journalists and authors, including Pulitzer Prize winners Anthony Lewis (class of 1944), Richard Kluger (class of 1952) and Robert Caro (class of 1953). In 1954, Horace Mann made national headlines for translating a copy of The Record into Russian and distributing it in the USSR. The purpose of the exercise was to show Russian schoolchildren what life in America was like. The staff purposely kept in an article about the Horace Mann soccer team's losing one of its games to demonstrate the operation of an independent free press.[4][5] The American Scholastic Press Association twice honored The Record as the "Best High School Weekly Newspaper" for 2001-2002 (Volume 99) and 2003-2004 (Volume 101). It was also named a National Pacemaker in 2004 (Volume 101) and in 2006 was a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Medalist (Volume 103). The Record is published every Friday during the academic year.[6]
The Horace Mann Review, now in its sixteenth volume, is a quarterly journal of opinion on current events, politics, public policy, and culture. The Review strives to cover issues from unique and otherwise unexamined perspectives. The publication has paying subscribers throughout the nation and abroad and has been the recipient of numerous awards for excellence in journalism. In April 2001, the American Scholastic Press Association honored the Review with its award for Best Magazine. The Review's 2005-2006 volume was honored with a first place finish in the American Scholastic Press Awards critique. The Review is a finalist for the National Scholastic Press Association's Magazine Pacemaker of the Year award for 2007, the highest honor in high school journalism.[7]
The MannHattan Review is a publication dedicated to exploring issues and developments that concern the city of New York. Since its founding, it has won awards from the American, National, and Columbia Scholastic Press Associations. From the American Scholastic Press Association, it has won both the award for Best New Magazine in 2006 and Best Magazine 2006.[7]
The HM Business Report is Horace Mann's business and economics publication. The magazine is published by the HM Business League. The Gay Straight Alliance Club publishes Lola's Kitchen, a double sided one-page publication which is now in its third year.
Student athletics
Interscholastic leagues
Horace Mann School is a part of the Ivy Preparatory School League. Fieldston, Riverdale, and Horace Mann together are known as the "hilltop schools," as all three are located within two miles of each other in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, on a hilly area above Van Cortlandt Park. The three also share perhaps the greatest amount of inter-school sports rivalry; Horace Mann's annual charity basketball game, the Buzzell Game, is almost always against either Fieldston or Riverdale.
Sports teams
| Sport | Level | Season | Gender |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baseball | V, JV, MD | Spring | Boys' |
| Basketball | V, JV, MD | Winter | Boys', Girls' |
| Crew | V, JV | Spring | Boys', Girls' |
| Cross-Country | V, JV, MD | Fall | Boys', Girls', Coed (MD Only) |
| Field Hockey | V, JV, MD | Fall | Girls' |
| Fencing | V, JV | Winter | Boys', Girls' |
| Football | V, JV, MD | Fall | Boys' |
| Golf | V | Spring | Coed |
| Gymnastics | V, JV | Winter | Girls' |
| Lacrosse | V, JV, MD | Spring | Boys', Girls' |
| Soccer | V, JV, MD | Fall | Boys', Girls' |
| Sailing | V | Spring | Boys', Girls' |
| Skiing | V | Winter | Boys', Girls' |
| Softball | V, JV, MD | Spring | Girls' |
| Squash | V | Winter | Boys' |
| Swimming | V, JV, MD | Winter | Boys', Girls' |
| Tennis | V, JV, MD | Fall (Girls'), Spring (Boys') | Boys', Girls' |
| Track (indoor) | V, JV | Winter | Boys', Girls' |
| Track (outdoor) | V, JV, MD | Spring | Boys', Girls', Coed (MD Only) |
| Ultimate (Frisbee) | V | Spring | Coed |
| Volleyball | V, JV, MD | Fall | Girls' |
| Water Polo | V, JV, MD | Fall | Coed |
| Wrestling | V, JV, MD | Winter | Coed |
- V = Varsity, JV = Junior Varsity, MD = Middle Division
Athletic accomplishments
Horace Mann's Boys Varsity Tennis team has won the New York City Mayor's Cup Team Competition four times since 1994; its most recent victory was in 2005.[8] In 2006, the Boys Varsity Tennis team placed 5th in the All-American Invitational Boys Team Tennis Tournament beating the defending champions Santa Barbara High School.[9]
Pedro Alvarez (class of 2005) was drafted as the 438th overall pick of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft by the Boston Red Sox.[10]
Charles Altchek (class of 2003), of the Harvard Varsity Mens' Soccer Team, was named Ivy League Player of the Year in 2005 and 2006.
The Girls' Varsity Gymnastics Team has won the AAIS Championships 7 times since its first win in 1999. In 2000, the team placed second by a margin on 0.025 points. The following year, the girls regained their title and have had 6 consecutive wins since then.
In 2005-2006, the Boys' Varsity Swimming Team completed their first undefeated season in the history of the Ivy League with a 6-0 league record (6-1 overall, including a loss to St Benedict's). They have now won the league championship three consecutive years (04-06), also for the first time in the history of the league.
Horace Mann's Girls' Cross-Country team has had an exceptional record since the appointment of Coach Kevin Nicholas. In their first year under his guidance, the girls were Ivy League champions and New York State Federation qualifiers. The year before, they won the NYSAIS championships. Last year, they took 2nd at the Ivy League Championships, 3rd at NYSAIS, and qualified for Federation yet again.
The Horace Mann Wrestling team has won the Mayor's Cup all three years of its existence. It has also won the New York Private School State Championships six of the last seven years.
Horace Mann Girls' Indoor Track won the Ivy League Championships for 2006. Horace Mann Girls' Outdoor Track and Field won Ivy Championships as well as NYSAIS for 2006. They also placed 2nd at Croton Harmon relays.
Student government
The main body of student government is the Governing Council (GC), made up of students and teachers. There are five full time 12th grade representatives, and one alternate, while in grades 9-11, there are five full time representatives and two alternates for each grade. Because there are significantly fewer faculty members, each voting faculty representative is granted two votes.[11] Over the years the Council has removed the once-strict dress code, instituted an honor code, begun a debit card system to pay for items at the cafeteria and bookstore, and revised the school's constitution.
There is also a student body president (SBP) and a student body vice-president (SBVP). These two students are elected to office after successfully receiving enough signatures for a petition and being voted through the preliminary rounds (all candidates) and then the runoff (2 candidates). The first SBP in 1973 was Dr. Jeremy Leeds, a current Horace Mann teacher.
Notable alumni
Famous graduates of Horace Mann include:
- William Barr, Former US Attorney General
- Robert Caro, class of 1953 - author and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner[12]
- Elliott Carter, composer[13]
- Roy Cohn, lawyer in the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Trial[14]
- Peter Cincotti, Musician
- Martin Duberman, class of 1948 - author and gay rights historian[12]
- Henry Geldzahler, class of 1953 - Art critic, curator, New York City Cultural Affairs Commissioner, (1977 - 1982)[12]
- E.J. Kahn, class of 1933, pillar of the New Yorker, author and journalist[12]
- Richard Kluger, class of 1952 - author and Pulitzer Prize-winner[12]
- Tom Lehrer, a political satirist and math professor
- Ira Levin, author of Rosemary's Baby and the Stepford Wives[12]
- Anthony Lewis, class of 1944 - journalist and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner[12]
- Allard K. Lowenstein, Congressman[12]
- James Murdoch, media executive
- Samuel Newhouse, media executive; one of the top 25 richest Americans
- Generoso Pope, founder of the National Enquirer and American Media, Inc.
- Bob Rafelson, film director, writer, and producer; one of the creators of The Monkees
- Renee Richards, class of 1952 (graduated as Richard Raskind) - Professional tennis player, author, opthalmologist, and well-known transsexual woman
- James Salter, class of 1942, writer[12]
- Barry Scheck, class of 1967 - attorney and founder of the Innocence Project[12]
- James Schlesinger, former Secretary of Defense
- Gil Shaham, class of 1989 - violinist
- Eliot Spitzer, class of 1977 – Governor of the State of New York
- Paul Francis Webster, Academy Award-winning and Grammy Award-winning songwriter
- William Carlos Williams, class of 1903, poet[12]
- Ben Yagoda, journalist and author
- Dr. Z (Paul Zimmerman) - Senior football writer for Sports Illustrated
- David Berenson - Well known historian and professional time traveller
- Jason Berckley - Accomplished jazz musician and part-time space cadet
Writer Jack Kerouac also attended Horace Mann for one year of high school as part of the class of 1940 and played on the football team. Hollywood agent and Broadway producer Leland Hayward also attended the school for a time.
Miscellaneous
The school's motto is "Magna est veritas et prævalet," meaning "Great is the truth, and it prevails." It comes from the King James version of the Old Testament, which is usually translated today as "Magna est veritas et prævalebit," or will prevail. The school mascot is a lion, possibly a holdover from the days when the school was associated with Columbia University, whose mascot is also a lion. The Varsity Swim Team has adopted the Sealion as its unofficial mascot, as has the Varsity Ski Team with the Mountain Lion.
All students are required to take American Red Cross CPR certification in order to graduate. Horace Mann students are also required to complete at least 80 hours of community service, with at least 40 hours in ninth and tenth grades and 40 hours in eleventh and twelfth. In eighth grade, one out-of-school project or three in-school projects are necessary for graduation to the ninth grade; in sixth and seventh grades a homeroom project is done cooperatively. In the Lower and Nursery Divisions, there is no community service requirement, although there is an annual "Caring-in-Action" day dedicated to community service that students and their families can attend.
Several films have been shot on the Horace Mann campus over the years, including Splendor in the Grass and The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love.
See also
External links
- Official website
- Official athletics website
- Official alumni website
- School Constitution
- Official newspaper website
- College Admissions Process at Horace Mann
References
- ^ a b College Bound News. "Admissions Watch." Vol. 18 No. 9, citing the April 2, 2004 Wall Street Journal. May, 2004. See http://www.collegeboundnews.com/03-04issues/may04.html#anchor514965 or http://webreprints.djreprints.com/wsj_tuition_040104.pdf for the full WSJ rankings reprint.
- ^ A break down of which universities HM graduates attend. [1]
- ^ Prep School USA. "2003 High School Rankings," citing the Sept. 2002 Worth Magazine article entitled "Getting Inside the Ivy Gates," by Reshma Memon Yaqub. http://www.auap.com/prepschoolclass.html
- ^ http://www.horacemann.pvt.k12.ny.us/general/history/history_the_record.html
- ^ New York Times. "A Student Paper Savors Its Past, and Its Stars." by Seth Kugel. October 13, 2002. http://www.highschooljournalism.org/Content.cfm?mode=1&newsid=107&id=65
- ^ "About Us", The Record
- ^ a b "American Scholastic Press Association". American Scholastic Press Association. Retrieved 2006-12-19.
- ^ "St. Francis Prep Captures Girls Mayor's Cup Tennis Crown". Queens Ledger. 2005-06-09. Retrieved 2006-06-24.
- ^ Lee, James (2006-03-26). "No Sea King surprises on Saturday". Daily Pilot. Retrieved 2006-06-24.
- ^ Fitt, Aaron (2006-06-07). "Sox Try Alvarez". Daily Pilot. Retrieved 2006-06-24.
- ^ Horace Mann School Upper Division Governing Council (2005). "The Second Constitution of the Horace Mann School Government" (PDF). Retrieved 2006-05-19.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k http://www.horacemannalumni.org/authors.htm
- ^ http://artofthestates.org/cgi-bin/piece.pl?pid=99
- ^ http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/Fellows/cohn-per-lang.html