- Brookline High School is a four-year public high school in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, in the United States.
- As of the 2007-08 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,826 students and 136 teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 13.4 to 1 teacher.
- Mission statement
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"The Mission of Brookline High School is to develop capable, confident life-long learners who contribute to their community, participate thoughtfully in democracy, and succeed in a diverse and evolving global society."
- Values
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BHS highly values the principles of freedom and responsibility. Freedom is exemplified in an "open campus" policy. Every student has the right to open campus, but it can be taken away if the student does not demonstrate responsibility in relation to it. In order for students to be eligible for "open campus," students need to maintain a 2.0 GPA
- In 2006, Headmaster Dr. Robert Weintraub listed the following goals students should pursue to make BHS a truly great school:
- The BHS Parameters of Greatness
- Academic Development:
- 1. All students take ownership of their learning
2. All students find, develop, and express their academic, intellectual, artistic, athletic, and career interests and passions
3. The achievement profile of the school reflects our diversity
4. The collective academic profile of the school shows continuous improvement
5. The dropout rate approaches zero percent
6. All students achieve success after high school and maintain a commitment to life-long learning - Social and Civic Development:
- 1. All students contribute to their community through respectful, responsible citizenship and service
2. All students establish a meaningful relationship with at least one adult at school
3. Relationships at our school reflect our diversity
4. All students peacefully resolve conflicts - Members of Fred Phelps' notoriously anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church protested at the 2005 graduation against Brookline High's strong tolerance of homosexuality. Despite Fred Phelps' absence, his followers came out in full force holding signs and shouting anti-gay remarks. They were met by dozens of counter-protesters.
- Education
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Almost every senior in the Class of 2005 at Brookline High took the SAT I. The average score on the Verbal test was 598 and the average score on the Mathematics test was 620. The combined score — 818 — is the highest in the history of the school.
- The Advanced Placement program has grown dramatically over the past 10 years. In 1995, 161 students took 264 AP exams. In 2005, 364 students took 648 AP exams. In 1995, 90% of the students scored “3” or above on these exams. In 2005, with 203 more students participating, Brookline High School has maintained 90% of the students scoring “3” or above on these exams.
- In 2008, Boston Magazine ranked Brookline High in the top 15 public schools in the state.
- Athletics
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Brookline High School features the largest interscholastic athletics program in New England, with 71 teams in 40 sports. Some of the atypical sports include golf, crew, sailing and rugby.
- Since 1894, the Brookline High football team plays rival Newton North High School in the traditional Thanksgiving Day game. This is one of the oldest high school football rivalries in Massachusetts and on the List of high school football rivalries .
- In 2007, Brookline's cross country team made history by winning the first ever Nike Team Nationals northeast regional meet by just one point over Danbury High School at Bowdin Park, NY. They went on to place 7th at Nike Team Nationals in Portland, OR.
- Beginning in late 2006, there was much controversy surrounding the school mascot, the Warriors. The school department had many meetings about whether or not this mascot was politically correct and if it should remain (in the early 90s the mascot was changed from the Brookline Indians to the Warriors). One idea was to change the Brookline High mascot to the "Brookline Bookworms." After deliberation, it was decided that the mascot would remain the Warriors; however, the arrow that has represented the team for many years would have to be changed. The new symbol has yet to be determined.
- Pop culture references
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Before renovations in the late '90s, Brookline High School was used as the school in The Next Karate Kid starring Hilary Swank. In the movie, a bell can be heard between classes, although the school has no bell.The outside of the school was shot as the high school in the short lived sitcom Raising Dad starring Bob Saget and as the high school Paul Rudd works at in The Oh in Ohio starring Parker Posey, Paul Rudd, Danny DeVito, Mischa Barton and Liza Minnelli. Some exterior shots of the school was used for TV series Do Over. Brookline High School is also the school of Evan Rachel Wood's character, Lucy, in Julie Taymor's 2007 Beatles film, Across the Universe.
- Notable alumni
- Jeff Adrien '04, University of Connecticut Huskies power forward and captain.
- Lenny Baker '62, Tony Award-winning actor, I Love My Wife.
- Hugh B. Cave '27, Short story writer.
- Johnny Contardo '69, singer from the group Sha Na Na.
- Michael Dukakis '51, 1988 Democratic presidential nominee and former Governor of Massachusetts.
- Theo Epstein '91, general manager of the Boston Red Sox.
- Harry Gittes '54, Hollywood producer of About Schmidt, Girl Next Door, and Last Flag Flying
- Richard N. Goodwin '49, author, columnist, speechwriter for presidents Kennedy and Johnson.
- John Hodgman '89, humorist and author, best known for Apple's Get a Mac advertising campaign.
- George Kenney 1907, U.S. Air Force General during World War II.
- Robert C. Kingston '47, U.S. Army General of the Korean and Vietnam wars.
- Robert Kraft '59, owner of the New England Patriots.
- Albert Maysles '44 & David Maysles '49, documentary filmmakers of Salesman, Gimme Shelter, and Grey Gardens.
- Fred Newman '60, professional baseball player for the Los Angeles Angels.
- Conan O'Brien '81, Host of NBC's "Tonight" Show, graduated as the valedictorian.
- Francis Ouimet '11, professional golfer and winner of the 1913 U.S Open.
- Paul Pender '49, World middleweight boxing champion.
- Alan L. Rachins '60, actor, Dharma and Greg, L.A. Law.
[Brozan, Nadine. "Chronicle", The New York Times, March 16, 1993. Accessed April 21, 2008. "The year is being bracketed by two celebratory weekends -- one last June, one this June -- that include class reunions. Last year's event brought more than 2,000 graduates back to the school, including Mr. Wallace, Alan Rachins, a star of "L.A. Law," and former Gov. Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts and his wife, Kitty."]
- Joseph D. Reitman '86, actor, ex-husband of Shannon Elizabeth
- Dan Rosenthal '84, member of the White House Senior Staff under Bill Clinton
- Gabe Sapolsky '90, pro wrestling promoter of ECW and Ring of Honor
- Lew Schneider '79, Hollywood producer of Everybody Loves Raymond and American Dad.
- Mike Wallace '35, journalist, 60 Minutes.
[Brozan, Nadine. "Chronicle", The New York Times, March 16, 1993. Accessed February 5, 2008. "MIKE WALLACE is lending a hand to his old school, Brookline High School, at a benefit -- unusual for a Massachusetts public school -- in New York tomorrow evening. Mr. Wallace, class of '35, will interview the school's acting headmaster, Dr. ROBERT J. WEINTRAUB, at a cocktail party that is expected to draw 60 or so Brookline graduates to the University Club on West 54th Street."]
- Rick Weitzman '63, professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics.
[ Athletic Hall of Fame, Brookline High School. Accessed February 21, 2008.] - Lerner, Dr. Paul, noted psychologist and authority on Rorschach inkblot test.
- External links
- Brookline Schools website
- Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
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