Classical High School
770 Westminster Street, Providence, RI, 02903 -  Map
tel: (401)456-9145
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School Overview:
Definition of Terms Classical High School
School Level High school
Grades Offered Grades 9 - 12
County Providence County, RI
Students & Faculty
Total Students 1088 students
% Male / % Female 41%  /  59%
Total Classroom Teachers 72 teachers
Students by Grade
Grade 9 - 263 students
Grade 10 - 277 students
Grade 11 - 285 students
Grade 12 - 263 students
This School ( RI ) School Average
Teacher : Student Ratio 1:15 1:13
Students by Ethnicity
This School ( RI ) School Average
% American Indian 1% n/a
% Asian 11% 3%
% Hispanic 30% 19%
% Black 19% 8%
% White 39% 68%
Additional Student Information
This School ( RI ) School Average
% Eligible for Free Lunch 33% 33%
% Eligible for Reduced Lunch 15% 7%
% Migrant Students Enrolled n/a n/a
School Performance:
( RI ) Statewide Testing Performance
School Statewide Performance View Education Department Test Scores
School District:
School District Name Providence School District
This School's Agency ( RI ) District Average
Number of Schools Managed 55 5
Number of Students Managed 25,069 students 2,639 students
District Total Revenue $366,542,000 $34,571,000
District Expenditure $325,814,000 $32,364,000
District Revenue / Student $14,621 $10,753
District Expenditure / Student $12,997 $10,147
District Graduation Rates 66% 77%
School Notes:
  • Classical High School, founded in 1843, is a college-preparatory public magnet school in the Providence School District, in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It was originally an all-male school, but has since become co-ed. Its motto, the Latin phrase Certare, Petere, Reperire, Neque Cedere, is a translation of the famous phrase taken from Tennyson's Ulysses, "To Strive, to Seek, to Find, and Not to Yield". It has been rated "High Performing and Sustaining" by its performance in 2005 on the New Standards Reference Exam, placing it third highest in the state.
  • Mission statement: Classical High School, a demanding college preparatory examination school, serves a diverse community and provides its students with the means to achieve high standards in a rigorous learning environment. Classical encourages its students to pursue academic, artistic, athletic, and personal growth so they will experience success in colleges and universities, and will demonstrate excellence in leadership within the community.
  • Notable Achievements: At the 2006 National Japan Bowl in Washington, D.C. for students of Japanese, Classical High School's Level 2 and 4 teams placed first in the nation, with its Level 4 team tieing for 4th.
  • Classical High School has been placing first in the Rhode Island Science Olympiad competition for over ten years.
  • Architecture: Classical High School's current building was finished in 1970 and is one of few buildings in the area created in the Brutalist architectural style, making it an adventitious addition to the West End neighborhood of Providence. Large faces of exposed concrete adorn the Modernist building.
  • The design is not popular among the students, mostly citing poor circulation and lack of natural light. Wm McKenzie Woodward, a well-known architectural historian and staff member of the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission, does not agree aesthetically with the building, going so far as to write in his Guide to Providence Architecture, "It's no wonder Modernism has gotten such a bad reputation in Rhode Island." The building has not held up over the years. Handrails are broken, doors are missing handles and many rooms leak. It's so bad in some rooms that after a heavy rain, tar from the roof will leak into rooms on the third floor, forming sticky black puddles on the floor.
  • The previous building, a yellow brick building with a peaked room (under which was the study hall), was considerably smaller and was bounded by Pond Street which was consumed in the creation of the new campus. When the old building was razed the yellow (actually tan) bricks were sold to students and alumni.
  • Extra Curricular Activity: Debate, Academic Decathlon, Science Olympiad, Gay-Straight Alliance, Italian Club, Yearbook, WCHS, Math Team, Asian Club, Brotherhood, Comedy Club, Book Club, Jewish Student Union, Film Club, Social Action Committee, Manga Club, Chess Club, Music Club, Theatre Company & Technical Crew, Mock Trial, Incomplete.
  • Other Facts: The school is directly next door to another public high school, Central High School, with which it shares a plaza, as well as its plumbing, heating, and electrical systems from underground. Classical is across the street from the Central Administration building of the Providence Public School Department.
  • The southwest classrooms in Classical are significantly warmer during the winter than the northeast classrooms, due to the fact that heat enters the southwestern part of the building from Central first and then circulates among the rest of the school.
  • Originally the school symbol was a winged Mercury, and the yearbook, the Caduceus.
  • Famous alumni: William Hagan — Writer.
  • John Orlando Pastore — Former Governor of Rhode Island, United States Senator.
  • S. J. Perelman — American Humorist.
  • Bruce Sundlun — Former Governor of Rhode Island.
  • Irving R. Levine — Former NBC News Economics Correspondent.
  • Frank Licht — Former Governor of Rhode Island.
  • Sports: Baseball, Football, Track and Field, Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Boys and Girls Tennis, Girls Field Hockey, Softball, Boys and Girls Cross Country, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Incomplete, Boys JV Volleyball.
  • 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
  • Add information about this school (e.g., awards, news stories, notable alumni, fun facts)
 
School Zip Code:
About This Zip Code (02903)
School Zip (02903) (RI) State Average
Population (Approximate) 9,342 people 1,042,949 people
% (age 25+) w/College Degree 32% 33%
Population Average Age 27 years old 36.7 years old
Average Household size 1.7 persons 2.4 persons
Median Household Income $14,095 $39,694
Avg. # of Rooms in Household 3.2 rooms 5.1 rooms
Median Age of Housing Structure 56 years old 53 years old
View current housing listings in 02903
Median Value of Housing Unit
Zipcode (02903)



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% Owning / % Renting 13% / 87% 55% / 45%
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  Nearby Schools:

1. Central High School - 1647 students - view location
2. Educare I - 26 students - view location
3. Hanley Career & Technology High School - n/a - view location
4. Health & Science Technology High School - 87 students - view location
5. Metropolitan Center - 217 students - view location
View all schools in: Providence Town, Providence County, Zip 02903 
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Note: Data has been gathered from several government and commercial data sources. School data reflects years 2002-04 statistics (most recent years available). Area and demographic data reflects year 2000 statistics. Public School Review does not ensure the timeliness or accuracy of the information on this site.

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