Thomas Jefferson High School (Brooklyn, New York)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Jefferson High School is a former high school in the East New York section of Brooklyn, New York. The New York City Department of Education
closed the school and broke it into several different schools
in 2007, owing to low graduation rates.
Located at 400 Pennsylvania Avenue, the school is now the site of High School for Civil Rights, FDNY High School for Fire and Life Safety, the Performing Arts and Technology High School, and the WATCH (World Academy for Total Community Health) School.
Groundbreaking
for the school was in 1922, mayor John Francis Hylan officiating. Thomas Jefferson was one of seven public high schools in New York to receive a M.P. Möller pipe organ
in the 1920s.
New York City Department of Education
The New York City Department of Education is the branch of municipal government in New York City that manages the city's public school system. It is the largest school system in the United States, with over 1.1 million students taught in more than 1,700 separate schools...
closed the school and broke it into several different schools
Small schools movement
The small schools movement, also known as the Small Schools Initiative, in the United States of America holds that many high schools are too large and should be reorganized into smaller, autonomous schools of no more than 400 students, and optimally under 200. Many private schools of under 200...
in 2007, owing to low graduation rates.
Located at 400 Pennsylvania Avenue, the school is now the site of High School for Civil Rights, FDNY High School for Fire and Life Safety, the Performing Arts and Technology High School, and the WATCH (World Academy for Total Community Health) School.
Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are often attended by dignitaries such as politicians and...
for the school was in 1922, mayor John Francis Hylan officiating. Thomas Jefferson was one of seven public high schools in New York to receive a M.P. Möller pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
in the 1920s.
Notable alumni
- Ralph BakshiRalph BakshiRalph Bakshi is an Israeli-American director of animated and live-action films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, five of which he wrote...
– animator - Roy C. BennettRoy C. BennettRoy C. Bennett is an American songwriter known for the songs he wrote with Sid Tepper, which spawned several hits for Elvis Presley...
– popular music composer - Lloyd BlankfeinLloyd BlankfeinLloyd Craig Blankfein is an American business executive. He is currently the CEO and Chairman of Goldman Sachs. He has been in this position since the May 31, 2006 nomination of former CEO Henry Paulson as Secretary of the Treasury under George W...
– CEO of Goldman Sachs - Riddick BoweRiddick BoweRiddick Lamont Bowe is a retired American boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion and a former undisputed heavyweight champion...
– boxer - John BrockingtonJohn BrockingtonJohn Stanley Brockington is a former American football running back. He was the National Football League's Green Bay Packers' 1st round draft choice out of the Ohio State University, and was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1971.-College career:Brockington played halfback and fullback for...
- Ohio State BuckeyesOhio State BuckeyesThe Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...
' 1968 undefeated national championship football team; running back for the NFL Green Bay PackersGreen Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions... - Shawon DunstonShawon DunstonShawon Donnell Dunston is a former shortstop and right-handed batter in Major League Baseball. He resides in Fremont, CA. He was the first overall pick in the 1982 MLB draft by the Chicago Cubs, and played for the Cubs , San Francisco Giants , Pittsburgh Pirates , Cleveland Indians , St...
– major league baseball player - Leroy EllisLeroy EllisLeRoy Ellis is a retired American basketball player.-Professional career:A 6'10" center from St. John's University, Ellis was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 1962 NBA Draft...
- former NBA center, 1971-721971–72 NBA seasonThe 1971–72 NBA season was the 26th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals....
Los Angeles LakersLos Angeles LakersThe Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
championship team1972 NBA FinalsThe 1972 NBA Finals was played at the conclusion of the 1971–72 NBA season. The Western Conference Champion Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Eastern Conference Champion New York Knicks in five games... - Sylvia FineSylvia FineSylvia Fine was an American lyricist, composer, producer and the wife of the comedian Danny Kaye...
– lyricist - FrukwanFrukwanFrukwan Sun-Star Allah-Bey is a Moorish American hip hop musician. He is best known as The Gatekeeper from the hip hop group Gravediggaz and was a member of the pioneering hip hop band Stetsasonic.- Early life :...
– hip hop musician - Jack GarfinkelJack GarfinkelJack "Dutch" Garfinkel is a retired American basketball player.Garfinkel attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn and then nearby St. John's University to play for future Hall of Fame coach Joe Lapchick...
– former Boston Celtics player - Sidney Green - NBA player
- Hy GotkinHy GotkinHyman "Hy" Gotkin was an American professional basketball player who played the guard position.Gotkin was Jewish, and attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn. He played basketball for St...
- basketball player - Danny KayeDanny KayeDanny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
(born David Daniel Kaminsky) – actor - Ezra Jack KeatsEzra Jack KeatsEzra Jack Keats , Caldecott-winning author of The Snowy Day, was one of the most important children's literature authors and illustrators of the 20th Century....
(born Jacob Ezra Katz) – illustrator and author of children's books - Steve LawrenceSteve LawrenceSteve Lawrence is an American singer and actor, perhaps best known as a member of a duo with his wife Eydie Gormé, billed as "Steve and Eydie"...
– popular music singer - Al Lewis – actor, political activist
- Willie Lozado – major league baseball player
- Irving MalinIrving MalinIrving Malin is an American literary critic. Malin attended Thomas Jefferson High School and Jamaica High School and graduated magna cum laude from Queens College in 1955 and received his PhD. from Stanford University in 1958. He taught at the City College of New York from 1960 until his...
– literary critic - Jim McMillianJim McMillianJames M. "Jim" McMillian is a retired American professional basketball player. After starring at Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn, McMillian played college basketball at Columbia University. He led Columbia to a three-year mark of 63-14, and their last NCAA Tournament appearance in 1968,...
- former NBA forward, 1971-721971–72 NBA seasonThe 1971–72 NBA season was the 26th season of the National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Los Angeles Lakers winning the NBA Championship, beating the New York Knicks 4 games to 1 in the NBA Finals....
Los Angeles LakersLos Angeles LakersThe Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
championship team1972 NBA FinalsThe 1972 NBA Finals was played at the conclusion of the 1971–72 NBA season. The Western Conference Champion Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Eastern Conference Champion New York Knicks in five games... - Paul MazurskyPaul MazurskyPaul Mazursky is an American film director, screenwriter and actor.-Personal life:He was born Irwin Mazursky in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Jean , a piano player for dance classes, and David Mazursky, a laborer. Mazursky was born to a Jewish family; his grandfather was an immigrant from...
– Hollywood director - Linda NovemberLinda NovemberLinda Ellen November is an American singer who sang tens of thousands of commercial jingles. She was the voice of the singing cat in the Meow Mix commercials, sang the jingle "Galaxy Glue" in the 1981 film The Incredible Shrinking Woman, the "Coke and a Smile" jingle in the classic Mean Joe Greene...
, singer - Martin PopeMartin PopeMartin Pope is a physical chemist and professor emeritus at New York University.His discoveries of ohmic contacts and research in the fields of organic insulators and semiconductors led to techniques enabling organic semiconductors to carry relatively large currents, and to convert electricity...
- Physical chemist - Phil SellersPhil SellersPhillip "Phil" Sellers, Jr. is an American former professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the NBA.-Early life:...
– former NBA player - Shelley WintersShelley WintersShelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
– actress - Max ZaslofskyMax ZaslofskyMax "Slats" Zaslofsky was an American professional basketball player and coach.-Biography:Zaslofsky attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn, and St. John's University. He was Jewish....
, NBA guard/forward, 1-time FT% leader, 1-time points leader, All-Star, ABA coach - Howard ZinnHoward ZinnHoward Zinn was an American historian, academic, author, playwright, and social activist. Before and during his tenure as a political science professor at Boston University from 1964-88 he wrote more than 20 books, which included his best-selling and influential A People's History of the United...
– historian, political activist