# Curtis High School

Curtis High School, operated by the New York City Department of Education, is one of seven public high schools located in Staten Island, New York City, New York. It was founded on February 9, 1904, the first high school on Staten Island.

## History

Curtis High School is named after nationally prominent Republican writer and orator George W. Curtis, who lived nearby. The school was the first public building built following the consolidation of Greater New York. It was part of a plan to erect a major high school in each of the outlying boroughs, with Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, Morris High School in the Bronx, and Flushing High School in Queens being the other three. It was designed by the architect C. B. J. Snyder. The cornerstone was laid in 1902, it was completed and opened 1904. The original building of brick and limestone is dominated by a large square turreted tower inspired by English medieval models. The first principal was Columbia graduate Oliver Durfee Clark, who served 1904 to 1906. The second principal (1906–1912) was Harry Freeman Towle, a graduate of Dartmouth College. Additions were made to the building in 1922, 1925 and 1937. John M Avent (Columbia Graduate, author) was principal from 1924 to the late 1940s. Curtis was designated a New York City Landmark on October 12, 1982. The gym and cafeteria wings were added at a later date as additions to the original building's neo-Gothic architecture.

## Academics

Curtis offers an International Baccalaureate Scholarship Honors programs IB-DP and IB-CP with accelerated curriculum and Advanced Placement courses, and courses include nursing, NJROTC, performing arts, visual arts, business/computer institute, CoOp, human and legal studies, and journalism.

## Extracurricular activities

Curtis offers a robotics team, National Honor Society, chess club, Key Club, black and Hispanic awareness clubs, film club, Moot Court, the Curtis Players, jazz band, orchestra, dance, symphonic band, the Curtis Log (newspaper), Crosswinds (yearbook), math team, criminal law and justice mentoring program, peer mediation and conflict resolution programs.

### Sports

Curtis fields over thirty varsity teams, including a swimming team, as well as golf, bowling, volleyball, soccer, basketball, wrestling baseball/softball, tennis, track/cross country, gymnastics, lacrosse and football teams. In addition, Curtis club teams include boys' varsity and junior varsity, and girls' varsity Ultimate teams. The Curtis High School Track was named after Abel Kiviat and the Baseball Field was renamed Bobby Thomson Field in 2007

### Enrollment

Curtis has a total enrollment of about 3,006 and is open to residents of New York City entering either ninth or tenth grade. Enrollment requirements vary depending on which of the ten "houses" the student is going to be enrolled. There are zoned programs where enrollment is based mostly on geography, with Staten Island residents having priority over all other boroughs. Within Staten Island, geographical areas closer to the school have priority over all other areas of Staten Island. Most other programs rely either on the prospective student's grades and city standardized tests or specialized enrollment tests.
The school's population is 38% African American, 31% Hispanic, 22.9% White and 7.5% Asian.

### Feeder patterns and admissions

All New York City students entering high school must apply to schools, as there are no zoning boundaries for high schools in New York City. Only special zoned programs have geographical restrictions whereby certain areas of Staten Island have priority over all of the rest of New York City.

## Notable alumni

| Name | Year | Profession | Notability |
| Vincent R. Capodanno | 1947 | Priest | Priest and Missioner who was killed in action during the Vietnam War |
| Joseph F. Merrell | 1944 | Soldier | Medal of Honor recipient |
| Jeb Stuart Magruder | 1952 | Politician | Advisor to Richard Nixon and Watergate scandal conspirator |
| Ralph J. Lamberti | 1948 | Politician | Staten Island Borough president from 1984 to 1989 |
| Alfred E. Santangelo | 1930 | Politician | Former United States congressman |
| Loring McMillen | 1924 | Historian | Official Staten Island historian |
| Florina Kaja | Transferred (attended until 1998) | Reality TV personality | Bad Girls Club and Bad Girls All-Star Battle |
| Lois Lowry | Transferred (attended until 1952) | Writer | Children's book author |
| Amy Vanderbilt | Transferred (attended until 1924) | Writer | author of the best-selling Complete Book of Etiquette (1952 |
| Emily Genauer | 1929 | Art Critic | Pulitzer Prize for Criticism winner |
| Mario Buatta | 1953 | Interior Designer | interior designer who designed for several famous clients |
| Betty Aberlin | 1959 | Actress | Best known for Playing Lady Aberlin on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood |
| Selita Ebanks | 2001 | Model | Victoria's Secret Model |
| RZA | 1987 | Musician | hip-hop recording artist, and producer, and member of the Wu-Tang Clan |
| Richie Castellano | 1998 | Musician | singer, songwriter, musician, guitarist and keyboard player for the Blue Öyster Cult |
| David O. Stewart | 1969 | Author | historian and author |
| Michael Henry Heim | 1961 | Author | literary translator, inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences |
| Bobby Thomson | 1942 | Baseball Player | baseball player for the New York Giants, famous for "the Shot Heard 'Round the World" |
| Jack Hynes | 1938 | Soccer Player | Soccer Hall of Fame and MVP of the American Soccer League |
| Frank Fernández | 1961 | Baseball Player | MLB player, Yankees, Athletics, Senators, Cubs |
| James Jenkins | 1987 | Football Player | Former Tight End for the Washington Redskins |
| Dominique Easley | 2010 | Football Player | NFL first round pick who played for the Patriots and Rams |
| Halil Kanacević | 2009 | Basketball Player | Professional basketball player in Europe; played college basketball at Saint Joseph's |
| Abel Kiviat | 1908 | Runner | Olympic Silver Medalist in the 1500m run |
| Hassan Martin | 2013 | Basketball Player | Professional basketball player in Europe and Asia; played college basketball at Rhode Island |
| Hank Majeski | 1935 | Baseball Player | MLB Player; Braves, Yankees, Athletics, White Sox, Indians, Orioles |
| Steve Gregory | 2002 | Football Player | NFL Player; Chargers, Patriots |
| Mouhamadou Gueye | 2016 | Basketball Player | Forward for the Toronto Raptors |
| Vernon Turner | 1986 | Football Player | former NFL Player |
| Anthony Varvaro | 2002 | Baseball player | Former MLB pitcher and NYPD police officer |
| Shemiah LeGrande | 2004 | Football Player | Former NFL Player |
| Isaiah Wilkerson | 2008 | Basketball Player | Professional basketball player in Mexico and Europe; played college basketball at NJIT |
| Irv Constantine | 1928 | Football Player | Played 1 NFL game for the Staten Island Stapletons |
| Sonny Ruberto | 1964 | Baseball Player | Former MLB player and coach |
| Terry Crowley | 1965 | Baseball Player and Coach | 3x World Series Champion |
| Elmer Ripley | 1921 | Basketball Coach | Basketball Hall of Famer |

## Parental support

Parents collaborate with the school's administration and its staff through monthly PTA meetings, PTA newsletters, School Leadership Team meetings, Gear-Up, Principal's Consultative Council, Health Fair, HIV AIDS Team, and the football, track, robotics and performing arts parents clubs.

## Community support

Partnerships:
* Liberty Partnership Mentoring Program (CSI)
* Gear-Up
* Discovery Institute (CSI)
* Brooklyn Polytechnic University Center for Youth in Engineering and Science
* Curtis HS Career Connections
* Global Ambassadors
* Corporations:
** Infinity Broadcasting
** MIX 102.7 FM
** O’Melveny & Myers Law Firm
* Higher education institutions:
** College of Staten Island
** St. John's University
* Cultural/arts organizations:
** Snug Harbor
* Community-based organizations:
** NYCID
** Liberty Partnership
** Foward [sic] P.A.S.S.
* Hospital outreach:
** Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Center and Home
** Staten Island University Hospital
** St. Vincent's Hospital
** Egger Nursing Home
* Financial institutions:
** Federal Reserve Bank Mentoring Program

## Schoolwide awards and recognition

* 7-time PSAL Girls' Bowling Championship
* 13-time PSAL Boys' Cross Country City Championship (1928, 1929, 1930 [nationals], 1931, 1933, 1935, 1938)
* 7-time PSAL Boys' Football Championship (1998, 1999, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2016, 2017)
* 3-time PSAL Boys' Golf City Championship
* 2-time PSAL Girls' Cross Country City Championship
* 3 time Boys' PSAL Indoor Track City Championships, (first one in 1909 with help of Olympic Silver medal winner Abel Kiviat),1928
* Boys' PSAL Bowling Championship
* Girls' PSAL Basketball "A" City Championship (2011, 2012, 2013)
* Girls' PSAL Golf City Championship
* 2-time Girls' PSAL Lacrosse City Championship (2015, 2016)
* Boys' PSAL Lacrosse City Championship (2016)
* Boys' PSAL Basketball "A" City Championship
* Boys' PSAL Wrestling "A" City Championship
* 3-time Girls' PSAL Wrestling Championship (2013, 2014, 2015)
* Boys' PSAL Soccer Championship (1915, 1917)
* Boys' PSAL Baseball Championship (1943, 1961, 1962)
* Boys' PSAL Tennis Singles Championship (1917)
* Boys' Lacrosse Semi Finals NYC (1915,2017,2019)

## Other

Curtis alumn Jason Defazio was killed on 9/11. He worked on the 104th floor of the World Trade Center at Cantor Fitzgerald.