Alborz High School

Alborz High School is a college-preparatory gifted high school located in the heart of Tehran, Iran. It is one of the first modern high schools in Asia and the Middle East, named after the Alborz mountain range, north of Tehran. Its place in the shaping of Iran's intellectual elite compares with that of Eton College in England and institutions such as Phillips Academy, Phillips Exeter Academy, and Milton Academy in the United States.
History
The school was founded as an elementary school in 1873 by a group of American Presbyterian missionaries led by James Bassett. This was in the 26th year of the reign of Nasereddin Shah Qajar, 22 years after Amir Kabir founded the Dar ul-Funun school in Tehran, and 33 years before the Constitutional Revolution in Persia (as it was known back then; later it became "Iran" during the Reza Shah Era).
When Dr. Samuel Jordan arrived in Persia in 1898, he instituted change; subsequently, Alborz became a 12-year elementary and secondary school, with its share of college courses. Thereafter, the institution came to be known as the American College of Tehran.
Dr. Jordan remained president of Alborz for 42 years (1899–1940). During his tenure, Alborz grew from an elementary school to a high school and college.
In 1932, the school received a permanent charter from the Board of Regents of the State University of New York.
In 1940 and during World War II, by the order of Shah Reza Pahlavi, Alborz was removed from American management and placed under the auspices of the Iranian Ministry of Education as part of Reza Shah's modernization reforms. The school's name was changed from "College" back to "Alborz", and it was reinstated as a high school.
In 1944, Professor Mohammad Ali Mojtahedi, member of University of Tehran's faculty, was appointed as the president of Alborz.
Mandegar Title
In Iran, schools and educational centers that have been operating for more than 80 years and have good records of educating students are granted the Mandegar prefix (Persian: ماندگار, meaning: lasting) by the Iran Ministry of Education. Mandegar prefix was granted to Alborz High School in 2006 according to the conditions set by the IRI Ministry of Education.
Structure
Alborz High School is a public school and is managed by a special board of directors that includes the heads of the IRI Ministry of Education and the head of the Education, Research and Technology Commission of the IRI Council along with number of other officials of Iran.
Alborz High School has 4 majors: Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Physics, Humanities and Literature, and Humanities and Theology at the high school level. Each field has a different building with experienced high-ranking teachers and supervisors who specialize in educational goals.
Honours and Alumni
Alborz students have won more than 300 medals in the International Science Olympiads and scientific competitions.
Admission
According to the special goals of the school, prospective students must meet entrance exam requirements before being allowed to enroll in the school.
These conditions are:
Excellent academic records and high grades in elementary and middle school
Excellent scientific records and appropriate experience in the fields of Olympiads, competitions and festivals
Obtaining the quorum in the exam (above 75%) on the condition of obtaining the minimum admission rank in the each special major entrance exam: 150 (Natural Sciencec), 300 (Mathematics and Physics), 120 (Humanities)
If the above items are accepted:
Accepted in the scientific interview
Accepted in the cultural-religious interview
Accepted in the specialized interview of the continuing education program
After the initial admission, the students enter the summer program. This program lasts for 5 weeks and the students are evaluated under the supervision of a group of academic advisors and high school education specialists; if students get the minimum grade (60% B) in «natural sciences» and «mathematics and physics». or (50% C) in «humanities», their acceptance will be final approval. Top students are exempted from this condition in initial admission, but they are required to participate in the summer program.
The admission process of students in Alborz High School is carried out in cooperation with the General Department of Education of Tehran, the Education Commission of the IRI Council and the Vice President of Scientific Technology of Islamic Republic of Iran.
Educational path
In Alborz High School, there are several paths for high school education, so that every student after passing the first part of the admission (Entrance Test and Requirments) and the first two parts of the interview, during his third interview, he is obliged to choose his educational path. The educational paths of Alborz and their selection percentage are:
Konkour (Iranian National Universities Entrance Exam) (60%)
Olympiads and scientific competitions (12%)
Cultural and religious competitions and festivals (10%)
Competitions and festivals of technology and invention (10%)
Common - undecided (5%)
Facilities and Buildings
Sources
Central building (now:Soleymani building) «Educational and Administrative»
Valizadeh building «Educational»
Isargaran building «Educational and Administrative»
Nuclear Martyrs Complex (1-st floor: Library, reading room, reference book library, workshop site, computer site, rest room, prayer room | 2-nd floor: laboratories of general biology, specialized biology, condensation physics, mechanical physics, organic chemistry, mineral chemistry and research workshop | 3-rd floor: Motahari exam hall)
Natural grass field (Football ground | Spectators section and dressing room)
Artificial grass field
Dezfulyan sports complex (1-st floor: Futsal-basketball multipurpose hall, gym, ping pong hall 1, Bathroom and dressing room | 2-nd floor: Spectators section, lounge and ping pong hall 2)
Restaurant (Teachers , Students)
Bagheral Uloom building (library, prayer hall)
Jordan House Museum
Education-research complex (1-st floor: Clinic and Administrative | 2-nd floor: High school performance evaluation department | 3-rd floor: Education and Planning departments | 4-th floor: Olympiad and Research departments)
Fakhrizadeh Research Center
Humanities library
Rajai meeting hall
Artificial lake and Park 1 (with animals)
Park 2 (Garden)
Volleyball and Handball fields
Centeral Yard (Speech and ceremony yard)
Alborz Principals/Deans
Sources
Mr. Howard (1873–1889)
Dr. Samuel M. Jordan (1899–1940)
Mr. Mohammad Vahid Tonekaboni (1940–1941)
Mr. Mohsen Haddad (1941)
Mr. Ali Mohammad Partovi (1941–1942)
Mr. Hasan Zoghi (1942–1943)
Mr. Lotf Ali Sooratgar (1943–1944)
Prof. Mohammad Ali Mojtahedi (1944–1978)
Mr. Hossein Khoshnevisan (1978–1979)
Mr. Hasan Pour Zahed (1979–1980)
Mr. Naser Naseri (1980–1981)
Mr. Ismael Sadegh Kazemi (1981–1985)
Mr. Rajab Ali Yasipour (1985–1986)
Mr. Naser Molla Asadollah (1986)
Mr. Ali Mazarei (1986–1988)
Mr. Abbas Feiz (1988–1989)
Mr. Hossein Khoshnevisan (1989–1991)
Mr. Bagher Dezfulian (1991–1997)
Mr. Mahmoud Dastani (1998–1999)
Mr. Valiollah Sanaye (1999–2007)
Dr. Mazaher Hami Kargar (2007–2011)
Dr. Abeth Esfandiar (2011–2012)
Mr. Mohammad Mohammadi (2012–present)
Notable Alborz Deans
Dr. Mahmoud Behzad
Notable alumni
Sources
Politicians
Sources
Mostafa Chamran (1932–1981), minister of National Defence and chief of Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC)
Amir Farshad Ebrahimi (born 1975), political activist
Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou (1930–1989), Kurdish political activist
Mansoor Hekmat (1951–2002), political activist
Dariush Homayoon (1928–2011), minister of Information and Tourism
Ali Javadi (born 1953), political activist
Ataollah Khosravani, politician
Mostafa Mirsalim (born 1947), politician
Tahmasb Mazaheri (born 1953), politician
Reza Moridi, politician
Alireza Nourizadeh (born 1949), journalist and political activist
Parviz C. Radji (1936–2014), Iranian ambassador to the United Kingdom
Mohsen Sazegara (born 1955), journalist and political activist
Military personnel
Sources
Mohammad Amir Khatam (1918–1975), commander in chief of Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) (1958–1975)
Scholars
Sources
Solayman Haïm (1887–1970), lexicographer and translator
Manouchehr Sotoudeh (1913–2016), professor of geography
Mahmoud Behzad (1914–2007), professor of biology
Sadeq Chubak (1916–1998), author
Lotfi A. Zadeh (1921–2017), mathematician and professor of computer science
Mohammad Jafar Mahjoub (1924–1996), author and translator
Homayoun Sanaatizadeh (1925–2009), author, translator and entrepreneur
Mohammad-Ali Eslami Nodooshan (born 1925), poet and author
Ali Javan (1926–2016), physicist
Bijan Jalali (1927–2009), poet
Manuchehr Jamali (1928–2012), philosopher and poet
Mohammad Qahraman (1929–2013), poet
Jamshid Giunashvili (1931–2017), linguist, Iranologist, diplomat, author and researcher
Mehdi Zarghamee, professor of computer science
Rahim Rahmanzadeh (born 1934), surgeon
Firouz Partovi (born 1936), physicist
Dariush Ashoori (born 1938), author and translator
Iraj Kaboli (born 1938), author and translator
Paris Moayedi (born 1938), entrepreneur
Hossein Amanat (born 1942), architect
Homayoun Katouzian (born 1942), historian and political scientist
Saeed Sohrabpour (born 1943), professor of mechanical engineering
Foad Rafii (born 1947), architect
Freydoon Shahidi (born 1947), mathematician
Mehrdad Abedi (born 1948), professor of electrical engineering
Caro Lucas (1949–2010), scientist
Abbas Edalat, professor of computer sciences
Ali Parsa (born 1951), translator
Houchang E. Chehabi (born 1954), professor of international relations and history
Cumrun Vafa (born 1960), string theorist
Farzad Nazem (born 1960), former CTO of Yahoo!
Houman Younessi (1963-2016), professor of computer science
Kamyar Kalantar-Zadeh (born 1963), scientist and physician
Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh (born 1971), scientist and inventor
Mehdi Yahyanejad, entrepreneur
Ramin Golestanian, theoretical physicist
David and Paul Merage, entrepreneurs and philanthropists
Artists
Sources
Homayoun Khorram (1930–2013), musician
Jamshid Mashayekhi (1934–2019), actor
Khosrow Sinai (born 1941), film director
Siavash Ghomeishi (born 1945), musician, singer and song writer
Amir Parvin Hosseini (born 1967), film producer
Behzad Abdi (born 1973), musician
Athletes
Abbas Ekrami (1915–2001), football manager
Media figures
Adel Ferdosipour (born 1974), football commentator
Area and Gallery
See also
Dar ol-Fonoon
Education in Iran
Higher education in Iran
Razi High School
Christianity in Iran
References
External links
School buildings completed in 1873
Educational institutions established in 1873
High schools in Iran
Architecture in Iran
Schools in Tehran
Iran–United States relations
1873 establishments in Iran
International schools in Tehran