New Utrecht High School

New Utrecht High School is a public high school located in Bensonhurst, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The school is operated by the New York City Department of Education under District 20 and serves students of grades 9 to 12.

39.6% of students are Asian-American, constituting a plurality of the student population. Despite a steady decline in enrollment the past few years, it remains one of the largest high schools in New York City, ranking 12th out of 542 high schools in the city for amount of students in the 2022-23 academic year.

History 
New Utrecht High School was established in 1915 as an offshoot of the nearby coeducational Bay Ridge High School. New Utrecht High School became an all-boys school, while Bay Ridge High School became an all-girls school.

The school's first location was a wooden building on 86th Street and 18th Avenue, with a population of 350 students. Irving Hazen was the founding principal, and he adopted the green and white colors of his alma mater, Dartmouth College, as the school's colors.

In November 1924, the school moved to its present location on 80th Street and 16th Avenue, with 2,300 students. In February of the following year, girls were admitted, resulting in the school becoming coeducational. Over the next few years, the school continued to grow, consisting of a main building and four annexes, with a student population of nearly 11,000. It was the largest student body in the world at the time. In 1930, with a student population of 9,000, it was reported that 10 communists attacked the student government while they were debating.

New Utrecht High School was the scene of several racial conflicts between blacks and whites within the community in the 1970s to 1990s. In 1974, 300 black students stormed the school after a fight between a black student and a white student ended up with the former being injured, spurring rumors that it was a racial attack. In 1990, a black student was shot by a group of white students stemming from an incident in the locker room.

In the 2000s, New Utrecht High School underwent a major overhaul. It added a new, two-story cafeteria building, which replaced the old cafeteria located in the main building. The old cafeteria was subsequently turned into classroom space. A new entrance was also created, accompanied by a corridor connecting the cafeteria building with the main building.

Today, New Utrecht High School functions as a zoned school primarily serving students living in the neighborhoods of Bensonhurst and Dyker Heights in Brooklyn, New York.

Ahead of the 2021-22 school year, LGBTQIA+ Pride flags were hung in most of New Utrecht's English classrooms and many are still on display.

Administration

Principals

Demographics
A plurality of New Utrecht's student body is Asian-American, reflecting the high Asian population of Bensonhurst and the surrounding neighborhoods. A significant portion of the student population is Hispanic. Both the Asian and Hispanic percentages have increased and continue to do so, while percentages for White and Black students have consistently decreased over the past decade.

There is a large gender gap among the student body. In the 2022-23 school year, 55.8%, or 1,739 students, were male; only 44.2%, or 1,379 students, were female. 17.7% of students have disabilities, 18.2%  are English Language Learners, 76.7% are in poverty, and 77.4% are considered to be part of the Economic Needs Index.

Enrollment

Curriculum
New Utrecht High School offers a variety of classes to fulfill the credit requirements for New York City students, including electives like art & music classes, the student government, and math team. Most academic classes are available at the Honors level for higher-achieving students, and the school offers many Advanced Placement courses, the newest of which, AP Art History, was first offered in the 2022-23 school year.

AP courses
The following is a list of AP classes currently available for students at New Utrecht:

For freshmen only:
 AP Human Geography

For sophomores only:
 AP World History: Modern

For sophomores, juniors, and seniors:
 AP Computer Science Principles
 AP Computer Science A
 AP Psychology
 AP Art History

For juniors only:
 AP United States History
 AP English Language and Composition

For juniors and seniors:
 AP Statistics
 AP Chemistry
 AP Physics 1
 AP Biology
 AP Environmental Science
 AP Chinese Language and Culture
 AP Italian Language and Culture
 AP Spanish Language and Culture

For seniors only:
 AP English Literature and Composition
 AP Calculus AB
 AP Calculus BC
 AP United States Government and Politics
 AP Comparative Government and Politics
 AP Macroeconomics
 AP Microeconomics

In some special circumstances, a student is eligible for an AP course that is not traditionally offered to their grade level. In order to enroll in an AP Foreign Language course, the student must have taken three years of high school language courses. For AP Art History, priority is given to students in the Academy of Art and Design.

Academies
There are several academies at New Utrecht High School, some of which  offer employment-oriented training in specialized fields, which include:
 
 Academy of Business and Technology
 Academy of Medical Professions and Health Careers
 Academy of Legal Studies
 Academy of Hospitality and Tourism
 Academy of Art and Design
 Academy of Asian Studies
 Academy of Computer Science
 Honors Academy
 
Some of the academies are associated with NAF, a non-profit organization originally known as the National Academy Foundation. Each academy has their own specific guidance counselor. For students who are not in an academy; a guidance counselor is assigned based on their class code.

Proficiency

Regents scores
The following table lists a report of Regents scores from June 2022. The US History and Government: Framework Regents scheduled for June 2022 is not shown because it was cancelled statewide due to a mass shooting in Buffalo, NY, and a new version of the examination was offered beginning in June 2023.

SAT scores
The mean SAT score among New Utrecht students in Spring 2022 was a 936, with a 457 in English and a 459 in Mathematics. This is over 100 points below the national average of 1050.

Graduation rate
The graduation rate in June 2022 was 73.8%, a decline from 81.2% in June 2021 and 85.1% in June 2020.

Chronic absenteeism
During the 2021-22 school year, 44% of students were classified as chronically absent by the New York State Department of Education, including over 57% of Hispanic students and almost 79% of black students. In comparison, around 54% of white students were chronically absent and just under 24% of Asian students, suggesting strong inequities in school attendance.

Extracurricular activities

Clubs
Several clubs are available for the students of New Utrecht High School, such as The New Comet Newspaper Club, the Green Team, the Photography Club, and the Science Olympiad Team.

Many after-school activities are coordinated by the Chinese-American Planning Council, which offers programs to students with the goal of advancing the Asian-American community of New Utrecht.

Events
A few special events and productions are held at New Utrecht High School:

 AAPI Club Fair
 Anime Event
 AP/College Now Fair
 Art and Music Night
 Chinese New Year Show
 Club Fair
 Fashion Show
 International Show

Student government
New Utrecht High School has a student government class which functions as an elective credit for students. Members are responsible for approving funds for clubs and organizing a School Spirit Week, Thanksgiving Dinner, Toy Drive, and other annual school-wide events.

For nearly a century, the student government positions were mayor, deputy mayor, secretary, treasurer, and student representatives from each grade. The mayoral theme was a longstanding tradition that stemmed from the fact that the neighborhood of New Utrecht was named by Dutch settlers after the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands.

In 2015, the student government changed the name of the two significant positions of mayor and deputy mayor to student body president and vice president. Beginning in Fall 2023, the roles of student president and vice president were abolished and replaced with a council, or group of students. Each member holds an equal role in the student government.

Notable alumni
Walter Adams (1922–1998): economist, university president
Koby Altman (born 1982): professional basketball general manager
Carmine Appice (born 1946): musician, drummer
Steve Augeri (born 1959): singer
Troy Ave (born 1985): rapper
Lord Have Mercy (born 1973): rapper 
Gene Barry (born Eugene Klass; 1919–2009): actor
Seymour Benzer (1921–2007): biologist
Barbara Aronstein Black (born 1933): academic dean
Abe Burrows (1910–1985): playwright
Pat Capri (1918–1989): professional baseball player
Jack Carter: comedian
Ronald Castorina: politician 
Phyllis Chesler: feminist author, psychologist
Joseph Colombo (1923–1978): criminal
Louis "Louie Bagels" Daidone (born 1946): criminal
Billy DeMars (1925–2020): professional baseball player, coach
Max Desfor (1913–2018): photographer 
Amram Ducovny (1927–2003): writer
Stanley Ellin: author
Jerry Ferrara: actor
Cy Feuer: playwright, stage director, producer
Stanley Fink (1936–1997): politician
Eli Friedman (born 1933): nephrologist
Leo Friedman: Broadway photographer
Allen Funt (1914–1999): TV personality
GASHI (born 1989): rapper
David Geffen (born 1943): media mogul
Ralph Ginzburg (1929–2006): author, editor, publisher, photojournalist
Bernice Gottlieb (née Bernice Friedman; born 1931): pioneer in the transracial adoption movement, real estate executive
Philip Habib (1920–1992): diplomat
Buddy Hackett (born Leonard Hacker; 1924–2003): comedian
Barbara Grizzuti Harrison: writer
Sal Iacono: television comedian
David Ignatow: poet, author
Gabe Kaplan (born 1945): comic, actor, poker player
Michael Kidd (1915–2007): choreographer
Harvey Lembeck (1923–1982): actor
Howard Levy: dermatologist, Vietnam War resister
Steve Lombardi: professional wrestler
Paulie Malignaggi: professional boxer
 Harold Martin (1918–2010): politician
Patty McCormack: actress
Robert Merrill (1917–2004): opera singer
Walter Mischel (1930–2018): psychologist famous for the Marshmallow Test and contributions to personality and social psychology
Art Modell (1925–2012): businessman, entrepreneur, professional sports team owner
Doretta Morrow: actress
Sam Nahem (1915–2004): professional baseball player
Angela "Big Ang" Raiola: TV personality
Anthony Ramos: actor, singer 
Teddy Reig (1918–1984): jazz record producer, promoter, artist manager
Daniel Rodriguez: singer
 Stan Rosen (1906–1984): professional football player
Spencer Ross: sportscaster
Herschel Savage: pornographic actor
John Saxon (1935–2020): actor
Ralph Snyderman (born 1940): physician, scientist, administrator
Arnold Stang: comedian, actor
Martha Stewart (1922–2021): film and TV actress, singer
Tony Visconti (born 1944): music producer

In popular culture
New Utrecht High School is the venue for key scenes in the 1947 movie It Happened in Brooklyn, starring Frank Sinatra, Kathryn Grayson, Jimmy Durante, and Peter Lawford.

The front and rear views of the school building were used in the opening and closing scenes of the TV sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter, which starred alumnus Gabe Kaplan.

Gallery

References

Notes

External links

 School Website
 DOE Website

Educational institutions established in 1915
Public high schools in Brooklyn
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
1915 establishments in New York City