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. It is one of the largest high schools in New York City in enrollment.

New Utrecht High School
Address
1601 80th Street

Brooklyn
,
New York, 11214

United States
Coordinates40°36′48″N 74°00′11″W
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1915
School district20
School codeK445
PrincipalSvetlana Litvin
Faculty278
Enrollment3,572
Student to teacher ratio13:1
Color(s)White and Green
Team nameUtes
NewspaperThe New Comet
InformationPhone: 718-232-2500 Fax: 718-259-5526
Websitenewutrechthighschoolnyc.com

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 white and green 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.[1][2]

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.[3] In 1990, a black student was shot by a group of white students stemming from an incident in the locker room.[4]

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.[5]

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.

Curriculum

New Utrecht High School offers Advanced Placement courses, including:

  • AP Calculus AB
  • AP Calculus BC
  • AP Statistics
  • AP World History: Modern
  • AP Human Geography
  • AP United States History
  • AP United States Government and Politics
  • AP Comparative Government and Politics
  • AP Microeconomics
  • AP Macroeconomics
  • AP English Language and Composition
  • AP English Literature and Composition
  • AP Chemistry
  • AP Physics 1
  • AP Biology
  • AP Environmental Science
  • AP Psychology
  • AP Computer Science A
  • AP Computer Science Principles
  • AP Art History
  • AP Chinese Language & Culture
  • AP Italian Language & Culture
  • AP Spanish Language & Culture

Academies

There are several academies (programs that offer employment-oriented training in specialized fields) at New Utrecht High School, 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 academies are associated with NAF, a non-profit organization originally known as the National Academy Foundation.

Extracurricular activities

Student government

New Utrecht High School has an active student government elected every October. 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. The New Utrecht High School Student Government is responsible for allocating funds to clubs and organizing a School Spirit Week, a Thanksgiving Dinner, a Toy Drive, and other annual school-wide events.

There is also a Senior Council composed of a president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer. The Senior Council is responsible for organizing Senior events, such as the Senior Class Brunch and Senior Trip, creating the Senior Class sweatshirts, voicing concerns of the Senior Class to the administration, and keeping the Senior Class informed.

School leadership team

The School Leadership Team (SLT) comprises representatives from the school administration, parents, teachers, and students. The students are usually two active students, one junior and one senior, who voice the student body's concerns. The SLT meets monthly to discuss and work on issues related to implementing the school's mission and vision. A PTA meeting follows immediately after.

Productions

Four productions are held annually at New Utrecht High School: the Talent Show, the Chinese New Year Show, the Fashion Show, and the International Show.

The Talent Show is open to anyone with talent, whether singing, dancing, magic, comedy, or any other form of entertainment. The sound, lighting, stage, construction, and booklet crew are composed entirely of students. The show is usually held in December.

The Chinese New Year Show involves singing, dancing, acting, and other entertainment forms revolving around Chinese culture. The Chinese Club at New Utrecht High School partners with a non-profit organization called the Chinese-American Planning Council.

The Fashion Show production at New Utrecht High School is student-run and consists of students in the New Utrecht Fashion Society creating clothes and having their friends model them. The show is usually held in March or April.

Like the others, the International Show is held in April or May and is entirely student-run. It is similar to the Talent Show but focuses on other countries worldwide.

Notable alumni

Notable alums of New Utrecht High School include:

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.

  • The entranceway of theschool, 2013
    The entranceway of the
    school, 2013
  • The rear of the school, 2013
    The rear of the school, 2013
  • The school in 2003
    The school in 2003
  • The school in 2003
    The school in 2003
  • The school in 2003
    The school in 2003

References
  1. Silberstein, Rachel (2015-09-29). "Save The Date: New Utrecht High School Celebrates 100 Years On October 24". BKLYNER. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  2. "New Utrecht High School - Brooklyn, NY"
  3. Peterson, Iver (October 9, 1974). "300 Blacks Storm New Utrecht, Forcing High School to Close". The New York Times.
  4. Hevesi, Dennis (28 March 1990). "A Black Is Shot In a High School In Bensonshurst". The New York Times.
  5. "Helpern Architects | New Utrecht High School"
  6. "New Utrecht (Brooklyn, NY) Baseball". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
  7. Levin, Jay. "Harold Martin, former Bergen County freeholder and state Assemblyman, dies", The Record (Bergen County), October 20, 2010. Accessed November 24, 2019. "Harold Martin was born in West New York and grew up in Brooklyn, where his family operated a successful menswear store. He graduated from New Utrecht High School and studied political science and economics at Rutgers University, from which he received bachelor's and master's degrees."
  8. Carey, Benedict (14 September 2018). "Walter Mischel, 88, Psychologist Famed for Marshmallow Test, Dies". The New York Times.
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