Polytechnic School
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| Polytechnic School | |
| President of the Board | Wendy Munger |
| Head of School | Deborah E. Reed (2002- ) |
| Assistant Head of School | Greg Feldmeth |
| School Directors | Lower: Mariana Robles Middle: Carmie Rodriguez Upper: Jamie Neilson |
| School type | Private |
| Grades | Kindergarten through 12 |
| Religious affiliation | None at present, but has Unitarian roots |
| Founded | 1907 |
| Location | Pasadena, California |
| Faculty | 163 |
| Campus surroundings | Residential |
| Campus size | 15 acres |
| School Colors | Orange & White |
| Mascot | Panther |
| Student Publication | The Paw Print |
Polytechnic School, often referred to as simply Poly, is a college preparatory private school in Pasadena, California.
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[edit] History
The school was founded in 1907 as the first private non-profit elementary school in California. It descends from the Throop Polytechnic Institute founded by Amos G. Throop, the same institution which grew into the present California Institute of Technology. The school added a ninth grade in 1918 and expanded to high school in 1959. Polytechnic ended its pre-Kindergarten program in 2005.
In the spring of 1907, the Institute decided to focus on the college level and closed the grammar school. Philanthropic citrus tycoon Ezra S. Gosney donated $12,500, a sum matched by eighteen other donors. This money allowed them to purchase the property at the present site, originally an orange grove. The school opened in October of 1907 with 106 students. At the time, the school was named Polytechnic Elementary School. After instituting a ninth grade, the name changed to Polytechnic Elementary and Junior High School.
[edit] Academics
Poly offers Advanced Placement and honors classes as well as arts and athletic programs. According to a College Board report, Polytechnic School was named a world leader in student participation and performance on Advanced Placement exams. Furthermore, the report also named Polytechnic as the top small school in the world for having the largest part of its students achieve a 3 or above on the AP Calculus AB examination in both 2004 and 2005.[1]In 2007, Polytechnic School was ranked 4th in the Nation by The Wall Street Journal in success rate in sending students to Harvard University, Princeton University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Williams College, Pomona College, Swarthmore College, the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University, higher than many older, more well known east coast prep schools such as Phillips Exeter and Phillips Andover.[2] In the 2006-07 class, 42% of class were National Merit Finalists & Commended students and 84% of students were accepted to 'highly-selective' top tier universities.
[edit] Campus information and the Capital Campaign
The school is divided by Cornell Road into two campuses, north (lower and middle school) and south (upper school), and is adjacent to the Caltech campus. Most of the north campus buildings were designed by Myron Hunt, who also designed the Rose Bowl and The Huntington, and Elmer Gray, who designed the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Pasadena Playhouse. The Cornett Mansion, designed in 1907, in the south campus serves as the administration building and houses several classrooms for the upper school.
In April 2005, the city of Pasadena approved Polytechnic's Master Development Plan, which over the following ten years will permit the construction of an aquatics facility (opened in May 2006), an underground parking structure, and other facilities and new structures. Currently, a capital campaign is in the works to renovate and replace some of the school's older and outdated buildings. Changes include the addition of a new science building, the expansion of the Garland theater, and a modernization of Myron Hunt's historical lower school buildings. An expansion of the endowment is also part of the plan.
[edit] Athletics
Poly's playing field is named "Babcock Field." Poly's athletic rival is Flintridge Preparatory School in La Cañada, California. This rivalry is over fifty years old, and as such certain traditions have stemmed from it. For example, the golf teams at both schools compete for the "mystic niblick" every spring, a trophy given to the team with the lowest overall scores over their two matches against one another. This tradition has its origins in the 1980's.
[edit] Trivia
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Every year, in the last week of April, Poly holds the "Poly Pet and Hobby Show," where students can display their pets, hobbies, or talents in a "carnival" atmosphere.
Unique to Poly is Francis Wass Day, a holiday celebrated twice a year. Francis Wass, a former teacher at Poly, advocated at least one extra day off every month; when these holidays were added to the school calendar, they were named in his honor.
Wendy Munger, the president of the board, is the daughter of investment tycoon, Charlie Munger, Vice Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway. She is also on the board of Stanford University.
The school newspaper is The Paw Print.
[edit] Notable alumni
Notable alumni include:
- John Battelle, author, journalist, and co-founder of Wired magazine
- Alec Berg, screenwriter, actor, and film producer[1]
- Otis Chandler, publisher, The Los Angeles Times
- Julia Child, television chef and personality[3]
- Harriet Huntington Doerr, author of Stones for Ibarra, Consider This, Senora, and The Tiger in the Grass[3]
- David Ebershoff author of the international bestselling novels, The Danish Girl and Pasadena
- Ted Griffin, screenwriter, actor, and film producer[2]
- R. Stanton Hales, former president of the College of Wooster
- John Horn, entertainment writer, The Los Angeles Times'
- Peter McAniff, financial investment author[3]
- Drew Pinsky, radio and television personality
- Alison Sweeney, actress
- Mike White, film director, screenwriter, and actor
- Joe Matthews, author of The People's Machine: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of Blockbuster Democracy
[edit] References
- ^ 23080_Text.indd
- ^ How the Schools Stack Up from The Wall Street Journal Online
- ^ a b Bates, Colleen Dunn; Jill Alison Ganon, Sandy Gillis (2006). Hometown Pasadena: The Insider's Guide, 1st ed, Pasadena, California: Prospect Park Books, Page 93. ISBN 9780975393918. OCLC 76881557. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
