Classical High School

For the school in Lynn, Massachusetts, see Lynn Classical High School.

Classical High School
Address
Map
770 Westminster Street

Providence
,
Rhode Island 02903

United States
Information
TypePublic, Magnet
MottoCertare, Petere, Reperire, Neque Cedere
(To Strive, to Seek, to Find, and Not to Yield)
EstablishedMarch 20, 1843; 181 years ago (1843-03-20)
PrincipalScott Barr
Faculty64.00 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12
GenderCoeducational
Enrollment1,113 (2022-23)[1]
Student to teacher ratio17.39[1]
CampusUrban
Color(s)   Purple & white
MascotLady Purple/Athena
Communities servedProvidence, Rhode Island, United States
Websitewww.classicalhighschool.org
Cahir Street View
Cahir Street View

Classical High School, founded in 1843, is a public magnet school in the Providence School District, in Providence, Rhode Island.[2] It was originally an all-male school but has since become co-ed. Classical's motto is Certare, Petere, Reperire, Neque Cedere, a Latin translation of the famous phrase taken from Tennyson's poem "Ulysses", "To Strive, to Seek, to Find, and Not to Yield". Classical High School stands roughly at the intersection of the Federal Hill, West End, and Upper South Providence neighborhoods.

Architecture

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Westminster Street facade

Classical High School's current building was finished in 1970 and is one of few buildings in the area created in the Brutalist architectural style.[3] The original school buildings had become outdated by the 1950s and after several fires and years of study, the city launched a competition for a new education complex in 1963. The winning design was by noted local architects Harkness & Geddes in collaboration with Walter Gropius, who founded The Architects Collaborative (TAC), the famous Boston architectural firm.[4]

William McKenzie Woodward, a well-known architectural historian and staff member of the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission, does not agree aesthetically with the building, going so far as to write in his Guide to Providence Architecture, "It's no wonder Modernism has gotten such a bad reputation in Rhode Island because it smells very bad there."[3] In 1986 McKenzie had however admitted in his survey for the Preservation Commission that "The new complex, the first of its kind in Providence built to serve a stable rather than expanding population, was well received as an ample and functional facility." Quoting John Ware Lincoln, then chairman of the Division of Design at Rhode Island School of Design as having noted: "The new Classical buildings are fine architecture, by the old standards, but they are also exemplary of the new concept of the architect as an environmental planner, working with social and civic sciences, demography, transportation engineering, building technologies, and, in this case, education philosophy."[4]

The previous building, designed by Martin & Hall, was a yellow brick building with a peaked roof (under which was the study hall). It was considerably smaller and was bounded by Pond Street, which was consumed in the creation of the new campus. When the old building was razed the yellow bricks were sold to students and alumni.

Alumni

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Classical High School (Providence, Rhode Island).

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Classical High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  2. ^ Classical High School – Providence, Rhode Island/RI – Public School Profile
  3. ^ a b Woodward, William McKenzie (2003). PPS/AIAri Guide to Providence Architecture. Providence, RI: Providence Preservation Society. p. 207. ISBN 0-9742847-0-X.
  4. ^ a b William McKenzie Woodward and Edward F Sanderson; Providence, a Citywide Survey of Historical Resources; Rhode Island Historic Preservation Commission, 1986
  5. ^ "Distinguished Alumni Awards - Classical Alumni Association". Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  6. ^ "Washington C.H. Record-Herald from Washington Court House, Ohio on February 16, 1966 · Page 10". February 16, 1966.
  7. ^ Andy Coakley biography at the SABR Baseball Biography Project
  8. ^ Coolidge (Class of 1956), Clark (2010). "Clark Coolidge Chronology". Buffalo University. Retrieved February 9, 2015.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Distinguished Alumni". Classical HS Alumni Assoc. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2016.
  10. ^ Fish (Class of 1956), Stanley (June 7, 2010). "A Classical Education: Back to the Future". The New York Times. Retrieved June 9, 2010.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Koch, Bill. "Classical receiver Galloway commits to Boston College". The Providence Journal. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  12. ^ Burrington, H. H.; Scribner, M. B. (1868). Annual Report of the School Committee of the City of Providence. Providence, RI: Hammond, Angell & Co. p. 99 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ "Classical High School Alumni Association - Providence, RI". Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  14. ^ Harvard (1922). Harvard College, Class of 1892. Thirtieth Anniversary Report. Privately published for the class. p. 163.
  15. ^ Mitchell, Martha. "Encyclopedia Brunoniana".
  16. ^ Patinkin, Mark (March 24, 2022). "The Providence moment that set Ketanji Brown Jackson's path toward Supreme Court nominee". Providence, Rhode Island: The Providence Journal. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
  17. ^ http://blogs.wpri.com/2010/11/17/taveras-taps-classical-high-chum-damico-for-key-post/ Archived October 23, 2013, at the Wayback Machine>
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41°49′3.72″N 71°25′14.15″W / 41.8177000°N 71.4205972°W / 41.8177000; -71.4205972

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