As of the 2023–24 school year, 2117 students were enrolled in the high school, served by 191.8 teachers (on an FTE basis), the student to teacher ratio was approximately 10.9 to 1.[1] As of 2023, the enrolled student body race/ethnicity was self reported as 7.4% African American, 16.0% Asian, 12.9% Hispanic, 53.3% White, and 10.3% Multi-ethnic.[1]
History
Brookline High School was founded in the Spring of 1843. Instruction began on August 17, 1843, on the lower floor of the Town Hall on Walnut Street described by a former student as a "dismal, damp and dark room...not unlike a tomb".[2] Benjamin H. Rhodes, a Brown University graduate, was the founding Headmaster, serving until 1847.[2] Rhodes was succeed as Headmaster by Hezekia Shailer who served until 1854. John Emory Horr, a Harvard College graduate, then served as Headmaster for 33 years until 1888.[2][3] The second Brookline High School location was a newly constructed two-story building on School Street designed by architect Joseph L. Richard that opened on November 3, 1856.[2] The third and present location of Brookline High School was Shailer Hall a new three and a half story brick structure with a pitched roof designed by architects Andrews, Jaques and Rantoul which opened in Fall, 1895.[4] The Manual Arts building was built at a cost of $100,000 on Tappan Street, and opened in September, 1903. The ninth grade moved from the School of Practical Arts in the elementary schools to the high school in September 1921. An addition to the main building was finished at that time to increase the capacity to 1500 students. The main building was expanded and remodeled in 1965 with a budget of $1.5 million.[5]
Architecture
The school has Symbolic Panels made by the sculptor John A. Wilson.[6] In May 2018, Brookline voters supported a debt exclusion override to fund the expansion and renovation of Brookline High School. This building project included the construction of a new building at the 111 Cypress Street site, a new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) building to replace the building at the corner of Tappan and Greenough Streets, renovations to the 3rd floor of the main building and the Tappan gymnasium, as well as improvements to Cypress Field.[7] In early 2022, Brookline High School opened a new building on 22 Tappan Street, designed primarily to house freshmen.[8]
Academics
Brookline High School has received the gold medal for Best High Schools from U.S. News & World Report.[9] In addition, Boston Magazine has frequently ranked Brookline High School as one of the best high schools in Massachusetts for academic performance; in 2008, it was ranked top in the state.[10][11] In 2020, Boston Magazine ranked Brookline High School as the 20th best public school in Massachusetts.[12] As of 2021, Brookline High School was ranked #64 nationally for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), according to U.S. News & World Report.[13]
Although the Advanced Placement (AP) program at Brookline High School is smaller than at other high schools, it has grown dramatically over the past 10 years. In 2020–21, 435 students took 797 AP exams, and 91.9% of students scored “3” or above on these exams.[14] In 2019, Brookline High School was ranked in the top 5% of the most challenging public high schools in America (952nd of 22,000).[15] The rank was determined by the Challenge Index defined as the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests taken in a year relative to the number of seniors who graduate.[15][16] In 2020, the 5-year graduation rate was 96.5% with 86% of students planning to attend a 4-Year private or public college.[17][18]
Athletics
Brookline High School features the largest interscholastic athletics program in New England, with 71 teams in 40 sports.[19] Some of the atypical sports include squash, curling, golf, ultimate disc, crew, sailing, water polo, and rugby.
The most popular athletics program at Brookline High School is ultimate disc with participation of over 110 students in 2017.
In 2007, the Brookline High School boys cross country team won the first ever Nike Team Nationals northeast regional meet by just one point over Danbury High School at Bowdin Park, New York.[20] They went on to place 7th at Nike Team Nationals in Portland, Oregon.[21] In addition to the 2007 campaign, in the 2006 and 2009 seasons the team placed 3rd at the Massachusetts Division 1 State Meet, in 2005 they finished 2nd, and on November 20, 2010, won their second state championship, giving them their fifth top 3 finish in six years and second 1st-place finish in four. On November 19, 2011, they won their third state championship, for a run of three championships in five years.
In 2014, Brookline High School rebranded their athletics program. The new logo featured a Spartan Warrior's helmet, successor to the arrowhead logo. A new color scheme was introduced as well, as navy blue replaced royal blue.
In 2013, the boys crew team took home their first national championship; the winning lightweight double featured athletes who would later go on to row on the Cornell and Princeton lightweight teams.[22][23] In 2014, the boys took home a bronze at nationals in the openweight double, only to win another national title in the double in 2015.[24] In 2016, the boys lightweight four won their regional championship, but fell short of a third national title, placing 5th at nationals.[25] In 2022, Brookline High School athletes finished third in the women's under-17 fours at Head of the Charles.[26] Because the crew is not recognized as a school sport in the fall, the athletes rowed under the club name of Friends of Brookline Rowing, whose members are the same as those of the high school's spring rowing team. In 2023, the boys crew team took home two bronzes at regionals in the men's under-17 fours and men's youth second fours categories.[27]
In 2021, the boys volleyball team had the 8th best record (15-5) of the 81 teams in Massachusetts.[28]
School Within A School
School Within A School (SWS) is an alternative, democratic education program based in Brookline High School.[29]
The Cypress (formerly The Sagamore) is a school-affiliated publication (newspaper) produced monthly by the students of Brookline High School. The first issue appeared in January, 1895.[5] The newspaper is independent; the production is funded entirely through selling advertisements and subscriptions.[30] It receives no funding from the high school.[31]
Over the past few years, the paper has publicized and discussed issues in and around the school, including racism and teenage pregnancy. The school is noted for its tradition of high tolerance of sensitive topics discussed in the newspaper. In 2011, New England Scholastic Press Association awarded The Sagamore "Highest Achievement" in Newspaper Class I category.[32]
Notable incidents
On September 25, 1936, Shailer Hall, the original Brookline High School building constructed in 1895, was destroyed by fire.[33] One hundred and sixty firemen fought the fire with at least fourteen treated for injuries.[34] The cause and origin of the fire was a defective incinerator flue in a chimney.[34] Financial losses amounted to $3 million in 2022 dollars.
Members of Fred Phelps' anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church protested at the 2005 graduation ceremony against Brookline High's strong acceptance of homosexuality. They were met by dozens of supporters and counter-protesters.[35][better source needed] Members from the Westboro Baptist Church protested again in 2009. They were met with about 2,000 counter-protesters, including students and members of Brookline High School's staff and PTO, and various other groups from surrounding areas. Surrounded and barricaded by police and deans of Brookline High School, the 'silent, not violent' counter-protest (organized by the school's GSA) took place with no altercations between the two groups.[citation needed]
In November 2017, Brookline High School students coordinated a walkout concerning the racial climate present through the high school. This event occurred after the spread of student produced videos containing racial slurs. The incident made local news and sparked discussion.[36]
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, hundreds of Brookline High School teachers were given pink slips due to lack of funding. This was met with criticism on a local level, causing protests and criticisms on the management of the school's administration.[37]
Notable alumni
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (February 2016)
^Denehy, John William (1906). A History of Brookline, Massachusetts, from the First Settlement of Muddy River to the Present Time. Brookline, MA: Brookline Press.
^ abHolland, Bertram H. (1993). Safeguard of the Republic. Brookline High Alumni Association.
^James Cameron. More About New Glasgow. 1974. p. 194
^Friedman, Alex. "Brookline rowers dubbed best lightweight youth pair in USA", Wicked Local Brookline, June 11, 2013. Accessed December 22, 2016. "While most seniors were throwing their cap into the air celebrating their graduation, five seniors from the Brookline High School varsity crew team were preparing, racing and recovering from the Youth National Championships, where two Brookline rowers took home the gold.... Senior Jack Ruske and sophomore Jordi Cabanas destroyed all competition in the men's lightweight youth 2x A final, finishing two seconds ahead of second-place Miami Beach."
^"Brookline rowers take home gold", Wicked Local Brookline, June 17, 2015. Accessed December 22, 2016. "The Brookline High rowing team had a very successful run last weekend at the US Rowing Youth National Championship in Sarasota, Fla., last weekend. Seniors Jordi Cabanas and Aviv Preminger won gold in the Men's 2X."
^Jeff AdrienArchived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Connecticut Huskies men's basketball. Accessed December 23, 2016. "Averaged 27 points and 14 rebounds as a senior at Brookline HS... As a senior at Brookline, Jeff was team captain, first team All-League, League MVP and named to the Boston Globe Super Team and Boston Herald Dream Team."
^Smith, Jessie Carney. Notable Black American Women: Book 2. USA: Gale Research, 1991. 503. Print.
^Lashinsky, Adam (September 28, 2009). "The Enforcer". Fortune. 160 (6): 117–124. Archived from the original on January 11, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
^Layman, Tom. "All-points bulletin on James Driscoll", Boston Herald, June 19, 2014. Accessed December 23, 2016. "Driscoll, a Brookline High School graduate, currently sits in 125th place in the points standings for the PGA Tour's playoff system, meaning if the season had ended before this week’s Travelers Championship he would technically be the last player in the field."
^"Fanfares for Michael Dukakis", The New York Times, July 23, 1988. Accessed February 5, 2008. "And then the candidate, once a trumpeter in the Brookline High School band, took the podium and performed his own Fanfare for the Common Man."
^The "Challenge Constantly Renewed", Huntington Theatre Company. Accessed December 23, 2016. "Richard N. Goodwin has been a major presence over the past four decades as a relentless and probing commentator on American society and the challenges of liberal democracy.... Born December 7, 1931, in Boston, he attended Brookline High School and Tufts University, graduating first in his class from Harvard Law School in 1958, and serving as president of the Harvard Law Review."
^Borchers, Callum. "Seven things you should know about Sam Kennedy", The Boston Globe, March 23, 2014. Accessed December 23, 2016. "Kennedy and Epstein — classmates at Brookline High School — were suddenly reunited in leadership positions for their hometown team."
^Cromie, Robert. "Kenney of the Fifth!", Chicago Tribune, November 14, 1943. Accessed December 23, 2016. "Caption: George C. Kenney at the time he was graduated from Brookline High School in 1907."
^Baird, Susanna. "Kraft Cements His Love for the Old Alma Mater", The Boston Globe, November 14, 2004. Accessed April 18, 2008. "Robert Kraft's hands have pressed down into history. Brookline High School, alma mater of the NFL's winningest owner, has instituted a Hollywood-esque Walk of Fame, complete with concrete handprints. Kraft, "Bobby" to his peers in the BHS class of 1959, is the walk's first inductee."
^Brozan, Nadine. "Chronicle", The New York Times, March 16, 1993. Accessed April 21, 2008. "The year is being bracketed by two celebratory weekends -- one last June, one this June -- that include class reunions. Last year's event brought more than 2,000 graduates back to the school, including Mr. Wallace, Alan Rachins, a star of "L.A. Law," and former Gov. Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts and his wife, Kitty."
^Brozan, Nadine. "Chronicle", The New York Times, March 16, 1993. Accessed February 5, 2008. "Mike Wallace is lending a hand to his old school, Brookline High School, at a benefit -- unusual for a Massachusetts public school -- in New York tomorrow evening. Mr. Wallace, class of '35, will interview the school's acting headmaster, Dr. Robert J. Weintraub, at a cocktail party that is expected to draw 60 or so Brookline graduates to the University Club on West 54th Street."
^Goldman, Steven (2005). The Making of Casey Stengel. Washington, D.C.: Potomac Books, Inc.
