Cass Technical High School

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Cass Technical High School
Cass Technical High School 2010.jpg
Image of the school in 2010
Address
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
2501 Second Avenue

Detroit
,
Michigan
48201

United States
Coordinates42°20′19.815″N 83°3′37.379″W / 42.33883750°N 83.06038306°W / 42.33883750; -83.06038306Coordinates: 42°20′19.815″N 83°3′37.379″W / 42.33883750°N 83.06038306°W / 42.33883750; -83.06038306
Information
Other nameCass Tech
TypePublic high school
MottoCass Tech #1, Second To None
Established1907 (1907)
School districtDetroit Public Schools Community District
NCES School ID260110304669[1]
PrincipalLisa Phillips
Teaching staff109.00 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment2,393 (2018-19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio21.95[1]
Color(s)Forest green and white   [2]
NicknameTechnicians[2]
NewspaperCT Visionary
Websitewww.detroitk12.org/casstech

Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a public high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States.[3] It was established in 1907 and is part of the Detroit Public Schools Community District. It is named after Lewis Cass.[4]

Until 1977, Cass was Detroit's only magnet school and the only non-neighborhood enrollment school in Detroit. Today, Cass is one of few magnet schools in Detroit. Entrance to Cass is based on test scores and middle school grades. Students are required to choose a curriculum path—roughly equivalent to a college "major" —in the ninth grade. Areas of study include, but are not limited to, arts and communication, business management and marketing, engineering and manufacturing, human services, and science and arts.[5]

History and campus[]

Architecture[]

Lewis Cass the High School
(former Cass campus)
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
CassTechOld.jpg
Cass Technical High School is located in Michigan
Cass Technical High School
Location2421 Second Avenue, Detroit, Michigan, United States
Coordinates42°20′15″N 83°3′36″W / 42.33750°N 83.06000°W / 42.33750; -83.06000
Built1922
ArchitectMalcolmson and Higginbotham, Albert Kahn
DemolishedJuly 2011
MPSPublic Schools of Detroit MPS
NRHP reference No.10000644[6]
Added to NRHPMarch 29, 2011

The school was founded on the third floor of the old Cass Union School in 1907. Its historic landmark building on Second Avenue in downtown Detroit was built in 1917.[7] To the south of it an addition was built in 1985.[citation needed] The new, modern facilities of the school were built in 2004 in an adjacent lot to the north of the original building on Grand River Avenue.

In 2007 there was a large fire in the old structure. Complete demolition of the vacant Cass Tech building began in June 2011 and was finished by November. Pictures of the old historic structures, both from the outside and the abandoned inside floors and classes, can be seen here [1]. In addition, a 3D floor-by-floor interactive map of the old building is available here [2] as well.

Following the fire in the old structure, it was demolished and removed by Homrich Demolition.[8] At time of demolition, the school building was approximately 830,000 square feet (77,000 m2) and weighed more than 100,000 short tons (91,000 t). Over 90% of the material in the building was recycled for other uses or as backfill.

In 2008 some classes that were not very popular with students were removed due to reduction in teacher staffing due to declining enrollment.[9]

Student[]

Demographic[]

Based on current enrollment information, there are approximately 2,468 students that attend Cass Technical High School. There are 728 students in the ninth grade, 585 students in the tenth grade, 585 in the eleventh grade, and 570 in the twelfth grade.[10]

Ethnicity distribution[]

Of the 2,468 students that attend Cass Technical High School, 2,035 (82.5%) of them are Black or African American, 233 (9.4%) are Asian American, 147 (6.0%) are Hispanic or Latino, 12 (0.5%) are White, 28 (1.1%) are Arab, and 7 (0.3%) are American Indian or Alaska Native.[11]

Academics[]

Cass offers over twenty advanced placement courses including language composition, history, chemistry, calculus, and physics.[12] Cass Tech students' strong academic performances draw recruiters from across the country, including Ivy League representatives eager to attract the top minority applicants.[13] However, in 2019, Cass Tech was not among the top 78 highest average SAT scores at Michigan high schools.[14] In 2021, U.S. News ranked Cass Tech as 84th in Michigan high schools, and reported a 62.9% percentile score on the SAT.[15]

Awards[]

In 1984, Cass Tech was honored by the U.S. Department of Education among 262 schools that should "shine as inspirational model for others," a list that included public and private schools.[16]

In 2006, Cass represented DPS at the National Academic Games Olympics and won the Team Sweepstakes award.[citation needed]

Music department[]

Harp and vocal[]

The school's Harp program was established in 1925.[17]

Bands[]

There are beginner, intermediate, advanced and jazz band classes, as well as a marching band. The CTMB (marching band), under the direction of Sharon Allen, has performed for Patti LaBelle, Sinbad, and Jay Z as well as various college and university homecomings.[citation needed] The marching band was also a part of the 2007 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, but was not televised. In 2008, the band performed at Texas Southern University.[citation needed] In 2010, the CTMB participated in Norfolk State University's Homecoming and won first place in the McDonald's Battle of the Bands.[citation needed] In 2013 CTMB went to the 2013 inauguration for President Barack Obama.[18]

The concert band program rose to prominence under the direction of Harry Begian, who led the Cass Tech bands from 1947 through 1964. Under his baton, the concert band performed twice at the Mid-West Band and Orchestra Clinic, and played literature at a level far beyond that normally performed by a public high school band, including the Symphony in B-flat by Paul Hindemith and La Fiesta Mexicana by H. Owen Reed.

Athletics[]

Football[]

Cass Tech helmet.

The Cass Tech Technicians football team (also referred to as the Technicians) is a high school football program in Division 1 Public School League, representing Cass Technical High School.

Cass Tech won the 2011, 2012 and 2016 MHSAA Division I state championships.[19]

Basketball[]

  • 1956 Boys Class A State Champions[20]
  • 1975 Boys Class A State Champions[21]

Track and field[]

Cass Tech's track and field history goes back to 1926 when Eddie Tolan and his teammate Loving won the interscholastic track meet at Northwestern University.[22] Tolan came to be known as the "Midnight Express". He set world records in the 100-yard dash and 100 meters event and Olympic records in the 100 meters and 200 meters events.[citation needed] He was the first African-American to receive the title of the "world's fastest human" after winning gold medals in the 100 and 200 meters events at the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. In March 1935, Tolan won the 75, 100 and 220-yard events at the World Professional Sprint Championships in Melbourne, Australia to become the first man to win both the amateur and professional world sprint championships. In his full career as a sprinter, Tolan won 300 races and lost only 7.[23]

Northwestern Interscholastic Track Meet[]

  • March 1926: 1st Place – National Champions[24]
  • March 1927: 3rd Place[25]
  • March 1928: 3rd Place[26]

Notable alumni[]

Art, architecture, design[]

  • Harry Bertoia,[27] artist, sound art sculptor, and modern furniture designer
  • John DeLorean[28], engineer, inventor and executive in the U.S. automobile industry
  • Niels Diffrient, industrial designer
  • LeRoy Foster, painter
  • Dorothy Henry, cartoonist and illustrator
  • Ray Johnson, artist
  • John Kloss, fashion designer
  • Stanley Lechtzin,[29] jewelry and metals artist
  • Judy Pfaff, artist
  • Charles Pollock, industrial designer
  • Renée Radell, painter
  • Bill Robinson (auto_designer), industrial designer
  • Berta Rosenbaum Golahny, painter, printmaker, and sculptor
  • Ruth Adler Schnee,[30] textile and interior designer
  • Maya Stovall,[31][32] artist and anthropologist

Arts and entertainment[]

  • Dorothy Ashby, jazz harpist and composer
  • Geri Allen, jazz pianist, composer, and recording artist
  • Sean Anderson aka Big Sean, rapper, singer and songwriter
  • Warren Benson,[33] composer
  • Kenny Burrell, jazz guitarist
  • Ellen Burstyn, actress
  • Donald Byrd, jazz and rhythm-and-blues trumpeter, and vocalist
  • Regina Carter, jazz violinist
  • Ron Carter, jazz double bassist
  • Paul Chambers, jazz double bassist
  • Alice Coltrane, jazz musician and composer
  • Muriel Costa-Greenspon, mezzo-soprano
  • Jerald Daemyon, electric violinist
  • Delores Ivory Davis, soprano
  • Artie Fields,[34] bandleader, songwriter, record producer and jazz trumpeter
  • Carole Gist, TV host, model and first African American woman to win the Miss USA title
  • Wardell Gray, jazz tenor saxophonist who straddled the swing and bebop periods
  • David Alan Grier, actor and comedian
  • J. C. Heard,[35] swing, bop, and blues drummer
  • Major Holley, jazz upright bassist
  • Ali Jackson, jazz drummer
  • Michael R. Jackson, playwright, composer, and lyricist
  • Philip Johnson, actor
  • Ella Joyce, actress
  • Hugh Lawson,[35] jazz pianist
  • Donyale Luna, model and actress
  • Howard McGhee, one of the first bebop jazz trumpeters
  • Al McKibbon,[35] jazz double bassist
  • Billy Mitchell,[35] jazz tenor saxophonist
  • Kenya Moore, actress, model, producer, author, television personality, and entrepreneur
  • Naima Mora, fashion model
  • J. Moss, gospel musician, composer, producer and arranger
  • Greg Phillinganes, keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and musical director
  • Della Reese, jazz and gospel singer, actress, and ordained minister
  • Frank Rosolino,[36] jazz trombonist
  • Diana Ross, singer, actress, and record producer
  • Donald Sinta, classical saxophonist, educator, and administrator
  • Cornelius Smith Jr., actor
  • Lucky Thompson,[35] jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist
  • Lily Tomlin, actress, comedian, writer, singer and producer
  • Jack White,[37] singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer
  • Doug Watkins, jazz double bassist
  • Gerald Wilson, jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer/arranger, and educator
  • Charles Wysocki, painter

Business[]

  • Rosalind Brewer, businesswoman
  • Scott Fox, best-selling entrepreneurship author
  • Esther Gordy Edwards, staff member and associate of her younger brother Berry Gordy's Motown
  • Kevan Hall,[38] fashion designer
  • Tracy Reese,[39] fashion designer
  • Preston Tucker, automobile entrepreneur

Educators[]

  • Charles Gilchrist Adams,[40] professor
  • David H. Sanford, professor of philosophy

Fiction/non-fiction[]

Journalism/publishing/broadcasting[]

  • Terry Foster, sports columnist and radio personality
  • Ed Gordon, journalist
  • Pat Harvey, broadcast journalist
  • Gerald McDermott, filmmaker
  • Toni Neal, broadcaster
  • Michael Reghi, television play-by-play announcer and radio talk show host
  • Shaun Robinson, television host

Law, government, and public policy[]

  • Cora Brown, state senator
  • George Cushingberry Jr., congressman
  • Kwame Kilpatrick, politician
  • Kenneth Reeves, mayor
  • Barbara-Rose Collins, congresswoman

Military[]

  • Thomas E. White, businessman and Army officer
  • Paul Wurtsmith, Army Air Forces general
  • Vincent W. Patton III, Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard

Sports[]

  • Joe Barksdale,[41] NFL player
  • David Boone,[42] NFL player
  • George Brown,[43] NBA player
  • Walter Clago,[44] NFL player
  • Will Campbell, NFL player
  • Derrick Dial,[45] NBA player
  • Carmen Fanzone,[46] MLB player
  • Guy Frazier,[47] NFL player
  • Vernon Gholston,[48] NFL player
  • Curtis Greer,[49] NFL player
  • Harlan Huckleby,[50] NFL player
  • Lano Hill, NFL player
  • Pat Ivey,[51] NFL player
  • Aaron Kyle,[52] NFL player
  • Jourdan Lewis, NFL player
  • Bill Mayfield, NBA player
  • Darris McCord,[53] NFL player
  • Dorie Murrey,[54] NBA player
  • A. J. Ofodile,[55] NFL player
  • Ben John Paolucci,[56] NFL player
  • Donovan Peoples-Jones, NFL player
  • Chris Douglas Roberts,[57] NBA player
  • Tom Seabron,[58] NFL player
  • Arnie Simkus,[59] NFL player
  • Thomas Sidney Sims,[60] NFL player
  • Eddie Tolan,[61] Olympic sprinter
  • Clarence Williams,[62] NFL player

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Search for Public Schools - Cass Technical High School (260110304669)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "MHSAA > Schools".
  3. ^ Midtown location from the University Cultural Center Association, retrieved June 9, 1001
  4. ^ "Whitmer strips name of slave owner Lewis Cass from state office building". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  5. ^ "Lewis Cass Technical High School" (PDF).
  6. ^ "WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: March 28, 2011 THROUGH April 1, 2011". National Park Service. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
  7. ^ DAN AUSTIN of HistoricDetroit.org. "– Old Cass Technical High School". Historicdetroit.org. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  8. ^ Images and information on the demolition of the structure can be found in the Homrich Demolition project file.
  9. ^ Brand-Williams, Orlandar. "Cass Tech will lose some less popular classes." The Detroit News. September 23, 2008. Retrieved on November 3, 2012.
  10. ^ Student Counts, Ethnicity Distribution, and Gender Distribution. Detroit Public Schools Community District. Retrieved on 2011-03-05. Archived November 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Student Counts, Ethnicity Distribution, and Gender Distribution Archived July 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Detroit Public Schools Community District. Retrieved on 2011-03-05
  12. ^ https://www.detroitk12.org/domain/6413. Retrieved September 3, 2021. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ^ 'U' catches Cass Tech talent. The Michigan Daily (2006-04-04). Retrieved on 2011-01-07.
  14. ^ . Advance Local Media LLC https://www.mlive.com/news/g66l-2019/09/9d256d1d4b310/the-78-michigan-public-high-schools-with-best-results-on-2019-sat.html. Retrieved September 3, 2021. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ^ U.S. News Education. U.S. News https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/michigan/districts/detroit-public-schools-community-district/cass-technical-high-school-9864. Retrieved September 3, 2021. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ^ 15 Michigan Schools are given honor, Ludington Daily News – August 21, 1984
  17. ^ Laurie Palazzolo (October 2003). Horn man: the Polish-American musician in twentieth-century Detroit. Wayne State University Press. pp. 257–. ISBN 978-0-8143-3193-4. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
  18. ^ "Drum roll: Cass Tech marchers raise enough money to play D.C." Archived from the original on February 20, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  19. ^ . Michigan High School Athletic Association https://www.mhsaa.com/Sports/Football/Yearly-Champions. Retrieved September 3, 2021. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  20. ^ http://michigan-football.com/bb/casstech.html%7C[permanent dead link] Cass Tech Win Loss
  21. ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=taMxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XKwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=894,4865755&dq=cass+tech+football&hl=en%7C Cass Tech finish #1
  22. ^ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QCNAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=i1gMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1499,5915116&dq=cass-technical&hl=en%7C Scholastic Meet at Northwestern
  23. ^ Eddie Tolan, usatf.org
  24. ^ Scholastic Meet At Northwestern, Youngstown Vindicator – February 16, 1927
  25. ^ Detroit School Winner, The Pittsburgh Press – June 5, 1927
  26. ^ "Detroit Preps Star in Meet". March 25, 1928. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  27. ^ "Modern Furniture & Contemporary Designers, Furniture Store". September 4, 2012. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012.
  28. ^ De Lorean, John Z. and Ted Schwarz. De Lorean. https://archive.org/details/delorean00delo: Zondervan Publishing House. p. 28. ISBN 9780310379409.CS1 maint: location (link)
  29. ^ "Biography: Stanley Lechtzin". Temple. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
  30. ^ "Iconic textile designer Ruth Adler Schnee going strong". Detroit News. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  31. ^ "Maya Stovall". whitney.org. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  32. ^ Smith, Roberta (March 16, 2017). "Why the Whitney's Humanist, Pro-Diversity Biennial Is a Revelation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  33. ^ David Ewen (1982). American Composers: A Biographical Dictionary. G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 978-0-399-12626-0.
  34. ^ "Funeral Details for Arthur Fields - Ira Kaufman Chapel". www.irakaufman.com.
  35. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Lars Björn; Jim Gallert (2001). Before Motown: a history of jazz in Detroit, 1920–60. University of Michigan Press. pp. 77–. ISBN 978-0-472-06765-7. Retrieved January 8, 2011.
  36. ^ http://www.trombone-usa.com/rosolino_frank.htm%7CFRANK[permanent dead link] ROSOLINO
  37. ^ McCollum, Brian (September 2003). "Red, White, and Cool", Spin. 19(9):68-74
  38. ^ "Kevan Hall". Kevan Hall. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  39. ^ "Tracy Reese". Tracy Reese. Archived from the original on January 8, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  40. ^ "HDS – Faculty – Charles G. Adams". Harvard Divinity School. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved January 29, 2010.
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  1. Beamer, Christine. "'U' catches Cass Tech talent". The Michigan Daily. 5 Apr 6.
  2. "DPS students shine at the National Academic Games Olympics". DPS News online. May 19, 2006. Detroit Public Schools Community District. Apr 22, 2007. DPS students shine at the National Academic Games Olympics
  3. Shurney, Simone. "Music program is aged to perfection". CT Visionary. Apr 30, 2007.
  4. Farrell, Perry. "Douglass earns 1st playoff trip". Detroit Free Press. 19 Oct 7.

External links[]

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