Edwin Denby High School | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Location | |
![]() | |
12800 Kelly Road , United States | |
Coordinates | 42°25′33″N82°57′31″W / 42.4257°N 82.9587°W |
Information | |
Type | Public secondary |
Opened | 1930 |
School district | Detroit Public Schools Community District |
Principal | Tanisha Manningham |
Teaching staff | 26.50 (FTE) [1] |
Grades | 9–12 |
Enrollment | 505 (2018-19) [1] |
Student to teacher ratio | 19.06 [1] |
Color(s) | Blue and gold [2] |
Nickname | Tars [2] |
Newspaper | The Denby Beacon |
Website | Denby High School |
[3] | |
Denby High School | |
Built | 1930 |
Architect | Smith, Hinchman & Grylls |
Architectural style | Art Deco |
NRHP reference No. | 04001581 [4] |
Added to NRHP | February 2, 2005 |
Student assessments | |
---|---|
2021–22 school year [5] Change vs. prior year [5] | |
M-STEP 11th grade proficiency rates (Science / Social Studies) | |
Advanced % | ≤5 / ≤5 |
Proficient % | ≤5 / ≤5 |
PR. Proficient % | – / – |
Not Proficient % | – / – |
Average test scores | |
SAT Total | 733.1 ( ![]() |
The Edwin C. Denby High School is a public secondary education school located at 12800 Kelly Road in northeastern Detroit, Michigan, United States. Denby High opened in 1930, and the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. [4] It is a part of Detroit Public Schools Community District.
The school was named for Edwin C. Denby, an attorney and former Michigan legislator. Mr. Denby served as Secretary of the Navy during the administration of Warren G. Harding. Denby was forced to resign his position and narrowly avoided criminal indictment for his role in what came to be known as the Teapot Dome scandal. Denby died in 1929, and the Detroit School Board quickly voted to name a new high school after him "at the earliest opportunity." [6]
Later in 1929, the school board authorized the construction of this school and hired the firm of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls to design it. The building cost $351,649, with an additional $145,991 for the land the school is sited on. The first unit of the school, containing 19 classrooms, two study halls, and an office, opened in 1930 with about 1000 students and 38 teachers. However, only two months after the school opened, work began on a major addition. The addition, costing $338,121 and containing sixteen additional classrooms and four study halls, was completed in 1931. Enrollment soared to 2600 in 1931, and by 1934, Denby adopted double sessions to relieve the overcrowding. A third unit of the school was planned in 1938 and completed in 1939 at a cost of $893,000. This unit contained seventeen additional classrooms, art and music rooms, "domestic science" classrooms, two machine shops, an auditorium which seated 2,230, a large gymnasium with an indoor track, and a swimming pool. [6]
The third unit gave Denby a capacity of 2875 students. In 1942, 830 students graduated from the high school, and over 800 graduated each year from 1946 through 1960. The school converted to a three-year high school in 1960, with ninth graders moved to junior high schools. The school still averaged about 800 graduates per year through 1975, but the number of students graduating declined sharply in the late 1970s to a low of only 269 in 1980. [6]
At one time it was known for its mathematics department which ranked high in U.S. national rankings. Rochelle Riley of the Detroit Free Press wrote that by 2010 Denby was "known more for its academic decline than" for the said mathematics department. [7]
By 2010 Kenyetta "K.C." Wilbourn-Snapp began her term as principal of Denby. Wilbourn, who was called the "female Joe Clark", was known for carrying a baseball bat which she called the "equalizer", ever since she witnessed the beating death of a student at Finney High School on April 12, 2007 while serving as that school's assistant principal. [7] In 2016, Wilbourn-Snapp pleaded guilty to felony charges of bribery conspiracy and tax evasion for her role in a kickback scheme during her time at Denby. [8]
In 2011, the school completed an $16.5 Million renovation to restore the 1930s auditorium and construct new student meeting areas. [9] The same year, Denby was transferred from Detroit Public School System (DPS) to the Education Achievement Authority (EAA). There was subsequently significant turnover of department heads and school leadership, which cycled through three principals between 2012 and 2015. Denby returned to the DPS system upon dissolution of the EAA in 2017. [10] [11] The principal of Denby since 2015 has been Tanisha Manningham. [12]
The original 1929/1930 Denby High School building is a symmetrical three-story multi-colored brick structure measuring 391 feet long by 117 feet wide. The middle section of the facade is sheathed in concrete, and each half of the building features a concrete-sheathed entrance and a projecting wing. Art Deco stylistic elements are applied to the facade of the building; these include terra cotta panels with ship and lamp reliefs, designed and made by sculptor Corrado Parducci. [6]
The Parducci tiles include two types of reliefs used repeatedly throughout the facade. The first is a relief of a lamp with a flame which symbolizes the lamp of knowledge. The tile includes chevrons and zigzags above and below the lamp. The second is a relief of a warship, symbolizing the naval background of Edwin Denby. Two guns extend from the ship, below which are zigzags representing waves. [6]
The front facade includes strong vertical and horizontal lines. The center of the facade is arranged into seven vertical sections, with the central bays projecting slightly farther than outer ones. Terra cotta tiles appear between windows, accentuating the vertical lines, and above and below, accentuating the horizontal. In addition to the Parducci tiles, other decorative elements include arches at the top of the stairwell windows, a small roof parapet, and checkerboard brick patterns in the middle section of the building. [6]
The 1939 addition to the rear of the building, measuring 232 feet long by 196 feet wide, is also three stories, and the design is compatible with the original construction. The addition has the same terra cotta tiles around and between windows and concrete surrounding stairwell windows on the sides of the building. However, the terra cotta tiles on the original building do not appear on the addition. [6]
On the interior, the floors of the hallways and stairwells are originally terrazzo covered. Brownish tiles cover the walls to a height of seven feet, and lockers line much of the walls. Classrooms generally have original wood doors and cabinetry. [6]
The demographic breakdown of the 725 students enrolled for the 2013–2014 school year was as follows: [3]
Wirt Clinton Rowland was an American architect best known for his work in Detroit, Michigan.
The Guardian Building is a landmark 43-story office skyscraper in the Financial District of downtown Detroit, Michigan. Built from 1928 to 1929, the building was originally called the Union Trust Building and is a bold example of Art Deco architecture, including art moderne designs. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989, and is currently owned by Wayne County.
Crispus Attucks High School is a public high school of Indianapolis Public Schools in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. Its namesake, Crispus Attucks, was an African American patriot killed during the Boston Massacre. The school was built northwest of downtown Indianapolis near Indiana Avenue and opened on September 12, 1927, when it was the only public high school in the city designated specifically for African Americans.
J. W. Sexton High School is a public school located on the western edge of Lansing, Michigan, United States, in the Lansing School District. The principal is currently Daniel Boggan. The Sexton J-Dubbs are members of the Capital Area Activities Conference. The school has a fierce rivalry with the Everett Vikings of Everett High School on the south side of the city. In March 2012 the Lansing School District announced that Sexton would house 7-12 grades beginning in the 2012–2013 school year.
Miamisburg High School is a public high school located in Miamisburg, Ohio, United States, serving grades 9-12. The current principal is Michael Black. It is part of the Miamisburg City School District and is the only high school in Miamisburg. The school athletic teams are known as the Vikings and the school colors are royal blue and white.
Samuel C. Mumford High School is a public high school located on the near-northwest side of Detroit, Michigan. It was operated by the Detroit Public Schools, and had been operated by the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan (EAA). DPS re-assumed control of Mumford High in fall 2017.
Alumni Hall at the University of Pittsburgh is a Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmark that was formerly known as the Masonic Temple in Pittsburgh. Constructed in 1914–1915, it was designed by renowned architect Benno Janssen of Janssen & Abbot Architects. Other buildings in Pittsburgh's Oakland Cultural District designed by Janssen include the Pittsburgh Athletic Association, Mellon Institute, and Pitt's Eberly Hall.
The Stuber–Stone Building is located at 4221–4229 Cass Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. It is now known as the Stuberstone Lofts.
The Eddystone Building is an apartment building and former hotel located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, at 100-118 Sproat Street. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
The Chateau Frontenac Apartments was an apartment building located in Detroit, Michigan. It bore the name of the famous Château Frontenac hotel. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, but was subsequently demolished in 1999. It was removed from the National Register in 2020.
The Detroit Financial District is a United States historic district in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The district was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on December 14, 2009, and was announced as the featured listing in the National Park Service's weekly list of December 24, 2009.
Kettering High School was a four-year high school within the Detroit Public Schools system. The school, located in the low-income Gratiot Town/Kettering neighborhood, was around 1,200 students under capacity at its closure in 2012.
The Sacramento Masonic Temple, built between 1913 and 1918, is a five-story building on J Street in downtown Sacramento, California. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
The Tushiyah United Hebrew School, later known as the Scott Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, is an educational building located at 609 East Kirby Street in Detroit, Michigan. This building, an important work of architect Isadore M. Lewis, was constructed as the Tushiyah United Hebrew School and served as the headquarters of the United Hebrew Schools of Detroit. It later served as the Scott Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, the first mainline African-American Methodist Episcopal church in Detroit. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
Edwin M. Stanton School is an historic K-8 school located in the Southwest Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, within the Christian Street Historic District. It is part of the School District of Philadelphia.
The Mincks-Adams Hotel is located one block west of the Oil Capital Historic District, at 403 Cheyenne Avenue in Downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was constructed in 1927–1928 by businessman I. S. "Ike" Mincks and named the Mincks Hotel. It was a luxury hotel intended to attract businessmen, and was opened for guests in time for the first International Petroleum Exposition. Mincks declared bankruptcy in 1935. The hotel was sold at a liquidation sale and subsequently reopened under new ownership as the Adams Hotel. It was converted to the Adams Office Tower in the early 1980s. The building is noted for its architecture and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under Criterion C on November 7, 1977, with NRIS number 78002273.
Starkweather School is an educational building located at 550 North Holbrook Street in Plymouth, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. It is the only school from its time still extant in Plymouth, and the only school in Plymouth designed by Malcomson and Higginbotham, who designed numerous schools for the Detroit school district.
Nickels Arcade is a commercial building located at 326-330 South State Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. The building is notable as perhaps the only remaining example in Michigan of a free-standing commercial arcade building of a type that was popularized by the Cleveland Arcade.
The Luther Burbank Elementary School is a former school building located at 15600 East State Fair Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. The school in a notable example of a Detroit Art Deco Public School.
The William E. Higginbotham Elementary School is a former school located at 8730 Chippewa Avenue in Detroit.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.