Walton High School was a public four-year high school located in the Jerome Park neighborhood of the Bronx in New York City. Originally an all-girl institution, Walton became co-educational in 1977. Walton, Bayside High School, Samuel J. Tilden High School, Abraham Lincoln High School, John Adams High School, Andrew Jackson High School, and Grover Cleveland High School were all built during the Great Depression from one set of blueprints, to save money.
Walton's colors were sky blue and white. Its motto, Semper fidelis, means "always faithful". The school seal was an open book supported by the torch of learning, and the school crest contains the head of Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom. The wildcat was the mascot used by the Walton's sports teams. Today the sports teams are composed of the students of each of the small mini-schools within the Walton Educational Campus. The building is in the same neighborhood as the Bronx High School of Science and DeWitt Clinton High School. From the mid-1980s to its closing in 2008 it was one of the lower-performing high schools in the city. Walton was operated by the New York City Department of Education. The building now houses several mini-schools for academic support.
Contents
History
Walton High School is named after Mary Walton, a wife of General Lewis Morris, a member of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, as well as one of the first members of New York State's Board of Regents. Mary Walton was the mother of ten children, four of whom fought in the American Revolutionary War. The Walton and the Morris families owned land in the west Bronx from the 17th until the 19th century. Mary Walton operated a "dame school", teaching little girls of the colonial period to read, write, do basic mathematics, and keep house. Mary Walton was buried next to Saint Ann's Church in the South Bronx. Mary A. Conlon, an elementary school principal of P.S. 30 (located next to Mary Walton's burial place), founded Walton as one of the first all-girl schools in New York City. The New York City Board of Education accredited Walton as an all-girl high school on April 19, 1923. The first graduation took place in January 1926 with 126 girls.
In 1930, the building on Jerome Avenue and West 195th Street was constructed as Walton's new home, using the same structural design as Abraham Lincoln High School and Samuel J. Tilden High School, both in Brooklyn. The school moved to its new home in 1932. Conlon continued as principal until her death in 1936, when Marion Cahil Heffernan (an assistant principal of economics at Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn) took over. By 1933, the student population had peaked at approximately 6,000. It was noted as the second-largest high school in the world behind its brother school, DeWitt Clinton. It was also noted that it was the largest high school in the world for girls. Walton was a prestigious all-girl institution throughout much of its history, with a high graduation rate. Its students were often inducted into the Arista honor society. Many of Walton's graduates went on to Ivy League colleges and universities. For many years the school's yearbook was named the Periwinkle, a small blue flower. With the change in demographics of the surrounding neighborhoods came the change in the overall level of excellence for which Walton had been known. The demise and eventual closing of this school saddened those who remembered Walton as it was.
In 1966, Heffernan retired after serving thirty years as principal. The school appointed its first male principal, Daniel Feins, the former assistant principal of social studies at Christopher Columbus High School. Walton continued as an all-girl school until 1976, when the administration elected to become a co-educational high school. On September 9, 1977, boys were officially admitted to the school; however, it would not be fully co-educational until 1979, when the final all-girl class graduated. In 1980, Marjorie Kipp was appointed as the new principal. Three years later, the school's pool was closed due to a deterioration from the skylight. In 1984, Phyllis Opochinsky founded the Pre-Teaching Academy (in which students work with other peers with classwork and homework, assist teachers in classrooms, write term papers on their experience in pre-teaching, and earn college credit through Lehman College). In 1986, Angel D. Orengo became the school's first male valedictorian.
Organizational houses
For many years, Walton was divided into eight theme houses:
Demographics
When Walton opened in 1923, the school was entirely White. When Mary A. Conlon died in 1936, the school was 80% White and 20% African-American. The June Class of 1938 yearbook, however, shows no black women in any of the group photos and only three among the photos of the graduating class. In the mid-1960s, Hispanic students started to enroll in sizable numbers, and by the end of the 1960s, Walton's ethnic makeup was 40% White, 40% African-American, and 20% Hispanic. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) code 362058002884 identifies this school.
Academics
Programs for students
Pre-Teaching Academy – Founded in 1984 by Phyllis Opochinsky, students work with other peers with classwork and homework, assist teachers in classrooms, write term papers on their experience in Pre-teaching, and earn college credit through Lehman College. All students must earn a grade of 80 (B) and above.
Humanities – Students take interdisciplinary studies in the arts and history, and participate in cultural trips.
Business – Computer training, accounting, resume preparation, pre co-op program, etc.
Cooperative Education – Students work one week and attend school the next. It is often a paid internship, and students earn college credit.
Student support services
SPARK – A citywide drug/sex prevention program open to students from all grade levels.
PIUS XII/Good Shepherd Student Services – A community-based program designed for drop-out intervention. The program is conducted by Antonia Campopiano-Ferrara and was active in Walton since 1991.
College Advisory – Provides resources for students who plan to enroll in a college or university.
SBST (School-Based Support Team) – Provides personal and academic support to regular and special education students.
Mini-schools inside the Walton Campus
High School for Teaching and the Professions – Founded in 2002 from the Pre-Teaching Academy program of Walton, provides a smaller and friendlier environment to pupils.
Discovery High School – Founded in 2003
Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music – Founded in 2003 inside DeWitt Clinton High School, is the official school for music and the arts of the Bronx. CCBxHSM was relocated to the Walton Campus, its current location, in 2004
Kingsbridge International High School – Founded in September 2005 with only four classrooms in Walton, is the sister school of the successful International School in Queens. Like its other sister schools, Manhattan International and Bronx International, Kingsbridge was implemented to help new immigrants in New York learn English through various projects. Most of the students are new to this country and many have had their educational opportunity derailed due to poverty and lack of resources.
International School for Liberal Arts is an intermediate school including 6th–12th grades. Most students in the school are Hispanics, predominantly Dominicans. Students are required to wear uniforms.
Notable alumni
Bella Abzug (1920–1998), nicknamed "Battling Bella", lawyer, U.S. representative, social activist and leader in the women's movement
Isabel Bigley (1926–2006), actress
Coko (born 1970), singer-songwriter best known as the lead singer of the R&B vocal trio SWV
Gertrude Elion (1918–1999), biochemist and pharmacologist, who shared the 1988 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Oswald Feliz, politician and attorney serving as a member of the New York City Council
Shari Lewis (1933–1998), TV legend ventriloquist, puppeteer, children's entertainer, and television show host
Leanne "Lelee" Lyons (born 1973), singer–songwriter and television personality; member of the R&B vocal trio SWV
Penny Marshall (1943–2018), actress, director, and producer
John Morton (born 1967), former all-New York State point guard, member of Seton Hall University's 1989 NCAA National Championship game; first-round pick by Cleveland in the NBA draft, also played in the CBA and in Europe and the Philippines; inducted into the New Jersey Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame in 2007; assistant coach at Fordham and Seton Hall
Anna Jacobson Schwartz (1915–2012), economist at the National Bureau of Economic Research in New York City; writer for The New York Times
Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (1921–2011), medical physicist, co-winner of the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Andrea Thomas (born 1968), ranked sprinter who set several national and New York State records in outdoor and indoor track; Jamaica Olympic team member in 1984 and 1988