This Site Comes With Music!

From the Facebook Discussion page of famous alumnus and '58 graduate Michael Savage. It was not written by Savage, and appears to be pretty non-political. In fact, it seems much as I remembered it. Michael Feuer has researched this extensively - it would be nice to get his comments.   -  LO
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Michael went to what was at one time one of the greatest high schools in New York City, Jamaica High School.

When Michael started attending, the school had just begun its academic ascent under the administration of its Principal, Louis B. Schucker. Before Schucker, Jamaica was plagued by gang violence. Mr. Schucker, in a method not unlike that of Joe Clark as portrayed in the movie "Stand By Me", immediately set out to make the school a safe place, and proceeded to expel all the violent and disruptive students. In the late 1950's school principals had the authority remove dangerous students, and in those days the school board and city government supported them.

Starting with a safe school, Mr. Schucker gathered a good faculty and was able to attract hard working middle class students from the surrounding areas. The school was integrated WITHOUT forced busing of students - EVERYBODY could walk to school or take a short bus ride to get there. Jamaica had a successful College Discovery and Development program which helped economically disadvantaged students get into college. In spite of the difficult competition because of the huge applicant pool of New York City, there were acceptances to the Ivy League every year. Jamaica would often receive more Westinghouse Scholarships (now called Intel Scholarships) than Stuyvesant and Bronx High School of Science, the elite selective academic schools of NY.

School spirit and participation was good. Jamaica students would perform a classic Broadway musical every spring. The athletics department produced such great athletes as Bob Beamon, who held the world broad jump record for 26 years, and Coach Larry Ellis, who was hired away to run the Princeton track team.

Mr. Schucker was of 'the old school,' as was very tough. Dress and behavior codes were rigidly enforced. He did not care if he was liked, and may have even preferred being feared by everyone. We students, to be honest with you, didn't care for his attitude, but we appreciated going to a safe school. We knew that so many of the other New York City high schools had muggings and stabbings, so we put up with it.

Unfortunately, the changes of the 1960's, and as Michael will say, Liberalism, would prove to be the undoing of all of Mr. Schucker's great work. The New York City government, under Mayor Lindsay, enacted great reforms to the educational system. The controls that Principals had over the running of their schools were reduced. A system of Community Control Boards was established, many of which were soon were taken over by community activists, and eventually became corrupt and ineffective at providing any real education for their students. (It would take 30 years until Mayors Giuiliani and Bloomberg would be able to finally dismantle this mistake)

The greatest blow to Jamaica High School occurred around 1967, when the idealists (you can call them Liberals if you want) came up with what ended up to be a terribly misguided plan to improve the quality of low performing, dangerous high schools. Over the protests of the neighborhood residents, a plan was implemented that rezoned a large area that had always gone to Jamaica. These incoming students, who lived in the upper middle class areas of Jamaica Estates and Holliswood, were told that they were going to be bussed a long distance to a TERRIBLE high school. Students within walking distance of Jamaica High School, even those with siblings already attending, were going to be forced to attend one of the worst, crime-ridden schools in New York City - Andrew Jackson High School. The plan was to improve Jackson by transferring in hundreds of academically achieving students. I assume that the idealists believed that the better students would somehow bring up the level of education for everyone else at Jackson.

The master planners at the Board of Education, although they must have known the state of Jackson High, would not listen. Assemblyman Saul Weprin, a powerful politician who later became Speaker of the New York State Assembly, chose not to use his influence and power to stop the plan. (Though somewhat to his credit, he did make his daughter attend Jackson) Defeated by the School Board, the majority of these parents got the money together to send their children to private schools. Only a small number of the assigned students ever went to Andrew Jackson High School.

Once the best academic students of Jamaica High School were gone, the decline accelerated. Mr. Schucker left a few years later, supposedly because of mandatory retirement requirements, most likely pushed out by opponents at the Board of Education. The school got steadily worse, to the point where it is was declared one of the most dangerous in the city. In the mid 1960's there was one New York City Policeman, "Officer Mike" attached to a school of 4500 students. By the year 2000 there was a force of 10 armed security guards patrolling the school to disarm anybody who got past the metal detectors. As for Andrew Jackson High School - even the idealists had to give up on that one; the school eventually became so unmanageable that the city closed it.

Today, Michael's old neighborhood has a large, achieving Asian population, but the parents refuse to send their children to Jamaica. Benjamin Cardozo High School is the magnet school now, and the kids study hard to gain admission, and don't mind THIS bus ride. The board of education continues to misinform - they cite Jamaica HS as having an Asian population of 20%, but what they don't tell you is that they're referring to Southwestern Asia i.e. Pakistan and the Middle East. Places where schooling for girls is to a great degree not considered important, and for the boys going to work is encouraged over education. Several teachers have told me that these Asians get no encouragement or support from their parents.

There is hope for Jamaica High School. Despite it all, they have an incredibly dedicated, if often-discouraged faculty, who won't stop trying. There is a wonderful new principal who is working hard at building the school back up. Even New York City has recognized the past importance of the school and recently declared Jamaica to be a city landmark. They deserve our best wishes.

The story of Michael Savage's high school still has so much relevance today. Would the destructive busing been allowed to happen if there was talk radio in 1967? Would the NYC Board of Education have been so imperious with their forced relocation if there were hundreds of angry parents expressing themselves at a public hearing? Would the local politicians have been so passive or cooperative with this disaster if they had received thousands of disapproving emails?

    Word is getting out and I have received a lot of e-mails from classmates about the impending demise of Jamaica High School.  It seems that Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of the City of New York has decided that the present incarnation of JHS is an irreversible disaster.  Plans call for ending its life as a major high school and replacing it with, perhaps, four smaller educational institutions which will be housed in the venerable building.
    This is not a total surprise to people who remain conversant with the school’s current adversity.  Principal Walter G. Acham shared his premonition that this change was coming, the last time we spoke.  In my coverage of the landmark dedication ceremony I expressed my favorable impression of Mr. Acham.  He was enthusiastic, charismatic and seemed genuinely committed to turning the school around.  The students seemed very fond of him.  Unfortunately, personal experience in public bureaucracies has taught me that no single individual can overcome the multitudes of public employees who have no inclination to exert either effort or initiative.  To do so risks the wrath of lazy incompetent supervisors or lazy incompetent co workers whose greatest ambition is to snooze their way into a pension fueled retirement.  Certainly, the system does not reward selfless effort.  The only reward is the personal satisfaction of an attempt to achieve excellence while swimming upstream against mediocrity.
    Following this piece I am including links to some of the news coverage of the closing.  It would appear that Mr Acham’s enthusiasm and effort was not shared by many of Jamaica’s current staff.
    Thankfully, the building itself is not endangered due to the recent landmark designation.  The designation protects the building from alteration.  The designation was announced this past spring and in light of recent events did not come a moment too soon.
    A new section has been set up in the Message Boards section of this web site.  Simply click “Message Boards” on the yellow navigation pane on the left side of the page and you will be taken to the Message Boards page.  I would hope the members of the Class of ‘69 have something to say about this rather momentous development.

RL

Submitted by Amy Danto Hundert and Steve Englander:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/04/jamaica-high-is-among-four-more-schools-listed-for-closing/

Submitted by Rick Rindell and Marty Reiss:
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/12/04/2009-12-04_jamaica_hs_is_passing_into_history.html#ixzz0Yjkn9FMk

Music 

    As were all of our classmates, the Brothers of Sigma Alpha Rho fraternity were very much into the musical sounds of the sixties.  Some visionary introduced us to a little known group that grew out of New York's own Blues Project.  We listened to the innovative first album over and over until the grooves of the LP wore out  I still remember one very memorable night of debauchery when we went down to see our musical heros at a small club in Greenwich Village.  The group exploded into widestream popularity with the release of their second album. Three songs from their brilliant debut album, Child is Father to the Man.  Bllod, Sweat & Tears
       These rather understated cuts are apropos to the dilemma of our alma mater, whose days seem to be numbered.
     

   Our Days Are Numbered   
     Without Her    
   Just One Smile  


(If the music doesn't play automatically, click on the " Music" button at the bottom of this page  - -  Please be patient.  Depending upon your connection and computer speed, it may take a little time for buffering.)

Where to Have the Reunion?  -- 

              One Suggestion:

Other appetizing possibilities are located at the Humor/Nostalgia Page

Photo Album
Photos from the 30th Reunion
Participants are being identified
If you recognize yourself or someone else, please let us know through the Contact Us page

      Happy 40th Woodstock Anniversary!
      The Who, Hendrix, Airplane, Santana, Grateful Dead, Crosby, Stills & Nash and the greatest bands of the time were there.
      So was I.  So was Sherri Appelbaum sharing a tent with Joni Mitchel and Judy Collins.  So was Simon Braun and Bev Bergman and Steve Englander and Janet DiMarco and Barry Redler and a whole bunch of other Jamaican hippies.
       See the Woodstock section of the Message Boards for our stories.
      And please, if you were at Woodstock or just wanted to be at Woodstock, share your thoughts with everyone.  People really do want to hear from you.
     

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Man From U.N.C.L.E. Solves Murder of Robert Kennedy          - -           Believe It Or Not!

I was working on 1968  --  The Year in Pictures, when I came upon this story.  It comes from a British Internet Publication, Mail Online.  Date of publication was 1/12/09.  It is being reproduced, herein, purely for its prurient,  sensationalism value and not for the truth of anything stated therein.  How's that for a legal disclaimer? 
     That being said, remember, Robert Vaughn was the Man from U.N.C.L.E. (the United Network Command for Law Enforcement).  That was a very sharp organization.  They had to be in order to be able to battle THRUSH.  Don't ask me to remember what THRUSH stood for.  Napoleon Solo was pretty smart as he actually did earn a PhD from UCLA.   And, of course, he had help from Ilya Kuryakin, who we all know went on to become a forensic pathologist for NCIA.  Who knows more about murder than a forensic pathologist?  And, dont't forget about Mr. Waverly, also known as Leo G. Carol.  He even had help from the world of the supernatural.  Remeber, he was the only one who could communicate with George and Marian Kirby.  They were real live ghosts from the show Topper.  We're talking about some pretty serious pedigrees here.  Maybe there is something to this story?
For the actual story, Click on the Link to the Blog Page

Mayor Bloomberg Declares June 17, 2009 as Jamaica High School Day in New York City

Class of 69 Responsible for New York City Landmark Status?

    It was quite an evening for the school of red and blue as hundreds converged upon the 82 year old edifice.  Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of the City of New York designated Wednesday, June 17, 2009 as “Jamaica High School Day in New York City”.  That evening, a ceremony was held to celebrate the designation of  Jamaica High School as a New York City Landmark.
    The significance of landmark status is , , ,
See the full story on today's Blog entry (Click on "Blog" on the site menu, immediately to the left)

We're back!  And trying to get a 40th organized.

Click on Classmates and register, so we can keep in touch with you and send notices when the website has been updated.  Register on the Classmates page by clicking "Add Your Info".  Fill in the blanks, you'll get a confirmation and YOU'RE IN.

We now have a group on Facebook

If you're already a member of Facebook, just click here.
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May 23, 2009              

40 years? Unbelievable, but true!

The 60s and 70s, certainly an exciting time in American history. Was it the absolutely best time to have been a student? What do you guys think?

My time at Jamaica High School wasn’t perfect, but I look back upon it very fondly. The older I get, I realize that perfection is a goal to strive for, but probably something one will never achieve. The more people I speak to about their high school experience, the more I realize we had a pretty good thing going at JHS.

A lot of people from Jamaica must have concured as I keep hearing how people would like to participate in a 40th reunion. I thought the 30^th was a blast and everybody that attended seems to have agreed. If you missed the 30th, you don’t want to miss the 40^th.

What made the 30^th reunion so special was the aura that surrounded it. People were so into capturing a time and spending more time with the people with whom they shared that time. The key to creating that aura was the website. The person responsible for that website was Larry Orchier, and no one, more than Larry, was responsible for creating the magic of that 30^th reunion. I know that getting Larry back on board was crucial to any plans to stage a 40^th. I’m happy to announce that after months of begging and pleading, Larry has agreed to help us out with the new website. With Larry back on board I immediately arranged to set up this site. Unfortunately, Larry is very busy with his own computer consulting company and won’t be able to devote as much time, this time, as he did last time. So, that means we need everyone to contribute if we hope to recreate the magic of the 30^th.

We welcome participation in every aspect of the planning. Join us on the committees. If you felt you were not as involved with things back in high school, as you wanted to be, now is your opportunityto get involved. How often do you get a second chance to become part of the "In Crowd".

We want to hear from everyone. Contribute to the website. First thing to do is to register on the Classmates Page of the site. Tell every classmate you know to do the same thing and spread the word about the new site. We need people to share their thoughts and memories. We’re still trying to sort things out, but we’ve set up a Guest Book and Message Boards. Go to either to communicate with the web site community.  Add your comments to the blogs.

We are currently at the very beginning, so please be patient. We hope to add significant content. We need your contributions of pictures and content. If you want to see a specific topic or feature incorporated onto the site, let us know. Contact Larry or me by accessing the Contact Us tab.

As to the reunion, itself, we need help with the planning. Suggestions for when and where, themes, food, entertainment, displays, memory books, favors etc. are welcomed. Sponsorship or favors would be tremendous. Come join a committee.

Thanks to Mike Kurtz we have a pretty good contact list. With privacy laws being what they are, we will be circumspect in respecting your privacy. We hope to reach out to everyone, at least once, just to let everyone know the website is up and running and that the reunion is being planned. If, for some reason, someone is totally "bummed out" that their classmates cared enough to get in touch, please "get a grip" and politely let us know you’re not interested, and you will not be contacted again. No one is trying to invade anyone’s privacy and we aren’t looking for personal profit. We do hope to be completely inclusive in spreading the "Good Vibes".

If we don’t have contact information for someone, we will list them under Missing Classmates and hope you’ll let us know how to contact them or ask them to contact us

We hope to include humor and trivia quizzes. We look forward to your contributions. Undoubtedly, in today’s overly politically correct society, someone is going to say or post something that someone else finds offensive. We anticipate that nobody will be trying to purposely alienate anybody else. We hope to encourage personal expression. I remember 10 years ago some very cogent, but biting comments about Mr Schuker’s "management style". I found the comments fascinating, but, I am confident Mr Schuker’s heirs might not have been so appreciative. He was what he was. He was considered a brilliant administrator by the "establishment", but the largely "counter cultural" student body did not share that opinion. Considered within the context of the times, it makes for interesting commentary. Yes, I was a sociology major, in college.

Concluding the point on free expression, please feel free to share your candid thoughts, but also try to use a little sensitivity. On the flip side, if you’re a little offended by something you see, please resort first, to your sense of humor, and then remember, we’re trying to encourage a free exchange of ideas. Don’t you want to know what people are really feeling?

As with the 30^th, we hope to have a full weekend of activities. Last time, we met Friday night at a club in Manhattan, I arranged for a tour of the school on Saturday morning, the reunion function was Saturday night and Sunday morning we met for brunch. The format for the 40^th will probably be similar. Why mess with success? However, we welcome suggestions of specifics or alternatives. Perhaps, if there’s a good concert, in town, we could reserve a block of tickets.

This will be everyone’s website and reunion. If I haven’t already beaten the topic to death, PLEASE CONTRIBUTE. Can we top the 30^th? Let’s give it our best shot!

Your friend and classmate,

Richard Lazarus