Cass Technical High School

Cass Tech

Cass Tech, 2010
Address
2501 Second Avenue
Detroit, Michigan
United States
Information
Type Examination School of Choice
Established 1907
School district Detroit Public Schools
Principal Lisa Phillips
Faculty 85+
Grades 9–12
Number of students 2356
Color(s) Hunter green and white
Mascot Technicians
Newspaper CT Visionary
[1]

Cass Technical High School, commonly referred to as Cass Tech, is a four-year university preparatory high school in Midtown Detroit, United States.[2][3] The school is named in honor of Lewis Cass, an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Michigan Territory from 1813 until 1831. The school is a part of Detroit Public Schools.

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.[4]

History and campus

Architecture

Lewis Cass Technical High School
Location 2421 Second Ave, Detroit, Michigan, United States
Coordinates 42°20′15″N 83°3′36″W / 42.33750°N 83.06000°W / 42.33750; -83.06000Coordinates: 42°20′15″N 83°3′36″W / 42.33750°N 83.06000°W / 42.33750; -83.06000
Built 1922
Architect Malcolmson and Higginbotham, Albert Kahn
Demolished July 2011
MPS Public Schools of Detroit MPS
NRHP Reference # 10000644[5]
Added to NRHP March 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.[6] To the south of it an addition designed by Albert Kahn was built in 1985. 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 . In addition, a 3D floor-by-floor interactive map of the old building is available here as well.

Following the fire in the old structure, it was demolished and removed by Homrich Demolition.[7] 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.[8]

Student

Demographic

Based on current enrollment information, there are approximately 2,086 students that attend Cass Technical High School. There are 624 students in the ninth grade, 537 students in the tenth grade, 466 in the eleventh grade, and 459 in the twelfth grade.[9]

Ethnicity distribution

Of the 2,196 students that attend Cass Technical High School, 1,951 (89.3%) of them are Black or African American, 89 (4.0%) are Asian American, 70 (3.2%) are Hispanic or Latino, 56 (2.6%) are White, 17 (0.8%) are Arab, and 2 (0.1%) are American Indian or Alaska Native.[10]

Gender distribution

Of the 2,086 students, there are 1,269 (60.8%) girls and 817 (39.2%) boys.[9]

Academics

Cass Technical High School's average ACT score is 21, which is four points higher than the average for Detroit public high schools. Cass offers eleven advanced placement courses including language composition, history, chemistry, calculus, and physics. Students are required to maintain a 2.5 grade point average on a scale of 4.0 in order to retain enrollment. Cass Tech students' strong academic performances draw recruiters from across the country, including Ivy League representatives eager to attract the top minority applicants.[11]

Awards

In 1984 Cass Tech was honored by the US Department of Education among 262 schools that should "shine as inspirational model for others" that included public and private schools.[12]

In 2006 Cass represented DPS at the National Academic Games Olympics and won the Team Sweepstakes award.

Music department

Many highly noteworthy performers in jazz, rhythm and blues, rock and hip-hop idioms have graduated from Cass Technical High School.

Choir

Over the years, the choirs have produced two CDs and are now working on their third. Cass Tech has many choir groups, including the following:

Harp and vocal

The Harp program, which was established at Cass Tech in 1925.[13] Cass Tech is the only school in the city of Detroit with a Harp and Vocal Ensemble.

Harp ensemble

The harp ensemble is usually composed of five well-seasoned student harpists. They each receive private lessons, learning performance skills and the traditional techniques of the Carlos Salzedo Method. The group does perform outside of school related functions.

Bands

There are beginner, intermediate, advanced and jazz band classes, as well as a marching band. The CTMB (marching band) has performed for Patti LaBelle, Sinbad, and Jay Z as well as at various college and university, and homecomings. 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. In 2010, the CTMB participated in Norfolk State University's Homecoming and won first place in the McDonald's Battle of the Bands. In 2013 CTMB went to the 2013 inauguration for President Barack Obama.[14] 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 prestigious 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.

Orchestra

The 2005–2006 Cass Tech String Quartet was the winner at the 2006 MASTA statewide chamber music competition. The quartet was also featured in the 2006 Michigan Youth Arts Festival. The Cass Tech Chamber String Orchestra, the school's advanced orchestra, participated in the All City High School Symphony Orchestra program at the Renaissance Center's Ambassador Ballroom on March 8, 2007.

Athletics

Football

Cass Tech Technicians Football
Cass Tech No. 1, 2nd to none
MHSAA – PSL 1
Head Coach Thomas Wilcher
Head Coach Years 14th
Head Coach Wins 101
Head Coach Losses 56
Stadium Cass Tech Football Stadium
Stadium Capacity 2,500
Stadium Surface Natural Grass
Location Detroit, Michigan
League D-PSL Division 1
First year 1906
School enrollment 2156
Record (since 1950)
Wins-Losses-Ties 305–220–9 (.580)
State titles 2 ('11, '12)
League titles 7 ('60, '63, '70, '94, '95, '98, '10, '12, '13, '14)
State playoff appearance 31 times since 1950
NCAA Division 1 FBS/FCS Players since 1997 75
NFL Professionals since 1920 15
Uniform

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 and 2012 MHSAA Division I state championships.

NFL Professionals

Name Position Height Weight (lbs) Born College Drafted Pro team
Walter Clago[15] E 6'0 195 6/?/1899
Detroit		 Detroit Undrafted Detroit Tigers (APFA)

Rock Island Independents (NFL)

Darris McCord[16] DE/DT/OE 6'6" 250 January 4, 1933
Detroit		 Tennessee 1955, R3, P11 Detroit Lions
Ben John Paolucci[17] DT 6'2" 240 March 5, 1937
Cleveland		 Wayne State Undrafted Detroit Lions
Arnie Simkus[18] DE/DT 6'4" 245 March 25, 1943
Schlava, GER 		Michigan 1965, R6, P2 New York Jets

Minnesota Vikings

David Boone, Jr.[19] DE 6'3" 248 October 30, 1951
Detroit		 Eastern Mich 1974,R11,P11 Minnesota Vikings
Aaron Kyle[20] CB/S 5'11" 185 April 6, 1954
Detroit		 Wyoming 1976,R1,P26 Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Tom Seabron[21] LB 6'3" 215 May 24, 1957
Baltimore		 Michigan 1979,R5,P1 San Francisco 49ers
Harlan Huckleby[22] RB 6'1" 200 December 30, 1957
Detroit		 Michigan 1979,R5,P1 Green Bay Packers
Curtis Greer[23] DE 6'4" 256 November 10, 1957
Detroit		 Michigan 1976,R1,P6 St. Louis Cardinals
Guy Frazier[24] LB 6'2" 217 July 20, 1959
Detroit		 Wyoming 1981,R4,P10 Cincinnati Bengals

Buffalo Bills

Thomas Sidney Sims[25] DT/NT 6'2" 288 April 18, 1967
Detroit		 Pittsburgh 1990,R6,P14 Kansas City Chiefs

Indianapolis Colts

Pat Ivey[26] DE 6'4" 255 December 27, 1972
Detroit		 Missouri Undrafted Green Bay Packers
A. J. Ofodile[27] TE 6'7" 260 October 9, 1973
Detroit		 Missouri 1994,R5,P25 Baltimore Ravens
Clarence Williams[28] RB 5'9" 193 May 16, 1977
Detroit		 Michigan Undrafted Arizona Cardinals
Vernon Gholston DE 6'3" 264 June 5, 1986
Detroit		 Ohio State 2008,R1,P6 New York Jets
Joseph Barksdale ‡ OT 6'4" 325 January 1, 1989
Detroit		 LSU 2011,R3,P12 San Diego Chargers
Will Campbell OG 6'4" 311 July 6, 1991
Detroit		 Michigan 2013,R6,P10 New York Jets

‡ Active NFL Pro

Swimming

Name College Years Awards
Marc Parrish Michigan 1982–1986 Captain of University of Michigan Swimming Team, All Big Ten, All American

Basketball

History

State championships

1956 Boys Class A State Champions[29]
1975 Boys Class A State Champions[30]

NBA professionals
Name Position Height Weight (lbs) Born College Drafted Pro team
George Brown Forward 6'6 190 October 30, 1935
Detroit, Michigan 		Wayne State 4th round, 3rd pick
1957 NBA draft 		Minneapolis Lakers
Dorie Murrey Forward–Center 6'8 215 September 7, 1943
Detroit, Michigan 		Detroit 2nd round, 2nd pick
1966 NBA draft 		Detroit Pistons
Seattle SuperSonics
Portland Trail Blazers
Baltimore Bullets
Derrick Dial Guard 6'4" 184 December 20, 1975
Detroit, Michigan 		Eastern Michigan 2nd round, 23rd pick
1998 NBA draft 		San Antonio Spurs
New Jersey Nets
Toronto Raptors
Orlando Magic
Chris Douglas-Roberts Guard 6'7 200 January 8, 1987
Detroit, Michigan 		Memphis 2nd round, 10th pick
2008 NBA draft 		New Jersey Nets
Milwaukee Bucks
Dallas Mavericks
Charlotte Bobcats
Los Angeles Clippers

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.[31] 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. 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.[32]

 Northwestern Interscholastic Track Meet
Date Ranking
March 1926 1st Place – National Champions[33]
March 1927 3rd Place[34]
March 1928 3rd Place[35]

Boys Track & Field Team State Championships

Year Champion (Coach) Runner-Up
1996 Detroit Cass Technical (Tom Wilcher) Pontiac Northern
1995 Detroit Cass Technical (Tom Wilcher) Detroit Chadsey
1994 Detroit Cass Technical (Tom Wilcher) Ann Arbor Pioneer
1978 Detroit Cass Technical (Robert Glen) Flint Southwestern
1926 Detroit Cass Technical (Bill Van Orden) Kalamazoo

JROTC program

Program is the largest organization in the school. It has a curriculum that includes Leadership Lab and Cadet Challenge, a drill team, and an honor guard team. The drill team is composed of: a First-Year Color Guard, an Open-Year Color Guard, an Armed Exhibition Team, an Unarmed Exhibition Team, a Female Armed Exhibition Team, an Unarmed Regulation team, and an Armed Regulation Team. The Armed Exhibition Drill Team was founded by Cadet Colonel Anthony James Cole (City of Detroit Corps Commander 1997–1998) in 1996, which opened the door for the Unarmed Exhibition Team and the Female Exhibition Team. The JROTC program has the "Gold Star Insignia", which is the highest attainable rank in the JROTC program, and has been maintained by the school since the early 1990s. In 2005, the Cass Tech Renegades Drill Team was selected to attend the National Drill Competition held in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was the first invite for the state of Michigan. The following year, the team was invited to return, leaving ranked fourth in overall performance. The honor guard team has attended many events throughout the city, including many parades and grand openings, as have the color guard and exhibition teams.

Notable alumni and people

Art, architecture, design

Arts and entertainment

Business

Educators

Fiction/Non Fiction

Journalism/publishing/broadcasting

Law, government, and public policy

Military

Sports

References

  1. ↑ https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&InstName=Cass&State=26&SchoolType=1&SchoolType=2&SchoolType=3&SchoolType=4&SpecificSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1&ID=261200004669
  2. ↑ "Home." Cass Technical High School. Retrieved on November 3, 2012. "2501 Second Avenue Detroit, Michigan 48201"
  3. ↑ Midtown location from the University Cultural Center Association, retrieved June 9, 2009
  4. ↑ "Lewis Cass Technical High School" (PDF).
  5. ↑ "WEEKLY LIST OF ACTIONS TAKEN ON PROPERTIES: March 28, 2011 THROUGH April 1, 2011". National Park Service. Retrieved April 24, 2011.
  6. ↑ DAN AUSTIN of HistoricDetroit.org. "– Old Cass Technical High School". Historicdetroit.org. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  7. ↑ Images and information on the demolition of the structure can be found in the Homrich Demolition project file.
  8. ↑ Brand-Williams, Orlandar. "Cass Tech will lose some less popular classes." The Detroit News. September 23, 2008. Retrieved on November 3, 2012.
  9. 1 2 Student Counts, Ethnicity Distribution, and Gender Distribution. Detroit Public Schools. Retrieved on 2011-03-05. Archived November 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ Student Counts, Ethnicity Distribution, and Gender Distribution. Detroit Public Schools. Retrieved on 2011-03-05 Archived July 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ 'U' catches Cass Tech talent. The Michigan Daily (2006-04-04). Retrieved on 2011-01-07.
  12. ↑ 15 Michigan Schools are given honor, Ludington Daily News – August 21, 1984
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. ↑ http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130116/SCHOOLS/301160342. Retrieved 2013-12-26. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  15. ↑ "Walter Clago". Databasefootball.com. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  16. ↑ "Darris Paul McCord". Databasefootball.com. 1933-01-04. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  17. ↑ "Ben John Paolucci". Databasefootball.com. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  18. ↑ "Arnold Simkus". Databasefootball.com. 1943-03-25. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  19. ↑ "Humphrey David Boone, Jr". Databasefootball.com. 1951-10-30. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  20. ↑ "Aaron Douglas Kyle". Databasefootball.com. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  21. ↑ "Thomas Hall Seabron". Databasefootball.com. 1957-05-24. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  22. ↑ "Harlan Charles Huckleby". Databasefootball.com. 1957-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  23. ↑ "Curtis William Greer". Databasefootball.com. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  24. ↑ "Guy Shelton Frazier| Wyoming". Databasefootball.com. 1959-07-20. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  25. ↑ "Thomas Sidney Sims| Pittsburgh". Databasefootball.com. 1967-04-18. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  26. ↑ "Pat Ivey Strength and Conditioning coach at Mizzou". Mutigers.com. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  27. ↑ "A.J. Ofodile". Databasefootball.com. 1973-10-09. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  28. ↑ "Clarence Williams". Databasefootball.com. 1977-05-16. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  29. ↑ http://michigan-football.com/bb/casstech.html| Cass Tech Win Loss
  30. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=taMxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XKwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=894,4865755&dq=cass+tech+football&hl=en| Cass Tech finish #1
  31. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QCNAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=i1gMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1499,5915116&dq=cass-technical&hl=en| Scholastic Meet at Northwestern
  32. ↑ Eddie Tolan, usatf.org
  33. ↑ Scholastic Meet At Northwestern, Youngstown Vindicator – February 16, 1927
  34. ↑ Detroit School Winner, The Pittsburgh Press – June 5, 1927
  35. ↑ "Detroit Preps Star in Meet". News.google.com. 1928-03-25. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  36. ↑ Harry Bertoia 1915–1978
  37. ↑ David Ewen (1982). American Composers: A Biographical Dictionary. G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 978-0-399-12626-0.
  38. ↑ http://www.irakaufman.com/mobile/detail.php?id=3529
  39. 1 2 3 4 5 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.
  40. ↑ http://www.trombone-usa.com/rosolino_frank.htm|FRANK ROSOLINO
  41. ↑ McCollum, Brian (September 2003). "Red, White, and Cool", Spin. 19(9):68-74
  42. ↑ "Tracy Reese". Tracy Reese. Retrieved 2013-12-26.
  43. ↑ "HDS – Faculty – Charles G. Adams". Harvard Divinity School. Retrieved 2010-01-29.
  44. ↑ A. Scott Berg, Lindbergh at 117 (New York: Berkley Books 1998).
  45. ↑ "Dave Boone". databaseFootball.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  46. ↑ "Aaron Kyle". databaseFootball.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  47. ↑ "Carmen Fanzone Stats". Basketball Almanac. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  48. ↑ "Guy Frazier". databaseFootball.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  49. ↑ "Vernon Gholston". databaseFootball.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  50. ↑ "Curtis Greer". databaseFootball.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  51. ↑ "Harlan Huckleby". databaseFootball.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  52. ↑ "Darris McCord". databaseFootball.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  53. ↑ "A.J. Ofodile". databaseFootball.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  54. ↑ "Chris Douglas-Roberts". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  55. ↑ "Arnie Simkus". databaseFootball.com. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  56. ↑ "Eddie Tolan". US Track &Field. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  57. ↑ "George Brown". databaseBasketball. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  58. ↑ "Dorie Murrey". databaseBasketball. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  59. ↑ "Derrick Dial". databaseBasketball. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  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. 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.
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