List of New York City Public School Alumni

New York City Public School Alumni are a group of millions of people who have attended public school in New York City. The city’s public school system is the largest in the United States, and is managed by the New York City Department of Education. Alumni of New York City Public Schools have become successful in fields such as academics, theater, writing, music, and sports. Though many alumni have graduated from New York City Public Schools, graduation is not required to be considered a New York City Public School Alumni.
New York City Public School Alumni have won multiple Nobel Prizes, Grammy Awards, Academy Awards, and other accredited achievements. Notable alumni of New York City Public Schools include Alicia Keys, Bernie Sanders, Jay Z, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Al Pacino.
Impact of New York City Public School Alumni
Alumni of New York City public schools have shaped music, theater, the arts, and pop culture for decades. Music genres like jazz, doo wop, disco, salsa, hip hop, and rock, has roots in New York City because of artists who are also alumni of public schools. The music of New York City, largely influenced by New York City public school alumni, set the stage for American music across genres. Influential artists like jazz musician Sonny Rollins (Benjamin Franklin High School), members of the Doo Wop group The Tokens (Abraham Lincoln High School), folk artist Suzanne Vega (High School of Performing Arts), freestyle music group Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam (Julia Richman High School), bachata band Aventura (South Bronx High School), and rapper The Notorious B.I.G. (George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School) shaped their respective genres during and after their times as New York City public school students.
Alumni Giving Back to their Schools
List of Nobel Prize Winning Alumni
42 New York City Public School Alumni have been awarded Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Economic Sciences, and Peace. The Bronx High School of Science has the most Nobel laureates of all high schools in the United States, with eight alumni winning Nobel Prizes. Stuyvesant High School and James Madison High School both have four alumni Nobel laureates, while Far Rockaway High School, Townsend Harris High School, and Abraham Lincoln High School each have had three alumni win Nobel Prizes.
* Isidor Isaac Rabi (Manual Training High School)
* Hermann Joseph Muller (Morris High School)
* Joshua Lederberg (Stuyvesant High School)
* Arthur Kornberg (Abraham Lincoln High School)
* Robert Hofstadter (DeWitt Clinton High School)
* Richard Feynman (Far Rockaway High School)
* Julian Schwinger (Townsend Harris High School)
* George Wald (Brooklyn Technical High School)
* Julius Axelrod (Seward Park High School)
* Gerald Edelman (John Adams High School)
* Leon Cooper (Bronx High School of Science)
* Kenneth Arrow (Townsend Harris High School)
* Henry Kissinger (George Washington High School)
* Baruch Samuel Blumberg (Far Rockaway High School)
* Burton Richter (Far Rockaway High School)
* Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (Walton High School)
* Arno Allan Penzias (Brooklyn Technical High School)
* Sheldon Lee Glashow (Bronx High School of Science)
* Steven Weinberg (Bronx High School of Science)
* Paul Berg (Abraham Lincoln High School)
* Roald Hoffmann (Stuyvesant High School)
* Barbara McClintock (Erasmus Hall High School)
* Herbert Aaron Hauptman (Townsend Harris High School)
* Jerome Karle (Abraham Lincoln High School)
* Stanley Cohen (James Madison High School)
* Robert Solow (James Madison High School)
* Melvin Schwartz (Bronx High School of Science)
* Gertrude Belle Elion (Walton High School)
* Leon Max Lederman (James Monroe High School)
* Gary Becker (James Madison High School)
* Robert Fogel (Stuyvesant High School)
* Russell Alan Hulse (Bronx High School of Science)
* Martin Lewis Perl (James Madison High School)
* Paul Greengard (Public Schools in Brooklyn and Queens)
* Eric Kandel (Erasmus Hall High School)
* Richard Axel (Stuyvesant High School)
* Hugh David Politzer (Bronx High School of Science)
* Frank Wilczek (Martin Van Buren High School)
* Roy Jay Glauber (Bronx High School of Science)
* Peter Diamond (Elementary School in the Bronx)
* Robert Lefkowitz (Bronx High School of Science)
* Alvin Roth (Martin Van Buren High School)
List of “Big Four” Grammy Award Winning Alumni
Alumni of New York City Public Schools have collectively won 42 “Big Four” Grammy Awards. 14 alumni have won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year, 6 alumni have won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year, 11 alumni have won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and 5 alumni have won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
Grammy Award for Song of the Year Winning Alumni
* Tony Bennett (School of Industrial Art)
* Paul Simon (Forest Hills High School)
* Art Garfunkel (Forest Hills High School)
* Carole King (James Madison High School)
* Norman Gimbel
* Charles Fox (High School of Music and Art)
* Marilyn Bergman(High School of Music and Art)
* Barbra Streisand (Erasmus Hall High School)
* Barry Manilow (Eastern District High School)
* Carole Bayer Sager (High School of Music and Art)
* Barry Mann (James Madison High School)
* Irving Gordon (Attended public schools in New York City)
* Alicia Keys (Professional Performing Arts School)
* Luther Vandross (William Howard Taft High School)
Grammy Award for Record of the Year Winning Alumni
* Bobby Darin (Bronx High School of Science)
* Tony Bennett (School of Industrial Art)
* Stan Getz (James Monroe High School)
* Paul Simon (Forest Hills High School)
* Art Garfunkel (Forest Hills High School)
* Carole King (James Madison High School)
Grammy Award for Album of the Year Winning Alumni
* Barbra Streisand (Erasmus Hall High School)
* Al Kooper (Martin Van Buren High School)
* Fred Lipsius (High School of Music and Art)
* Bobby Colomby (Stuyvesant High School)
* Paul Simon (Forest Hills High School)
* Art Garfunkel (Forest Hills High School)
* Carole King (James Madison High School)
* Tony Bennett (School of Industrial Art)
* Clive Davis (Erasmus Hall High School)
* Walter Becker (Stuyvesant High School)
* George Marino (Christopher Columbus High School)
Grammy Award for Best New Artist Winning Alumni
* Bobby Darin (Bronx High School of Science)
* Peter Nero (High School of Music and Art)
* Jose Feliciano (Charles Evans Hughes High School)
* Cyndi Lauper (Richmond Hill High School)
* Alicia Keys (Professional Performing Arts School)
List of Academy Award Winning Alumni
15 New York City Public School Alumni have won Academy Awards for Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Director. Collectively, they have won 18 Academy Awards in those three categories.
Academy Award for Best Actress Winning Alumni
* Judy Holliday (Julia Richman High School)
* Shirley Booth (P.S. 152)
* Susan Hayward (Erasmus Hall High School)
* Anne Bancroft (Christopher Columbus High School)
* Liza Minnelli (High School of Performing Arts)
Academy Award for Best Actor Winning Alumni
* James Cagney (Stuyvesant High School)
* Burt Lancaster (DeWitt Clinton High School)
* Robert De Niro (P.S. 41)
* Al Pacino (High School of Performing Arts)
* Adrien Brody (Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School)
Academy Award for Best Director Winning Alumni
* Elia Kazan (Attended public schools in New York City)
* Joseph Leo Mankiewicz (Stuyvesant High School)
* George Cukor (DeWitt Clinton High School)
* Mike Nichols (P.S. 87)
* Woody Allen (Midwood High School)

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