Morris High School and the Creation of the New York City Public High School System

In 1896, the School Reform Law provided the reorganization of the New York City Board of Education & the creation of the first public high schools in the city. In September of 1897, the Boys' High School, later named DeWitt Clinton High School, & the Girls' High School, later named Wadleigh High School, were opened in Manhattan. The third school to open was the North Side, in what is now the Bronx. There were both male & female students so it was named the Mixed High School &, soon after, the Peter Cooper High School. It was, in 1901, renamed Morris High School in honor of Gouverneur Morris, the penman of the Constitution. The study is chronological. It has a brief historical background of the New York public school system between 1805 & 1896, including the reform movement led by Nicholas Murray Butler. This is followed by an explanation of the changes in the Board of Ed between 1896 & 1904 including City Superintendent William Maxwell's contributions. The major portion of the book is the history of Morris High School from 1897, when it opened, to 1904, when its new building was dedicated. The Morris High School building was to be the master work of its architect, C.B.J. Snyder.Gary Hermalyn is the author of 'Morris High School and the Creation of the New York City Public High School System' with ISBN 9780941980319 and ISBN 0941980316.