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In a previous post, the K-12 Directory of Schools blog looked at Five Famous Athletes from Orange County High Schools. New York, New York has its share of famous high school graduate athletes as well. Here are some of the athletes that graduated in the New York City area and which high schools they attended.

1. Erinn and Keeth Smart, U.S. Olympics 2008 winning fencers

Erinn and Keeth Smart are sister-and-brother fencers that both took fencing medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. They attended Brooklyn Technical High School, which is a public high school with an entrance exam; one of the Specialized New York High Schools. In order to graduate from Brooklyn Technical High School, students are required to participate in 50 hours of community service and several classes with a technological base. The school is held in high regard.

2. Calvin Hill, former running back for Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins and Cleveland Browns

Calvin Hill was a former running back for three NFL teams over a 12-year career. He attended Riverdale Country School, a co-ed high school recognized as a member of the Ivy League Preparatory School League. Riverdale focuses on a balance of academics, arts, and athletics and has several male and female athletic teams and awards. As an additional note, John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy attended Riverdale Lower School, the elementary branch of this set of prestige private schools.

3. Katherine Healy, professional ballet dancer and figure skater

Katherine Healy’s professional career as a ballet dancer and figure skater started at a very young age, before ever entering high school. She attended Saint Ann’s School in the middle of her budding career. Saint Ann’s School is known for artistic and academically inclined students. The school’s grading system is unique; there are no letter grades, but instead full reports given by every teacher on each student’s progress. It is a K-12 school.

4. The basketball players of Rice High School

Rice High School, a private Roman Catholic High School in Harlem, New York, has fostered countless of professional basketball athletes, including:

• Dean Meminger, basketball player and coach, Class of 1967
• Felipe López, basketball player, Class of 1994
• Andre Barrett, basketball player, Class of 2000
• Keydren Clark, basketball player, Class of 2002
• Russell Robinson, basketball player, Class of 2004
• Edgar Sosa, basketball player, Class of 2006
• Curtis Kelly, basketball player, Class of 2006
• Kemba Walker, basketball player, Class of 2008

5. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American retired basketball player, coach, actor, and author

Abdul-Jabbar has quite the streak of successes going, and it all started with his excellent high school education at Power Memorial Academy. Power Memorial Academy was a Catholic, all-boys, private high school. In 1964, Power Memorial Academy’s basketball team was named “The #1 High School Team of the Century.” Unfortunately, in 1984, the school closed its doors for financial reasons. K-12 Directory of Schools mentions Power Memorial Academy because it serves as an example about how fine schools crop up and disappear.

Do you know any athletes or other famous people that attended a New York City high school?

Thanks to Luke-Daddymak for the Creative Commons basketball image on Deviant Art.