English was founded in 1821 as the United States' first public high school, and its distinguished graduates include financier J.P. Morgan, Korean War Maj. Gen. Matthew Ridgway, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock on "Star Trek."

Today, its student body is one of the most diverse in the city.

"I often find myself telling alumni, 'This school was always a home for immigrants,'" Headmaster Jose Duarte said while striding through the halls, turning off students' cell phones and yanking headphones from their ears. "In the past, they were the sons of Italians and Irish. The only thing that has changed is the tone of the skin. We have always served the non-affluent population of Boston."

But now, the school is struggling. Educators say English's troubles are similar to those of other urban public schools with similarly large numbers of poor youngsters and immigrants.

Most schools that scored as poorly on standardized tests as English High School would have been closed by now, Boston Superintendent Michael Contompasis said.

"I would have closed English, if it wasn't English," he said.

Instead, the state has moved to save it. The school will be placed under state supervision next year, enrollment will be reduced from about 1,200 to 800 students, and longer school days may be allowed.

It is not the school's first transformation.

English High began as a one-room schoolhouse where students gathered around a fireplace. Over the years, the school admitted women and dropped military drills.

In all, English has held classes in seven locations. But Duarte said the school always has served a similar student body — newcomers shut out of Boston's elite schools. In fact, it was the first school in the U.S. that did not require Latin, setting it apart from New England's famous prep schools.

Today, English is about 48 percent Hispanic, 45 percent black and 5 percent white. Almost 20 percent are recent immigrants in an English immersion program.

The school has failed year after year to meet federal standards. Last year, 74 percent of 10th-graders failed to show proficiency on the language arts section of the state exam required for a diploma, and 73 percent fell short in math.

But many students and teachers have pride in their school simply because of its distinguished history. About 100 students staged a walkout last month, many complaining that their younger brothers and sisters might not be able to go to English if the school is reduced in size.

Charles Glenn, dean of the school of education at Boston University, said the problem for English and other large city schools is that Boston's more elite public institutions take away the best and brightest students.

"The challenge for English is catch up to that," he said.

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