Sanders attended James Madison High School, where he was captain of the track team and took third place in the New York City indoor one-mile race. In high school, he lost his first election, finishing last out of three candidates for the student body presidency with a campaign that focused on aiding Korean War orphans. Despite the loss he became active in his school's fundraising activities for Korean orphans, including organizing a charity basketball game. Sanders attended high school with economist Walter Block. Not long after his high school graduation, his mother died at the age of 46. His father died a few years later in 1962, at the age of 57.