New Rochelle High School

New Rochelle High School (NRHS) is a public high school in New Rochelle, New York. It is part of the City School District of New Rochelle and is the City's sole public high school.

New Rochelle High School
Front of school
Address
265 Clove Road

New Rochelle
,
New York
10801

United States
Coordinates40°55′46″N 73°47′38″W
Information
Other nameNRHS
TypePublic high school
MottoLatin: Summa Optimaque Æmulari
School districtCity School District of New Rochelle
NCES School ID362049001900[1]
PrincipalSteven Goldberg (Interim)
Teaching staff177.36 (on a FTE basis)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment3,331 (2018-2019)[1]
Student to teacher ratio18.78[1]
Color(s)Purple, White, Black    
Athletics conferenceSection 1 (NYSPHSAA)
MascotHuguenot; Purple Wave
NicknameThe Huguenots
Websitenrhs.nred.org

Its student body represents 60 countries from around the world.[2] It is a two-time Blue Ribbon School[3] and is accredited by the Middle States Association Commission on Secondary Schools.[4]

96% of graduates attend college or other institutions of higher learning and students earn accolades in competitive national programs including the National Merit Scholarship and the Intel Science Talent Search.

Campus

The school buildings are situated at the rear of a plot of land, fronted by two lakes, and 'Huguenot Park'. The forty-three acres of land that comprise the park, including what is now "Twin Lakes", were acquired by the City in 1923 as the site for the community's new high school and a park. At the time, the twin lakes were one large lake which had been used for an ice manufacturing business by the Mahlstedt family. At the southeast corner of the property is the Mahlstedt house where three generations of the family lived while operating their ice business at the lake. After the City purchased the land, the Mahlstedt house became the Huguenot Park Branch of the New Rochelle Public Library in 1926. Due to inadequate facilities and budget cuts, in 1992 the Huguenot Branch closed, and in 1996 the Huguenot Children's Library opened on the site.[5]

A white marble World War II Marines Memorial is located near the causeway leading to the High School from North Avenue. The monument was dedicated on June 3, 1949 to the 15 New Rochelle Marines who died while fighting in the war.

The high school is designed in the French-Gothic style by the noted architectural firm of Guilbert and Betelle. It includes a working clock tower, indoor swimming facilities, eight tennis courts, two football fields, one combined soccer and baseball field, an outdoor track, a television station and a planetarium. The planetarium can hold 84 viewers and uses a 'Spitz Scidome', 360 degree fulldome video projector with ATM-4 automation and a 5.1 surround sound audio system.

On May 17, 1968, school buildings dating from the 1920s and 1930s were destroyed by arson.[6] A 16-year-old high school student with a history of setting fires to attract attention was arrested for the arson. Additions made to school buildings in 1959 and 1960 were not affected. Fire insurance allowed the school to rebuild while displaced students were accommodated at local junior high schools under a time-sharing arrangement.[7]

On August 15, 2008, New Rochelle High School was struck by lightning. The resulting fire badly damaged the building's distinctive spire. The fire occurred just two months after the 40th anniversary of the 1968 arson fire that destroyed much of the school.[8]

The spring 2018 school semester at New Rochelle High School was marred by several instances of violence involving students.[9]

On January 9, 2019 it was reported that NRHS administrator Shadia Alvarez was being fired "for changing 212 grades for 32 students by making 'entries and changes to students' records in violation of NRHS grade-change practice and without any consistent, comprehensible or valid explanation.'"[10][11]

Academics

To create a more personalized atmosphere, NRHS is organized into eight smaller learning communities of approximately 400-600 students each. The communities are geographically defined and serve as a home base for students and teachers. Ninth and tenth grade students in each community are teamed with core area teachers in English, social studies, mathematics, and science. These teacher-student 'teams' remain intact for ninth and tenth grade in order to provide continuity for students and staff. Eleventh and twelfth grade students remain within their communities even though most course work occurs throughout the campus.[12]

Departments
  • Arts Department, an expansive program integrating Art, Music, Dance and Theater Arts within the school. The four main standards are stressed by the department: Creating, Performing, and Participating in The Arts; Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources; Responding To and Analyzing Works of Art; Understanding The Cultural Dimensions and Contributions of The Arts.
    The department also provides a Performing and Visual Arts Education (P.A.V.E.) program enabling students to major in the Arts. Each year competitive auditions are held for each artistic discipline; Visual Arts, Theater, Vocal Music, Orchestra, Band and Dance . Once in the program, students attend classes before school so that there are no conflicts with their regular academic course load.[13]
  • Business Education Department, geared towards preparing students for career and workplace success. Current programs of study include: Business; Marketing & Entrepreneurship; Marketing and Computer Applications.
  • Engineering and Architectural Design Department, offers courses in architectural design, architectural presentation, CADD aided residential drawing and design and drawing for production. Students can select the Architectural design sequence of courses as their major. The department features teachers with professional backgrounds in science, technology and mathematics.
  • Foreign Language Department, features a complement of educators from Europe; Italian, Spanish, French, Greek, and Latin courses; future progressive program advantages for students in Dual Language Programs founded in elementary and middle schools; opportunities for students from more than 50 countries of the world. In 2009, Mandarin was added to this list of foreign languages.
  • Sciences and Mathematics Department, offers students the opportunity to participate in the community of scientific research and scholarship as part of their high school experience. In addition to class, formal individual meetings are held once a week. Students select a topic of interest and explore this topic through library research, person to person conversations with research scientists throughout the country, and telecommunication to research and college libraries. Students develop sophisticated data collecting and lab skills by completing a literature search, formulating a research question, articulating hypotheses, collecting and analyzing data, and presenting their findings to a bona fide scientific audience (e.g., The Intel Talent Search, the New York State Science Symposium, and local and regional science fairs).

Honor societies
  • NRHS Chapter of National Honor Society, part of a national organization. Membership is based on scholarship, community service, leadership, and character. To qualify, students must possess a minimum cumulative unweighted average of 87.0, show a minimum of 20 verifiable hours of community service, and display strong leadership qualities. Students meeting these requirements are interviewed and selected by members of the Faculty Council.
  • Spanish Honor Society, open to juniors and seniors who have shown outstanding work in Spanish for a minimum of 2½ years. Final acceptance is subject to review by the NRHS Foreign Language Department in accordance with the guidelines of the Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica.
  • French Honor Society, open to juniors and seniors who have consistently maintained a high average in French for a minimum of 3 years.
  • Latin Honor Society, open to juniors and seniors who have consistently achieved 90s in Latin for a minimum of 3 years.
  • Italian Honor Society, open to juniors and seniors who have consistently maintained a high average in their years spent studying the language.
  • Tri-M Music Honor Society, open to students of the Instrumental and Vocal Music Departments upon recommendation by their respective teacher.
  • National Art Honor Society, members must meet select national standards in art and display a strong focus on community service.
  • Math Honor Society, open to those who maintain a high average in math throughout high school
  • National English Honor Society, was founded in 2008 for those who maintain a high English average throughout high school.

The Fund for Educational Excellence

The Fund for Educational Excellence is a private foundation formed to address the dramatic increase in the cost of public education by supporting aspects of the public educational system that fall outside the normal operating budget.[14] The Fund was established in 1998 in a cooperative effort by the Superintendent of Schools, members of the Board of Education and community leaders to preserve the New Rochelle tradition of excellence in education. Most notably, the Fund has sponsored several benefit concerts featuring NRHS students at major performance venues including Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall of Lincoln Center.[15]

The Museum of Arts and Culture

The Museum of Arts and Culture is an on-site museum offering exhibits and programs focused on the fine arts, history, literature and science and technology. The Museum opened in 2006 and is the only Regents-chartered museum in a school in the state of New York.[16]

Co and extra-curricular activities

The school has a considerable number of clubs including:[17]

Accomplishments
  • The school's Academic Team is 3rd in the nation after the 2008 National Academic Championship.[19]
  • The school's Model Congress Club is the oldest and longest running high school level model congress in the country. Model Congress originated at New Rochelle High School in 1964 when faculty advisor William P. Clarke sought an extracurricular outlet for bright students not engaged in sports.[20] Richard Nixon was the guest speaker at the club's first mock presidential convention in 1964.[20] The club is focused around debating issues through the use of bills and parliamentary procedure. The club becomes a delegation when it debates in foreign congresses, both college congresses and those associated with the United Model Congresses. Each year the school holds a Model Congress weekend, hosting "foreign delegations" from other schools.
  • NRHS was the 2007 Lower Hudson Valley Regional Science Olympiad champion.[21]
  • NRHS students have been repeatedly recognized as semi-finalists and finalists in the highly competitive Intel Science Talent Search.[22]

Interscholastic sports

Athletic accomplishments
  • The varsity basketball team was a New York Section AA finalist in 2003 and 2013.
  • The Varsity football team won the New York State title in 2003, 2012 and 2019 and was a New York State Class AA finalist in 2000, 2004 and 2009 and semi-finalist in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2015. The team has earned the title of New York State Section 1 AA champion nine times since 2003 including five straight times from 2006 to 2010.[23][24]
  • The boys varsity tennis team won the 2005 New York State doubles title. The team also were league champions in 2017 and 2018.
  • David Stewart (swimming '15) currently holds a NYSPHSAA Section 1 record in the men's 100-yard butterfly as of 2015.[25]
  • The varsity girls basketball team is the school's first to compete in the NYS Section 1 Class AA semi-finals, where they earned the first runner-up prize in their division.
  • In 2005 NRHS student Lynne Lane set a Section 1 track record and was the 60-meter national champion.[22]
  • Throughout the years, the girls and boys track teams have won many league, county and sectional titles. In 2008 and 2010 the girls shuttle-hurdle team won national championships.
  • Both the varsity and JV cheerleading teams were national champions at the 2013 Universal Cheerleading Association National HS Cheerleading Championships.
  • In 2016, the boys varsity soccer team won its first Class AA New York State Championship since 1986.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni sorted by graduation year.

References
  1. "Search for Public Schools - New Rochelle High School (362049001900)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  2. Newsweek Web Exclusive (2007). "The Top of the Class: The Complete List of the 1,300 Top U.S. High Schools". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 2009-07-14. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  3. "BLUE RIBBON SCHOOLS PROGRAM:Schools Recognized 1982–1983 and Through 1999–2002" (PDF). Blue Ribbon Schools Program - Knowledge Applications Division. U.S. Department of Education. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2008-06-02.
  4. "2007 - New Rochelle High School Receives Accreditation". New Rochelle High School Official Website. nred.org. Archived from the original on 2012-02-16. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  5. Library for Children in New Rochelle, "New York Times", Jan 11, 1998
  6. Ralph Blumenthal, FIRE RUINS SCHOOL IN NEW ROCHELLE; Arson Believed the Cause, but No Link to Racial Antagonism Is Seen, New York Times, May 18, 1968, page 1.
  7. New Rochelle Finds Room For Students, "New York Times", May 21, 1968
  8. Storm sparks school fire, floods cars, The Journal News, August 16, 2008.
  9. "Third New Rochelle high student stabbed in 8 days: police". WPIX 11 New York. 2018-01-18. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  10. https://www.lohud.com/story/news/education/2019/01/09/new-rochelle-high-school-shadia-alvarez-fired-apex-scandal/2517502002/
  11. "Grade-Fixing Scandal Rocks New Rochelle High School". 2018-12-05. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  12. School publications - handbook Archived 2008-12-20 at the Wayback Machine
  13. The PAVE Program Archived 2008-06-18 at the Wayback Machine
  14. "The New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence". Archived from the original on June 3, 2008. Retrieved September 2012. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  15. PAVE-ing the Way for Future Artists, NY Metro Parents, April 4, 2007
  16. Museum of Arts and Culture - New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence
  17. New Rochelle High School Handbook Archived 2008-01-04 at the Wayback Machine
  18. "Team 5202 Information - FIRST".
  19. Questions Unlimited (2008). "Tournament Progress". Questions Unlimited. Retrieved 2008-06-16.
  20. Carley, Jeanne M. (March 18, 1979). "Model Congress to Meet Friday". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  21. "New Rochelle Science Olympiad 2007". www.scienceteacherprogram.org. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  22. District Awards Archived 2011-07-27 at the Wayback Machine
  23. City School District of New Rochelle - 2006 Football Section Champions
  24. Semple, Kirk (November 21, 2004). "2-4-6-8, Best Football in the State! (Who Knew?)". The New York Times.
  26. Current Biography Yearbook. New York: H. W. Wilson Company. 1971. p. 24.
  27. "Distinguished Alumni". New Rochelle High School Official Website. nrhs.nred.org. Archived from the original on 2008-12-20. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  28. Oden. Gloria. “Open letter.” Inertia Magazine. January 2008. Web. 20 October 2011.
  29. Tell Me a Story: The Don Hewitt Saga
  30. 1988–1989 Annual Report Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  31. Goldstein, Richard (February 8, 2006). "Lou Jones, 74, Sprinting Star, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
  32. Zurawik, David; Sun, Baltimore. "Long-time PBS Host Louis Rukeyser Dies - chicagotribune.com". Chicago Tribune.
  33. "New Rochelle". Daily News. New York. September 7, 2007.
  34. "Tiger Woods Coach". Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved September 2012. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  35. Music Makers of New Rochelle Biographies
  36. Classmates: Jeralyn Merritt
  37. Music Makers of New Rochelle
  38. "Pro Wrestling Returns To New Rochelle". Archived from the original on March 12, 2008. Retrieved September 2012. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  39. Cristina Teuscher Is Named Top Woman College Athlete
  40. Meltzer, Marisa. "The Prom Dress Moves Into the Designer Leagues". Fashion & Style. The New York Times. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  42. Eymer, Rick (16 May 2014). "Koehler an unexpected Major Leaguer". MLB.com.
  43. Carpiniello, Rick (16 June 2013). "Ray Rice ready to take leadership baton from Ray Lewis". USA Today. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  44. "NFL Players Bring March Madness to New Rochelle High School". Retrieved September 2012. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.