Public high school in New Rochelle, New York, United States
New Rochelle High School (NRHS), a public secondary school in New Rochelle, New York, is part of the City School District of New Rochelle and is the city's sole public high school. Its buildings were designed by the noted architectural firm Guilbert and Betelle and constructed in the French-Gothic style.
The school's student body represents 60 countries.[2] It is a two-time Blue Ribbon School[3] and is accredited by the Middle States Association Commission on Secondary Schools.[4] The school is organized into eight learning communities of approximately 400-600 students each.
Ninety-six percent of graduates attend college or other institutions of higher learning, and students earn accolades in competitive national programs, including the National Merit Scholarship Program and the Regeneron Science Talent Search.
Campus
New Rochelle High School's buildings are situated at the rear of a plot of land, fronted by two lakes, and Huguenot Park. The city acquired the park's 43 acres (17 ha) of land, including what is now Twin Lakes, in 1923 as the site for the community's new high school and a park. The twin lakes were one large lake that had been used for an ice manufacturing business by the Mahlstedt family. At the southeast corner of the property is Mahlstedt House, where the family lived. In 1926, Mahlstedt House became the Huguenot Park Branch of New Rochelle Public Library, which closed in 1992, and in 1996 it became Huguenot Children's Library.[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.[6]
The school's campus was designed in the French-Gothic style by the architectural firm Guilbert and Betelle.[7] 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, a 360-degree full-dome video projector with ATM-4 automation and a 5.1 surround sound audio system.[8]
History
On May 17, 1968, school buildings dating from the 1920s and 1930s were destroyed by arson.[9] 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.[10]
On August 15, 2008, two months after the 40th anniversary of the 1968 arson fire that destroyed much of the school, New Rochelle High School was struck by lightning, causing a fire that severely damaged the building's distinctive spire.[11][12]
During the spring 2018 semester at the school, three instances of violence involving students occurred; in an incident on January 18 of that year, a student was stabbed to death.[13] In 2019, a student named Z'Inah Brown was sentenced to 17 years in prison for her actions in the January 2018 incident.[14]
In 2019, the school's administrator was dismissed "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'".[15][16]
Academics
To create a more personalized atmosphere, NRHS is organized into eight geographically defined learning communities of approximately 400-600 students each that serve as a home base for students and teachers. In each community, ninth and tenth grade students in are teamed with teachers in English, social studies, mathematics, and science. These teacher-student 'teams' remain intact for ninth and tenth grades to provide continuity for students and staff. Eleventh and twelfth grade students remain within their communities but most coursework occurs throughout the campus.[17]
Departments
- Arts Department, a program integrating Art, Music, Dance and Theater Arts within the school.[18]
- Business Education Department. Current programs of study include Business; Marketing & Entrepreneurship; Marketing and Computer Applications.[19]
- Engineering and Architectural Design Department, offers courses in architectural design, architectural presentation, CADD aided residential drawing and design and drawing for production.[20]
- Foreign Language Department.
- Sciences and Mathematics Department.[20]
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.[21]
- Spanish Honor Society, open to juniors and seniors who have shown outstanding work in Spanish for a minimum of 21⁄2 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.[22]
- 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.[23]
The Fund for Educational Excellence
The private foundation The Fund for Educational Excellence was formed to address the dramatic increase in the cost of public education by supporting aspects of the public education system that fall outside the normal operating budget.[24] The fund was established in 1998 by the Superintendent of Schools, members of the Board of Education and community leaders. The fund has sponsored several benefit concerts featuring NRHS students at major performance venues including Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall at the Lincoln Center.[25]
The Museum of Arts and Culture
The on-site Museum of Arts and Culture offers exhibits and programs focused on the fine arts, history, literature, science and technology. The museum opened in 2006 and is the only Regents-chartered museum in a school in the state of New York.[26]
Co and extra-curricular activities
The school has a considerable number of clubs including:[27]
Accomplishments
- The school's Academic Team was ranked third in the U.S. after the 2008 National Academic Championship.[30]
- The school's Model Congress Club is the oldest-and-longest-running high-school-level model congress in the U.S. The Model Congress originated at New Rochelle High School in 1964 when faculty advisor William P. Clarke sought an extracurricular outlet for bright students who were not engaged in sports.[31] Richard Nixon was the guest speaker at the club's first mock presidential convention in 1964.[31] 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.[32]
- NRHS students have been repeatedly recognized as semi-finalists and finalists in the highly competitive Intel Science Talent Search.[33]
