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. It is a French-Gothic style high school designed by the noted architectural firm of Guilbert and Betelle.

New Rochelle High School
Seal of 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 staff199.59 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment3,192 (2021-2022)[1]
Student to teacher ratio15.99[1]
Color(s)Purple, White, Black    
Athletics conferenceSection 1 (NYSPHSAA)
MascotHuguenot; Purple Wave
NicknameThe Huguenots
NewspaperThe Huguenot Herald
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] The school is organized into eight smaller learning communities of approximately 400-600 students each.

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 Regeneron 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.[6] 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.[7]

On May 17, 1968, school buildings dating from the 1920s and 1930s were destroyed by arson.[8] 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.[9]

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.[10][11]

The spring 2018 school semester at New Rochelle High School was marred by several instances of violence involving students. There were three incidents involving violence with the latest being on January 18 of that year in which a student was stabbed to death.[12] In 2019, a student named Z'Inah Brown was sentenced to 17 years in prison for her actions in the January 2018 incident that saw a student die from the stabbing.[13]

In 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.'"[14][15]

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.[16]

Departments
  • Arts Department, a program integrating Art, Music, Dance and Theater Arts within the school.[17]
  • Business Education Department. 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.
  • Foreign Language Department.
  • Sciences and Mathematics Department.

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.[18]
  • 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.[19]
  • 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.[20]

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.[21] 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.[22]

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.[23]

Co and extra-curricular activities

The school has a considerable number of clubs including:[24]

Accomplishments
  • The school's Academic Team was ranked 3rd in the nation after the 2008 National Academic Championship.[27]
  • 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.[28] Richard Nixon was the guest speaker at the club's first mock presidential convention in 1964.[28] 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.[29]
  • NRHS students have been repeatedly recognized as semi-finalists and finalists in the highly competitive Intel Science Talent Search.[30]

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.[32] 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.[33][34]
  • 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.[35]
  • In 2005 NRHS student Lynne Lane set a Section 1 track record and was the 60-meter national champion.[30]
  • 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.[36][37]
  • Both the varsity and JV cheerleading teams were national champions at the 2013 Universal Cheerleading Association National HS Cheerleading Championships.[38]
  • In 2016, the boys varsity soccer team won its first Class AA New York State Championship since 1986.[39]

Notable alumni

Notable alumni sorted by graduation year.

References
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  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. Best Books on and Project, F.W. (1940). New York City Guide. Best Books on. p. 247. ISBN 9781623760311.
  7. "New Rochelle High School". www.nred.org.
  8. Blumenthal, Ralph (May 18, 1968). "Fire Ruins School in New Rochelle – Arson Believed the Cause, but No Link to Racial Antagonism Is Seen". The New York Times. p. 1.
  9. New Rochelle Finds Room For Students, "New York Times", May 21, 1968
  10. Bramson, Noam (August 20, 2008). "Lightning Strikes New Rochelle High School". Mayor Noam Bramson.
  11. Storm Data. Vol. 50. 2008. p. 224.
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  13. "Teen Sentenced To 17 Years In Fatal Stabbing Of New Rochelle Classmate". CBS New York. August 7, 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
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