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New Rochelle High School
Front of school
Address
265 Clove Road New Rochelle, New York 10801 United States
Information
Type	Public Senior High School [1]
Motto	Summa Optimaque Æmulari (Latin)
Established	1897
School district	City School District of New Rochelle
Principal	Reginald Richardson
Staff	149
Faculty	178
Grades	9-12
Number of students	3,364 [2]
Color(s)	Purple, White & Black
Athletics	The Huguenots
Athletics conference	Section 1 (NYSPHSAA)
Mascot	Huguenot; Purple Wave
Website	nrhs.nred.org

New Rochelle High School (NRHS) is a public high school, comprising grades 9 through 12, in New Rochelle, New York, operated by the City School District of New Rochelle. NRHS serves over 3,300 students; offering more than 240 courses, including honors, research and advanced courses.

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

New Rochelle is one of the most diverse high schools in the country; its student body represents 60 countries from around the world.^[3] NRHS is a two-time Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor that an American school can achieve.^[4] NRHS is accredited by the Middle States Association Commission on Secondary Schools.^[5]

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. When the City purchased the land in 1923, the house became the Huguenot Branch of the New Rochelle Public Library.

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]

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.^[9]

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 an 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.^[10]


• 
  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.^[11] 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.^[12]

The Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC)

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.^[13]

Co and extra-curricular activities

The school has a considerable number of clubs including:^[14]

Accomplishments

• The school's Academic Team is 3rd in the nation after the 2008 National Academic Championship.^[16]


• 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.^[17]Richard Nixon was the guest speaker at the club's first mock presidential convention in 1964.^[17] 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 Congreses. Each year the school holds a Model Congress weekend, hosting "foreign delegations" from other schools.


• The NRHS Economics Team placed 3rd in 2009 and 4th in 2010 in New York State.^{[citation needed]}


• NRHS was the 2007 Lower Hudson Valley Regional Science Olympiad champion.^[18]


• NRHS students have been repeatedly recognized as semi-finalists and finalists in the highly competitive Intel Science Talent Search.^[19]


• NRHS students have been recognized as National Merit Scholarship finalists and semifinalists nearly every year.


• In 1981 Jay Sommer, a foreign language teacher at NRHS, became National Teacher of the Year.^{[citation needed]}

Interscholastic sports

Athletic Accomplishments

• The Varsity Basketball team was a New York|NYS Section AA finalist in 2003 and 2013.


• The Varsity Football team Won the New York State title in 2003 and 2012 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 5 straight times from 2006 to 2010.^[20][21]


• The Boys Varsity Tennis Team won the 2005 New York State Doubles Title.


• David Stewart (Swimming '15) currently holds a NYSPHSAA Section 1 record in the men's 100 Yard Butterfly as of 2015.


• 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 a NRHS student Lynne Lane set a Section 1 track record and was the 60-meter national champion.^[19]


• Throughout the years, the Girls and Boys Track Teams led by Coach Andy Capellan, 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, as a heavy underdog, the boys soccer team won its first-ever Class AA State Championship

Notable alumni

Notable alumni sorted by graduation year.

• 
  Edward A. Batchelor (unknown graduation date) (1883–1968), sportswriter, charter member of Baseball Writers Association of America
  


• 
  Theodore Pratt 1919 - author


• 
  Elia Kazan 1926 - Academy Award-winning director^[22]


• 
  James Gregory 1930 - stage, screen and TV actor^[23]


• 
  James Steen 1931 - football player (Detroit Lions)


• 
  Marion West Higgins 1932 - first female Speaker of New Jersey General Assembly
  


• 
  Dan DeCarlo 1937 - cartoonist, developed look of Archie Comics, created Josie and the Pussycats
  


• 
  Henry Heimlich 1937 - inventor, Heimlich Maneuver^[23]


• 
  Betty Freeman 1939 - photographer and philanthropist


• 
  Gloria Oden 1939 - African American poet^[24]


• 
  Don Hewitt 1940 - producer, 60 Minutes^[25]


• 
  Tad Mosel 1940 - playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner (drama)


• 
  Jerome Kohlberg, Jr. 1943 - billionaire, co-founder of private equity firms KKR and Kohlberg & Co.^[23]


• 
  Kay Christopher 1944 - actress and model


• 
  William Klemperer 1944 - chemical physicist and molecular spectroscopist


• 
  Richard Kahn 1947 - president, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences^[26]


• 
  Joseph Pisani 1947 - lawyer and politician


• 
  Lou Jones 1950 - sprinter, Olympic gold medalist^[27]


• 
  Louis Rukeyser 1950 - TV personality, economic commentator^[28]


• 
  Jesse Arnelle 1950 - football and basketball player at Penn State University^[23]


• 
  Anthony Charles Beilenson 1950 - Democratic Congressman
  


• 
  Henry C. Moses 1951 - educator (Dean of Freshmen at Harvard; headmaster Trinity School)


• 
  Jacob Landau 1952 - journalist, attorney and free-speech activist (founding Executive Director of Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press)


• 
  Leslie H. Gelb 1955 - president, Council on Foreign Relations^[23]


• 
  Harry Macklowe 1955 - chairman and CEO, Macklowe Properties Real Estate Investment^[23]


• 
  William S. Rukeyser 1957 - journalist^[23]


• 
  Ken Blanchard 1957 - management expert and author (One Minute Manager)


• 
  Johnny Counts 1958 - professional football player for New York Giants
  


• 
  Drew S. Days, III 1959 - Solicitor General of the United States, Professor of Law at Yale Law School^[23]


• 
  Lawrence M. Small 1959 - 11th Secretary of Smithsonian Institution
  


• 
  Fred Rosen 1961 - attorney, business executive and philanthropist


• 
  Richard Roundtree 1961 - actor, best known as film's John Shaft^[29]


• 
  Barrie M. Osborne 1962 - film producer, 2004 Academy Award winner (Lord of the Rings)^[23]


• 
  Butch Harmon 1962 - golf professional, former coach of Tiger Woods ^[30]


• 
  Andrea Mitchell 1963 - journalist^[23]


• 
  Russell T. Lewis 1965 - CEO of The New York Times Company ^[23]


• 
  George Starke 1966 - tackle, Washington Redskins^{[citation needed]}


• 
  Harry Stein 1966 - author and columnist


• 
  Alan Menken 1967 - composer, lyricist^[31]


• 
  Jeralyn Merritt 1967 – criminal defense attorney, legal analyst, blogger^[32]


• 
  Ralph Guggenheim 1969 - video graphics designer, 1995 "Producers Guild of America Award" winner (Toy Story)


• 
  Guy Davis 1970 - musician, son of actors Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee^[33]


• 
  Gloria Borger 1970 - political analyst for CNN^[23]


• 
  Christopher Edley, Jr. 1970 - Dean of University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall)^[23]


• 
  Michael Kaiser 1971 - president of John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts^[23]


• 
  Glynnis O'Connor 1973 - actress ^[23]


• 
  Al Seckel 1976 - writer, specialist on illusions, creator of Darwin fish design


• 
  Stuart C. Lord 1978 - educator


• 
  Rachel Vail 1984 - children's author^[23]


• 
  Clifford J. Levy 1985 - Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist^[23]


• 
  Noam Bramson 1987 - politician (mayor of New Rochelle)


• 
  Craig Carton 1987 - sports radio personality^[23]


• 
  Devon Hughes 1990 - professional wrestler "Brother Devon," formerly known as "D-Von Dudley"^[34]


• 
  Cristina Teuscher 1996 - Olympic gold medalist swimmer^[35]


• 
  Jennifer Hyman - 1998 - entrepreneur^[36]


• 
  Adam Rosen 2002 - American-born British luger Olympian^[37]


• 
  Tom Koehler 2004 - Miami Marlins pitcher^[38]


• 
  Courtney Greene 2005 - Jacksonville Jaguars free safety^[39]


• 
  Ray Rice 2005 - former Baltimore Ravens running back,^[40] reserve on 2009 AFC Pro Bowl team,^{[citation needed]}Super Bowl XLVII champion


• 
  Kyle Kulinski 2006 - political commentator^[41]

References

External links

• New Rochelle High School Official website


• 
  New Rochelle High School Fire of 1968 (relates the story of the fire and its consequences with both text and an extensive collection of historic photographs)


• NRHS Planetarium


• James Betelle - Where Are You?

Coordinates: 40°55′46″N 73°47′38″W / 40.92944°N 73.79389°W / 40.92944; -73.79389