Ridgefield High School (Connecticut) Explained

Ridgefield High School
Mottoes:-->
Address:700 North Salem Road
Town:Ridgefield
State:Connecticut
Zipcode:06877
Country:United States
Other Name:RHS
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Type:Public high school
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District:Ridgefield School District
Ceeb:070640
Principal:Jacob Greenwood
Teaching Staff:135.99
Grades:9–12
Enrollment:1,658 (2017-2018)
Ratio:12.19:1
Colors:Orange and black
Athletics Conference:FCIAC
Mascot:Tiger
Accreditations:-->
Affiliations:-->

Ridgefield High School (RHS) is a public high school in Ridgefield, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the Ridgefield School District. It was ranked 119th in Newsweeks 2015 list of the top 1,600 high schools in America and 226th in U.S. News & World Reports 2012 list of the top 4,813 high schools.[1]

Academics

The school's dropout rate has remained consistent over the years at 1%. Daily attendance has been similarly steady at 95%.[2]

Course offerings

Ridgefield High School offers 20 AP classes, as well as multiple UConn Early College Experience classes and Multi-Variable Calculus (as an honors course, not dual enrollment). In 2012, a number of computer-related subjects were added to the curriculum, including computer art, computer music, engineering (Project Lead the Way), and digital design studio.[3]

District Reference Group A

For the purpose of comparison with the achievement levels of similar schools, the state Department of Education classifies schools and communities in "District Reference Groups", defined as "districts whose students' families are similar in education, income, occupation and need, and that have roughly similar enrollment".[4] Ridgefield is one of eight school districts in District Reference Group A.[5]

Student achievement

Students and alumni of Ridgefield High School have won many prestigious academic honors, with frequent National Merit Scholarship Finalists annually.[6] [7] [8] Graduates have won full rides to colleges such as the University of Virginia and Duke University.[9] [10] [11]

RHS students have included Presidential Scholars, a Coca-Cola Scholar, a Jefferson Scholar, Stamps Scholars and more.[12] [13] [14] The school has also produced multiple student representatives to the Connecticut State Board of Education.[15] [16]

Athletics

About 65% of the student body participates in at least one interscholastic athletic activity.[2] It is a member of the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference and is in class LL for states. Each year RHS sends many students to play a variety of sports at the collegiate level.[17] In 2019, Ridgefield High School added fencing to its list of sports, on the club level.[18]

Facilities

The school's facilities include a two-story-high, glass-enclosed student center and all marble Student Life Office. The school has a football stadium with turf field and a turf practice field adjacent to that (Tiger Hollow 1 and 2).

Controversies

Over the years, but especially so in the past few, Ridgefield High School has attracted its fair share of controversy.

Student racism

In October 2017, a video of a Ridgefield High School student along with a then-recent alum painted in blackface with the headline "Nigger" went viral on social media.[19] The post was shared hundreds of times, and deeply upset some students of color who pointed out that "Ridgefield as a town is 96% white."[20] [21] There was also additional controversy regarding the administration's decision to discipline student reporters who shared the information prior to extensive fact-checking, leading to the spread of some misinformation regarding the administration's training of faculty members.

Baseball field fire

A wet baseball field was doused with 24 gallons of gasoline and set on fire in a failed attempt to dry the field for a Ridgefield High School varsity baseball game in April 2019.[22] Three RHS varsity baseball coaches were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of a police investigation.[23] The cost to restore the field to pre-fire condition was estimated to be in excess of $50,000.[24]

Hazing

In 2014, a series of hazing events left many underclassmen students intoxicated as they attended class. The breadth of students that were affected by this event garnered much media coverage, with the bulk of the students being involved with athletic teams at the school.[25] [26] [27] The hazing occurred as part of the school's Homecoming Spirit Week. In 2019, the school took steps to prevent hazing among its athletic teams.[28]

Swastikas

During the 2017–2018 academic year, there were no fewer than 5 instances of swastikas drawn on or around school grounds. On September 8, 2017, an anti-Semitic symbol was found etched into a table at Ridgefield High School.[29] A little more than 2 months later, on Tuesday, November 21, a swastika was found drawn on the inside of a classroom door at Ridgefield High School.[30] Additional anti-Semitic symbols were found in January, June, and August.[31] [32] [33] All these events led to the creation of a program for town officials to "do more than condemn" the events.[34]

Threats of violence

In the 2018–2019 academic year, Ridgefield High School saw a surge in threats of violence against staff and students. In late May 2019, a student was arrested for threatening to initiate a school shooting. The student, whose name was not released because he or she is a minor, was charged with threatening in the first degree and breach of peace in the second degree.[35] [36] [37] Earlier that year, there were instances of bomb threats in December[38] [39] and January.[40] There was also an undisclosed threat made on social media in March of the same academic year.[41]

Previous bomb threats had been made at RHS in 2007,[42] 2008,[43] and 2012.[44]

Notable alumni

Notes and References

  1. News: America's Top High Schools 2015 . On 08/19/15 at 7:31 AM . EST . August 19, 2015 . Newsweek.
  2. Book: Strategic School Profile 2005-2006 Ridgefield High School . . Evidence of Sustained Improvement in Student Accomplishments . 6 . December 5, 2006 . June 23, 2019.
  3. Book: Strategic School Profile 2005-2006 Ridgefield High School . . Supplemental School Information . 6 . December 5, 2006 . June 23, 2019.
  4. Book: Strategic School Profile 2005-2006 Wilton High School . . December 5, 2006 . June 23, 2019 . September 23, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150923211446/http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/der/ssp/SCH0506/sr137.pdf . dead .
  5. Web site: Find a Community: By Educational Reference Group (DRG) . Discovery 2007 / An initiative of the William Caspar Graustein Fund . https://web.archive.org/web/20070224091946/http://discovery.wcgmf.org/communities_bydrg.html . February 24, 2007 . dead . March 6, 2007 . discovery.wcgmf.org.
  6. Web site: Daly . Tara . Meet Ridgefield High School's National Merit Scholarship Finalists! . June 20, 2019 . www.hamlethub.com . en-gb.
  7. Web site: September 19, 2016 . 12 Ridgefield High Students Named National Merit Semifinalists . June 20, 2019 . Ridgefield Daily Voice . en.
  8. Web site: September 9, 2015 . 8 Ridgefield High School Students Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists . June 20, 2019 . Ridgefield, CT Patch . en.
  9. Web site: Ducey . Kerry Anne . Alexandra DiGiacomo of Ridgefield Among Nineteen Selected for A.B. Duke Scholarships . June 20, 2019 . www.hamlethub.com . en-gb.
  10. Web site: Student Earns Scholarship . June 20, 2019 . The News Times.
  11. Web site: July 3, 2018 . Robert Buckley joins the 13th class of Stamps Scholars . June 20, 2019 . The Ridgefield Press . en-US.
  12. Web site: 20 Connecticut Students to Receive College Scholarships From Fund Created by Former Sen. Lieberman, Including Five Incoming Freshmen . Kavaler . Community Contributor Bernard . courant.com. June 20, 2019.
  13. Web site: RHS senior Gunnar Smith is a U.S. Presidential Scholar.
  14. Web site: Ridgefield High School Grad Awarded for Women In Tech Advocacy . Suryawanshi . Omika . www.hamlethub.com . en-gb. June 20, 2019.
  15. Web site: State Board of Education--Members . CT.gov - Connecticut's Official State Website . en. June 20, 2019.
  16. Web site: Two student representatives named to Board of Education . News-Times . The . March 20, 2006 . NewsTimes. June 20, 2019 . NEWS-TIMES . Susan Tuz THE.
  17. Web site: Ridgefield High athletes will compete for D1 colleges . November 30, 2018 . The Ridgefield Press . en-US. June 20, 2019.
  18. Web site: Ridgefield High School To Add Fencing As Club Sport. 2019-12-10. Ridgefield, CT Patch. en. 2019-12-13.
  19. Web site: Racist Image Circulated At Ridgefield High School: Report . December 21, 2017 . Ridgefield, CT Patch . en. June 20, 2019.
  20. Web site: Racist photo troubles kids at high school . Reid . Macklin K. . December 21, 2017 . The Ridgefield Press . en-US. June 20, 2019.
  21. Web site: Schools dispute King Day speech allegations . Reid . Macklin K. . February 6, 2018 . The Ridgefield Press . en-US. June 20, 2019.
  22. Web site: A wet Connecticut baseball field was doused with 24 gallons of gasoline and set on fire . Fox News. May 13, 2020 .
  23. Web site: Ridgefield coaches put on leave after baseball field fire . Coulter . Steve . April 9, 2019 . The News Times.
  24. Web site: Ridgefield baseball field repairs estimated to cost $50,000 after gasoline-soaked blaze set . April 8, 2019 . GameTime CT . en-US. June 20, 2019.
  25. Web site: Ridgefield police investigate alleged high school hazing incidents. Somma. Ann Marie. 2014-10-21. NewsTimes. 2019-12-13.
  26. Web site: Hazing Incident At Ridgefield High School. NBC Connecticut. en-US. 2019-12-13.
  27. Web site: Ridgefield police to investigate High School hazing. LinkedUpRadio. Envisionwise Website Service /. WLAD-AM. en. 2019-12-13.
  28. Web site: Ridgefield teams take proactive approach to prevent hazing. Fornabaio. Michael. 2019-08-21. The Ridgefield Press. 2019-12-13.
  29. Web site: Swastika Found At Ridgefield High School . September 8, 2017 . Ridgefield, CT Patch . en. June 20, 2019.
  30. Web site: Swastika Found Drawn On Classroom Door At Ridgefield High . November 22, 2017 . Ridgefield Daily Voice . en. June 20, 2019.
  31. Web site: Swastikas Found Again in Ridgefield . August 29, 2018 . Ridgefield, CT Patch . en. June 20, 2019.
  32. Web site: Police: More swastika carvings found in Ridgefield . Associated Press . courant.com. June 20, 2019.
  33. Web site: Ridgefield officials believe swastikas the work of one or a few people . Perrefort . Dirk . January 13, 2018 . NewsTimes. June 20, 2019.
  34. Web site: Another swastika at high school prompts program for town officials . Reid . Macklin K. . December 4, 2017 . The Ridgefield Press . en-US. June 20, 2019.
  35. Web site: Teen arrested for threat that led to Ridgefield High early dismissal . Staff reports . May 30, 2019 . NewsTimes. June 20, 2019.
  36. Web site: Threat causes Ridgefield High to dismiss early . May 30, 2019 . FOX 61 . en. June 20, 2019.
  37. Web site: Ridgefield High School Dismissed Early Due to Threat . NBC Connecticut . en. June 20, 2019.
  38. Web site: Ridgefield H.S. under veil of caution after bomb threat . connecticut.news12.com . en. June 20, 2019.
  39. Web site: Ridgefield police investigate bomb threats . Coulter . Steve . December 13, 2018 . The Ridgefield Press . en-US. June 20, 2019.
  40. Web site: Ridgefield High School Dismissed After Written Bomb Threat Was Found: Police . NBC Connecticut . en. June 20, 2019.
  41. Web site: Ridgefield High student charged after making social media threat . Coulter . Steve . March 20, 2019 . New Haven Register. June 20, 2019.
  42. Web site: Ridgefield High gets bomb threat . News-Times . The . September 25, 2007 . NewsTimes. June 20, 2019.
  43. Web site: Officials: Ridgefield High bomb threat not credible . News-Times . The . November 7, 2008 . NewsTimes. June 20, 2019 . Reports . Staff.
  44. Web site: Bomb Threat Discovered at Ridgefield High School . November 13, 2012 . Ridgefield, CT Patch . en. June 20, 2019.
  45. News: Reid, Macklin . Jared Bernstein, RHS graduate, is leaving Obama administration . . . May 1, 2011 . May 21, 2011.
  46. News: Long Island Native, Killed in Iraq, Is Buried in Arlington . O'Donnell . Michelle . May 8, 2004 . The New York Times.
  47. Web site: Scott Heckert . August 12, 2019.
  48. Web site: 2021-06-14. Former Ridgefield High School Student On His Way To The Olympics. 2021-07-28. Ridgefield, CT Patch. en.
  49. News: State of the Union Speechwriter for Obama Draws on Various Inspirations . Michael S. . Schmidt . January 19, 2015 . . NYTimes.com . June 23, 2019.
  50. Leonard, Elizabeth. "Students Get Sports Awards", The Bridgeport Post, May 29, 1970. Accessed November 9, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "Richard Medve, track coach, presented letters to.... Erland Van Lidth de Jeude..."
  51. Web site: Fuller . Jim . Ridgefield All-State receiver Jackson Mitchell commits to UConn . New Haven Register . 25 February 2024.
  52. News: This is the 16-year-old behind the National School Walkout . Sanchez . Ray . April 21, 2018 . CNN. October 15, 2018.
  53. Web site: Barker. Sean. 2021-06-16. Ridgefield's Kieran Smith wins 200 free at Olympic trials. 2021-06-17. NewsTimes. en-US.

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