Enrico Fermi High School (defunct) was a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located in

Enfield, Connecticut Enfield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, first settled by John and Robert Pease of Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The population was 42,141 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and East Long ...

, and closed when it consolidated with

Enfield High School Enfield High School is a secondary school established in 1893 in Enfield, Connecticut. The Enfield High School campus is located in the Connecticut River Valley, on Enfield Street (U.S. Route 5) in Enfield's Historical District. The school has ...

in 2016.

Overview

Enrico Fermi High School was established in 1971. It previously served the Enfield community along with

as one of the town's two high schools. Fermi High School Yearbooks have been archived online and are available at no cost.

Consolidation with Enfield High School

In May 2010, it was voted that Enfield High School and Enrico Fermi High School would be undergoing a consolidation process as part of the restructuring and improvement plan of

Enfield Public Schools Enfield Public Schools is a school district located in Hartford County, in Enfield, Connecticut. The district's boundaries are coterminous with those of the town. Approximately 5,000 students, grades Pre K–12, attend the Enfield Public School ...

. In November 2012, a town-wide referendum to appropriate $103 million for additions and renovations to Enfield High School overwhelmingly passed by a 2:1 margin. As a result of the consolidation Enrico Fermi High School is planned to close, resulting in yearly savings of $2 million, which would pay for bonding for the renovations and additions to Enfield High School. The State of Connecticut also will provide more than 70% reimbursement for construction to Enfield High School, as well. Students from Enrico Fermi will move into the expanded high school after construction is finished in 2016-2017, with an expected town-wide high school enrollment of 1,500 students. Proposed use of the vacated building include moving the middle school to the Enrico Fermi location or renovating the building as a town library/community center. The Enrico Fermi name was used as the name of the new STEAM wing of the expanded and renovated Enfield High School. In 2016, Enrico Fermi High School closed, and its students attend Enfield High School.

History

The school is named after Italian physicist

Enrico Fermi Enrico Fermi (; 29 September 1901 – 28 November 1954) was an Italian (later naturalized American) physicist and the creator of the world's first nuclear reactor, the Chicago Pile-1. He has been called the "architect of the nuclear age" an ...

. A site for the school was purchased in February 1968 and a ground-breaking ceremony took place on September 14, 1968. The school opened for the 1971-72 school year with Mr. Anthony Torre as principal.

Campus

The building was designed by Charles "Ted" Bellingrath of Hartford firm Gibson von Dohlen and built by Fontaine Brothers of Springfield, MA. For several years the fields were off limits and sports teams were required to drive to different locations in order to practice as harmful chemicals were found in the soil. The fields were redone and improved. "The Work" consists of remediation of approximately 41 acres of landscape area throughout the entire Fermi High School site. It is the intent of this project to cover the contaminated soil with new topsoil brought onto the site

Curriculum

The school offers a comprehensive college preparatory curriculum. Students may participate in

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

courses,

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

Early College Experience courses, and vocational education offered both at the school and Asnuntuck Community College.

Extracurricular activities

Student groups and activities at Enrico Fermi High School include art club, badminton club, bowling club, chess club, dance team, Lamplighters drama, DECA, FBLA, Future Teachers Club, LEO Club,

Mathlete A mathlete is a person who competes in mathematics competitions at any level or any age. More specifically, a Mathlete is a student who participates in any of the MATHCOUNTS programs, as Mathlete is a registered trademark of the MATHCOUNTS Found ...

Model United Nations Model United Nations, also known as Model UN or MUN, is an educational simulation in which students can learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. At a MUN conference, students work as the representative of a count ...

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

, peer mediation, Buzz Robotics, science club, video game club, ski club, a string ensemble,

student council A student council (also known as a student union, associated student body or student parliament) is an administrative organization of students in different educational institutes ranging from elementary schools to universities and research or ...

, Jazz Ensemble, and yearbook. The school's athletic teams, known as the Fermi Falcons, compete in the

Central Connecticut Conference The Central Connecticut Conference (CCC) is an interscholastic athletic conference in the Greater Hartford region of Connecticut, United States. History In July 1999 founding member Enfield High school would leave the CCC Conference to join the ...

. Teams are fielded in baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, field hockey, football, golf, ice hockey, indoor track, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling. The school has a cross-town rivalry with Enfield High School, playing a football game on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

. In all other sports they compete as well, with each school having their favored teams. For example, Fermi’s wrestling team has historically beaten Enfield’s and Enfield High’s football team has not lost a football game to Fermi in many years.

References

External links

Enrico Fermi High School websiteFermi BaseballFermi FootballFermi MusicFriends of Fermi Wrestling
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1971 Enfield, Connecticut Schools in Hartford County, Connecticut Public high schools in Connecticut