Stamford High School (Stamford, Connecticut)

Stamford High School is a high school, founded in 1873, in Stamford, Connecticut. It is one of three public high schools in the Stamford Public Schools district, along with Westhill High School and Academy of Information Technology and Engineering (AITE).

History

In 1878 the Stamford Town Committee decided to create a high school for the growing community after deciding there was the lack of sufficient secondary education. They created Stamford High School the following year in a single rented room. Students attending SHS starting in 1874 had one teacher who taught reading, spelling, arithmetic, grammar, history, and philosophy. Drawing, Latin, Greek, physical geography, and geometry were added to the curriculum in 1876.

In 1881 four young women comprised the first graduating class. By 1886 increasing enrollment forced a move into a new four-room building on the site of the former Franklin Elementary School. Ten years later, in 1896, a new high school building was completed on Forest Street. To attend, students were required to pass entrance examinations in five subjects, and out of 40 applicants, only 15 were accepted. SHS gradually relaxed its requirements, and by 1905, entrance examinations were eliminated. The multiplying number of students at SHS once again made a move necessary.

The school moved from the site of the since-demolished Burdick Junior High School to its present location on Strawberry Hill Avenue in 1928. SHS now consists of three buildings which house over 100 regular classrooms along with special rooms for science labs, computer labs and shops for woodworking and automobile-repair classes.

With the start of the new school year in September 2006, a $21 million addition to the building was opened after 18 months of construction. The addition has 22 classrooms, five science labs, a computer lab, a multi-purpose room, a gymnasium and locker rooms. The addition also features wireless computer access and a drop-off area for entering students near Strawberry Hill Avenue.Gosier, Chris, "New day at Stamford High: School celebrates $21 million addition", ''The Advocate'' of Stamford, September 27, 2006, page A13

The new addition was part of $59 million in upgrades for the school begun in 1997, including replacing four boilers, new roofs and expanding the school cafeteria by . Increasing enrollment in the city school system spurred the upgrades, and Westhill High School also received them.

Sports

Stamford High School offers 24 varsity sports. These include football, boys' and girls' soccer, boys' and girls' cross country, cheerleading, volleyball, girls' swimming, and field hockey in the fall; boys' and girls' basketball, ice hockey, wrestling, boys' and girls' indoor track, cheerleading, and boys' swimming in the winter; and baseball, softball, boys' and girls' tennis, boys' and girls' track, boys' and girls' lacrosse, and golf in the spring.

Traditions

Each year on December 7, a 9-by-17-foot American flag that flew over the USS Arizona Memorial is to be flown from the flagpole in front of the school as part of a memorial ceremony for Pearl Harbor Day. Everett Hyland, an alumnus of the school who was wounded in the attack, donated the flag in 2007 on condition that it be raised each year on that date. At the first ceremony, in 2007, a small group of veterans attended, some of them speaking to the school's students about the event. "It's one thing to read a book that 2,400 people died," Doug MacLehose, head of the school's history department, told a newspaper reporter. "Talking to someone who was there or can remember is very powerful."

Notable people

Alumni

* Roy Black attorney
* Craig Bingham, football player for Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers
*Garry Cobb, football player for Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions
Stamford High School Web site, Web page titled "Stamford High School Wall of Fame". Retrieved October 11, 2006.
*Bob Crane, actor, radio personality, star of '' Hogan's Heroes''
*Michael Dante, actor
*Tony DiPreta, comic book and comic strip artist
* Vladimir Ducasse, football player for the New York Jets
*Fred Dugan, football player for San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins
*Devin Gaines, attracted international media attention by earning five bachelor's degrees simultaneously
*Ina Garten, cook, author, and host of the Barefoot Contessa
*Jimmy Ienner, music producer
* Stephanie Izard, Season 4 winner of Bravo Network show ''Top Chef''
* Alex Joseph, football player for the Green Bay Packers
*Edward Calvin Kendall, 1950 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
*J. Walter Kennedy, Stamford mayor and first commissioner of National Basketball Association
* Dan Levy, comedian
*Joseph Lieberman, United States Senator, former vice presidential candidate
*Lois Long, journalist
*Dan Malloy, 88th Governor of Connecticut
* Andrew J. McDonald, Connecticut State Senator
*Dan Naturman, comedian
*Christopher John O'Neill, actor/comedian known for his comedy duo The Chris and Paul ShowMeyers, Joe (January 21, 2015)
"Stamford Native Starring in Book of Mormon"
'' Connecticut Post''.
*Candace Owens, conservative commentator and anti-bullying activist.Connecticut Post: "We were children. I wasn’t the only victim" By Amanda Cuda
March 5, 2016
*John Raus, soccer player for Real Maryland Monarchs
*Andy Robustelli, football player for the New York Giants
* Johnny Scalzi, MLB player ( Boston Braves)

Teachers

*Alice Mary Dowd (1855–1943), educator, author

See also

* Education in Stamford, Connecticut
* Westhill High School
* Trinity Catholic High School

Notes

External links

*

Stamford Public Schools website

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Education in Stamford, Connecticut
Schools in Fairfield County, Connecticut
Educational institutions established in 1874
Public high schools in Connecticut
1874 establishments in Connecticut
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