Valley Regional High School (main entrance) (2005)

Valley Regional High School (VRHS) is located in

Deep River, Connecticut Deep River is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut. The population was 4,415 at the 2020 census. The town center is designated by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP). Deep River is part of what the locals call the "Tri-t ...

, United States. It serves the three towns of Regional School District No. 4 -

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

, Chester, and Deep River. In its 2011 edition,

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

magazine named Valley Regional as one of "America's Best High Schools," ranking 334th out of 500 nationally.Valley Regional High School ranked one of the best high schools in nation by Newsweek - The Middletown Press : Serving Middletown, CT
/ref>

Controversies

Mascot controversy

In the fall of 2019, controversy grew over the Valley Regional High School mascot, the "Warriors". Outcry reached a height after many students, former and current, spoke out, arguing that the mascot was disrespectful towards the Native American community. Eventually, in the fall of 2019, the administration decided to change the mascot. It is unknown if the mascot was changed to end the controversy or to show respect for Native American tribes, but as of 2019 Valley regional high school's mascot has been changed to the Valley "V"s.

Eric Rice controversy

In July 2010, the Region 4 Board of Education announced its selection of Eric Rice as the new principal of Valley Regional High School.Region 4 Hires New Principal, Two Other Positions | ValleyNewsNow.com
/ref> Superintendent Levy was a vocal advocate for Rice's selection, stating he has "an outstanding background in science, mathematics, and technology,” and a strong “commitment to our school community." However, after less than three weeks on the job, reports surfaced of his possible dismissal with unconfirmed accounts that Superintendent Levy had given an ultimatum that Rice resign or face possible dismissal. Approximately two weeks later, the Region 4 Board of Education accepted the resignation of Eric Rice, making him the shortest serving principal in school history.Region 4 School Board Accepts Resignation of High School Principal Eric Rice | ValleyNewsNow.com
/ref> Board of Education Chairwoman Linda Hall declined to comment on whether Rice's resignation was voluntary. An Essex resident filed a complaint with the Connecticut Department of Education against the superintendent, alleging an "abuse of power" by Levy.State Department of Education Dismisses Region 4 Complaint | ValleyNewsNow.com
/ref> The filed complaint also stated that the civil rights of the high school students had been violated due to a supposed "gag order" that "prevented students from discussing the circumstances of Rice’s departure." The Connecticut Department of Education responded in a letter dated November 8, 2010 dismissing the complaint due to a lack of accompanying evidence to support the allegations. Superintendent Levy vehemently denied any "gag order" had been placed upon the students at the high school; the Board of Education subsequently hired an independent party (later determined to be Madison lawyer Stacey Lafferty) to investigate reports of a gag order, which found "no evidence or support for the claim that a gag order was issued or sanctioned,” or that the civil rights of students were violated." The exact reason for the abrupt departure of Eric Rice have remained confidential and were not revealed to residents of Region 4.

Academics

Valley Regional offers students a variety of classes spanning numerous subjects, including Art, Business, Mathematics, Music, English, World Languages, Science, and Technology Education. The school functions according to the

block schedule Block scheduling or blocking is a type of academic scheduling used in schools in the American K-12 system, in which each pupil has fewer classes per day. It is more common in middle and high schools than in primary schools. Each class is schedu ...

, with each student enrolling in four courses per semester or a combination of full semester classes and quarter classes (which must add up to four full credits). In order to graduate, students must earn 28.5 credits - a mixture of required as well as elective coursework. Valley Regional offers Advanced Placement courses. The school also maintains a relationship with the state's flagship collegiate institution, The University of Connecticut. Students must earn a grade of "C" or better if they wish to use the college credit at UConn or other universities that accept UConn credit.

Newsweek ranking

In its 2011 edition ranking "America's Best High Schools," Newsweek magazine named the Valley Regional 334th out of 500 nationally.

Athletics

Valley Regional is a part of the Shoreline Conference of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), with the exception of football, which is a member of the Pequot League, Sassacus division. The school's varsity sports consist of soccer, cross country,

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

indoor track Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping event ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

, track,

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

, and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

. The high school shares an athletic relationship with students from Lyme-Old Lyme High School for the football team. The soccer team achieved a 16-4-1 record and advanced to its first state final championship match since 2000. The football team had first undefeated record (10-0) ever and advanced to the state final championship match.TheDay.com - Valley Sees Numerous Highlights in Fall of 2010 | Southeastern Connecticut News, Sports, Weather and Video | The Day newspaper
/ref> The girls' cross-country team ended the season undefeated, with a record of 19–0, and placed third in the state overall. On March 18, 2011, the boys' basketball team won the Class S State Championship.Class S Boys' Championship: Valley Regional Shuts Down Classical - Hartford Courant
The win brought the high school its very first state basketball title.

Notable alumni

* Brian Dayett, Former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player (

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, Chicago Cubs) *

Lee Tergesen Lee Allen Tergesen (; born July 8, 1965) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in '' Weird Science'', as Tobias Beecher in HBO's prison drama '' Oz'', and as Evan Wright in '' Generation Kill,'' as well as guest starring in many othe ...

, Actor, ('' Oz'', ''

Wayne's World "Wayne's World" was originally a recurring sketch from the NBC television series ''Saturday Night Live''. It evolved from a segment titled "Wayne's Power Minute" (1987) on the CBC Television series '' It's Only Rock & Roll'', as the main characte ...

'') *

Gretchen Mol Gretchen Mol (born November 8, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She is known for her role as Gillian Darmody in the HBO series ''Boardwalk Empire'' (2010–2014). She also appeared in the films ''Rounders'' (1998), ''Celebrity'' ( ...

, Actress, Model (''

Rounders Rounders is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a rounded end wooden, plastic, or metal bat. The players score by running arou ...

'')

References

{{Authority control Chester, Connecticut Deep River, Connecticut Essex, Connecticut Schools in Middlesex County, Connecticut Public high schools in Connecticut