Shaker High School is a public

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in Latham,

Albany County, New York Albany County ( ) is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York, United States. Its northern border is formed by the Mohawk River, at its confluence with the Hudson River, which is to the east. As ...

, United States, and is the only high school operated by the North Colonie Central School District. It is part of the North Colonie Central Schools school district and is partly fed by Shaker Middle School.

History

Shaker High School was established in 1958, with its first class graduating in 1960. The school is named after the

Shakers The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, more commonly known as the Shakers, are a Millenarianism, millenarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian sect founded in England and then organized in the Unit ...

, a religious group that once inhabited the area.

Academics

The school offers a wide range of courses to students, including

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board. AP offers undergraduate university-level curricula and examinations to high school students. Colleges and universities in the US and elsewhere ...

(AP) courses, honors courses, and career and technical education (CTE) programs. The AP courses cover a variety of subjects, such as English,

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

social studies In many countries' curricula, social studies is the combined study of humanities, the arts, and social sciences, mainly including history, economics, and civics. The term was coined by American educators around the turn of the twentieth century as ...

, and world languages. In addition to traditional academic courses, the school also offers CTE programs in areas such as

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

culinary arts Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking, and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs or ...

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

, and

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

. These programs allow students to explore career pathways and gain practical skills that can be applied in the real world. In 2021, the school was ranked #21 in New York State by U.S. News & World Report. The school has also received recognition from the College Board as an AP Honor Roll school for its high percentage of students who receive a passing score on

AP exams Advanced Placement (AP) examinations are exams offered in United States by the College Board and are taken each May by students. The tests are the culmination of year-long Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which are typically offered at the high sch ...

. The school provides a range of resources, including academic counseling, peer tutoring, and study groups. The school also offers programs for students who need additional support, such as special education services, English as a second language (ESL) support, and academic intervention services.

Sports

There are 28 interscholastic sports at Shaker. Shaker's "Blue

Bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

" sports teams include

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, track, cross country,

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

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact 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 w ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

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 Summ ...

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. Shaker also has several club teams, including Shaker Crew, the

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

team. The school is a member of the

New York State Public High School Athletic Association The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) is the governing body of interscholastic sports for most public schools in New York (state), New York outside New York City.http://www.nysphsaa.org/ ''nysphsaa.org'', accesse ...

(NYSPHSAA) and competes in Section 2 of the organization. The school's athletic facilities include a gymnasium, a swimming pool, tennis courts, baseball and softball fields, and a track and field complex. The school also has an award-winning strength and conditioning program to help athletes improve their physical fitness. In addition to competitive sports, the school offers a range of

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

classes and

intramural sports Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, for the purpose of fun and exercise. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' m ...

programs. These programs allow students to participate in non-competitive sports and physical activities in a fun and supportive environment.

Music

Shaker High School has several curricular

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

, and

wind Wind is the natural movement of atmosphere of Earth, air or other gases relative to a planetary surface, planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heatin ...

ensembles. Shaker also has four

extracurricular An extracurricular activity (ECA) or extra academic activity (EAA) or cultural activity is an activity, performed by students, that falls outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school, college or university education. Although approved a ...

vocal performance groups, including Shaker Select and Resolving Suspenders. The school also has several select instrumental ensembles, including Pep Band,

Marching Band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who play while marching. Historically they were used in armed forces and many marching bands remain military bands. Others are still associated with military units or emulate a military sty ...

Jazz Band A jazz band (jazz ensemble or jazz combo) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a ho ...

, and Counterpoint Strings. The school's music ensembles perform at various events throughout the year, including school concerts, community events, and regional competitions. The school has a strong tradition of excellence in music, with many of its ensembles winning awards and accolades at regional and state competitions.

Clubs and organizations

In addition to athletics, Shaker High School has a range of clubs and organizations for students to participate in. These clubs cover a wide range of interests, including community service, student government, journalism, business, drama, and STEM. The school also has a thriving History Bowl and a robotics team that compete at the national and international level.

Robotics

Shaker High School's robotics team, known as "Shaker Robotics" or "2791," is one of the school's most successful extracurricular programs. The team competes in the

FIRST Robotics Competition FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international high school robotics competition operated by ''FIRST''®. Each year, teams of high school students, coaches, and mentors work to build robots capable of competing in that year's game. Robots c ...

, a worldwide competition that challenges students to design, build, and program robots to compete in a series of challenges. Shaker Robotics has a long history of success in the competition, with multiple regional championships and numerous appearances at the

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. The team has won numerous awards for its robot designs, programming, and teamwork.

History Bowl

The school has multiple History Bowl teams, each consisting of 4-6 students. The teams have won multiple regional events and competed in the national championships in

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. One of the teams was the National Champion of the Spring 2022 National History Bowl Championship.

Science Bowl

The school's

Science Bowl The National Science Bowl (NSB) is a high school and middle school science knowledge competition, using a quiz bowl format, held in the United States. A buzzer system similar to those seen on popular television game shows is used to signal an an ...

team finished first in their regional competition in 2020, earning trips to the national competition in

Drama

The school puts on two annual theatrical shows, a fall play, and a spring

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

. Both shows draw large crowds to the school auditorium and receive great remarks for students singing, dancing, and acting abilities.

Notable alumni

* Mike Campese, guitarist and composer who was part of the

Trans-Siberian Orchestra Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band founded in 1996 by producer, composer, and lyricist Paul O'Neill (producer), Paul O'Neill, who brought together Jon Oliva and Al Pitrelli (both members of Savatage) and keyboardist and co-pr ...

* Leah Dickerman, Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City * Paul Elie, former Farrar, Straus & Giroux editor; and author. * James H. Fallon, American neuroscientist, Fulbright, NIH, and Sloan Scholar *

Joseph Finder Joseph Finder (born October 6, 1958) is an American thriller writer. His books include '' Paranoia'', '' Company Man'', '' The Fixer'', '' Killer Instinct'', ''Power Play'', and the Nick Heller series of thrillers. His novel ''High Crimes'' was ...

, thriller author *

Marina Shafir Marina Shafir (; born 14 April 1988) is a Moldovan professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. As a wrestler, she is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is a member of Death Riders, a villainous stable formerly known as Bla ...

, Moldovan

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

and

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

Jeff Hoffman Jeffrey Robert Hoffman (born January 8, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, and Philadelphia Phil ...

, baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

* Tommy Kahnle, baseball

for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

Sam Perkins Samuel Bruce Perkins (born June 14, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player and executive. Perkins was a three-time college All-American, was a member of the 1982 national champion North Carolina Tar Heels, and won a gold med ...

, former professional

player, NCAA Champion and Olympic Gold Medalist * Becca Rausch, member of the Massachusetts State Senate, from the

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, and

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

districts. *

Igor Vamos Igor Vamos (born April 15, 1968) is a member of The Yes Men (using the alias Michael "Mike" Bonanno), and an associate professor of media arts at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In 2000, he received the Creative Capital award in the disciplin ...

, member of

The Yes Men The Yes Men are a culture jamming activist duo and network of supporters created by Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos. Through various actions, the Yes Men primarily aim to raise awareness about problematic social and political issues. To date, t ...

* Deborah Van Valkenburgh, actress; co-star of the TV sitcom ''

Too Close for Comfort ''Too Close for Comfort'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from November 11, 1980, to May 5, 1983, and in first-run syndication from April 7, 1984, to February 7, 1987. Its name was changed to ''The Ted Knight Show'' ...

'' and the film '' The Warriors'', among others * Madison VanDenburg, finalist in Season 17 of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'' *

Ron Vawter Ron Vawter (December 9, 1948 – April 16, 1994) was an American actor and a founding member of the experimental theater company The Wooster Group. Vawter performed in most of the group's works until his death from a heart attack in 1994 at the ag ...

, actor, Obie Award recipient, and founding member of

The Wooster Group The Wooster Group is an experimental theater company based in New York City known for creating numerous original dramatic works. It gradually emerged from Richard Schechner's The Performance Group (1967–1980) during the period from 1975 to 198 ...

* Kevin M. Warsh, former member of the

Federal Reserve Board of Governors The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, commonly known as the Federal Reserve Board, is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and with helping implement the mo ...

and brother of Alexandra Steele (née Kate Warsh) *

Jason West Jason West (born March 26, 1977) is an American politician who served as mayor of the village of New Paltz, New York, from January 1, 2003, to May 31, 2007, and again from June 1, 2011, to May 31, 2015. A graduate of the State University of New ...

, mayor of

New Paltz, New York New Paltz () is an incorporated U.S. town in Ulster County, New York. The population was 14,407 at the 2020 census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston. New Paltz contains a village, also with ...

* Tony Wise, former NFL assistant coach

References

External links

* {{authority control 1958 establishments in New York (state) Educational institutions established in 1958 Public high schools in Albany County, New York