Concord High School (New Hampshire)
History
Concord's first public high school was established in 1846. The original building was the building on the corner of State and School streets. A new school house was built in 1862, which stood until April 1888, when it burned down during a fire started by a chemistry experiment. For the next two years, students took their classes in City Hall. A new high school was built on the same lot, completed and dedicated in September 1890. In 1907, yet another Concord High School, designed to accommodate 500 students, was built on Spring Street in the building which became Kimball School. (The building was demolished in 2012 to make way for the new Christa McAuliffe Elementary School.) The current high school was built in 1927 on Warren Street, with new wings added in 1960 and 1996.
Some of the features that Concord High currently has are a new media center (library), student center (cafeteria), performing arts area, and four commons areas, each with its own administrative and student community where student lockers were located. ConcordTV, the local public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable TV station for Concord, is currently located in Concord High. There is a bridge/connector between two wings, east and west, of the building.
Principals
Charles C. Cook was Headmaster for thirty years from 1906 to 1936. Cook began the National Honor Society Chapter which still exists at Concord High School. Other long-serving principals include John E. Reed who was principal from 1939 to 1960, J. Preston Barry from 1963 to 1972, Charlie Foley who was principal from 1973 to 1990, Gene Connolly who was principal from 2001 to 2016. Edward W. Crawford died in office in 1962 after serving several years as a very popular principal. Some of the more recent principals of the school include Tom Sica from 2016 to 2020 and Michael Reardon from 2020 to present.
In the recent history of Concord High School, Dr. Christine Rath (principal from 1991 to 1997) oversaw the transformation of the school from a three-year to a four-year school which included ninth-grade students. At the same time Rath assisted in the design of the current high school building which was able to accommodate every high school student in Concord.
Athletics
The current athletic director is Steve Mello (two time AD of the year).
Some athletic teams that Concord High School has are cross country, football, wrestling, golf and soccer.
Notable events
On December 3, 1985, a 16 year old dropout named Louis Cartier entered the building with a shotgun, and was promptly killed by Concord police officers. No other fatalities occurred in the shooting, other than Cartier.
At Concord High's first dance of the 2006–2007 school year, the school drew local media attention when administration ejected about a dozen students for grinding, a style of dancing that the administration deemed overly sexual for a school function. In protest of this, about 150 other students walked out of the dance. The administration met with student body leaders to try to reach an agreement. They were not able to, and for the first time in the school's history, the homecoming dance was postponed, and every other dance that year was canceled. An exception was made for the senior prom, however.
Another notable event which occurred at Concord High School was the resignation of Principal Tom Sica. Sica had been the principal of Rundlett Middle school before moving up to Concord High School in 2016. During his time as principal at Rundlett, allegations of sexual assault and misconduct were placed upon a teacher, Howie Leung. The student who brought this to Sica's attention was promptly suspended for three days for "spreading 'malicious and slanderous gossip'". Once he had moved to the high school, news of this suspension, and the circumstances surrounding it, were brought to the public, leading to outrage in the Concord community. Leung was arrested in 2019 for sexual assault charges, and pled "not guilty".
Notable alumni and faculty
- John Adams, composer
- Matt Bonner, former basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs
- Edward H. Brooks (1893–1978), officer in the United States Army and veteran
- Elizabeth Eaton Converse, later known as Connie Converse, singer-songwriter
- Deborah Jean Howard, Miss New Hampshire 1991
- Sam Knox, American football player
- Louise Lamprey (1869-1951), prolific author of books for children
- Joe Lefebvre, Major League Baseball outfielder from 1980 to 1986
- Guor Marial, South Sudanese marathon runner
- Christa McAuliffe, teacher who died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster (STS-51-L)
- Fanny E. Minot (1847-1919), valedictorian, 1865; national president, Woman's Relief Corps, 1904
- Tara Mounsey, Olympic hockey player
- Brian Sabean, general manager for the San Francisco Giants
- David Souter, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
References
- ^ "Concord High School - Welcome Page". Concord High School. Archived from the original on 2011-07-19.
- ^ "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Concord School District". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved Nov 23, 2014.
- ^ "Search for Public Schools - Concord High School (330246000055)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved Nov 23, 2014.
- ^ "Search for Public Schools - Concord High School".
- ^ "Student Productions". Archived from the original on April 22, 2009.
- ^ "Kimball School inv. form". Archived from the original on 2021-05-09.
- ^ "Concord school named for Christa McAuliffe opens". WMUR. 2012-08-27. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
- ^ "Conant School inv. form.doc". October 13, 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-05-09.
- ^ "Location and Hours – ConcordTV". www.yourconcordtv.org. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
- ^ Monitor, Concord (October 11, 2021). "Michael Reardon chosen as permanent principal of Concord High". Archived from the original on 2020-04-08.
- ^ "Welcome to the Home of the CRIMSON TIDE". Concord School District. Archived from the original on 2011-08-24. Retrieved 2009-06-07.
- ^ "Teams - Fall - Concord High School". www.chs.sau8.org. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
- ^ "Before Parkland, Santa Fe and Columbine...There Was Concord High". Narratively. May 23, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
- ^ "Style of dancing banned at two schools". WBZ-TV. October 13, 2021. Archived from the original on September 24, 2010. Retrieved January 14, 2008.
- ^ Monitor, Concord (October 11, 2021). "AG says no criminal charges against Concord school officials for failing to report abuse". Archived from the original on 2021-06-08.
- ^ "Concord School District Releases Leung Sexual Misconduct Report". Concord, NH Patch. July 14, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
- ^ Monitor, Concord (October 11, 2021). "Trial for ex-teacher charged with assault postponed". Archived from the original on 2021-05-03.
- ^ "List of notable alumni". Concord School District. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013.
- ^ "Adams on 'Nixon in China'". Archived from the original on 2010-01-24.
Adams notes, 'The city of Concord, where I attended high school, was the nerve central of the presidential primary campaigns which rolled into town every four years…'
- ^ "Matt Bonner". NewHampshire.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2007.
He graduated first in his class from Concord High School in 1999. Throughout high school, basketball dominated the conversation at home; it didn't hurt that he played on a winning team. Concord High School were the NHIAA Champions three years in a row while he was there.
- ^ "General's Histories". 11th Armored Division. Retrieved December 9, 2007.
- ^ Hanna, Maddie (July 25, 2009). "Former Miss N.H. killed in car crash; Concord High grad was an educator". Concord Monitor. Concord, NH. Archived from the original on September 4, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
- ^ "SAM KNOX". profootballarchives.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ Baggarly, Andrew (October 10, 2007). "Giants fire hitting coach Lefebvre". Contra Costa Times. Retrieved November 18, 2007.
Lefebvre, 51, had spent six seasons on the Giants staff, including the past five as hitting coach. The former big-league outfielder grew up in New Hampshire and played with Sabean at Concord High School, then at Eckerd College in Florida.
- ^ Kors, Joshua (23 July 2012). "Guor Marial: Marathon Runner Flees Sudan, Heads to London Olympics". Huff Post Sports. Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ "Space Teacher Buried In New Hampshire City". The New York Times. May 2, 1986. Retrieved November 12, 2007.
Mrs. McAuliffe, who was born in Boston and grew up in Framingham, Mass., taught social studies at Concord High School before her selection last July from 10,000 applicants for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Teacher in Space program.
- ^ Lessels, Allen (December 10, 1995). "SHE'S SIMPLY THE BEST HARDEST THING FOR MOUNSEY IS NAMING A SPORT SHE DOESN'T LIKE". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 2012-10-04. Retrieved November 18, 2007.
Tara Mounsey, a lover of challenges and an All-Everything athlete at Concord High School, had to think for a moment.
- ^ Margolick, David (July 25, 1990). "Bush's Court Choice; Ascetic at Home but Vigorous on Bench". The New York Times. Retrieved November 12, 2007.
At Concord High School, he was voted 'most literary,' 'most sophisticated' and 'most likely to succeed.' The high school yearbook described him as 'witty and in constant demand' and said he enjoyed 'giving and attending scandalous parties.'