North Andover High School

North Andover High School
North entrance concept art
Location
430 Osgood Street,
North Andover, MA 01845
Information
Type Public
Principal Mr. Chet Jackson
Enrollment 1371
Color(s) Scarlet Red, Black & White               
Average SAT scores 578 verbal
573 math
1151 total (2016-2017)[1]
Website northandoverpublicschools.com

North Andover High School is a public secondary school located in the town of North Andover, Massachusetts, United States. The school is a part of the North Andover Public School System. Construction on the school was completed in February 2004. North Andover High School serves grades 9-12 and has roughly 1,200 students. The school's mascot is the Scarlet Knight, and its rivals are the Andover Warriors.

Facilities

North Andover High School is the headquarters for North Andover Cam, the local Public-access television cable TV channel along with serving as a community polling station. The school has a gymnasium, which features a rock climbing wall, rope ladders, indoor track, weight room, TV station, band and choral chambers, an 800 seat auditorium and a cafeteria. Other features include two language labs and six computer labs; two with PC's and three with Apple computers. Most classrooms are outfitted with TV's and SMART boards. Additionally, the 4,000 seat football stadium hosts local and regional events.

Academics

North Andover High offers courses in the following subjects: Mathematics, Science, History, and English, as well as three foreign languages (Spanish, German, and French). Art, music and physical education programs are also offered, although budget shortfalls have resulted in substantial cuts[2] to some areas of learning. In addition, many electives have also been cut, beginning with Industrial Arts classes and slowly moving into the main academic areas. This has led to a limited number of course choices for students.

North Andover High School offers basic AP courses.[3] On the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, North Andover High School students are in the top half of the state, with over 95% pass rate on the English and Mathematics sections.[3][4]

Athletics

North Andover competed in the Cape Ann League from 1971 to 2012, when it moved back into the Merrimack Valley Conference, which houses some of the state's athletic powerhouses (Central Catholic, Chelmsford, Andover, Lawrence, etc.). Because of total enrollment, North Andover High School is qualified in Division 2 by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association and plays many games against non-league opponents with similar school size.

North Andover High School also has a wrestling team, which from 2005 to 2006 the won 77 consecutive dual meets and won the Division 2 States in 2005 and 2006. They have also brought home the state trophy in the 2011–2012 season. This is the second longest dual meet streak, behind the 106 held by the 79–80 wrestling teams. The wrestling team holds more league titles than all the other athletic programs at North Andover High School. The high school basketball team had the longest streak for consecutive state tournament appearances in the state of Massachusetts, ending in 2016. The basketball team reached the Division 2 North Finals in 2007 under coach Mike McVeigh for the first time in 20 years, and reached it once again in 2013 during McVeigh's last season.

The school football team is led by head coach John Dubzinksi. The team reached the Division 2A playoffs in 2005 for the first time since 1996, and has since reached the division 2A playoffs in three consecutive years from 2013 to 2015, winning the division 2A North Title in 2014. During the 2005–2006 season, North Andover teams won league championships and/or qualified for the state tournament in football, men's cross country, men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, field hockey, men's ice hockey, men's basketball, coed swimming, wrestling, men's lacrosse, softball, men's and women's outdoor track and men's and women's tennis. North Andover High School was awarded the Dalton Award in 2005 for the school with the best overall record in MIAA Division 3; the next season the school was bumped up to Division 2. In 2009, the Scarlet Knights once again earned the Dalton Award, this time for MIAA Division 2.

North Andover High School also has soccer and lacrosse programs.

The school's main league rival is Andover High School (the 'Golden Warriors'), and the two teams now face each other in the Merrimack Valley Conference.

Activities

North Andover High School has many art programs, including the Drama Guild, which holds four major performances every year. In January 2007, the school hosted its first One-Act festival, in which three One-Act productions were performed, a tradition that has since been discontinued. The One Act performances were typically student directed plays. The guild is supported financially by a parent's organization. The Pep Band also plays at some school functions, including home basketball games and the Special Olympics. The school chorus has been invited to sing at Carnegie Hall in April 2011 due to their gold medal rating at their competition in Philadelphia, PA.

Other extracurricular activities include academic teams (Math, Science or Model United Nations), intramural sports (Ping Pong, Environmental Club and Ultimate Frisbee), multicultural clubs (Spanish, German, and a Gay-Straight Alliance), and a dance club. The Johnson Chapter of the National Honor Society coordinates volunteer work from among the school's top ranked juniors and seniors.

Budget cuts

North Andover's five public elementary schools, a middle school and a high school often compete for parts of the school budget, and this has led to shortfalls in the budget as enrollment has risen.

While school officials attempted to create a balanced budget, it became apparent sometime in 2004/2005 that cuts would soon have to be made. The arts programs were among the first major changes made in the budget. While the programs were not completely cut, opponents of the cuts complained that there weren’t enough art and music faculty to serve the entire student body and that expensive user fees would have to be instituted to pay for band and drama performances. They contended that an effective education includes art and music. Proponents of the cuts argue that both band and drama are extra-curricular activities and thus the user fees are justified (athletes also pay user fees) and that core subjects such as English and Mathematics are required fields of study for aspiring college students and need to be given priority.

Another side-effect of the budget cuts was the reduction of the regular school day from a rotating seven-period schedule to a set six-period a day schedule, to a rotating five-period a day schedule. Because of the schedule change, study periods were no longer offered, causing students to be placed in classes that they had not signed up for.

A small debate occurred in 2006 over the athletic fees, which are set as a flat fee for all athletes regardless of how many sports a student plays or the cost of those sports to the school (for example, a student who does one season of track and field uses much less of the Athletic Departments resources than a student who plays football, hockey and lacrosse. Both students, however, pay the same amount of money). A new policy was instituted that adjusts fees based on the number of seasons a student chooses to participate in athletics.

Notable alumni

  • Chris Honeycutt, State champion wrestler; professional MMA fighter for Bellator MMA
  • Christopher Round, Junior National Judo Champion and Nationally Ranked Elite Athlete for USA Judo; Scientist and Writer
  • David Luciano, Senior judo champion (more advanced than junior champions) and globally ranked athlete for the world; Brain surgeon and notable author.

References

  1. ↑ http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/statereport/sat.aspx
  2. ↑ Sherman, Marjory (October 12, 2006). "Overwhelmed, over budget; North Andover High's accreditation jeopardized". Eagletribune.com. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  3. 1 2 Tait, Jason (September 28, 2006). "North Andover High excels at math MCAS scores". Eagletribune.com. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  4. ↑ "North Andover - Test Results". Massachusetts Directory Profiles. Retrieved 2013-10-15.

Coordinates: 42°42′3″N 71°6′59″W / 42.70083°N 71.11639°W / 42.70083; -71.11639

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