Anderson High School (Hamilton County, Ohio)

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Anderson High School
Principal Diana Carter
Founded 1929
School type Public
Location Hamilton County, Ohio, USA
Enrollment 1524 students (2005–06)
Mascot Redskins
School colors Black and orange
http://www.foresthills.edu/anderson/

Anderson High School is a public high school in the Forest Hills Local School District in Hamilton County, Ohio.

Contents

[edit] History

Established in 1929, Anderson High School has been a leading venue for public education in the Greater Cincinnati area. In the early 1990s the United States Department of Education awarded Anderson High School its highest "Blue Ribbon" honor, indicating the school as a federally declared school of excellence.

Under the leadership of Michael Hall, Anderson High School saw dramatic improvement from 1985 to 2003.

Drug and alcohol abuse saw dramatic drop in his tenure from 68% of students admitting to regular use of drugs and/or alcohol in a survey conducted in the spring of the 1984-1985 school year, to 14% in the same survey conducted in the spring of 2003. Also under his tenure, the school's athletic department expanded by 48% in student participation[citation needed], a brand new track and state-of-the-art football turf surface were installed at the school, a $800,000 addition was made to the school's Titus Auditorium and the college bound graduate rate increased by 15.6%[citation needed].

Diana Carter has succeeded Michael Hall and has continued many traditions set in place by the former principal. She has remained firm on drug policies and with recent bomb threats, has increased penalities and remained firm in strict rules set in place by Hall. Diana Carter has also made improvements to many of the areas of the school including music and drama. Her efforts can be seen by the new stage being installed in the summer of 2006 and new trophy cases being added to the Auditorium Lobby that will display awards received by the music and drama departments. She supports each program in the school, whether it is athletics or music, and sees to it that each activity receives a balanced and fair amount of what it needs to grow and be competitive with other high schools in the nation.

The school also has a history of bomb threats, though none of them were to be carried out. Seven occurred during the 2004-2005 school year. [citation needed]

The school and the district press forward with marked and regular achievement of Ohio State high honors in educational excellence. The school's logo and crest and vision have also seen modification in light of this future-focus initiative.

[edit] Curriculum

A complete high school program is offered at Anderson High School. For the 2004-2005 school year, students are required to complete the following program of studies:

Subject Credits earned Notes
English 4 Must be in English 9, 10, 11 and 12
Mathematics 3 Must include Algebra I and Geometry; Recommended students may take integrated math courses which include the topics of traditional Algebra I and Geometry
Science 3 Must include 1 unit of physical science and 1 unit of biological science
Social Studies 3.5 Must include 1 unit of Modern World History, 1 unit of Modern United States History, 1 unit of American History, ½ unit of American Government
Health .5
Physical Education .5
Electives 6.5 One elective must be selected from one of the following areas: business/technology, foreign language, or the fine arts: music, visual arts or drama
Total 21

Courses are offered by departments as follows:

Subject Notes
Visual Arts The high school program includes twelve courses in the following areas: sculpture and ceramics, drawing and painting, photography, and digital imaging. AP Studio-Drawing Portfolio, AP Studio-2D Design Portfolio and AP Studio-3D Design Portfolio have been added to the 2004-2005 art course offerings. All of the visual art courses are offered as elective credit.
Business The high school business program is comprised of seven courses which include the following content: keyboarding, word processing, and word processing for college, and business and accounting. These courses are offered as elective credit.
Co-operative Education These courses include Co-Operative Business Education, Introduction to Marketing, and Marketing Education. These courses are satellite programs of the Live Oaks Career Development Campus, part of the Great Oaks Institute of Technology and Career Development. These courses are offered as elective credit.
Foreign Language Four levels of language are offered in the high school program in French, German, Spanish, and Latin. These courses are offered as elective credit.
Work and Family Life Semester courses in nutrition and wellness, cuisine and culture, parenting, family studies, life planning, personal development, and fashion design and selection are offered for elective credit.
Industrial Technology Industrial technology includes a survey course, an engineering drawing course, and an architectural drawing class (CAD). Understanding Computers, CISCO Networking I and CISCO Networking II are also offered. These courses are offered as elective credit.
Language Arts The English department offers four years of study (required for graduation) as well as twelve elective course offerings. These elective courses include reading, humanities, writing, speech, drama, mass media, and journalism.
Mathematics The mathematics department offers a core program as recommended by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). The curriculum includes Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, and Precalculus. Three years of mathematics are required for graduation and must include Algebra I and Geometry. Elective offerings include Discrete Mathematics and Statistics, Algebra III and Trigonometry, and AP Calculus.

The mathematics department also offers several elective courses in computer science which include the following: Programming I, Programming II, Advanced Programming, Tools for Technology, Technology for the Web, and AP Computer Science.
Music A comprehensive program in scholastic music and drama in the Forest Hills School District includes a variety of chorus offerings, band (marching and ensemble), orchestra, Music Theory, and Music History. These courses are offered as elective credit. Forest Hills has developed a state wide reputation for excellence in music.[citation needed]
Wellness Education Wellness (formerly health and physical education) is required for graduation including one semester of health and two semesters of physical education. Elective offerings include Aquatic Activities and Diving, Fitness, and Dance, Tumbling, and Gymnastics.
Science Three units of science are required for graduation and must include one unit of physical science and one unit of biological science. Offerings include seven courses in the life sciences: Honors Biology I, CP Biology I, AP Biology, Life Science, Aquatic Biology and Ecology, and Anatomy and Physiology. Eight physical science courses are offered: Physical Science, Introduction to Chemistry and Physics, Honors Chemistry I, CP Chemistry I, AP Chemistry, Honors Physics I, CP Physics I, and AP Physics. A nutritional biochemistry course and an earth science course are also offered.
Social Studies Seven semesters of social studies are required for graduation including Modern World History in the ninth grade, Modern United States History in the tenth grade, American History in the eleventh grade and American Government. (During the 2005-2006 school year the eleventh grade American History course will be replaced by Themes in American History.) Elective courses include National Issues, Psychology, Economics, Sociology, AP European History, AP United States History, and AP American Government and Politics.
Media Centers The media center at Anderson High School is open daily from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM. Materials that are available to all students include books, magazines, audio-visual items, computer databases, indexes, and a censored exposure to the Internet.

[edit] Campus

When viewed from the sky at a southern perspective, Anderson High School resembles the shape of a giant 'A'. Many additions have been made to the facility since its 1964 opening, however, forms of the insulation asbestos have caused rising concern for the health and well-being of the students and faculty. [citation needed]

[edit] Students

The students who attend Anderson High School are predominantly white and in the middle class. [citation needed]

[edit] Faculty

The longest employed and tenured teacher at Anderson High School and in the entire Forest Hills School District is Richard Wesp who began his student teaching at the school in 1954. He is still employed at the school as of 2006, teaching Men's and Mixed Chorus. Mr. Wesp is known nationally as one of the top high school choral conductors and has led many of his choirs to superior ratings in competitions and contests.

On April 27, 2006, Roger Grooms, a teacher at Anderson High School for 49 years, passed away of heart complications. Mr. Grooms taught subjects such as Humanities, History, and English and was also the long time director of the spring musical. He started directing at Anderson in the 1950s and did not finish until 2006 with his final production of Beauty and the Beast. He also directed many shows around Cincinnati in community theaters. Other credits to his name include a movie critic for Channel 12 news and a umpire for such sports as baseball, football, and basketball.

[edit] Extracurricular activities

A wide range of clubs, sports, and performance opportunities round out the complete high school program at both Anderson High School and Turpin High School. The high school program includes 24 varsity sports. Consult the web pages of each individual school for more details.
Some varsity sports include football, cheerleading, swimming and diving, basketball, baseball, fast pitch softball, track and field, bowling, cross country, academic team, wrestling, dance team, and gymnastics.

Anderson has a renowned music program as well. This includes freshman, men's, women's, and mixed choirs,concert band, wind ensemble, marching band, jazz bands, pep bands, orchestra, and several extracurricular music clubs, such as the renowned A Cappella Chamber Choir. The Symphony Orchestra, in 2006, attended a national competition held by the American Strings Teachers Association where the orchestra received a superior rating. They were the only public high school orchestra to receive that honor. The choirs as well have received superior ratings in every contest they have attended for the past 4 decades.

They also have one of the top drama departments in the city of Cincinnati and the tri-state area. They produce 4 mainstage productions a year along with other one-act plays and improvisation events. They have received several Cappie awards in the last few years, which are like local Tony's.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] External links

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