Conard High School

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Conard High School
Motto: Diversity is Strength^[1]
Established	1957
Type	Public high school
Principal	A. Chuck Landroche
Students	1360^[2]
Grades	9-12
Location	110 Beechwood Road West Hartford, Connecticut United States
District	West Hartford Public School System
Colors	Red and gray
Mascot	Chieftain
Newspaper	The PowWow
Athletic Rival	Hall High School (Connecticut)
Website	http://www.whps.org/school/conard/index.asp
Conard High School's front entrance.

Conard High School, opened in 1957, is a public high school in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States.

Conard is one of two public high schools in the West Hartford Public School System, the other being Hall High School. The school is named after Frederick Underwood Conard, chairman of the local Board of Education when plans for the new high school were approved.

1 Mission Statement
2 Facts and Statistics
3 Accomplishments
4 Student Activities
5 Recent Events
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Mission Statement

The mission of Conard High School, as a diverse and dynamic learning community that values the uniqueness of each student, is to develop intellectually, emotionally and ethically mature citizens prepared to meet personal and global challenges. Through a rigorous academic program and a variety of enriching experiences, we are dedicated to creating life-long learners who are technologically competent and committed to healthy living.^[1]

[edit] Facts and Statistics

As of 2004, Conard had a population of 1,367 students, with 66% White, 13% Hispanic, 11% Black, 9% Asian American and 0.1% American Indian.^[2]

Conard's mascot is an American Indian chieftain, denoted by the letter "C" crossed with an Indian feather.

Conard is a National Exemplary School^{[citation needed]}. As of 2005-2006, it offers more than 80 different courses including 15 AP classes.

There is a prominent rivalry between Conard High School and its cross-town counterpart, Hall High School.

[edit] Accomplishments

Recognized by Newsweek magazine as one of the nation's top high schools. Ranked as number 336 in the nation as of 2006, based on "the number of Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all students at a school in 2005 divided by the number of graduating seniors"^[3].

[edit] Student Activities

Conard High School offers a variety of different clubs and boards.^[4]

Clubs

Activism Club
Amnesty International
Bicycling Club
Business Club
Chess Club
Circle Of Friends
Common Ground
Conard Hysterical Society
Debate Club
Drama
Drill Team
Environmental Club
French Club (Le Club Francais)
Freshman Class Board

Gay-Straight Alliance
Hacky-sack Club
Junior Class Board
Math Team
Mock Trial Team
Model UN Club
Musical
Ping Pong Club
Pow Wow (School Newspaper)
Senior Class Board
Sophomore Class Board
Student Council
Video Club

Athletics

Soccer M
Soccer W
Volleyball M
Volleyball W
Football
Field Hockey
Cross-Country
Swimming & Diving W
Fall Cheerleading
Indoor Track
Ice Hockey M
Ice Hockey W
Basketball M
Basketball W

Wrestling
Gymnastics
Swimming & Diving M
Winter Cheerleading
Lacrosse M
Lacrosse W
Baseball
Softball
Golf M
Golf W
Track & Field
Tennis M
Tennis W

Honor Societies

Athletic Leadership Council
National Honor Society
French Honor Society
Latin Honor Society
Spanish Honor Society

[edit] Recent Events

Conard High School was recently the source of a local news story^[5] in late spring of 2006, after the arrest of student council president Francisco Acevedo during "Senior Prank Day". After hundreds of crickets were released near the school cafeteria, Acevedo, who was in the corridor at the time, began video recording the events on his camera. He alleges that he saw the school's resouce officer "shoving [a] kid around", and about to pull out his nightstick. Acevedo then yelled to the officer that "I've got you on tape. I'm videotaping this and you're using force on this kid. Chill out."

Assistant Principal Zytka then ordered Acevedo to put away the camera. Acevedo did so but responded by telling Zytka that "I have every right to record the police using force and it seemed like he was going to beat him up"^[6].

Acevedo and the other student involved were later arrested. Acevado's arrest was for breach of peace and interfering with a police officer, and he was also suspended from school for insubordination. However, Acevedo, who is represented by Mr. Jon Schoenhorn, was able to obtain a restraining order in order to participate in the June 21 graduation ceremony^[7].Acevedo, who ran for the student council on a Communist platform, alleged that the arrest was politically motivated and related to a school walkout that he had organized: "I'm the school president. I lead a walkout, and they take it all out on me at the last minute."^[6]