Regina High School (Ohio)

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Regina High School is a private, Catholic high school. The all-girls school is located in South Euclid, Ohio. It is run by the Sisters of Notre Dame, who also run Notre Dame College, which is located next door. Approximately one fifth of the teachers are nuns; the remaining teachers are both male and female. The school offers the students the ability to grow in an environment that supports them and encourages them to be who they are.

The school is most notable for its basketball team, the Regina Royals, who were state champions in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005. The feat of four straight titles from 2000 to 2003 is one that no other high school team in Ohio, boys or girls, has been able to beat. The school also has varsity and j.v. soccer, volleyball, swimming, track and field, cross country, tennis, and softball teams.

Students have many extracurriculars to choose from. Regina High School is noted in the greater Cleveland Catholic community for its Clown Ministry, a group that dons face paints and performs sign language that is often religious in nature. The club performs the Stations of the Cross (set to contemporary music) every year and raises money for charities. Regina's newspaper, the Regent, has won awards from the Northeast Ohio Scholastic Press Association for its writing and layout. One other notable extracurricular activty Regina hosts is its student produced summer musical or play. Past shows include Bye Bye Birdie, Honk!, and Once Upon a Mattress. Currently, students are working on their first play, Alice in Wonderland. Performances include young male actors mainly from Benedictine High School, Ignatius High School, and Mayfield High School.

Regina also offers a foreign exchange program with its sister school in Vechta, Germany. Students who study German have the opportunity to spend the first semester of their junior year studying at the Leibfrauenschule to further their understanding of the German language and culture.

The school offers a variety of AP and Honors courses, some of which can be taken as college credit because of the school's affiliation with Notre Dame College.

The school faced scrutiny in 2003 when it barred a Muslim student from wearing a hijab to school, citing the dress code which stated that "[n]o hats, no bandannas or head wraps are permitted." The principal, Sr. Maureen Burke, said "I feel very bad about this situation. I've agonized over it[.]" The student, Amal, told the press, "[a]ll along, they gave me a room to pray in. They asked me questions about Islam. They always accepted me for who I was. Now they have decided it is against school policy to wear my hijab."