Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Southeast Raleigh High School (SRMHS) is a high school in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. It opened in 1997 under the theme of math, science, and technology. Its mascot is the bulldog. The school was featured on MTV's High School Stories.
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[edit] History
During February of 1994, Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School was proposed by Wake County to provide a school for the southeastern area of Raleigh, focusing on math, science, and technology (see commentary on Math, Science, and Technology in the last paragraph of this section). On July 28, 1997, the school opened for grades 9–11, with an initial student population of 1100.
Beginning the 2004–2005 school year, the school changed its name to Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School: Center for Leadership and Technology. The name change came with a new initiative on the part of former principal John Modest to encourage students through school activities to develop strong leadership skills.[1] Furthermore, the institution felt the move represented an attempt to boost the school's dwindling success in academics.
Since opening, many concepts pioneered at Southeast Raleigh have been implemented throughout Wake County, including block scheduling and senior graduation projects. All students graduating in 2010 in the state of North Carolina will have to complete a graduation project.
When the school first opened, it had a strong reputation for academics and athletics. In recent years, there has been an emphasis on athletics. Even more recently though, SRMHS has focused on clubs, with the founding of the Young Gentlemen's Sporting Club, a triangle area first.[citation needed]
[edit] School Features
The school has computers in each classroom and an academic coach. The academic coach (AC) has become a hotly debated topic among the teachers at school.[citation needed] Some feel academic coaches are useful as studies show grades improve and skills develop.[citation needed] Some students socialize with peers in their own AC, while others use the twenty minutes to catch up on homework or sleep.[citation needed] Others, on the other hand, believe academic coaches are no longer effective with the high teacher turnover rate of 20 percent [2]; a bond between the teacher and students cannot be developed.[citation needed]
Some courses that the school advertises in the Course Handbook are not provided at the campus. Beginning in 2002, former Principal John Modest had authorized certain students to attend Calculus III classes at North Carolina State University at the school's expense. His successor, Ms. Beulah Wright, decided as of 2005 to discontinue this program. With a cost of $550 per student, the school does not provide all the courses on campus, free of charge. This controversy has been featured on WRAL-TV station as well as The News & Observer. [3]
[edit] Location
Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School is located at 2600 Rock Quarry Road in Raleigh, North Carolina. The school is near I-40 and Raleigh Beltline.
[edit] Students
As of 2005-2006, the school had a total population of 2119 students. SRMHS was built to serve 1,699 students and has added 12 mobile units (trailers) to boost that number to 2,008. [4] Even with the trailers, the school is at 104.2% capacity. [5] Students attend school from 7:45AM to 2:50PM, with four classes each semester. Some classes, such as band and some choruses, also operate on "A" or "B" days, allowing semester-long classes to be stretched out over a year.
The 2005-2006 racial breakdown was 55% Black, 40% White, 4.5% Asian, .5% Hispanic.
[edit] Administration
Former principal John Modest resigned from his seat after the 2004-2005 school year. The new principal, Beulah Wright, has instituted many controversial policies, including sanctions against hugging and gang apparel. The administration's definition of gang apparel, as of Spring 2006, includes red shirts, light blue shirts, and long white T-shirts which are all in style with a majority of the students. [6] Wright, who graduated from Shaw University in 1975 with a bachelor's in Mathematics, [7], as well as a M. Ed. in Educational Administration and Supervision from UNC-Wilmington, assumed the position with the responsibility of salvaging the school's budget. Her attempts to save the budget have included stricter policies and cuts in funding in academic and athletic departments. Another administrator, Dr. Larry Jewell, was arrested at the school on February 15, 2007 on 46 sex charges, including 3 counts of statutory rape, 24 counts of sexual offense while in a parental role, and 15 counts of indecent liberties with a child. He is also accused of longterm spousal abuse and disseminating porn.
