| Belmont High School | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1865 (OS),[1] 1970 (NS) |
| Type | Public |
| Principal | Michael Harvey |
| Students | 1162 (2009) |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Location | 221 Concord Avenue, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Maroon and Blue |
| Mascot | Marauder |
| Newspaper | Highpoint |
| Website | http://www.belmont.k12.ma.us/bhs |
Belmont High School is a four-year public high school in Belmont, Massachusetts. It was built in 1970 at a cost of $9 million. The school had 1,170 students enrolled and a student/teacher ratio of 16:1 in the 2004-05 school year.[2][3]
The school is built on an old landfill and is situated next to Clay Pit Pond. The town's high school used to be located on Orchard Street, but was badly damaged by fire in the late 1960s. A new school was eventually built at the current location on Concord Ave. The previous high school re-opened as the Roger Wellington elementary school in 1972, and was entirely demolished in February–March 2010 for reconstruction.
In 2009, US News gave Belmont High School a gold medal and named it the 100th best non-private high school in the United States and the second best in the state of Massachusetts.[4]
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The school administration consists of the principal, Dr. Michael Harvey, and two assistant principals, David Smokler and Carol Cohen. In recent years, the school administration has experienced frequent changes.
In June 2004, the school's long-time principal, Foster Wright, decided to retire. Jonathan Landman was hired to replace him, but the school department did not renew Landman's contract for the 2006-2007 school year. Michael Harvey, who had been among the candidates for principal in 2004, was selected as an "interim principal" for the 2006-07 school year, and, on 10 January 2007, was approved by the town as principal. He had been the Director of Social Studies during the previous school-year. In addition, one of the school's two assistant principals has left the system in June 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006.
The school has eight academic departments: Mathematics, English, Foreign Language, Social Studies, Science, Fine and Performing Arts, and Athletics. Each department consists of a department head, along with the teachers of the courses the department offers. The Guidance Department is responsible for the mental well-being of students, schedule composition, and college planning. Each student is assigned to a guidance counselor.
School is in session each day between 7:35 am and 2:25 pm.
Belmont High School operates on a non-traditional module-based schedule. There are 15 modules ("mods") each day, each of which is approximately 25 minutes long. There are also blocks of "pass time" between most mods, which are usually 3 minutes in length, and are meant to give students time to walk from one class to another.
Each mod is named with a letter and a number. The letter corresponds the time of the mod (A is the earliest and spans 7:35-7:59. O is the latest, and spans 2:00-2:25). The number corresponds to the day, with Monday being 1 and Friday being 5. Thus, for example, C3 is the time period 8:27-8:52 on Wednesdays.
Most classes meet four times per week for three 2-mod sessions (a "double") and one 3-mod session (a "triple"). The day that the class does not meet is called a "drop". Science classes are an exception, meeting for two doubles and two triples each week. On Fridays, school is dismissed at 2:00 for most students, meaning that only 14 mods are held. Occasionally a class will be scheduled at the end of the day that runs until 2:25. This usually occurs because one or more of the students in the class have been determined to need a free before the class for their "lunch mod". However the students in the class can vote to push the class up and with consent of the teacher their schedules are changed.
As a result of this mod schedule, each student's schedule is unique to the classes he or she is taking. Students who do not have a class assigned during a mod are "free". Seniors are permitted, by school policy, to leave campus during this time. While no classes are scheduled for only one mod, it is possible to have only one mod free. A student who takes six classes (including one science class) will have 20 free mods per week, while those who take Wellness I or II will have 16 free mods per week.
A student's schedule is based on a master schedule, which states when certain mods have triples, drops, etc. As a result, it is fairly easy to describe one's schedule using a list of variations from the master schedule.
The school requires that all students complete:
A number of Advanced Placement (AP), or college-level class are offered to prepare the students for the AP exams in May. Based on the results of its AP exams,Belmont High School is, as of December 2008, on the US News & World Report list of the top 100 high schools in the United States. It occupies the lofty #100 position on that list, and holds the second-highest ranking of any Massachusetts school on the list, behind the Boston Latin School, the oldest public school in the nation, and the highest ranking of any Massachusetts school that does not require an entrance exam.[5]
As of 2007-08, all students are required to take an English course each year. Based on grade, the student may take English 9, English 10, English 11, and either English 12 or AP English Literature. English 9-12 are offered at college preparatory (CP) or honors (H) levels.
In the past, Belmont High School has, instead of English 12H, offered two humanities classes:
In addition, electives such as Creative Writing and Public Speaking are offered for interested students.
All students are required to take World History, Modern World History, and American Studies, all of which are offered at either a college preparatory (CP) or honors (H) level. Students can replace Modern World History with AP European History, and can also replace American Studies with AP United States History. Electives such as AP Economics, You and the Law, and Facing History are also offered to interested students. In addition, the Social Studies department also offers AP Psychology, which is a "double class". Students who take AP Psychology are required to take an honors level Neurobiology course as well.
All students are required to take 4 math courses. Most students take, in order, Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-calculus, and Calculus, though some students elect other options including:
In addition, the Mathematics Department also offers several electives, such as Finance and Business and AP Statistics.
Geometry, Algebra II, and Pre-calculus are offered at either a college preparatory (CP) or honors (H) level. Algebra I and all electives are only offered as CP classes. Calculus is offered at three levels: one CP class and two classes to prepare students for either the AP Calculus AB exam or the AP Calculus BC exam.
All students are required to take, in order, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, all of which are offered as CP and honors courses, and, in the case of Biology, AP in the first year. In addition, students must take at least one elective. Potential electives include AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Physics, Physics 2, Astronomy, Design and Technology, and AP Psychology / Neurobiology.
Two years of foreign language are required. Students may take courses in Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, French, or Latin. Independent studies may also be offered in German. Exchange programs exist to Argentina, France, and Italy.
Belmont High School offers many performing art courses in both theater and music. This includes the PAC (performing arts company), many choirs, the wind ensemble, the symphonic band, string orchestra, the chamber orchestra, the jazz band, and the marching band. Many of the members of these ensembles are nationally recognized musicians, and the ensembles themselves have won extensive state and country-wide competitions. It is known as one of the top 100 public school music programs in the country. In addition, a vigorous AP Art program gives student artists an opportunity to develop their talents and study new techniques. There are also fine art courses including Drawing and Painting, Sculpture, Photo, and Ceramics.
All students are required to take Wellness during their freshman year, which is both a traditional PE class and a health/sex-ed class (parents can exclude their children from the sex-ed classes if they so chose). During their remaining years at school, students are required to fulfill two semesters of PE, which they can obtain either by playing a school-offered sport, joining certain clubs, taking Wellness II, or doing PE outside of school. All non-school-offered PE activities require a "contract" with the Athletics Department.
Belmont High School is part of the Middlesex League and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association.
The school colors are maroon and blue. The school mascot is the Marauder.
The high school's athletic department offers 28 sports with 57 levels of competition:
The clubs range from various science clubs to theatrical organizations and civil rights groups, as well as various hobby enthusiasts [1]. Clubs are usually started (or at least led) by students, with a staff member serving as an advisor.
During a Hawaiian themed dance in the spring of 2005, several severely intoxicated students were transported to local hospitals as a result of alcohol poisoning.[6] The dance was prematurely ended and ignited a heated debate amongst school officials and students about future policies regarding school functions. Since the Luau scandal, the Belmont High School administration, spearheaded by then-principal Dr. Jonathan Landman, made a concerted effort to crack down on student drug and alcohol use at school events. In May 2008, students attending prom were made to walk the aisle of an auditorium with their respective dates while the Belmont public looked on, a procession known as promenade.[7] As a continuation of this crackdown, all school dances, with the exception of the semi-formal and prom, were canceled by administration for the 2008-2009 school year.