| Binghamton High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Binghamton, New York, United States | |
| Information | |
| Head teacher | Dr. Albert A. Penna, Principal |
| Number of students | 2000+ |
| Color(s) | red, white and blue |
| Mascot | Patriots |
| Website | [1] |
Binghamton High School, previously known as Binghamton Central High School, is a large public high school located in the center of Binghamton, New York. The school is culturally diverse, with 2000+ students from many different countries, religions, and income levels. The mascot for Binghamton High School is a Patriot named Patrick who wears a signature tri-cornered hat.
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Binghamton High School offers a wide variety of programs for students who are interested in excelling in a number of areas.
Binghamton High School offers fourteen Advanced Placement (AP) exams, in addition to classes which focus primarily on passing the Regents Examinations administered by the New York State Department of Education.
In 1997, Binghamton High School became the third high school in New York to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma.
The IB program strives to provide students with a balanced education while promoting international acceptance and understanding. [1]
A pre-engineering program called Project Lead The Way is offered to students who are interested. It includes such courses as Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Engineering Design and Development. This is made possible through a partnership between the school and Rochester Institute of Technology. These courses allow students, interested in going into an engineering field, an opportunity to earn college credits and eliminate beginner courses in college.
The Rod Serling School of Fine Arts offers the opportunity to major in visual art, music, theater and dance. Each of these programs have a wide array of groups and talented individuals that regularly perform for the community. Most of these programs (with the exception of instrumental and vocal music) are also offered at the IB level.
The school is named after the famous screenwriter and creator of The Twilight Zone series, Rod Serling, who once attended Binghamton High School. The school hosts the annual Rod Serling Film Festival, which is open to all students in grades K-12 in North America.
For students who have limited success in a traditional high school class setting, Binghamton High School offers the Experience-Based Education (EBE) program. Aimed at students who are academically able but for various reasons have not been doing well in school, the EBE program provides smaller class sizes, greater flexibility in class scheduling, more exposure to community resources and closer monitoring/feedback from teachers and counselors.
Binghamton High School offers many programs for athletics, including men's and women's basketball teams and also a football team. Binghamton High competes in the STAC conference for most sports, with the exception of football, which competes in Section 4 Class AA.
The football team at Binghamton High School has won several titles since their first season in 1981, including the Section 4 title in 1985, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2004, 2008 and 2011, and Central Region titles in 2008 and 2011. The team also won a New York State title in 1985.
The men's and women's basketball teams have also won titles. The men's team won back to back state titles in the 1984-85 and 1985-1986 seasons. The women's team has done well in recent years, winning the STAC title in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 seasons.
The boy's track and field team won a divisional title in 2011.
On the Newsweek's list of the "Best High Schools in America" for 2007, Binghamton High School was ranked #481 out of approximately 1,200 top high schools in the United States, based on the number of participants in AP and IB courses.[2]
Binghamton High School is known for its wide offerings in the field of the fine arts, including one of very few high school-level steel drum bands in the United States. The steel band in particular is famous for being invited to perform and give clinics at multiple national music education and percussion conventions.
Binghamton High School's nationally-recognized College Connection program provides extensive information and resources to assist students in the college selection and application process.
Along with the musical aspect of the school's arts programs, the school puts on a selected play and full-scale musical every year. Theater Production Club builds the sets and operates the show while anyone from the student body can try out for roles.
On June 11, 2010, during lunch time, over a hundred students were involved in a food fight. What started out as a prank by the freshmen class ended in chaos. When staff members and police officers working at Binghamton High School tried to break up the food fight, the crowd then turned on them. Fights escalated and staff members and police officers were injured during the chaos. Assistant Principal Martin Klein was the most hurt when he was hit in the face with a student's cell phone, which resulted in his eye getting badly injured. Other staff members and a few police officers suffered minor injuries, but there were no major injuries and no students were hurt in the brawl. Many police officers reported to Binghamton High School and the school was on lock-down. The day continued with regular classes.[3]