| Rocky Mount High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 308 South Tillery Street Rocky Mount, North Carolina, 27804 United States |
|
| Coordinates | [1] |
| Information | |
| Established | 1953 |
| School district | Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools |
| CEEB Code | 343375 |
| Principal | Mr. Leon Farrow |
| Teaching staff | 91 (as of 2005–06)[2] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 1,245 (as of 2005–06)[2] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 13.7 (as of 2005–06)[2] |
| School Colour(s) | Navy blue and gold |
| Athletics conference | Big East 3-A Athletic |
| Mascot | Gryphon |
| Website | Rocky Mount High School |
Rocky Mount High School is a public high school in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Established in September 1953, the school is in Nash-Rocky Mount Public Schools.
It is currently a member of the Big East 3-A Athletic Conference.
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Public education in Rocky Mount began in 1901. High school programs were established in the following years, but did not have their own buildings until 1927 with the construction of Booker T. Washington High School for black students and Rocky Mount High School for white students. Voluntary integration began in 1963 when the first African-American students chose to attend Rocky Mount Senior High School under the Freedom of Choice law. A small black student population was maintained at Rocky Mount until the two schools were merged in 1969. The merger took place in enlarged facilities on the Rocky Mount Senior High campus; the old mascots, the Blackbirds and the Lions, were retired for a new, combined mascot of the Gryphon. The school officially returned to its older Rocky Mount High School name in 2004.[3] When the newly built school on Bethelehem Rd. RMHS will once again become a 4-A school as will Northern Nash, Southern Nash, Nash Central, and Wilson Fike as not to have a conference with 1 4-A school and 4 3-A schools.
The campus, located at 308 S. Tillery Street, opened in September 1953. Set on just 24 acres (97,000 m2) of land, it is bordered by Tillery St. to the east, Hammond St. to the south and Nash St. to the north.
In February 2010, the Nash-Rocky Mount Board of Education and the Nash County Commissioners combined to fund the building of a new campus for Rocky Mount High School. The $38 million facility will be built on a 64-acre (260,000 m2) site on the north side of Bethlehem Road - between West Mount Dr. and Old Mill Rd.
Construction is scheduled to begin in March 2010 and the school is expected to be completed by July 2012. The school is expected to open in August 2012.
For the first time ever, Rocky Mount High School will field all of its sports programs on-campus.
Rocky Mount High School offers the IB Diploma Programme which has been available to students since 1999.[4]
Student groups and activities include American Field Service, art club, chess club, First Priority, French club, FBLA, guitar club, Model United Nations club, Quiz Bowl, science club, Students Against Destructive Decisions, student council association, and the Rocky Mount High School Band.
Rocky Mount High has had several successful athletic teams and has won 11 NCHSAA state championships - the last one in 2010 (boys basketball).
This is a list of those titles:
1962 4-A Football. 1963 4-A Boys Basketball, 1963 4-A Baseball, 1963 4-A Football, 1967 4-A Baseball, 1973 4-A Baseball, 1978 4-A Boys Basketball, 1980 4-A Baseball, 1982 4-A Boys Basketball, 2008 3-A Baseball, 2010 3-A Boys Basketball
Thirteen Rocky Mount athletes have won individual NCHSAA state championships. They are: Dennis Jones, Track, 1971; Dennis Battle, Wrestling, 1978; William Bynun, Wrestling, 1980; Joe Bruno, Wrestling, 1987; Marcel Wallace, Wrestling, 1987; Meredith Tucker, Golf, 1989; Nick Winkel, Cross Country, 1996; Charles Hooper, Track, 1997; Nick Winkel, Track, 1997; Mike Mason, Track, 2003; Chalonda Silver, Indoor Track, 2005; Jacobi Jenkins, Track, 2008; Danita Whitaker, Track, 2010.
The football team plays at the Rocky Mount Athletic Complex.