Binghamton High School

Binghamton High School, a combined high school of the previous Binghamton North High School and 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.

Academic programs

Binghamton High School offers a wide variety of programs for students who are interested in excelling in a number of areas.

Advanced Placement exams

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.

International Baccalaureate Diploma

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. ^[2]

Project Lead the Way

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.

Rod Serling School of Fine Arts

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 Helen Foley Theater, part of the school, is named after Serling's former teacher. The school hosts the annual Rod Serling Film Festival, which is open to all students in grades K-12 in North America.

Experience-Based Education Program

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.

Due to budget cuts this program was ended June 2011.

Athletics

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.

Football

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.

Basketball

The boys' and girls' basketball teams have also won titles. The boys' 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 both conference (STAC) and sectional (NYS Sec. IV) titles in the 2009-10, 2010–11, and 2011-2012 seasons. In 2011-2012, both the boys' and girls' teams won at least 20 games, including conference and sectional titles, to enter the State Playoffs with undefeated records.

Track and Field

The boy's track and field team won a divisional title in 2011.

Recognitions

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.^[3]

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.

Notable Graduates

• Rod Serling - Host of the 1950s 1960s TV series The Twilight Zone
• Joel E. Davis - Former NFL lineman Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts.

References

External links

• Binghamton High School official website
• Factsheet on Binghamton High School
• The Rod Serling Video Festival
• Official Binghamton Patriots Sports Website
• The Complete List: 1,200 Top U.S. Schools - Newsweek

Coordinates: 42°05′55″N 75°55′11″W / 42.09861°N 75.91972°W / 42.09861; -75.91972