East Chapel Hill High School

East Chapel Hill High School
Established August 20, 1996
Type Public
Coeducational
Principal Eileen Tully
Faculty 195
Grades 9–12
Location 500 Weaver Dairy Road,
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
District CHCCS
Accreditation SACS
Colors Black and silver
         
Mascot Wildcats
Yearbook Eurus
Newspaper The ECHO
National ranking 88th (Newsweek)[1]
Website http://echhs.chccs.k12.nc.us/
All data from school website/handbook.[2]

Coordinates: 35°57′39″N 79°01′45″W / 35.9607°N 79.0292°W

East Chapel Hill High School ("East") is a public high school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It is the second high school of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district, which contains two other high schools, Chapel Hill High School and Carrboro High School.

Although East previously ranked within the top 100 of American public high schools on U.S. News, reaching as high as #23, it has not appeared on the list since the 2009–2010 school year due to achievement gaps.[3] In 2012, it ranked #88 in Newsweek's "America's Best High Schools 2012."[4]

Academics

East is a highly competitive school in which students typically score above the national average on standardized tests. In the 2010 school year the median weighted GPA was 3.91, and the median SAT score was 1809, compared to the state average of 1485. Also, 614 students participated in Advanced Placement (AP) examinations with 79% of all scores above a 3.[5] The school scored the 2nd highest average SAT score in the Raleigh Durham area (behind Raleigh Charter High) in 2012 with 141 students taking the test and scoring and average of 1858. In 2010, the average was 1858.[6]

Competitions

East, a consistent factor in state quiz bowl competitions, is also notable for its entrance onto the national scene in the 2011-12 season. After several 2nd- and 1st-place showings in regional tournaments, after the first two of which East qualified for PACE and NAQT nationals, East attended the 2012 HSNCT (NAQT) in Atlanta. East tied for 13th place overall in the playoffs, with individuals ranked #31 and 43.[7] Two members were also named to the North Carolina All-Star Team, which placed 7th overall in the 2012 NASAT. East finished with a year-end ranking[8] of 14, the highest of any team from North Carolina. East tied for 8th place in the 2013 HSNCT, with the #11-ranked individual.

Other academic teams at East also perform very strongly. In the 2012 North Carolina National Science Bowl tournament, one East team placed 3rd behind two teams from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics; in the same year, two East teams placed 2nd and 4th in the Blue Heron Bowl (North Carolina's National Ocean Sciences Bowl) behind Raleigh Charter High School. In both 2009 and 2010, East was a finalist in the International Space Settlement Design Competition. East also placed 1st in both 2011 and 2012's North Carolina Ethics Bowl competitions, and both 1st and 2nd in 2013 and 2014 North Carolina Ethics Bowl and 1st in 2014 Ethics Bowl Nationals.[9] In 2012, East hosted the first North Carolina tournament for the National History Bee and Bowl, in which East teams placed 1st in both Junior Varsity and Varsity divisions,[10] and the 1st and 2nd places in the Varsity division Bee went to East players.[11] In Science Olympiad, East has placed in the top 5 in North Carolina from 2011-2014 including many notable first and second placements in various events. [12] In 2012, an East contestant in Model United Nations placed 2nd in the West Triangle chapter competition, while both 1st and 2nd prizes went to East students in the 2011 competition.[13]

Demographics

According to 2002–2004 school statistics, 63% of the school's student body is white, 18% is African American, 5% is Hispanic, and 24% is Asian. 52% of the student body is male and 48％ is female. Over the same time period, out of a total of 1706 students 30% (513 students) were in the 9th grade, 24.6% (421 students) were in the 10th grade, 25% (426) were in the 11th grade and 20.3% (346 students) were in the 12th grade. There were a total of 69 teachers making for a 1:25 ratio of teachers to students.[14]

Athletics

Athletic programs make up a large part of student life at East, and East's teams have been highly competitive and successful every year since the school's inception in 1996. East fields teams in sports across the board. Fall sports include: football, men's soccer, women's tennis, field hockey, volleyball, cheerleading, women's golf, and men's and women's cross country. Winter sports include: men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's basketball, wrestling, cheerleading, and Men's and Women's Indoor Track and Field. Spring sports include men's tennis, baseball, softball, men's and women's track & field, men's golf, women's soccer, and men's and women's lacrosse. Since 1996, East teams have won many NC state, regional, conference, and individual championships. As of Fall 2004, East's women's tennis team had won 7 3A State Championships in a row. In the spring of 2008 the men's tennis team won the 4A state championships. In 2005, Sports Illustrated named East Chapel Hill the best sports high school in North Carolina.[15] In the fall of 2012 the field hockey team won the State Championship for the fifth year in a row. The East men's lacrosse program has also won 2 state championships and was runner up three times in the past ten years.[16] The women's lacrosse program has won four state championships in six appearances since the program's inception, including three consecutive titles from 2002 to 2004; the most recent state title was won in 2013.[17]

The mascot is the Wildcat, in keeping with the school system's theme of big cats for high school mascots.

The school has a rivalry with the nearby Chapel Hill High School.[18]

Alumni association

Proposals for the creation of an alumni association for East began in Fall of 2007. These efforts took off in 2009 with the drafting of organizational bylaws, the creation of a Board of Directors, and the launching of a website.

Hostage crisis

On April 24, 2006, eighteen-year-old student W.B. Foster held both teacher Lisa Kukla, and a student hostage with a shotgun, a hunting knife, and a pistol. After more than an hour, Lisa Kukla was able to talk Foster out of harming her or the student. Instead, Foster fired a shot through the window and fled, but was later turned in to the police. It's unknown why Foster held those two hostage, since he was never taught by Kukla, and didn't seem to know the student. In June 2007, Foster was sentenced to five years of probation, because his attorneys said he had schizophrenia.[19]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ America's Best High Schools. The Daily Beast (2011-06-19). Retrieved on 2011-10-18.
  2. ↑ "2007–2008 Profile" (PDF). East Chapel Hill High School. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
  3. ↑ East Chapel Hill High School | Best High Schools. U.S. News (2011-01-31). Retrieved on 2011-10-18.
  4. ↑ America's Best High Schools. The Daily Beast (2012-05-20). Retrieved on 2012-5-27.
  5. ↑ Academic Information. East Chapel Hill High School. April 6, 2008
  6. ↑ deBruyn, Jason. "High schools with highest SAT scores in Raleigh-Durham area". Triangle Business Journal.
  7. ↑ 2012 High School National Championship Team Standings. National Academic Quiz Tournaments, 5-27-2012.
  8. ↑ Post-Nationals Rankings - Top 150. High school quiz bowl rankings, 6-30-2012.
  9. ↑ Spring 2012 North Carolina High School Ethics Bowl Parr Center for Ethics, 2012
  10. ↑ Current 2011-2012 State Bowl Results. National History Bowl, 3-17-12
  11. ↑ North Carolina 2012. National History Bee, 3-17-12
  12. ↑ Tournament Results. North Carolina Science Olympiad, 4-28-2012.
  13. ↑ Announcements of the West Triangle Chapter of UNA-USA
  14. ↑ East Chapel Hill High School – Chapel Hill, North Carolina/NC. Public School Review. Retrieved on 2011-10-18.
  15. ↑ "Best Sports High Schools By State (cont.)". CNN.
  16. ↑ Stats Leaders. Eastlacrosse.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-18.
  17. ↑ . newsobserver.com. Retrieved on 2013-5-30.
  18. ↑ Rivalry reign in lacrosse. YouthLacrosseUSA. March 14, 2004
  19. ↑ High School Kidnapper Draws 5 Years' Probation. WRAL.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-18.

External links