Randolph School

This article is about the school in Huntsville, Alabama, USA. For the school in Wappingers Falls, New York, USA, see Randolph School (New York). For the school in Virginia, see Randolph School (Richmond, Virginia).
Randolph School

Diligentes Ad Veritatem Quaerendam
(Diligent in Seeking Truth)
Location
Huntsville, Alabama
USA
Coordinates 34°42′22″N 86°33′29″W / 34.706°N 86.558°WCoordinates: 34°42′22″N 86°33′29″W / 34.706°N 86.558°W
Information
Type Private
Religious affiliation(s) none
Established 1959
CEEB Code 011475
Headmaster Dr. J. Rainey
Faculty 150
Enrollment 997
Average class size 13 students
Student to teacher ratio 10:1
Campus Suburban (67 acres)
Color(s)              Blue, White, and Gray
Team name Raiders
Average SAT scores (2011) 635 verbal
635 math
625 writing
Website www.randolphschool.net

Randolph School is an American independent private kindergarten-through-12th-grade college preparatory school chartered in 1959 in Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama. It started in an antebellum home on Randolph Avenue in downtown Huntsville with just a few elementary classes. A few years later it moved to a much larger 17-acre (69,000 m2) campus on Drake Avenue, where it is now located, gradually adding grade levels until having a graduating high school class in the early 1970s.

In 1998, the school purchased 50 acres (200,000 m2) of land on Garth Road, less than one mile (1.6 km) from the present location of the main campus. After only expanding the athletic facilities there, in 2006, the Board of Trustees finally gave approval for the construction of a new campus for the high school, something which had been discussed since 1997. According to the plans, the second campus will more than double the square footage of available facilities, and allow continued increase in enrollment. The new high school opened for the 2009-2010 school year. For the Fine arts, the new school includes a new theater with stadium seating, a workshop for stagecraft, band and choral rooms, and new restroom facilities. For athletics, The Shields-Jones Athletic Complex on the new Garth Campus has six spacious locker rooms, two health and human performance classrooms, a state-of-the-art athletic training room and a 2,200-square-foot weight and fitness room with cardio machines and Hammer Strength weight equipment. In total, Randolph has two gymnasiums, six tennis courts, two practice fields and professionally maintained fields for football, baseball, softball and soccer.[1]

For the academic year 2008-2009, tuition and fees average about $13,500, though the school offers need-based financial aid to some students.

Academic awards and other recognition

Logo used for varsity athletics, introduced in the 2008-2009 school year

During the 2001-02 school year, and again in 2003-04, Randolph School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education,[2][3] the highest award an American school can receive.[4][5]

Between a fifth and a third of each graduating class is identified as a Commended Scholar, Semi-Finalist, or Finalist in the National Merit Scholarship competition. Virtually all graduates go on to attend four-year college.

Athletics

All varsity teams currently compete in the AHSAA 5A division which include rival schools such as Kate Duncan Smith DAR School and Madison County High School. The Randolph boys have won the Cross Country State Championships in 1982, as well as 2005-2013, setting a new state record for most consecutive state championship wins in Alabama with 9. The girls Cross Country team won in 1978, 1979, 1980, 1996, and 1998, and were runners-up in 2012 and 2013. The boys Soccer team won State Championships in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, and 2007. The Raiders Varsity Boys Soccer were also ranked 3rd nationally in 2006 and first in the Southeast. In 2012, the boys showed a strong showing in the state tournament but lost in the championship game to rival Altamont School. They again were state runners-up in 2014, losing to Indian Springs. The Randolph soccer team has either been state runner up or state champs since the year 2000, except 2004, 2005, and 2010. The girls soccer team won their first state championship in 2009 and won again in 2013, defeating Montgomery Academy after losing to them in the finals in 2012. The girls team were again state runners-up in 2014, losing to Montgomery Academy. The boys tennis team won the state championship in 1984 and 2008, and has finished runner-up in 2002, 2007, and 2009. The boys tennis team also won the state sportsmanship award in 2008 and 2009. The girls tennis team finished as the state runner-up in 2012. The girls volleyball team won the state title in 1983 and 1985 and most recently made appearances in the state final four in 2011 and 2012. For the first time in 30 years, Randolph launched a varsity football program in 2010 and has been building the program ever since.

Technology

Randolph was one of the first high schools to provide its students with a computer lab in 1981, which was donated by Intergraph, a local software company. The lab had a PDP-11/44 with 14 terminals, a console and printer. Wiring ran through the ceiling - a sharp departure from other computer labs of the day.

Randolph instituted a Bulletin Board System, enhanced by the donation of a 1200 baud modem in 1984 by local television station WAAY-TV. The bulletin board was entirely custom software running on the PDP-11, written by students. Some years later, Randolph hosted the Igmeister Zone BBS, a WWIV node at speeds up to 9600 bit/s.

National press coverage in 1998 covered the school's implementation of a wireless network which integrated the use of laptops.[6]

Notable alumni

Its alumni include many of the children of the German rocket scientists that moved to Huntsville with Wernher von Braun after World War II. Other notable alumni include:

References

  1. ↑ "Randolph School Facilities". Randolph School. 2012-05-09. Retrieved 2006-09-15.
  2. ↑ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.
  3. ↑ Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 2003 through 2006 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed September 25, 2007.
  4. ↑ CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department, Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
  5. ↑ Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
  6. ↑ Laptop Program: Computer models are available through the School. More information on laptop policies and specifications is posted on the Back-to-School page. http://www.randolphschool.net/apply/affording?rc=0.
  7. ↑ Campbell,Steve (2008-11-15). "Randolph grad is Obama aide". The Huntsville Times. Alabama Live LLC. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  8. ↑ "Star Alum Returns". Randolph School. 2005-11-02. Retrieved 2006-09-15.
  9. ↑ Wright, Daniel (2013-3-1). "Alumni Profile: Brian Reynolds ’85 The Philosopher of Fun". Randolph Magazine (Randolph School). Retrieved 2014-08-28. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ↑ "Tennis Champion Bryan Shelton '84 Swings By Randolph". Randolph School. 2006-04-25. Retrieved 2006-09-15.
  11. ↑ Brown, David (2007-12-11). "Jimmy Wales '83". Alumni Profiles (Randolph School). Retrieved 2013-09-05.
  12. ↑ Moore, Rebecca (2013-1-13). "Jimmy Wales ’83: ‘Information evangelist’". The Randolph Journey (Randolph School). Retrieved 2014-08-27. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ↑ Walden, Lea Ann (2013-3-1). "Where Are They Now?". Randolph Magazine (Randolph School). Retrieved 2014-08-28. Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links