North Andover High School

North Andover High School is a public secondary school located in the town of North Andover, Massachusetts, United States. The school is a part of the North Andover Public School System. The school is relatively new (construction finished in February 2004), and serves grades 9-12 (freshman through senior). The school has roughly 1,200 students. The school's mascot is the Scarlet Knight, and its biggest rivals are the Andover Warriors.

Facilities

North entrance concept art

North Andover High is relatively new, close to the newest high school in the area (the city of Lawrence built a new high school that was completed in 2007). The school serves not only the students and faculty but also the town; it is the headquarters for North Andover Cam, the local Public-access television cable TV channel along with serving as the community's only polling station. The new high school has a gymnasium, complete with a rock climbing wall and rope ladders for high challenge activities, indoor track, weight room with brand new Nautilus workout machines, TV station, band and choral chambers, a large (800 seat) auditorium and a cafeteria. Other features include two language labs and six computer labs; two with PC's and three with Apple computers. Most classrooms are outfitted with TV's and SMART boards to assist with learning. Additionally, the 4,000 seat, state-of-the-art football stadium hosts many state tournament games along with North Andover games.

Academics

North Andover High offers courses in the major disciplines: Mathematics, Science, History, and English, as well as three foreign languages (Spanish, German, and French). Art, music and physical education programs are also offered, although budget shortfalls have resulted in substantial cuts^[2] to every area of learning (with art, music and physical education hit the hardest). In addition, many electives have also been cut, beginning with Industrial Arts classes and slowly moving into the main academic areas. This has led to a limited number of course choices for students.

NAHS (as it is referred to by most students) offers the basic AP courses (Biology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, English Language & Composition, English Literature & Composition, European History, French Language, German Language, Music Theory, Physics, Spanish Language, Statistics, Studio Arts, United States Government & Politics, United States History).^[3]

On the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) NAHS students are in the top half of the state, with over 95% pass rate on the English and Mathematics sections.^[3][4]

Athletics

The community of North Andover is sandwiched in between the rural towns of northern Essex County: (Boxford, Middleton, Topsfield, West Newbury and Georgetown) and the small cities of the Merrimack Valley and Middlesex County: (Haverhill, Lawrence, Andover, Lowell, Chelmsford), and so could justifiably be in one of two athletic conferences, the Merrimack Valley Conference (MVC) or the Cape Ann League (CAL). North Andover competed in the Cape Ann League from 1971 up until 2012, when it moved into the Merrimack Valley Conference, which houses some of the state's athletic powerhouses (Central Catholic, Chelmsford, Andover, Lawrence among others.). Because of total enrollment, NAHS is qualified in Division 2 by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association and plays many games against non-league opponents with similar school size.

One sport NAHS can be considered a powerhouse in is wrestling, where from 2005 to 2006 the wrestling team won 77 consecutive dual meets and won the Division 2 States in 2005 and 2006. They have also brought home the state trophy in the 2011–2012 season. This is the second longest dual meet streak only to the record of 106 held by the 79–80 wrestling teams. The wrestling team's continued success is directly related to the strong history involved with the program, a top-tier youth program and that North Andover has only had two head wrestling coaches: Howard Crozier (whom the field house is named after) and Dave Castricone. Crozier is a North Andover athletic pioneer while Castricone is 3rd in the nation in wins all time. Castricone is also New England's leader in wins. The wrestling team also holds more league titles than all the other athletic programs at NAHS. Another NAHS powerhouse is the high school basketball team, which currently has the longest streak for consecutive state tournament appearances in the state of Massachusetts.In 2016 that streak ended. The basketball team reached the Division 2 North Finals in 2007 under coach Mike McVeigh for the first time in 20 years, and reached it once again in 2013 during McVeigh's last season. Lacrosse commands a great following and is the premier spring sport, with the team usually going deep into the playoffs. Soccer is widely played in-town and has a strong youth league. Football has shown signs of improvement during the past few years under head coach John Rafferty. The team is now led by head coach John Dubzinksi. The team reached the Division 2A playoffs in 2005 for the first time since 1996, and has since reached the division 2A playoffs in three consecutive years from 2013 to 2015, winning the division 2A North Title in 2014. During the 2005–2006 season, North Andover teams won league championships and/or qualified for the state tournament in football, men's cross country, men's and women's soccer, women's volleyball, field hockey, men's ice hockey, men's basketball, coed swimming, wrestling, men's lacrosse, softball, men's and women's outdoor track and men's and women's tennis. NAHS was awarded the Dalton Award in 2005 for the school with the best overall record in MIAA Division 3; the next season the school was bumped up to Division 2 where it continues to excel. In 2009, the Scarlet Knights once again earned the Dalton Award, this time for MIAA Division 2.

The school's main league rival is nearby Masconomet Regional High School (the 'Chieftains') and the competition between the two schools is intense. Historically North Andover has also had a rivalry with neighboring Andover High School (the 'Golden Warriors), and the two teams now face each other in the Merrimack Valley Conference.

Activities

Despite the recent budget cuts, NAHS has a strong artistic community, with both the Drama Guild and the music department playing parts in the daily life of the school. The NAHS Drama Guild performs one major performance every year, a musical, In January 2007, the school hosted its first ever One-Act festival, in which three One-Act productions were performed, a tradition that has since been discontinued. The One Act performances were typically student directed plays. The guild is supported financially by a parent's organization. The Pep Band also plays at many school functions, including home basketball games and the Special Olympics. The school also boasts an award winning music program. The chorus has been invited to sing at Carnegie Hall in April 2011 due to their gold medal rating at their competition in Philadelphia, PA. The band highlights at every single home football game and also perform at many competitions.

The large student body leaves room for a great number of diverse clubs to spring from the student population, everything from academic teams (Math, Science or Model United Nations) to intramural sports (Ping Pong, Environmental Club and Ultimate Frisbee, are popular) to multicultural clubs (Spanish, German, and a Gay-Straight Alliance) and dance club which performs in the annual pep-rally. The Johnson Chapter of the National Honor Society coordinates volunteer work from among the school's top ranked juniors and seniors.

Budget cuts

North Andover is a burgeoning town with five public elementary schools, a middle school and a high school all competing for parts of the school budget, and this has led to shortfalls in the budget as enrollment has ballooned along with the population of the town. This has caused somewhat of a political divide within the United States and the greater world community.

While school officials tried to create a balanced budget, it became apparent sometime in 2004/2005 that cuts would soon have to be made. The arts programs were among the first major changes made in the budget, and this caused a stir among parents and students who participated in the drama and music programs. While the programs were not completely cut, opponents of the cuts complained that there weren’t enough art and music faculty to serve the entire student body and that expensive user fees would have to be instituted to pay for band and drama performances. They contended that an effective education includes art and music. Proponents of the cuts argue that both band and drama are extra-curricular activities and thus the user fees are justified (it should be noted athletes also pay user fees) and that core subjects such as English and Mathematics are required fields of study for aspiring college students and need to be given priority.

Another side-effect of the budget cuts was the reduction of the regular school day from a rotating seven-period schedule to a set six-period a day schedule, to a rotating five-period a day schedule. Because of the schedule change, study periods were no longer offered, causing students to be placed in classes that they had not signed up for.

A small debate occurred in 2006 over the athletic fees, which are set as a flat fee for all athletes regardless of how many sports a student plays or the cost of those sports to the school (for example, a student who does one season of track and field uses much less of the Athletic Departments resources than a student who plays football, hockey and lacrosse. Both students, however, pay the same amount of money). A new policy was instituted that adjusts fees based on the number of seasons a student chooses to participate in athletics.

Notable Alumni

• Chris Honeycutt, State champion wrestler; professional MMA fighter for Bellator MMA

References

External links

• North Andover Public School System
• North Andover Cam
• North Andover Twitter Page

Coordinates: 42°42′3″N 71°6′59″W / 42.70083°N 71.11639°W / 42.70083; -71.11639