Ridgefield High School (Connecticut)

Ridgefield High School (RHS) is a public high school in Ridgefield, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the Ridgefield School District. It was ranked 119th in Newsweek's 2015 list of the top 1,600 high schools in America and 226th in U.S. News & World Report's 2012 list of the top 4,813 high schools.^[2]

Ridgefield High School
Aerial view of the school and Scotts Ridge Middle School.
Address
700 North Salem Road Ridgefield , Connecticut 06877 United States
Coordinates	41°19′31″N 73°31′40″W / 41.3254°N 73.5278°W / 41.3254; -73.5278
Information
Other name	RHS
Type	Public high school
School district	Ridgefield School District
CEEB code	070640
NCES School ID	090381000779^[1]
Principal	Jacob Greenwood
Teaching staff	135.99 (on an FTE basis)^[1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,658 (2017-2018)^[1]
Student to teacher ratio	12.19:1^[1]
Color(s)	Orange and black
Athletics conference	FCIAC
Mascot	Tiger
Website	rhs.ridgefield.org

Academics

The school's dropout rate has remained consistent over the years at 1%. Daily attendance has been similarly steady at 95%.^[3]

Course offerings

Ridgefield High School offers 20 AP classes, as well as multiple UConn Early College Experience classes and Multi-Variable Calculus (as an honors course, not dual enrollment).^[3] In 2012, a number of computer-related subjects were added to the curriculum, including computer art, computer music, engineering (Project Lead the Way), and digital design studio.^[4]

District Reference Group A

For the purpose of comparison with the achievement levels of similar schools, the state Department of Education classifies schools and communities in "District Reference Groups", defined as "districts whose students' families are similar in education, income, occupation and need, and that have roughly similar enrollment".^[5] Ridgefield is one of eight school districts in District Reference Group A.^[6]

Student achievement

Students and alumni of Ridgefield High School have won many prestigious academic honors, with frequent National Merit Scholarship Finalists annually.^[7][8][9] Graduates have won full rides to colleges such as the University of Virginia and Duke University.^[10][11][12]

RHS students have included Presidential Scholars, a Coca-Cola Scholar, a Jefferson Scholar, Stamps Scholars and more.^{[11][12][13][14][15]} The school has also produced multiple student representatives to the Connecticut State Board of Education.^[16][17]

Athletics

About 65% of the student body participates in at least one interscholastic athletic activity.^[3] It is a member of the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference and is in class LL for states. Each year RHS sends many students to play a variety of sports at the collegiate level.^[18] In 2019, Ridgefield High School added fencing to its list of sports, on the club level.^[19]

Facilities

The school's facilities include a two-story-high, glass-enclosed student center and all marble Student Life Office. The school has a football stadium with turf field and a turf practice field adjacent to that (Tiger Hollow 1 and 2).

Controversies

Over the years, but especially so in the past few, Ridgefield High School has attracted its fair share of controversy.

Student racism

In October 2017, a video of a Ridgefield High School student along with a then-recent alum painted in blackface with the headline "Nigger" went viral on social media.^[20] The post was shared hundreds of times, and deeply upset some students of color who pointed out that "Ridgefield as a town is 96% white."^[21][22] There was also additional controversy regarding the administration's decision to discipline student reporters who shared the information prior to extensive fact-checking, leading to the spread of some misinformation regarding the administration's training of faculty members.^[22]

Baseball field fire

A wet baseball field was doused with 24 gallons of gasoline and set on fire in a failed attempt to dry the field for a Ridgefield High School varsity baseball game in April 2019.^[23] Three RHS varsity baseball coaches were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of a police investigation.^[24] The cost to restore the field to pre-fire condition was estimated to be in excess of $50,000.^[25]

Hazing

In 2014, a series of hazing events left many underclassmen students intoxicated as they attended class. The breadth of students that were affected by this event garnered much media coverage, with the bulk of the students being involved with athletic teams at the school.^[26][27][28] The hazing occurred as part of the school's Homecoming Spirit Week.^[29] In 2019, the school took steps to prevent hazing among its athletic teams.^[30]

Swastikas

During the 2017–2018 academic year, there were no fewer than 5 instances of swastikas drawn on or around school grounds. On September 8, 2017, an anti-Semitic symbol was found etched into a table at Ridgefield High School.^[31] A little more than 2 months later, on Tuesday, November 21, a swastika was found drawn on the inside of a classroom door at Ridgefield High School.^[32] Additional anti-Semitic symbols were found in January, June, and August.^[33][34][35] All these events led to the creation of a program for town officials to "do more than condemn" the events.^[36]

Threats of violence

In the 2018–2019 academic year, Ridgefield High School saw a surge in threats of violence against staff and students. In late May 2019, a student was arrested for threatening to initiate a school shooting.^[37] The student, whose name was not released because he or she is a minor, was charged with threatening in the first degree and breach of peace in the second degree.^[38][37][39] Earlier that year, there were instances of bomb threats in December^[40][41] and January.^[42] There was also an undisclosed threat made on social media in March of the same academic year.^[43]

Previous bomb threats had been made at RHS in 2007,^[44] 2008,^[45] and 2012.^[46]

Notable alumni

• Jared Bernstein (1973), economist^[47]
• Nathan Bruckenthal (1997), U.S. Coast Guardsman and posthumous Bronze Star recipient^[48]
• John H. Frey (1981), member of the Connecticut House of Representatives
• Scott Heckert, NASCAR driver^[49]
• Janel Jorgensen (1989), Olympic swimmer^[50]
• Cody Keenan (1998), speechwriter for President Obama^[51]
• Jeff Landau (1992), professional tennis player
• Bill Lawrence (1986), writer/producer for shows such as Spin City and Scrubs
• Ben Mines (2018), MLS player
• Lane Murdock (2020), The National School Walkout founder^[52]
• Curt Onalfo (1987), MLS player and coach
• Mark Salzman (1978), writer
• Kieran Smith (2018), Olympic swimmer^[53]
• Erland van Lidth de Jeude (did not graduate, would have been class of 1973), actor, Olympic wrestler and computer scientist^{[citation needed]}
• Chris Winnes (did not graduate, would have been class of 1987), NHL player

References

1. "Search for Public Schools - Ridgefield High School (090381000779)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
2. EST, On 08/19/15 at 7:31 AM (August 19, 2015). "America's Top High Schools 2015". Newsweek.
3. "Evidence of Sustained Improvement in Student Accomplishments". Strategic School Profile 2005-2006 Ridgefield High School (PDF). Connecticut Department of Education. December 5, 2006. p. 6. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
4. "Supplemental School Information". Strategic School Profile 2005-2006 Ridgefield High School (PDF). Connecticut Department of Education. December 5, 2006. p. 6. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
5. (PDF). Connecticut Department of Education. December 5, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
6. . Discovery 2007 / An initiative of the William Caspar Graustein Fund. Archived from the original on February 24, 2007. Retrieved March 6, 2007 – via discovery.wcgmf.org.
7. Daly, Tara. "Meet Ridgefield High School's National Merit Scholarship Finalists!". www.hamlethub.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
8. "12 Ridgefield High Students Named National Merit Semifinalists". Ridgefield Daily Voice. September 19, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
9. "8 Ridgefield High School Students Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists". Ridgefield, CT Patch. September 9, 2015. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
10. Ducey, Kerry Anne. "Alexandra DiGiacomo of Ridgefield Among Nineteen Selected for A.B. Duke Scholarships". www.hamlethub.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
11. "Student Earns Scholarship". The News Times. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
12. Press, The Ridgefield (July 3, 2018). "Robert Buckley joins the 13th class of Stamps Scholars". The Ridgefield Press. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
13. Kavaler, Community Contributor Bernard. "20 Connecticut Students to Receive College Scholarships From Fund Created by Former Sen. Lieberman, Including Five Incoming Freshmen". courant.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019. {{cite web}}: |first= has generic name (help)
14. "RHS senior Gunnar Smith is a U.S. Presidential Scholar".
15. Suryawanshi, Omika. "Ridgefield High School Grad Awarded for Women In Tech Advocacy". www.hamlethub.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
16. "State Board of Education--Members". CT.gov - Connecticut's Official State Website. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
17. News-Times; The; NEWS-TIMES, Susan Tuz THE (March 20, 2006). "Two student representatives named to Board of Education". NewsTimes. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
18. Press, The Ridgefield (November 30, 2018). "Ridgefield High athletes will compete for D1 colleges". The Ridgefield Press. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
19. "Ridgefield High School To Add Fencing As Club Sport". Ridgefield, CT Patch. December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
20. "Racist Image Circulated At Ridgefield High School: Report". Ridgefield, CT Patch. December 21, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
21. Reid, Macklin K. (December 21, 2017). "Racist photo troubles kids at high school". The Ridgefield Press. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
22. Reid, Macklin K. (February 6, 2018). "Schools dispute King Day speech allegations". The Ridgefield Press. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
23. "A wet Connecticut baseball field was doused with 24 gallons of gasoline and set on fire". Fox News. May 13, 2020.
24. Coulter, Steve (April 9, 2019). "Ridgefield coaches put on leave after baseball field fire". The News Times.
25. "Ridgefield baseball field repairs estimated to cost $50,000 after gasoline-soaked blaze set". GameTime CT. April 8, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
26. Somma, Ann Marie (October 21, 2014). "Ridgefield police investigate alleged high school hazing incidents". NewsTimes. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
27. "Hazing Incident At Ridgefield High School". NBC Connecticut. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
28. LinkedUpRadio, Envisionwise Website Service /. "Ridgefield police to investigate High School hazing". WLAD-AM. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
29. Ridgefield High School hazing, archived from the original on December 15, 2021, retrieved December 13, 2019
30. Fornabaio, Michael (August 21, 2019). "Ridgefield teams take proactive approach to prevent hazing". The Ridgefield Press. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
31. "Swastika Found At Ridgefield High School". Ridgefield, CT Patch. September 8, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
32. "Swastika Found Drawn On Classroom Door At Ridgefield High". Ridgefield Daily Voice. November 22, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
33. "Swastikas Found Again in Ridgefield". Ridgefield, CT Patch. August 29, 2018. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
34. "Police: More swastika carvings found in Ridgefield". courant.com. Associated Press. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
35. Perrefort, Dirk (January 13, 2018). "Ridgefield officials believe swastikas the work of one or a few people". NewsTimes. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
36. Reid, Macklin K. (December 4, 2017). "Another swastika at high school prompts program for town officials". The Ridgefield Press. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
37. "Threat causes Ridgefield High to dismiss early". FOX 61. May 30, 2019. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
38. Staff reports (May 30, 2019). "Teen arrested for threat that led to Ridgefield High early dismissal". NewsTimes. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
39. "Ridgefield High School Dismissed Early Due to Threat". NBC Connecticut. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
40. "Ridgefield H.S. under veil of caution after bomb threat". connecticut.news12.com. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
41. Coulter, Steve (December 13, 2018). "Ridgefield police investigate bomb threats". The Ridgefield Press. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
42. "Ridgefield High School Dismissed After Written Bomb Threat Was Found: Police". NBC Connecticut. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
43. Coulter, Steve (March 20, 2019). "Ridgefield High student charged after making social media threat". New Haven Register. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
44. News-Times, The (September 25, 2007). "Ridgefield High gets bomb threat". NewsTimes. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
45. News-Times; The; Reports, Staff (November 7, 2008). "Officials: Ridgefield High bomb threat not credible". NewsTimes. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
46. "Bomb Threat Discovered at Ridgefield High School". Ridgefield, CT Patch. November 13, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
47. Reid, Macklin (May 1, 2011). "Jared Bernstein, RHS graduate, is leaving Obama administration". The Ridgefield Press. Hersam Acorn Newspapers. Retrieved May 21, 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
48. O'Donnell, Michelle (May 8, 2004). "Long Island Native, Killed in Iraq, Is Buried in Arlington". The New York Times.
49. "Scott Heckert". Retrieved August 12, 2019.
50. "Former Ridgefield High School Student On His Way To The Olympics". Ridgefield, CT Patch. June 14, 2021. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
51. Schmidt, Michael S. (January 19, 2015). "State of the Union Speechwriter for Obama Draws on Various Inspirations". The New York Times. Retrieved June 23, 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
52. Sanchez, Ray (April 21, 2018). "This is the 16-year-old behind the National School Walkout". CNN. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
53. Barker, Sean (June 16, 2021). "Ridgefield's Kieran Smith wins 200 free at Olympic trials". NewsTimes. Retrieved June 17, 2021.

External links

• Official website