Ridgefield High School (Ridgefield, Connecticut)

Infobox_School2 | name = Ridgefield High School
type = Public
established = 1971
head_name = Principal:
head = Jeffrey Jaslow
students = approx. 1,700
mascot = Tiger
free_label = Colors
free = Orange and Black
city = Ridgefield
state = Connecticut
country = United States of America
website = http://www.ridgefield.org/go.asp?go=!SiteStationAF&x=TPLGen&TPL=Frameset_RHS.htm

Ridgefield High School is a public high school in Ridgefield, Connecticut. It was recently voted #551 in Newsweek's 2008 list of the top 1300 high schools in America. The school mascot is the Tiger.

RHS has recently undergone massive and costly renovations. Ridgefield High boasts many stunning new facilities, including the two-story high, glass-enclosed student center.

tudents

Enrollment in the school has risen from a recent low of 930 students in 1993 to 1,589 in 2004 and 1,706 in the 2005-2006 school year. [http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/der/ssp/SCH0506/sr100.pdf] Ridgefield High School "Strategic School Profile 2005-2006", Connecticut Department of Education, "Supplemental School Information" section, page 6]

Academic achievement

A total of 341 students took 754 advanced placement (AP) exams in May 2006, with 92.2 percent of exams with scores of 3 or higher. In the eight years up through the 2005-2006 school year, the number of students taking AP exams has tripled. [http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/der/ssp/SCH0506/sr100.pdf] Ridgefield High School "Strategic School Profile 2005-2006", Connecticut Department of Education, "Evidence of Sustained Improvement in Student Accomplishments" section, page 6]

The school's dropout rate has remained consistent over the years at 1 percent. Daily attendance has been similarly steady at 95 percent.

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". [http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/der/ssp/SCH0506/sr137.pdf] state "Strategic School Profile 2005-2006" for Wilton High School, accessed March 25, 2007] Ridgefield is one of eight school districts in District Reference Group A (the others are Darien, Easton, New Canaan, Redding, Weston, Westport, and Wilton). [ [http://discovery.wcgmf.org/communities_bydrg.html] Web page titled "Find a Community: By Educational Reference Group (DRG)" at the "Discovery 2007 / An initiative of the William Caspar Graustein Fund" Web site, accessed March 25, 2007]

Curriculum

In recent years a number of computer-related subjects have been added to the curriculum, including computer art, cheese making, computer music, engineering (Project Lead the Way), and digital design studio.

Athletics

About 65 percent of the student body participates in at least one interscholastic athletic activity. Ridgefield High is a member of the FCIAC Athletic conference. Each year RHS sends many students to play a variety of sports at the collegiate level. In 2007, The Boy's Varsity Ice Hockey team won the FCIAC Championship for the first time since 1988.

In fall of 2007 The Boy's Varsity Soccer team won the State Championships for class LL for the first time in 23 years. They defeated Glastonbury with a score of 1-0. The winning goal scored by Matt Sedney in the beginning of the second quarter.

In the fall of 2007, the Boy's Cross Country runners were the Central Division champions in their sport. In the 2005-2006 school year, the team featured numerous All-Conference, All-State, and All-New England athletes.

In 2005, The Girl's Cross Country Team won the FCIAC, State Class L, State Open, and New England Champoinships

In the Fall of 2004, the Girl's Swim Team became Class L champions. The same year the team was 2nd in the FCIAC.

In 2002 the school won the Class L CT State Championship in football, the Tigers' first state football title since 1983.

In 2008 the school's lacrosse team led by junior Matt White, lost the Class L CT State Championship to Fairfield Prep, 15-14 in Triple Overtime.

In 2008 the school's math team won the CSML State Title after resolving a scoring error due to a counting mistake by the judges.

In 2004 and 2008, Ridgefield Girl's Ski Team won both the class L division title and State Championships (2008 was an undefeated year, 19-0). In 2007, the Girl's won the class L division with an undefeated record however lost in the State Championships.Since the creation of the RHS Girl's Ski Team, they have won the State Championships a total of 13 times.

In 2007, led by Kevin O'Brien and Bobby Tonnessen, the Boy's Ski Team won the State Championships with an undefeated record (19-0). O'Brien won every race that year which had never been done in CISL history.

Notable Alumni

*Curt Onalfo, MLS player and coach
*Chris Winnes, NHL player
*Bill Lawrence, writer/producer for shows such as "Spin City" and "Scrubs".
*Alonzo Church, logician
*Kevin Peraino, Jerusalem Bureau Chief, "Newsweek"

Notes

External links

* [http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/browse_school/ct/807] Ridgefield High School Web page at Great Schools Web site]
* [http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/der/ssp/SCH0506/sr100.pdf] Ridgefield High School "Strategic School Profile 2005-2006", Connecticut Department of Education