East Mecklenburg High School

Infobox high school


image_caption =
name= East Mecklenburg High School
native_name=
latin_name=
motto = Every Eagle A Success
established = 1950
type = Public
endowment =
staff =
faculty =
Head teacher =
schoolmaster =
principal = Mark Nixon
enrollment = 2100-2300
students =
city = Charlotte
state = North Carolina
country = US
free_label =
free =
colors = Blue and gold
mascot = Eagle
affiliations =
information = 6800 Monroe Rd, [phone]
website = http://pages.cms.k12.nc.us/eastmeck/
footnotes =

East Mecklenburg High School is a public secondary school in Charlotte, North Carolina and one of 19 high schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system. The principal of the school is Mark Nixon.

Student profile

East Mecklenburg High (or simply East Meck or East) touts one of the most diverse student bodies in Charlotte. In 2006, the school of 2,172 students reported the following racial breakdown to CMS: 46.8% African-American, 35.1% White, 12.4% Hispanic, 3.9% Asian, 1.3% Multi-racial, and 0.4% Native American [ [http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/departments/instrAccountability/schlProfile05/profiles.asp School Profiles ] ] .

Classes

East Mecklenburg offers a wide array of classes to its students. The most challenging are those found in its International Baccalaureate program and its 23 Advanced Placement courses [ [http://pages.cms.k12.nc.us/eastmeck/about.html East Mecklenburg High School : About ] ] . East Meck boasts the highest IB graduation rate within the school system, with 100% of 2003-2004 International Baccalaureate candidates receiving their IB diploma in addition to their regular CMS diploma [ [http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/allschools/jump/jump.asp?Courier=377 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools ] ] .

The school also hosts a top-notch special education department, known as its Exceptional Children program. Thirty faculty members serve as resources and assistants in the program [ [http://pages.cms.k12.nc.us/eastmeck/exceptionalchildren.html East Mecklenburg High School : Exceptional Children ] ] .

Athletics

East Meck competes in the Southwestern 4A conference of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. [ [http://www.nchsaa.org/pdf/5803.pdf North Carolina High School Athletic Association Report] ] Team colors are blue and yellow and the school mascot is an eagle. Local rivals of East Mecklenburg include Butler High School, Providence High School and Myers Park High School.

In 2007, East's football team finished in a three-way tie for first place in the conference standings [ [http://www.realcities.com/mld/charlotte/sports/high_school/qa_forum.html?forumId=592&mode=display&action=&type=list&pageNo=78 High School Forum ] ] . The Eagles, along with rival Butler High, ended Independence High's seven-year exclusive reign atop the SW4A standings.

The men's basketball team of East Mecklenburg has seen success in recent years as well. The team has won the SW4A title the past four seasons, starting in 2004-05, and in the state playoffs made it as far as the semifinals two straight years before finally winning the state championship in 2008. The Eagles defeated the Apex High School Cougars 73-61 to clinch the school's first basketball state title in its history. [ [http://www.charlotte.com/321/story/356235.html Charlotte Observer | 11/10/2007 | 4A Preview | High School Basketball ] ]

East's soccer team was successful in 2004, finishing the season as state 4A runners-up [ [http://www.nchsaa.org/pdf/885A.pdf North Carolina High School Athletic Association Report] ] .

The East Meck rugby team (also known as Beast Meck) won the Division II State Championship in 2008. It was the first full year of rugby at East, and after clinching the conference, East went on to win against the Raleigh Rattlesnakes 41-12 on May 10. [ [http://emrugby.org/ East Meck Rugby] ]

The winningest team in school history, in terms of state championships, is the men's cross country team. The Eagles have won six cross country state titles, including a three-peat from 1990-92 [ [http://ncpreptrack.net/cc_n.html NCPrepTrack.com . . .North Carolina High School Cross-Country Champions ] ] . Members of East Meck cross country designed and built Charlotte's famed McAlpine Greenway Park cross country course [ [http://charlotte49ers.cstv.com/genrel/111400aaa.html Charlotte 49ers - General Releases ] ] , the site of major meets such as the Wendy's Invitational and the Southern regional qualifying race of the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.

State 4-A Championships
*Men's Basketball 2008
*Men's Indoor Track 2000
*Men's Outdoor Track 1997
*Men's Cross Country 1960, 1973, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992
*Women's Indoor Track 1991
*Women's Cross Country 1982
*Football 1977
*Men's Soccer 1968, 1969

Awards

Also frequently earning awards is East Meck's culinary program. Since 2005, East's culinary team has won gold medals in state and national competition [ [http://www.eastmeckeagles.com/newsletters/2004-2005/East%20Meck%20Newsletter%20June%202005%20-%20Final.pdf East Meck Newsletter June 2005 - Final ] ] [ [http://www.eastmeckeagles.com/newsletters/2007-2008/East%20Meck%20Newsletter%20October%202007.pdf East Meck Newsletter October 20, 2007 [1 ] ] . In April of 2008, senior Luis Rojas was named the National High School Chef of the Year by Johnson & Wales University in the dessert field, garnering him more than $80,000 in scholarship money. [ [http://culinary.jwu.edu/content2493.html Johnson & Wales University | College of Culinary Arts | Nat'l HS Chef of the Year 2008 Winners ] ]

"The Eagle", East Mecklenburg's school newspaper, was named a Paper of Distinction in 2008 by the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association, [ [http://www.ibiblio.org/ncsma/2008newspaperAwards.html ncsma :: 2006 newspaper awards ] ] and perenially picks up numerous individual awards in writing and photography.

Notable alumni

* Jeff Reed, Class of 1997: Pittsburgh Steelers kicker and Super Bowl winner [ [http://news.steelers.com/Team/Player/49239/ Official site of the Pittsburgh Steelers - Roster ] ]

* Kwame Jackson, Class of 1992: Businessman, public speaker, "Apprentice" star, and one of "People" magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People of 2004 [ [http://kwamejackson.com/Press/people.html Kwame.new1.com Pre-kickoff staging Server ] ]

* Joe Posnanski, Class of 1984: Journalist and author, twice named best sports columnist in America by the Associated Press Sports Editors

* Joan Nesbit, Class of 1980: National cross country champion and Olympian in the 1996 Summer Olympics in the 10,000-meter run [ [http://runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=5349 Running Times Magazine: Joan Nesbit Mabe ] ]

* Bob Silver, Class of 1973: New Jersey businessman; donated $500,000 to the school in 2006, sparking the wildly successful All Star Teacher Initiative [ [http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/1080636/gift_inspires_fundraising_fervor_school_turns_500000_into_more_than/index.html Gift Inspires Fundraising Fervor: School Turns 0,000 into More Than Million - Education - redOrbit ] ]

* Mike Fox, Class of 1974: University of North Carolina baseball coach; one of only six men to play in and then coach his alma mater to the College World Series [ [http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/fox_mike00.html Player Bio: Mike Fox :: Baseball ] ]

* Richard Vinroot, Class of 1959: Politician, attorney, former Charlotte mayor (1991-1995) [ [http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/Mayor/Past+Mayors/Richard+Vinroot.htm Richard Vinroot ] ]

References

External links

[http://pages.cms.k12.nc.us/eastmeck/] East Meck's school website