Leominster High School
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Leominster High School (also known as Leominster High or LHS) is a public high school located in Leominster, Massachusetts. It is the only secondary educational institution found in Leominster. It is situated on a sprawling 26-acre campus in the western area of Leominster. As of September 2002, Leominster High School had an enrollment of 1802 students, in grades 9 through 12.
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[edit] History
The original site for Leominster High School was located at the Carter Building. Located on West Street in Leominster, this building served as the public high school from 1908 to 1963. It later served as a junior high school, and is currently vacant. The current location of Leominster High School, located at 122 Granite Street, was opened in the fall of 1963. It has since undergone major renovations, both in 1977 and 1990.
[edit] General Information
Leominster High School comprises two units. It has an academic unit and a trade school, which is known as the Center for Technical Education (abbreviated CTE). The majority of students are enrolled in the academic unit, although CTE participation has been growing in recent years. Collectively, these two units are referred to as Leominster High School. In 2002, LHS had an enrollment of 1802 students, including freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. LHS now has an enrollment of approximately 2000 students. Leominster currently offers 12 Advanced Placement courses, 13 Honors level courses, and 12 Vocational shops. Leominster High is accredited by the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools.
Leominster High School/Leominster Center for Technical Education was recently ranked as the 233rd best public high school in the commonwealth of Massachusetts.
[edit] Athletics
Leominster High School is well known for its venerable Athletics program, which is a participant in Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. The flagship varsity football squad is an annually one of the best teams in the Central Massachusetts area, and represented Central Massachusetts in the Division 1 Super Bowl in 2005 and 2006. The football team also participates yearly in the Thanksgiving Day Game against Fitchburg. This annual rivalry is the second oldest high school Thanksgiving rivalry in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Thanksgiving high school rivalry of Wellsey & Needham being older by two years. Doyle Field, the school’s sports complex located in downtown Leominster, underwent a major renovation from 2005-2006. In addition to football, the school also boasts many other respected sports programs, including cross country, girls field hockey, girls and boys soccer, volleyball, girls and boys basketball, ice hockey, girls and boys swimming, indoor track, outdoor track], boys lacrosse, girls and boys tennis, softball, and baseball.
- Athletic Director-Mr. Christopher Young
- Coaches
- Fall Sports
- Football-John Dubzinski
- Boys' Soccer-Gus Johnson
- Cross-Country-Mark Cleaves
- Field Hockey-Tricia Nicholson
- Golf-Daryl Robichaud
- Girls' Volleyball-Alexis Curry
- Winter Sports
- Boys' Basketball-Steven J. Dubzinski
- Girls' Basketball-Christoper Young
- Indoor Track-Pete Moryl
- Hockey-Cory Beaulac
- Girls and Boys Swimming-Chris Hui
- Spring Sports
- Baseball-Emile Johnson
- Softball-Alexis Curry
- Boys' Outdoor Track-Pete Moryl
- Girls' Outdoor Track-Mark Cleaves
- Boys' Lacrosse-Colin Davis
- Girls' Tennis-Daryl Robichaud
[edit] Famous Faculty
- Jim Oxford, English Department
- Sharon Alley, Science Department
- Steve McCue, Social Studies Department
- Daryl Robichaud, Social Studies Department
- Liz Blanchflower, Foreign Language Department
- Rob Bayley, Lab Media Specialist
- Sal Ciccone, Substitute Teacher
- Arthur Shapland, Substitute Teacher
- Donald Fredd, English Department
[edit] Famous Alumni
- Robert Cormier ('42) - Author of "The Chocolate War"
- R.A. Salvatore ('77) - Well-known science fiction novelist
- Mark Osowski ('81) - Former NBA assistant coach for the New Orleans Hornets (then Charlotte Hornets), the Golden State Warriors, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
- Scott Spinelli ('85) - Former Boston University basketball star and current Wichita State men's basketball assistant coach
- Ben Parker ('85) - Award Winning News Reporter (WRKO - Boston 1994-2005) current AM-1280 (WEIM) Morning Host and Station Manager.
- Daryl Robichaud ('89) - Football Award.
- Joseph Malzone ('02) - Collegiate baseball star
- Paul DiGiovanni ('06) - Guitarist for Boys Like Girls.
[edit] Small Schools Initiative
Starting in 2004, a plan was announced to convert Leominster High School from the standard academic structure to a “small schools” structure. The plan was originally proposed by the school’s principal, William Hart. The small schools initiative aimed to reorganize the entire structure of the high school. Instead of directing an entire school as one unit, the small schools initiative aims to restructure a school into smaller, autonomous units known as “small schools.” Each of the smaller schools comes complete with its own administration, including a headmaster. Teachers collaborate within their own small schools, and eventually the individual schools even have their own state education data. The Leominster High School plan was slated to have four individual schools, with CTE as a fifth school. Each of the four academic schools would reside in its own wing of the school, and CTE would remain in the same building.
[edit] Beginning of the Small Schools Initiative
In the fall of 2004, the first wave of the small schools plan began with a “pilot school,” located in B-Wing. The pilot school was comprised of students who wanted to voluntarily participate and test the small schools model. Some students who otherwise might not have wanted to participate in this experiment were easily swayed by exclusive field trips that were, of course, not offered to the rest of the student body. School-individual field trips would continue to be touted as one of the positive aspects of the small-schools plan. Although promising in theory, these field trips often turned out to be nothing more than a barbecue in the school’s backyard or an hour stay at an empty beach on a cold, April morning. The small school initiative continued to be debated incessantly throughout the 2004-2005 school year. As the end of the year approached, it became apparent that despite the opposition, the next step of the transition was going to be implemented for the 2005-2006 school year. The administration eventually finalized a plan for the organization of the school, sticking with the original idea of four academic schools and CTE as a fifth school. Lacking official names like their Hogwarts counterparts, the schools were going to be titled numerically. School 1 would reside in D-Wing, School 2 in C-Wing, School 3 in A-wing, and the pilot school, which became School 4, would continue to reside in B-Wing. In June of 2005, the students of Leominster High School officially waved goodbye to their big-school structure and unenthusiastically prepared for the arrival of Small Schools in the fall.
[edit] The Small School Initiative in Action
In the fall of 2005, Leominster High began its first year as an official participant in the small schools movement. So far, it has stuck with the plan, and the small schools program is still in action for the current school year. The Leominster High campus, although stunningly beautiful, has proved itself unsuitable in many ways for the small schools structure. The current principal, William Hart, formally announced his resignation in November of 2006, much to the dismay of the community. His resignation is a signal of success for the program, however, as his departure marks the transition to the small-schools structure by placing the authority with the five headmasters. With the small-schools program firmly in place, Leominster High School is ready to set new standards of excellence for high schools across the country. The community hopes that in the coming years, Leominster High will produce some of the most respectable, productive members of our society.
[edit] Sources
1. [1] - Leominster Public Schools Website
2. [2] – Worcester Voice
3. [3] – LHS Memories
4. [4] - Leominster Champion Article
5. [5] - Small School Movement
6. [6] - LHS Blue Devil Marching Band Homepage
7. [7] - LHS Devil's Advocate Website
