Essex High School

For the school in Virginia, see Essex High School (Virginia).

Essex High School
Address
2 Educational Drive Essex Junction, Vermont, 05452 United States
Coordinates	44°29′50″N 73°06′30″W
Information
Established	1957
School district	Chittenden Central and Essex Town
Principal	Robert Reardon (2006—)
Grades	Ninth–Twelfth grade
Enrollment	~1600
Campus type	Suburban
School Colour(s)	Blue and gold
Mascot	Buzz the Hornet
Team name	Hornets
Feeder schools	Town of Essex:   Essex Middle School (6–8) Village of Essex Junction:   Albert D. Lawton Intermediate School (6–8) Town of Westford:   Westford School (preK–8)
Phone	(802) 879-7121
Website	ccsuvt.org/ehs

Essex High School (EHS) is a public secondary school located in Essex Junction, Vermont. The school's sports team is the Hornets and the school's colors are blue and gold. Essex High School is the largest high school and secondary technical school in Vermont. Enrollment in 2004 was 1625.

History

The school was established in 1957 as Essex Junction High School. In 1970, a new, larger campus was constructed about 1 mile (1.6 km) away, containing both the high school and a technical center. This new campus was named the Essex Junction Educational Center (EJEC), while the former building became Albert D. Lawton Middle School. In the 1990s, the school's name was changed to Essex High School to reflect the two communities it served, Essex and Essex Junction.

The original EJHS building was designed for future expansion by the addition of a second story. However, when more classrooms were needed in the 1980s, new building codes required any renovations to bring the entire old building "up to code," at great cost. A new two-story "C wing" and courtyard were added to the east side instead. In 2002, a new library and media center were built east of the C wing.

Academics

The school is accredited as a public secondary school by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges and by the Vermont Department of Education. EHS adjoins the Center for Technology, Essex, a technical and vocational school. Students can enroll concurrently in both high school and technical programs; approximately ten percent of students do so each year. A four-year Air Force Junior ROTC program is offered.

The school has accelerated programs in Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, French and Spanish; honors courses in English and Mathematics; and a selection of fourteen Advanced Placement courses. Not all AP courses are taught each year. The school also offers students media and computer facilities.

In 2008, EHS students earned the county's best math scores on the New England Common Assessment Program test.

Tuition was $11,900 in 2009-2010. This tuition was paid by towns sending students to this public school, sometimes from outside the school district.

Student activities

There are 31 clubs and 18 sports including:

• The Essex High School Jazz Band ranked in the top two bands in the state of Vermont for 2006 and 2007 at the IAJE Jazz Festival in Burlington.^{[citation needed]}
• The We The People: The Citizen and the Constitution team has won the state championship seven years since 2004 and has been ranked nationally for the last five. In 2006 and 2008, they were ranked as one of the Top 10 teams in the nation.
• In 2005, the programming team won the regional title and was ranked fourth nationally, and ranked third in 1981.
• The Envirothon team won the state competition in 2009 and 2010 and represented Vermont at the Canon 2009 North American Envirothon in Asheville, NC.
• The Scholar's Bowl Team won the state championship in 2010 and 2004.

Athletics

The school has a stadium, track, tennis courts, and several practice fields. The town’s indoor hockey rink is located on school grounds. School teams and student athletes have won over 200 Vermont State Championships since 1970. This figure includes 63 individual track records set by various girl and boy athletes.

• The hockey team won the Vermont state championships 2 years in a row - 1980 and 1981.^{[citation needed]}
• In the 2003-2004 season, the hockey team went undefeated winning 23 straight games and the Vermont state title.
  • In 2006, Bill O’Neil was named national boys’ hockey coach of the year.
• The football team has won the state title six times - 1973, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1992, and 2009.
• The cheerleading team has captured the most state titles by any cheerleading team in Vermont, winning a total of 19 state titles since 1986. In 2005, the cheerleading team placed third at the National Cheerleading Championship in Orlando Florida, the only cheerleading team in Vermont to compete nationally, and the first Vermont high school sports team to compete nationally. The team's most recent state titles were claimed in 2008 and 2011.
• The cross country and track and field teams are top in the state of Vermont except in Girls cross country. In the past decade, Essex's biggest running rival, the Champlain Valley Union girls cross country team has won 9 out of the last 10 state championships along with 2 New England State Championships and reaching nationals once. Each year essex has been their biggest rival but in only one of those years did they actually defeat CVU. Essex's boys’ and girls’ teams have won a total of 72 state titles since 1973.
• The boys' lacrosse team won the state title in 1991.
• The boys' tennis team won the state title in 1994 and 2011.
• The boys basketball team won the state title in 1979 the first one ever, and won again in 1998 and 2010.

• The boys Rugby team have won 4 of the last 5 state championships.
• The girls' basketball team has won the state title 8 times - 1979, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Noted Alumni

• Brian Dubie 1977, former Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
• Michael Dubie 1978, Adjutant General of Vermont
• Loung Ung 1989, Cambodian American author and human-rights activist
• Libby Smith 1998, LPGA Golf professional

External links

• Official website