Needham B. Broughton High School

Needham B. Broughton High School
Address
723 St. Mary's Street Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Coordinates	35.7902°N 78.6524°W / 35.7902; -78.6524
Information
School type	Public
Founded	1929
Principal	Mr. Stephen Mares
Vice principal	Mike Ludwick Diane Lockwood Michael Lentz Clarissa Fleming
Teaching staff	approx. 190
Number of students	approx. 2,167
Schedule type	Modified Block, 4-period (A-B Day)
Hours in school day	Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays 8:00 - 3:00 Tuesdays 8:25 - 3:00pm
Information	+1 919 856-7810
Degrees	IB Diploma
Programs	IB Programme
Website	broughton.wcpss.net

Broughton Capitals
School(s)	Needham B. Broughton High School
Association	NCHSAA
Division	Division 4-AA
Conference	CAP-7 Conference
Athletics director	Jack Spain
Location	Raleigh, NC
Varsity teams	18 varsity teams
Stadium	Capital Stadium
Arena	Holliday Gymnasium
Nickname	Capitals
Fight song	Cheer Broughton
Colors	Purple and Gold
Website	broughtonathletics.com

Needham Bryant Broughton High School, or simply Broughton High School, is one of the flagship schools of the Wake County Public School System. It is located at 723 St. Mary's Street, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Broughton was named after the Raleigh aristocrat, Needham B. Broughton, who contributed much to the public schools of the area. Broughton is currently ranked 410th in Newsweek's list of the top United States schools. It runs on a 4x4 modified block schedule (A Day-B Day which allows students to go a whole semester without missing a "core class" or a foreign language), and is the only school in Wake County to do so. Broughton is known for its castle-like stone facade and tall bell tower. The architect was William Henley Deitrick, FAIA.

Academics

It offers over 25 Advanced Placement (AP) courses to challenge the upper tier of its students, as well as several International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. The school offers four foreign languages: French, German, Latin, and Spanish. Broughton has produced eight UNC Morehead-Cains Scholars, three NC State Park Scholars, and one Wake Forest University Reynolds Scholar in the past five years.

Sports

Broughton's sports teams play under the name "Capitals." The school has 18 varsity teams (the newest of which are the lacrosse and gymnastic teams) that compete with other 4-A schools in the CAP-8 conference and with schools around the state. Broughton's main sports facilities are the 3,000-seat Capital Stadium and the Holliday Gymnasium (the only high school gym in North Carolina that can house the entire school population).

Arts

Broughton not only strives to produce strong academic and athletic programs, but a strong arts program as well. It has a well known band, orchestra, and chorus, among other groups. The "Carolina Spirit" show choir was known as the top show choir in the country during the 1990s, winning an unprecedented 6 consecutive Showstoppers National/International Championships. In 2007 the drama department, led by Bill Hagen, created a production of Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 Broadway A Raisin in the Sun.

Band

Broughton's award-winning band program has attended the 2008 Tournament of Roses Parade and has been invited to march once again in the 2012 Tournament of Roses Parade on January 2, 2012. The 186 member band was one of fifteen bands selected to participate for the 2008 parade, and one of only six high schools. They are the first Raleigh band and the fourth North Carolina band to be invited. They were invited to march at the Inaugural Parade for N.C. Governor Bev Perdue. The Jazz I group also performed for President Barack Obama during his visit to Raleigh on July 29, 2009. The band is under the direction of Jeffery Richardson (more popularly known as "JR"), as it has been for 34 years. In addition to its marching program, Broughton has a concert band and a symphonic wind ensemble, and is the only school in Wake County that offers two jazz ensembles: Jazz I for mainly upperclassmen, and Jazz II for underclassmen.

Orchestra

Broughton's orchestra program is highly regarded and is under the direction of Mr. Greg Logan.

Community service

As part of Broughton's commitment to the community, students are required to perform 25 hours of service, each year, within the community; this requirement provides over 55,000 hours annually to Raleigh City and surrounding areas. Students can also participate in service trips to Guatemala (Proyecto Quetzal) and in projects such as a school-sponsored Habitat for Humanity house. The community service program is headed by Jane VanGraafeiland.

Technology

The school has in recent years undergone a technological renovation. Each room is equipped with at least one computer, and there are over six computer labs throughout the school. In addition, Broughton is serviced by the adjacent Wade Edwards Learning Lab (WELL), a program established by former Senator John Edwards that provides after-school access to computers. Here students put on a variety of programs and create special feature videos, from historical documentaries to Star Wars movie spoofs. Broughton's graphics department has also received an update, and students from this program do everything from designing t-shirts to creating 3-D models of airplanes.

From 2002-2004 Broughton underwent a $14 million renovation in which much of the school was gutted and refitted with state-of-the-art technology and new interiors. During the 2004-2005 school year Broughton received an additional $5 million to renovate its Holiday Gymnasium (the state's largest high school gym). One of the highlights of the renovations was the refurbishment of the newly titled Diane Payne Auditorium, named after the recently retired veteran principal.

WCAP

Broughton broadcasts its morning announcements via a closed-circuit network, headquartered from the WCAP media studio in the library. WCAP was founded in 1992 under the supervision of then-principal Diane Payne, and was then a monthly, pre-recorded news production informing students of the events happening around Broughton. By 1993 it had evolved to become a live, daily show broadcast from the media center. The set has undergone many renovations throughout the years, and WCAP recently celebrated its fifteenth birthday on January 30, 2007.

View of the front of Broughton High School

Notable alumni

• John W. Coffey, author, art historian, Deputy Director for Collections at the North Carolina Museum of Art
• Junius Coston, football player for the Green Bay Packers
• Aubrey Dollar, actress and sister of Caroline
• Caroline Dollar, actress and sister of Aubrey
• Cate Edwards, daughter of former Sen. John Edwards
• Colin Fickes, actor
• Scott Hoch, professional golfer and Ryder Cup member
• Richard Jenrette, legendary Wall Street businessman and co-founder of the Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette firm
• Lauren Kennedy, Broadway actress
• Sharon Lawrence, NYPD Blue actress
• Pete Maravich, former LSU and NBA basketball player
• Burley Mitchell, former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court
• Casey Nogueira, University of North Carolina soccer forward, Member U.S. women's U-20 soccer team
• Reynolds Price, writer and NPR radio host
• Shavlik Randolph, Duke University and Portland Trail Blazers basketball player
• Webb Simpson, PGA Tour golfer
• Phil Spence, NC State basketball player and former head coach at North Carolina Central University
• Anne Tyler, Pulitzer Prize-winning authoress
• Jesse Williams, high jumper in the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing (2008), gold medalist at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
• David Ward, named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill" by D.C. paper The Hill
• Jeremy Shelley, MVP of the 2012 BCS National Championship Game/ Legend.

In Popular Culture

The music video for the 1993 song '74 - '75 by The Connells features members of the Broughton High School Class of 1975 as they appeared in 1993 with juxtaposed images of their senior pictures.

External links

• Broughton Homepage