Staples High School
| Staples High School | |
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| The seal of Staples High School. | |
| Location | |
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| 70 North Avenue Westport, Connecticut 06880 United States |
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| Information | |
| Type | Public secondary |
| Established | 1884 |
| School district | Westport Public Schools |
| Principal | John Dodig |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 1800 |
| Color(s) | Navy Blue and White |
| Mascot | Construction worker named "the Wrecker" |
| Website | http://shs.westport.k12.ct.us |
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Staples High School is a public secondary school, located in the town of Westport, Connecticut, USA. Staples High School is named after Horace Staples who founded the school in 1884. The school was moved to its current location on North Avenue in 1958, and was recently expanded and renovated into an all-new facility.
For comparison purposes with 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".[citation needed] Westport is one of eight school districts in District Reference Group A (others are Darien, Easton, New Canaan, Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, and Wilton).[1]
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History
Staples High School was originally built in 1884 by Horace Staples, a high-wealth savvy trader, who built a three-story brick building on Riverside Avenue, just south of downtown Westport, Connecticut. The building contained several classrooms, a science laboratory, and a library. In 1937, a new wing opened up just north of the original building, containing many new classrooms but still no cafeteria or gymnasium (those were included in a 1947 expansion).
In 1958, to follow the expansion of the community, the school moved to a new site on North Avenue. This new facility contained a gymnasium, cafeteria and an auditorium, which was an impressive structure at the time. Its design was unique for the area, utilizing separate buildings with students walking outside between classes, creating an open atmosphere similar to a college campus.
However, the open air walkways between buildings were inconvenient in the Connecticut winters, forcing students to wear their coats to classrooms during much of the school year. There were also concerns raised about student safety from the open, almost college-like campus that allowed easy and unrestricted access to and from the school by both students and non-students. Most importantly, as time passed from the original 1958 construction, the athletic, laboratory, and other facilities of Staples fell increasingly behind the more modern schools being built by neighboring towns. To address these shortcomings a Modernization project was launched at the school between 1978 and 1981, the centerpiece of which was a large number of physical education facilities, such as a new Fieldhouse, Pool, and Library , as well as a series of enclosed corridors linking the buildings to protect students from the elements.
In 2003, several years of planning for yet another construction project at the school were completed and construction began on July 1 of that year on an $80 million project to renovate and expand the school into a brand-new facility. During this project, many of the original buildings were demolished as the new school was built on their original footings. The project was completed in September 2006.
Notable alumni
- Steve Baumann ('70), professional soccer player and Director of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.
- Guitarist Murali Coryell is a 1987 graduate.
- Governor Wilbur Cross was principal of Staples for the 1885-1886 schoolyear.
- Three time Emmy Award winning Back to the Future actor Christopher Lloyd, is a 1957 graduate of Staples and former Staples Player.
- Actor Paul Lieberstein, who plays Toby on the Emmy award winning show The Office, graduated from Staples High School.
- Director Luke Greenfield, whose projects include The Animal and The Girl Next Door, is a 1990 graduate of Staples.
- The Girl Next Door's Westport High is based on Staples
- WSHU public affairs talk show 'SpeakOut!' was hosted by 1990 Staples graduate Jason Goodman.
- Former MLS player Kyle Martino is a 1999 graduate of Staples, the same year he was the Gatorade National Player of the Year.
Awards and press coverage
- In the November 2008 issue of Connecticut Magazine, Staples High School was named "#1 High School in the State"
- In 2004 the Wall Street Journal listed Staples among the best public and private schools in the United States.
- Staples' school newspaper, "Inklings", has won the Columbia Scholastic Press Association gold medal every year since 2000 (in addition to a silver medal in 1999). The paper has also received the rank of First Place with "Special Honors" from the American Scholastic Press Association since 2001 and has been dubbed "the best school paper in the state" by the Hartford Courant.
- Staples' drama department, Staples Players, has received many awards for its mainstage productions, including numerous Moss Hart awards.
Renovations and expansions
The first expansion project came in 1937, which included a two-story building with classrooms. It is what is now the front of Saugatuck Elementary School.
Ten years after that, another expansion was built, including a Cafeteria and Gymnasium.
When the school moved to North Avenue in 1958, it consisted of seven separate buildings labeled 1 through 8 (buildings 2 and 3 (Gym/Cafeteria) were together). In 1964, a two-story ninth building was constructed at the south end of the campus.
In 1974, heating pipe problems prompted a project to fix the system.
Modernization
From 1978 to 1981, the school was under a modernization project. It included the following construction:
- Redoing of Building 1 to include the Senior Center and Health classes
- Extra music rehearsal room
- New guidance wing (Guidance was before within the main office)
- New Deans office
- New Student Center
- Re-doing of the North Courtyard
- Fieldhouse
- Pool
- Redesign of building exteriors with sheetrock and bricks
- Connector hallways between all buildings
2003 Renovation
Beginning on July 1, 2003 and officially ending on September 12, 2006 the campus was reconstructed. For the cost of $84 million, an entirely new 32,000 square meter (330,000 square foot) facility was built.
Footnotes
External links
- Staples High School official website
- Official Staples High Wiki (editing restricted to school affiliates)
- Staples Alumni registry website
- [2] Staples High School "Strategic School Profile 2005-2006", Connecticut Department of Education
- [3] Staples High School Web page at Great Schools Web site
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