Fairmont High School (Ohio)

Aerial view of Kettering Fairmont

Kettering Fairmont High School is located in Kettering, Ohio, United States. It is the only public high school in the Kettering City School District and is home to approximately 2,500 students, making it the 9th largest high school in Ohio.

History

The original school was part of the Van Buren Township Schools and was opened in September 1906. The high school was located on Dorothy Lane just west of Far Hills Avenue. In 1922, the original four-room school was too small for the student population and was replaced by a larger building east of the original building on Dorothy Lane. The original four-room school house later became the first Kettering City Hall.

As Van Buren Township began to rapidly grow as a desirable Dayton, Ohio suburban location, the new school on Dorothy Lane was quickly filled to capacity. In 1929, a new, modern building was built on Far Hills Avenue at the corner of Storms Road. The 1922 building became Dorothy Lane Elementary School. The cost of the new high school on Far Hills was $300,000 and led to its being called the "folly in the country." But it had to be expanded several times to keep pace with growing enrollment. The school mascot and colors were Dragons and purple and white.

From 1924 to 1942, C.P. "Pop" Warner coached football, basketball, track and girl’s basketball (a few years). “Pop” was the institution. His teams won numerous championships. The 1927 yearbook quote: “Coach C.P. Warner has put Fairmont on the athletic map in Ohio”. “Pop’s” track team had won Fairmont’s first ever State Championship. Probably his greatest and fondest memory was his 1939 football team which won Fairmont’s first Miami Valley League Championship in an undefeated season. The league that year had pronounced strength with a number of outstanding teams.

In 1934, Fairmont Stadium was constructed behind the school as a football and track and field venue for the school team. As interest in Fairmont football grew, a donation from the Foreman family, which had four sons who had been Dragon stars, helped remodel and enlarge the facilities. In the 1990s, a track and field facility was constructed on vacant land on the campus between Far Hills and Shroyer. Fairmont participated in the Miami Valley League (MVL) and later in the Western Ohio League (WOL). They are now in the Greater Western Ohio Conference.

In 1954, the Village of Kettering, which occupied much of Van Buren Township, became the City of Kettering, one of the fastest growing in the area. The high school on Far Hills could no longer be expanded to house the growing student population. The Kettering Board of Education secured a large tract of land between Far Hills Avenue and Shroyer Road. A seven building campus style high school, the first of its kind in the Midwest, was opened in 1957 as a three-year high-school. The former building became Dwight L. Barnes Junior High School. Today, it is the home of the Kettering Board of Education.

Within just a few years, the student enrollment of more than 2,000 was again exceeding the capacity of the new high school. By 1963, a second campus style high school located in the eastern part of the city was opened as Fairmont East High School and the existing school was renamed Fairmont West High School. Fairmont West retained the Dragons mascot and colors, while Fairmont East adopted the Falcons mascot and the colors Columbia blue and red.

In the 1970s, the vocational facilities at Fairmont West were expanded as the Kettering Fairmont Career Tech Center. But overall enrollment began to decline in the school district. After 20 years, the Fairmont East campus was converted to a middle school and the 7 buildings at the Fairmont West campus were connected with 35 new classrooms and expansion of facilities such as the library/media center, cafeteria and gymnasium. For the first time since the 1940s, the high school was again a four-year high school.

During 1970 to 1976 Fairmont East rivaled with Fairmont West. the track and cross country team of Fairmont East, Coached by Neal Charske, led the Cross Country to the State championships three times, The Western Ohio Conference several times in a row, the Track team to the State district championship three times in a row. In 1972, he, Neal Charske, put together a team that ran for 24 hours in August with the AAU,(Amateur Athletic Union) as witness to the event. Each man ran a mile and handed off the baton, rotating in sequence all through the night until 7 a.m. in the morning, beginning at 7 p.m. in the evening, accumulating enough miles at the end of 24 hours, to set the World record for a 7-man relay team. Fourteen year old Thomas A. Link was holding the baton when he crossed the finish line to break the world record with two hours remanding. The rest of the team added more miles in those two hours to surpassed the world record. Each member of the team averaged 5 minutes and 22 seconds per mile, approximately 22 miles (35 km) a piece.

In the fall of 1983, the consolidated school reopened as Kettering Fairmont High School, with students from both East and West joining as the Fairmont Firebirds, taking the flight of the Falcon and the fire of the Dragon. The new school colors are navy blue, silver and white. The current enrollment is about 2600.

During the 1994/1995 school year, the high school underwent a major reconstruction, turning the seven building campus into one large building. The project added new classrooms, lockers, common areas, and allowed for students to avoid inclement weather between classes.

In October 2005, the new $8.8 million 63,000-square-foot (5,900 m²) James S. Trent Gymnasium—named for the veteran Kettering educator—opened. It seats 3,400 (4,400 with folding seats on the floor) and is used not only for the school's indoor sports teams, but for traveling sports tournaments and music acts. The arena ranks as the seventh-largest entertainment venue in Dayton. It rivals Fraze Pavilion, the outdoor amphitheater in Kettering, which has 4,388 seats. Of course, the arena's first function is for the high school. But because residents approved a levy to pay for renovations and additions to almost every building in the school district, the arena also has community aspects such as:

• An 8,000-square-foot (740 m²) exercise facility, The Kettering Fitness and Wellness Center
• A wellness/physical therapy center operated by Kettering Medical Center
• A cafe
• A reception and banquet facility

For high academic achievements, Fairmont awarded Dragon Bells. A bell tower was built on the campus in 1989 as a gift of the Class of 1989 and named the Kettering Firebird Spirit Bell. The bell is electronically operated and is the last operational bell from the original Deeds Carillon, which was upgraded to 57 bells in 1988. The bell was rung in the past as a victory bell on important occasions, but now almost never is and has essentially fallen into disuse.

Principals

The following are the principals who have led Fairmont High School.

• Dwight L. Barnes 1924-1927
• J. E. Prass 1927-1952
• Richard Somers 1952-1961
• Alfred Bolender 1961-1964
• Alfred Bolender 1964-1978 (West)
• John Stuckey 1978-1981 (West)
• Frank Spolrich 1981-1983 (West)
• Charles Nolan 1963-1976 (East)
• Harold Hall 1976-1983 (East)
• Harold Hall 1983-1986
• Frank Spolrich 1986-1989
• William Stager 1989-1997
• James Schoenlein 1997-2000
• Margaret "Peg" McAtee 2000-2004
• James Schoenlein 2004-2009
• Dan Von Handorf 2009–Present

James Schoenlein is the first Dayton-area principal to win Ohio High School Principal of the Year.

Notable graduates, teachers and coaches

Graduates

• Keith Prentice (1958), Professional actor

• Tony P. Hall (1960), Politician

• Colin MacKinnon (1960), Author of Finding Hoseyn, Morning Spy, Evening Spy, The Contractor

• Ron Rose (1962), World Poker Champion

• Gary Sandy (1964), Professional actor; star of 1970s CBS television comedy series WKRP in Cincinnati

• Stephen K. Hayes (1967), Actor/author/martial arts master

• Laura Vikmanis (1986), Oldest NFL Cheerleader in the history of the NFL

• Darren Callahan (1987), film director / author / musician

• John A. Roush (1968), President, Centre College

• Chet Moeller (1972), Member, College Football Hall of Fame; 1975 Consensus All-American for the United States Naval Academy

• Professional voice-over actress Nancy Cartwright (1976) is best known for her portrayal of Bart Simpson on Fox Television's animated series, The Simpsons - America's longest running primetime entertainment program. Nancy received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 1992, and the Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in the Field of Animation in 1995.

• Brady Hoke (1977), Head football coach at the University of Michigan

• Jeff Long (1977), Athletic Director at the University of Arkansas

• Jeff Young (1980), Musician (Megadeth)

• Jim Macpherson (1984), Drummer Guided by Voices, The Breeders, and The Amps.

• Ted Rall (1981), Political cartoonist

• Rob Dyrdek (1992), Professional skateboarder; star of MTV comedy series Rob and Big and Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory. Dyrdek opted-out of his senior year at Fairmont; choosing instead to join the professional skateboarding circuit. In 2003, Mr. Dyrdek and DC Shoes financed the construction of a major public skating park in the city of Kettering.

• Sherri Saum (1993), Professional actress

Jeff Wellbaum (1994), Iraq War Veteran and local politician

• Benjamin Magnuson (2000), is an acclaimed Broadway stage actor. Magnuson performed in the revival of Guys and Dolls (2009) and Sweeney Todd (2005); he also made an appearance on a 2010 episode of NBC's 30 Rock, and in Columbia Motion Pictures' theatrical release, The Other Guys (2010).

• Chris Rolfe (2001), All-Pro Major League Soccer Player; member of United States men's national soccer team

• In 2003, Fairmont senior Robert Klenk set an Ohio High School Athletic Association record in the 12-pound hammer throw. Klenk would later earn distinction as a 7-time NCAA All-American - in the thirty-five pound weight, hammer and javelin throw - for Ashland University. Robert Klenk was a NCAA Division II track and field National Champion in the 35 lbs. weight in 2008 and was also a 2008 Olympic Trials qualifier in the hammer.

• Brian Catrine (2010), Inventor of Sweet Baby Rays Barbecue Dipping Sauce and builder of bombs for the U.S. Government.

Coaches

• Chester A. Roush (1948–1952), Fairmont West Dragons Coach and later Kettering Superintendent of Schools
• William L. Kaylor (1965–1974), Fairmont West Dragons Head Basketball Coach, Division 1 District Champions 1971-72. Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Hall of FAME Inductee, 1989.
• Chris MacKeown (1997–1999), Fairmont Firebirds Assistant Football Coach. Went on to coach in the Arena Football League for over ten years. As the offensive coordinator lead the Louisville Fire to the 2005 ArenaCup Championship, and as head coach of the Amarillo Dusters lead his team to the 2008 ArenaCup Semi-Finals.

Athletics

Fairmont has a rich athletic history. Fairmont High has won 13 titles, including 8 won as Fairmont West High School.

Football is played at Roush Stadium. Basketball, varsity baseball, softball, soccer, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and wrestling are held at James S. Trent Arena.

Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships

Further information: Ohio High School Athletic Association

Fairmont/Fairmont West:

• Boys Golf – 1961, 1963*
• Boys Baseball - 1966*
• Girls Field Hockey - 1979*, 1980*, 1982*, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1990
• Girls Volleyball - 1976*, 1978*
• Girls Gymnastics - 1981*

* Titles won by Fairmont West.

Fairmont East:

• Girls Softball - 1982

Performing Arts Department

The Kettering Fairmont High School band department is currently made up of over 250 students and is under the direction of Michael Berning with assistance from Andrew Carr and Dan Nicora. The department consists of four concert bands, three jazz groups, the Marching Firebirds, the pep band, indoor percussion ensemble, the winter guard, and other various groups. The Kettering Fairmont Marching Firebirds has consistently received superior ratings at OMEA adjudicated competitions and performs at Fairmont varsity football games as well as the annual Kettering Holiday at Home Parade. The department has received numerous honors at adjudicated events and has been represented at the OMEA Professional Conference many times.
The Kettering Fairmont Music Department consists of an orchestra (directed by Richard Wright), choir and band department with over twenty active ensembles. The Kettering Fairmont choir department consist of symphonic choral, mens choir, and woman's chorus. After school they have illusion show choir and two a cappella groups Fusion and Eleventh Hour. The a capella group Eleventh Hour was a contestant on the second season of the TV show The Sing-Off. The group was eliminated in the second episode.

Clubs and activities

The school's Latin Club functions as a local chapter of both the Ohio Junior Classical League (OJCL) and National Junior Classical League (NJCL).

External links

• School website