Amherst Regional High School (Massachusetts)


Amherst Regional High School is a secondary school in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States, for students in grades 9–12. It is part of the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District, which comprises the towns of Amherst, Pelham, Leverett, and Shutesbury, Massachusetts. Its official colors are maroon and white. ARHS's current principal, beginning in the 2019-20 academic year, is Gene T. Jones, Jr.

Academics

Amherst Regional High School ran on a trimester system until switching to a semester system in 2016. The students used to take five courses per trimester: normally, three to four were academics, and one to two were electives. Most academic classes ran for two trimesters. They ran either straight through or were broken up by the winter trimester. The exception to this was some social studies and English courses that were a trimester each and some music and AP courses that ran for all three trimesters. Under the current semester system, student take seven classes per semester with a rotating drop schedule. Some classes run for one semester and some for the full academic year.
Most students take five academic subjects worth 4 credits each, or the equivalent, each year. The equivalent of a four-credit subject may be two separate classes within the same department. Only credits earned during grades 9-12 count toward graduation. Most full-year courses in grades 9-12 earn 4 credits and most one semester courses earn 2 credits. To graduate, each student must earn a total of 88 credits in grades 9-12, including the following:
ARHS has 11 departments and programs in total that all offer a variety of classes for students:

Sports

The school's sports teams are known as the Hurricanes.
Under the coaching of Chris Gould, the boys cross-country team has been listed in the top 100 high school teams in America, and has won many Western Massachusetts championships, most recently in 2018. The boys cross-country team's most recent victory tied them with the most Western Mass championships at 16. In 2001 they won the State Championship.
ARHS is one of many high schools in Massachusetts with a nationally ranked Ultimate program. The boys' and girls' Ultimate teams have both won the national championship several times; including the girl's program winning the national championship five consecutive times. The program hosts the annual Amherst Invitational Ultimate Tournament which pits 30 high school teams from across the country in the oldest and one of the largest high school tournaments in the USA.
The 1992–1993 girls' basketball team inspired the book In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle by Madeleine Blais.
The Football team won the 1999 Massachusetts High School Super Bowl by defeating Southbridge, 27–7. It was the first Super Bowl win for Amherst in 25 years.
The boys soccer team won the first Western Massachusetts Division I Championship in school history in 2012. That team reached the 2012 State Finals, losing to Needham 1-0. The boys soccer team won the program's second championship in 2014 after beating West Springfield 1-0. The program won its third title in 5 years in 2016.
Amherst High Athletics came to national attention in the fall of 2016 when the entire volleyball team with the exception of one player decided to kneel during the playing of the National Anthem at an away game against rival Minnechaug on Oct. 7, 2016. The sole player who choose to stand was profiled by ESPN in Spring of

State championships

ARHS is one of the few schools in the nation to offer a Wilderness Survival program. The class meets after school from January through June, and covers subjects such as orienteering, wilderness first aid, emergency shelters, wild edibles, and emergency fire-building.

Performing arts

ARHS has a thriving program in music, dance, and theater for both the curious beginner and experienced students seeking college preparation in the performing arts. The department is under the guidance of department head John Bechtold.

List of Music Ensembles