Concord High School (New Hampshire)


Concord High School is a high school in Concord, New Hampshire, in the United States.

History

Concord's first public high school was established in 1846. The original building was the building on the corner of State and School streets. A new school house was built in 1862, which stood until April 1888, when it burned down during a fire started by a chemistry experiment. For the next two years, students took their classes in City Hall. A new high school was built on the same lot, completed and dedicated in September 1890. In 1907, yet another Concord High School, designed to accommodate 500 students, was built on Spring Street in the building which became Kimball School. The current high school was built in 1927 on Warren Street, with new wings added in 1960 and 1996.
Some of the features that Concord High currently has are a new media center, student center, performing arts area and four commons areas, each with its own administrative and student community where student lockers are located. ConcordTV, the local public, educational, and government access cable TV station for Concord, is currently located in Concord High. There is a bridge connecting two wings of the building.

Principals

Charles C. Cook was Headmaster for thirty years from 1906 to 1936. Cook began the National Honor Society Chapter which still exists at Concord High School. Other long-serving principals include John E. Reed who was principal from 1939 to 1960, J. Preston Barry from 1961 to 1972, Charlie Foley who was principal from 1973 to 1990, Gene Connolly who was principal from 2001 to 2016.
In the recent history of Concord High School, Dr. Christine Rath oversaw the transformation of the school from a three-year to a four-year school which included ninth-grade students. At the same time Rath assisted in the design of the current high school building which was able to accommodate every high school student in Concord.

Athletics

The current Athletic Director is Steve Mello.

School dance

At Concord High's first dance of the 2006-2007 school year, Concord High drew local media attention when administration ejected from a dance about a dozen students for grinding, a style of dancing that the administration deemed overtly sexual for a school function. In protest of this, about 150 other students walked out of the dance. The administration met with student body leaders to try to reach an agreement. They were not able to, and for the first time in the school's history, the homecoming dance was postponed, and every other dance that year was canceled. An exception was made for the senior prom, however.

Notable alumni and faculty