Holyoke High School


Holyoke High School is a public high school in western Massachusetts, United States that serves the City of Holyoke. Since 2015, the school, along with the district, has been in state receivership and through a series of changes in practices, such as innovative restorative justice disciplinary programs, has seen marked improvement in student retention and graduation rates. In the 2017-2018 school year Holyoke High received higher combined SAT scores than the average for schools in Boston, Worcester, and Springfield.

Overview

Holyoke High School is located in Holyoke just off of Interstate 391. Currently, there are approximately 1300 students enrolled in the school in both divisions. The school colors are purple and white. The school song is "Hail, Holyoke", which was written by the high school's first band director Fred Grady in 1937 and dedicated to Dr. Howard Conant, a longtime principal who served the school for 35 years.
Following two years of development, beginning in the 2018-2019 school year, the high school offers a redeveloped curriculum focused on four academies that upperclassmen will choose to participate in, these include academies in:
Academy coursework will build upon the general education curriculum of math, science, and language studies with additional unique course offerings as well as internships and job shadowing opportunities in the field of a student’s choice.
Juniors and seniors may also complete coursework at area colleges through the Dual College Enrollment program, including but not limited to Holyoke Community College, Springfield Technical Community College, Westfield State University, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

History

Established in 1852 by the city, the school's first principal was Stephen Holman, a polymath engineer, lawyer, linguist, and educator who went on to found the Holyoke Machine Company and Deane Steam Pump Works, purchased the Holyoke Paper Company, and was credited as the first to introduce modern cost accounting into the paper industry.
From 1872 to 1881, Holyoke High School was one of about a dozen New England schools which received students from the Chinese Educational Mission. Upon returning overseas some of these students would go on to serve important roles in Qing dynasty China including, but not limited to, Shung Kih Ting, class of 1880, who would eventually serve as acting deputy commissioner of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, and Chow Wan Tang who graduated in 1881 and revisited Holyoke in 1908 as general manager of the.
During a visit to Holyoke in 1916, former President and future Supreme Court Chief Justice William Howard Taft gave a lecture at the high school on the institution of the US presidency. In 1969 the school was bestowed with the National Bellamy Award, presented annually to one school in the United States. Begun in 1942 by Margarette Miller, and named for Francis Bellamy, writer of the original pledge of allegiance, the award is given to a school each year which embodies the ideals of which the pledge aspires. Although the award is annually presented by an independent organization, in recognition of the school's award, Holyoke High received an official citation from President Richard Nixon, on May 13, 1969.

Athletics

The Holyoke High School has sports open to students for every season.

Media

There is currently one school newspaper at Holyoke High School, The , which is produced by its students in the school's journalism classes. Students also air a weekly program on the local Public-access television cable TV channel titled HPS 12. Published once a year is the literary and creative arts magazine, "The Knight Writer." In addition to these publications is the yearbook which also publishes a blog on its website.

Notable alumni