Fairmont High School (Ohio)

Kettering Fairmont High School
Address
3301 Shroyer Road
Kettering, Ohio 45429
United States
Coordinates 39°41′37″N 84°10′05″W / 39.6935°N 84.168°W / 39.6935; -84.168Coordinates: 39°41′37″N 84°10′05″W / 39.6935°N 84.168°W / 39.6935; -84.168
Information
Type Public High School
School district Kettering City School District
Superintendent Scott Inskeep
Principal Tyler Alexander
Enrollment 2440 (2013)
Color(s)      Navy blue
     Silver
     White
Nickname Firebirds
Website School website

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 6th largest high school in Ohio.[1]

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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. The then 7 buildings 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, from September 1995.

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:

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 bells have recently been refurbished are rung for high academic and extracurricular achievement.

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 2009–2015
  • Tyler Alexander 2015-present

Notable people

Athletics

Fairmont High has won 14 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.[5]

Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships

Fairmont/Fairmont West:

* Titles won by Fairmont West.

Fairmont East:

Clubs and activities

The school's Latin Club functions as a local chapter of both the Ohio Junior Classical League (OJCL)[9] and National Junior Classical League (NJCL).[10]

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Ohio Public High Schools Ranked by Enrollment". Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  2. 1 2 Michigan picks San Diego State coach Brady Hoke as its new football coach - ESPN
  3. ↑ Archived November 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ http://www.mlssoccer.com/players/chris-rolfe
  5. ↑ Directions to Fairmont (PDF), retrieved 2010-09-21
  6. 1 2 3 4 OHSAA. "Ohio High School Athletic Association Web site". Retrieved 2006-12-31.
  7. ↑ Yappi. "Yappi Sports Baseball". Retrieved 2007-02-12.
  8. ↑ Yappi. "Yappi Sports Softball". Retrieved 2007-02-12.
  9. ↑ "Executive Board Pre-File Application". OhioJCL.org - June 2007. Internet Archive: Wayback Machine. 2010. Archived from the original on June 17, 2007. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  10. ↑ "OJCL Constitution". OhioJCL.org - July 2002. Internet Archive: Wayback Machine. 2010. Archived from the original on July 21, 2002. Retrieved August 16, 2010. ... by paying both OJCL annual chapter dues and any annual chapter membership dues required by NJCL.

External links

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