St. Charles High School (Missouri)

St. Charles High School
Address
725 N. Kingshighway St. Charles, 63301 USA
Information
Established	before 1918
Opened	1919
Grades	9 – 12
Number of students	848
Mascot	Pirate
Team name	Fighting Pirates
Rival	St. Charles West High School

In an official White House photo shows a member of the audience holding a "Thank You" sign during President Barack Obama's speech on medicare fraud and health care insurance reform at the high school on March 10, 2010.

St. Charles High School is a public high school serving grades 9 through 12 in the city of St. Charles, Missouri, USA. The other high school in St. Charles, MO is St. Charles West High School.

History

The original St. Charles High School was located at Fourth and Jefferson Streets. In 1918, after a fire partially destroyed the building, it was moved to its present location on the corner of North Kingshighway and Waverly Streets at what was then the St. Charles Military Academy. In 1923, the present Building 'A' was built on a 6.4-acre (26,000 m²) site at the old military academy. Four acres were added in 1938 for an athletic field. A WPA project built the bleachers. In 1943, the Vocational Shop (Industrial Technology Building “D”) was constructed. In 1951, 5 acres (20,000 m²) next to the athletic field were purchased for a new junior high school (Building 'B'), which was built in 1955. In 1957-58, the building was expanded, adding five new classrooms and special service rooms along with a larger gymnasium. When a new junior high school was built in 1960, Building 'B' became part of the high school. A 15-room addition (Building 'C') was started in 1964 and opened for the 1965-66 school year.^[1]

In 1975, St Charles High School was overcrowded with 1957 students. The district split into two high schools, with 425 students from the St Charles West attendance area moving to the new high school. The exterior of Building 'A' was renovated in 1978. In 1981, a ninth grade was added, making it a 4-year high school. The school was expanded in 1988 with a new band room, renovations to Building 'D', an all-weather track and student parking lot. In 1994, a $15 million bond issue resulted in a 5-year program that demolished the 1957 gym, 1960 wing and the 1970 wing; new construction provided continuity inside and outside the building. Building 'D was renovated for the Success Campus in 2007.^[1] On August 11, 1995, during the renovations of the oldest section of the building (long known as A-building), the structure caught fire. A-building was saved only because of its hardy brick walls; the rest of the school was destroyed. The renovations resumed after the fire, and were completed. The fire coincidentally took place on the very day of the 20th year class reunion of the class of 1975.

Visit by President Obama

On March 10, 2010, President Barack Obama made a visit to St. Charles and gave a speech at St. Charles High school, in the older gym on the campus. His speech dealt primarily with the proposed health care reform legislation, and while access to the speech was by invitation only, hundreds of supporters and opponents of the president were outside to witness the historic event.

Curriculum

The student-teacher ratio is 15, slightly higher than the state average of 14.

A+ Program

In addition to typical high school courses, St. Charles High School offers an A+ Program, sponsored by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The major goals of the A+ Schools Program are that:

All students will graduate from high school;
All students will be enrolled in coursework based upon a four-year plan, which follows a clearly identified course of study for the student.
All students proceed from high school graduation to a college or post-secondary vocational or technical school or high-wage job with workplace skill development opportunities.

Financial incentives may be offered to students who attend an A+ school for three years prior to graduation, maintain at least a 95 percent attendance record and a 2.5 grade point average, exhibit good citizenship, complete 50 hours of tutoring and mentoring and avoid the unlawful use of drugs.^[2]

Grading

St. Charles High School uses Standard Based Grading (SBG).

Extracurriculars

Clubs and organizations

Numerous clubs exist to serve the interests of all students, including:

SCHS Pirate Players (Drama)
Band
Blue & White Ink - creative writing publication
Boosters
Board Game Club
Choir
DECA
Ultimate Frisbee Club
FBLA
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Future Teachers of America
Galley - student-run store
LGBT
National Honor Society
Orchestra
Renaissance
SADD
Science Club
STEP Team
Student Council
Peer ficilatators
Winter Guard

Sports

Interscholastic sports include:

Baseball
Basketball
Cross-Country
Football
Golf
Marching Band
Soccer
Softball
Swimming
Tennis
Track
Wrestling

Performance

61% of students took the ACT test in 2006; their average score of 21 equaled the national average.

Notable alumni

Josh Harrellson (2007)- University of Kentucky, 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament contender; NBA player for the Miami Heat
Connie Price-Smith (1981)- Olympic shot putter and discus thrower
Dennis Tankersley (1997)- Major League Baseball Pitcher, San Diego Padres, 2002-2004
Art Holliday (1972)- Journalist and television personality for KSDK in St. Louis, MO
Santino Rice (1993)- Fashion designer and television personality; contestant on Season Two of Project Runway
Casey Teson (2015)

References

External links

High schools in Greater St. Louis

Missouri public high schools	Affton Bayless Beaumont Brentwood Central VPA Clayton Cleveland Eureka Farmington Fern Ridge Fort Zumwalt East Fort Zumwalt North Fort Zumwalt South Fort Zumwalt West Fox Francis Howell Francis Howell Central Francis Howell North Gateway Hazelwood Central Hazelwood East Hazelwood West Holt Kirkwood Ladue Lafayette Lindbergh Maplewood Richmond Heights Marquette McCluer McCluer North McCluer South-Berkeley McKinley Mehlville Metro Normandy North County (Bonne Terre) Northwest Oakville Orchard Farm Pacific Pattonville Parkway Central Parkway North Parkway South Parkway West Ritenour Rockwood Summit Roosevelt St. Charles St. Charles West Seckman Soldan Sumner Timberland Troy Buchanan Union University City Vashon Warrenton Washington Webster Groves Windsor Wright City

Illinois public high schools	Alton Belleville East Belleville West Brussels Bunker Hill Cahokia Calhoun Carlinville Carlyle Central Civic Memorial Collinsville Columbia Dupo East Alton-Wood River East St. Louis Edwardsville Freeburg Gillespie Granite City Greenville Highland Jersey Lebanon Madison Marissa Mascoutah Mount Olive Mulberry Grove New Athens North Mac Northwestern O'Fallon Roxana Southwestern Staunton Triad Waterloo Valmeyer Wesclin

Catholic Archdiocesan high schools	Althoff Bishop DuBourg Cardinal Ritter Duchesne John F. Kennedy Gilbault Mater Dei Rosati-Kain St. Dominic St. Francis Borgia St. Mary's St. Pius X Trinity

Catholic private high schools	Barat Academy Chaminade Christian Brothers College (CBC) Cor Jesu De Smet Incarnate Word Marquette Catholic Nerinx Hall Notre Dame St. Elizabeth St. John Vianney St. Joseph's Priory St. Louis University High Ursuline Villa Duchesne and Oak Hill School Visitation

Other private high schools	Christian Crossroads John Burroughs School Lutheran North Lutheran South Lutheran St. Charles Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School Meramec Valley Christian School Metro-East Lutheran North County Christian School The Principia Thomas Jefferson School Whitfield School Westminster Christian Academy

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