North Little Rock High School

North Little Rock High School is a public school in North Little Rock, Arkansas, that is administered by the North Little Rock School District. As of the 2016–17 school year, the high school consists of one campus, which holds 9th - 12th grade.

North Little Rock High School
Address
Map
101 West 22nd Street

,
Arkansas
72114

United States
Information
Established1928 (96 years ago) (1928)
School districtNorth Little Rock School District
NCES District ID0510680[2]
CEEB code041860
NCES School ID051068000795[3] (West Campus)
051068000794[4] (East Campus)
PrincipalDr. Nadia St. Louis
Teaching staff149.94 (FTE)[1]
Enrollment1,949 (2022-2023)[1]
Student to teacher ratio13.00[1]
CampusNLR High School
Campus typeUrban
Color(s)Royal blue and gold
  
Athletics conference7A Central
NicknameOle Main
Team nameCharging Wildcats
AccreditationAdvancED
NewspaperThe Focus
YearbookThe Legacy
Communities servedNorth Little Rock
Feeder schoolsNorth Little Rock Middle School
AffiliationArkansas Activities Association
Websitewww.nlrsd.org/o/high-school
North Little Rock High School
North Little Rock High School is located in Arkansas
North Little Rock High School
Location in Arkansas
North Little Rock High School is located in the United States
North Little Rock High School
Location in United States
Location101 West 22nd Street, North Little Rock, Arkansas
Coordinates34°46′35″N 92°16′05″W / 34.7763°N 92.2681°W / 34.7763; -92.2681
Built1928-1930
ArchitectWilliam Peterson, Mann, Wanger & King
Architectural styleArt-Deco
NRHP reference No.92001625[5]
Added to NRHPFebruary 25, 1993
Ole Main High School
North Little Rock High School

History

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Built in 1890, North Little Rock's (Argenta's) first high school was called North Side High School, later Clendenin Hill High School (site of present-day Argenta Alternative Academy at 13th & Main Streets).[citation needed]

In 1912, the 16 classroom Argenta High School was constructed. In 1917 450 children attended the school.[6] The rapid northward growth of North Little Rock in the mid-1920s resulted in a doubling of school enrollment. In 1928, as the need for a new high school increased, the North Little Rock School Board selected the corner of 22nd and Main Streets as the new construction site for North Little Rock High School.[7] As a result, North Side High School became a junior high school.[citation needed] The original Argenta High School facility, which included an auditorium, a gymnasium, and a recitation room, stood until its 1976 demolition.[6]

The North Little Rock High School was constructed beginning in 1928 and completed in 1930. Little Rock architect George R. Mann of the firm Peterson, William, Mann, Wanger & King designed the high school as a light colored brick and concrete building in an Art-Deco style.[8] Between 1956 and 1959, North Little Rock High School served students in the 10th, 11th and 12th grade for nearby City of Sherwood before the construction of Sylvan Hills High School was completed.

In 1970, the North Little Rock School District closed Scipio Jones High School, the segregated public school for black children, as a result of desegregation and the city established a new integrated public high school and thus integrated and renamed the then 40-year-old classic art-deco facility along Main Street as Ole Main High School and named the new facility as Northeast High School. For the next twenty years, the Northeast Chargers served as a natural rival for the Ole Main Wildcats. Then in 1990, the school district consolidated the two schools as North Little Rock High School East Campus (formerly Northeast) for ninth and tenth grades and North Little Rock High School West Campus (formerly Ole Main) for eleventh and twelfth grades.[9] As a result of the consolidation, the schools' new mascot became the Charging Wildcats as it remains today. In 1993, North Little Rock High School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2012, the city of North Little Rock passed a millage to integrate the school into one campus for all high schoolers, grades 9-12. Construction for the new buildings and demolition of some old ones began the following school year. The district had to shuffle grades to different campuses to allow for it. The original High School still stands on the campus along with the new buildings. A new gym and football field were also constructed at this time.

Curriculum

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The school's assumed course of study is based on the Smart Core curriculum developed by the Arkansas Department of Education. The school offers coursework and exams in Advanced Placement (AP) and since 1992 offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme.[10] Additionally, the school is a member of the EAST (Environmental And Spatial Technologies) Initiative that allows students to familiarize themselves with technology through partnerships with technology firms.

The school's teachers received the 1982, 1990, and 1997 Arkansas Teacher of the Year awards by the state's education department and the 1979 and 1987 Bandmaster of the Year award by the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association.[11][12]

Extracurricular activities

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The school's mascot and athletic emblem is the Charging Wildcat with royal blue and gold serving as the school colors.

Athletics

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For 2012–14, the Charging Wildcats participate in numerous interscholastic sports and events from the 7A Classification—the state's largest classification—within the 7A Central Conference administered by the Arkansas Activities Association including: baseball, basketball (boys'/girls'), bowling (boys'/girls'), cheer (boys'/girls'), cross country (boys'/girls'), dance, debate, football, golf (boys'/girls'), soccer (boys'/girls'), softball, speech, swimming (boys'/girls'), tennis (boys'/girls'), track (boys'/girls'), volleyball and wrestling.[13]

Theatre Arts

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NLRHS is proud to have a long tradition as one of the largest speech, drama, and dance programs in the state of Arkansas. NLRHS presents three main stage productions, two dance concerts, a dessert theater night, hosts one of the largest speech and debate competitions in central Arkansas. NLRHS employs 11 incredibly talented faculty and educates approximately 500 students in ALL aspects of the speech, dance, and theater arts. The forensics team in 2016 sent its first students to compete at the National Forensics competition held in Salt Lake City, Utah. The students, William Gould and Ginger Rhodes, placed within the top 60 in the nation.[14]

Championship seasons

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  • Boys' Basketball State Champions: 16*
    • 12—North Little Rock High School (1943 1949, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1971, 2013, 2014*,[15] 2015, 2018, 2021, 2022)
    • 4—Scipio A. Jones High School (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959)
    • Girls' Basketball State Champions: 4 - 2006, 2010, 2016, 2018, 2022
  • Football State Champions: 5–1965, 1966, 1970, 1972, 2017
  • Girls' Fastptich Softball State Champions: 7–2001, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015
  • Girls' Tennis State Champions: 3–1988, 1989, 1990 (NLR East Campus, formerly North Little Rock Northeast)
  • Baseball State Champions:[16] 3—1996 (AAAA), 2004 (AAAAA), 2019 (7A)
  • Boys' Soccer State Champions: 1—1998 ( 7th overall in the nation in AP Poll)

Awards and recognition

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The girls' softball team from 2001 to 2003 hold a state record 41 consecutive wins with a state record of 34 wins during the 2002 season.[17] Playing for Scipio A. Jones High School, Eddie Miles averaged 30.3 points per game during his senior year and led the Golden Dragons to four consecutive black school state championships.[18][19] Between 1987 and 1990, Paula Juels won four consecutive individual state tennis championships (state record) while leading the North Little Rock Northeast Chargers to three team championships.[20]

Traditions

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Senior Roll Night is an unofficial school tradition dating back to the 1980s that takes place each summer on the night before the first day of school. The senior class spends the night toilet papering the houses of the junior class. It is also common for toilets, mattresses, and other random objects to be spray painted with school colors and left on lawns.[21]

Awards and recognition

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In 1988, the school's yearbook The Wildcat was inducted in the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) All-American Hall of Fame for its numerous National Pacemaker Awards it had received in previous years.[22] In 2002, the school's literary magazine "Legend" grabbed a NSPA Best of Show Award.

Notable people

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Notable alumni

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Notable Faculty / Staff

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  • Raymond Burnett (educator/coach, 1954–56) – football player and coach; inductee to Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame
  • Henry Hawk, Head Football Coach; 1972 State Champion; Boston Marathoner; Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame
  • Raymond Simon – former math teacher and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education
  • Ken Stephens (Educator/coach) – former coach who led this school to three state football championships ('65, '66, '70)

References

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  1. ^ a b c "North Little Rock High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  2. ^ "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for N. Little Rock School District". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  3. ^ "Search for Public Schools - Nlr High School-west Campus (051068000795)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  4. ^ "Search for Public Schools - Nlr High School-east Campus (051068000794)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
  5. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  6. ^ a b Hanley, Steven G. and Ray Hanley. Around Little Rock: A Postcard History. Arcadia Publishing, June 1, 1998. ISBN 0738568678, 9780738568676. p. 118.
  7. ^ "Argenta High School". North Little Rock School District. Retrieved August 14, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "North Little Rock High School - North Little Rock, Arkansas - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com". Waymarking.com. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  9. ^ "North Little Rock (Pulaski County)". EncyclopediaOfArkansas.com. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  10. ^ "IB Diploma Programme". IBO.org. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  11. ^ "Arkansas Teacher of the Year" (PDF). Arkansas Department of Education. Retrieved August 13, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "Bandmaster of the Year". ASBOA. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  13. ^ "AAA School Directory. North Little Rock High School". Arkansas Activities Association. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  14. ^ https://www.facebook.com/pg/North-Little-Rock-High-School-Theatre-Arts-Department-212773585588292/about/?ref=page_internal [user-generated source]
  15. ^ Muck, Jeremy (February 5, 2015). "NLR to forfeit 2013-14 football, basketball victories". arkansasonline.com. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  16. ^ "Arkansas Baseball State Champions". ArkansasSports360.com. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  17. ^ "2012-13 Arkansas Activities Association Record Book" (PDF). AHSAA.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 31, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  18. ^ "2012-13 AAA Arkansas State Record Book" (PDF). AHSAA.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 31, 2013. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  19. ^ "Eddie Miles, Jackie Ridgle it's time for Southern States to integrate their high school basketball record books". Evin Demirel. March 8, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  20. ^ "2012-13 AAA State Record Book" (PDF). AHSAA.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 31, 2013. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  21. ^ http://www.arkansasonline.com/.../roll-on-201508[permanent dead link]...
  22. ^ "NSPA All-American Hall of Fame". National Scholastic Press Association. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  23. ^ "North HS (Little Rock, AR) Baseball Players". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  24. ^ "Ohio State Players In The 2020 NFL Draft". eScoutRoom.
  25. ^ a b c d "North Little Rock Alumni Pro Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  26. ^ "Eddie Miles Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  27. ^ "Kel'el Ware". USA Basketball.
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