North Farmington High School is a high school located in Farmington Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The school was established in 1961 and, as of the 2015-2016 school year, educates a student body of 1259. The current principal is Joseph F. Greene, Jr.
Video North Farmington High School
History
In 1959, many homes in the Farmington Hills area were being built by families with older children, creating demand for a new junior and senior high school. The Board of Education put together a proposal asking voters to approve a $3 million dollar bond for:
- The construction of a new junior-senior high school on a site at 13 Mile Road and Farmington Road
- The construction of two new elementary schools
- The renovation of existing schools
The proposal was passed by voters and the final outcome of the vote was 1,618 in favor and 1,276 opposed. In January 1960, the School Board appointed Harold Humble, an assistant principal at Farmington High School, to principal of the new school. The suggested name "Farmington Northern High," was later changed to "North Farmington High School."
It was not until the summer of 1960 that the architectural plans were approved for the new High School. As construction continued in January 1961, the School Board unanimously approved the proposed color scheme of "shades of brown and yellow." North Farmington High School opened on September 7, 1961 but lacked many needed supplies such as chalk boards. There were 598 students from grades 7-10 who attended that first day.
Students chose the name "Raiders" as their mascot but a personal identity was needed for the Raider, so the art class designed the original Raider logo that is still being used today and was named "El Cid." As time went on, the Raider was increasingly referred to as the "Sidney Raider." It is a school tradition for a student to anonymously dress up as Sidney, wearing the traditional NF cape, buccaneer hat, and Zorro-style mask, and attend high-profile North Farmington sports events in order to spark excitement in the crowd.
In addition to its strong academic tradition, North Farmington is also noted for its strong theater, music, art, and athletic programs. It also has a high level of alumni and community involvement, with fund raising efforts leading to the construction "Raider Plaza" at the athletic field, Holland Field. In addition to its two artificial turf fields and parquet gym floor, the school also features a performing arts wing, completed in 1999, that houses the Farmington Public Schools district television station, TV-10.
On September 8, 2008, the school hosted a campaign stop by Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama. He spoke to a crowd of area voters in the school's gymnasium. During the town hall-style meeting, Mr. Obama announced to the audience that the 2009 Michigan Principal of the Year award was being awarded to then North Farmington principal Richard Jones.
Another notable point of interest: the 37th District Court (Farmington's judicial authority)is held once a year in the school's gym.
Towards the end of the 2010-2011 school year, the building itself was renamed the "Richard B. Jones Academic Center", in honor of the outgoing principal, so that the organization North Farmington High School is at the Richard B. Jones Academic Center. The west wing (fine arts wing) of the school was named the "Dean and Sue Cobb Center for the Performing Arts" for Dean and Sue Cobb, North's directors of plays and musicals, who left the same year.
Maps North Farmington High School
Academics
In the 2012-2013 graduating class, 93% of graduates enrolled in a college or university: 69% enrolled in four-year universities, and 24% enrolled in two-year colleges. The remaining 7% of graduates joined the workforce, military, or had other post graduation plans. Of those attending two-year colleges/technical schools, public universities, or private colleges following graduation, 89% (278 of 313 graduates) remained in-state and attended Michigan educational institutions. In the 2013 graduating class, one student was a National Merit Finalists and two were commended. Out of 630 Advanced Placement exams taken, 471 (75%) received a score of 3 or better.
North Farmington does not assign class rank. If college applications require class rank information, for scholarships or otherwise, North Farmington will include a letter stating that the school does not rank students, as well as the rationale behind the decision not to perform ranking.
Enrollment and graduation history
Enrollment for North Farmington has fluctuated by several hundred students since its doors first opened in 1961, peaking in the first two decades. Additionally, the size of the faculty has usually fluctuated by about a dozen, even in recent years, which can be seen if full-time teaching staff in the more recent annual reports is compared to the number of teachers listed in the accreditation information published for the school's earlier years.
Test scores
The State of Michigan publishes the ACT test scores for all of the schools in the state. Since 2006, the ACT test scores for North Farmington have exceeded the national, state, and district averages, and have been higher than scores for both Farmington High School and Harrison High school, making them the highest in the district. The scores for North Farmington are as follows:
The state of Michigan is an ACT testing state, and as such, only a limited number of North Farmington students take the SAT test each year. Scores are not subject to publication in the MI School Data repository, and therefore historical data is limited. Available SAT score information follows:
For the past seven years (2007-2013), North Farmington students have received more scores of "3" on the Advanced Placement exams than the Michigan average.
Notable alumni
- Elizabeth Berkley, '90, actress. Primarily known for playing Jessie Spano on the TV series Saved by the Bell and playing Nomi Malone in the film Showgirls.
- Howard Birndorf, '67, biotechnology entrepreneur and one of the founders of the biotech industry in San Diego, California.
- Pam Dawber '68, actress. Played Mindy in the TV series Mork and Mindy opposite Robin Williams. Married to Mark Harmon.
- Jena Irene, '14, singer. American Idol season 13 runner-up.
- Bill Joy, '71, co-founder of Sun Microsystems. Known for the creation of Berkeley Unix (BSD), the vi text editor, and the Network File System (NFS).
- Drew Mahalic, '71, former NFL professional football player.
- Larry Nassar, '81, sexually abusive doctor who worked at Michigan State University and was the national team physician for USA Gymnastics.
- James Wolk, '03, actor. Credits include Political Animals, You Again, Front of the Class, 'Lonestar and The Crazy Ones .
Publications
The Northern Star
The Northern Star is North Farmington's news magazine. It is published bi-monthly by the advanced journalism class and is sold for one dollar. In 2007, several newspaper staff members were selected by Michigan Interscholastic Press Association as Student Winners. The same year, the newspaper staff won a Spartan Award. The online edition of The Northern Star was awarded a Columbia University Silver Crown Award in 2011.
Aurora
The yearbook class publishes the Aurora. The 2006 edition won a Michigan Interscholastic Press Association award. The 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 editions won a Spartan award, the highest award given to a publication by the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association. Both publications have been in print since the school's inception.
External links
- Farmington Public Schools
- North Farmington High School
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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