New Rochelle High School

New Rochelle High School is an amazing environment. There are various actives that students can get involved in, that range from in school activities to out of school. The population may be large but overall, the school and staff do a wonderful job maintaining, and helping all students. I had the great pleasure of getting to know several teachers, as well as participating in dozens of extra-circulars. Above all, the teachers and staff prepared me for college, by means of class time, revising essays, or help courses for the SAT's. One of the fantastic things I found was, they treated you as if you were already an adult, in some respects; if you asked for help, they would help you, but they would not directly help without interjection first. They allowed you to decide whether you wanted to pass or not. If a student wants to fail, they will fail regardless of the institution, however, if you want them to succeed, then NRHS is the place to enroll.
—Submitted by a student

New Rochele HS is a huge school; the largest in Westchester Co. It has a wealth of opportunity, providing many extracurricula activities for all students who are interested. If, however, your child falls into the middle level of student (as most do) they will get lost and your job as a parent will be more difficult. You MUST, in this case, be overly proactive in tracking your child's involvement and success. You must set clear goals with teachers and make them follow through with what was agreed upon. The teachers will give the info. but if your child is not an advocate for themselves, your job as a parent is to make them be if they are going to be a student at NRHS. Overall, it is TOO big of a school, but does prepare for college.
—Submitted by a parent

Wonderful resources, teachers who love their jobs and their students, tons of ethnic AND socioeconomic diversity. Absolutely no need to fear the large student body; NRHS splits up students into smaller learning communities... As a senior, I've found that I've had an experience similar to the private school environment (smaller classes, lots of individual attention, etc.) without the limits of the small, mostly upper-class/white private schools that also occupy the New Rochelle area. NRHS allows students to understand the dynamics of the real world and the global community, which is diverse and requires insight from every perspective.
—Submitted by a student

NRHS is an awesome school! It has diversity, many advanced classes, and great teachers and students!
—Submitted by a student

great quality education and atmosphere for learning in one of the most diverse public high schools in the country
—Submitted by a parent

This is one of those schools that is just too big! In all of my classes except for one(which is Ancient Greek)we have around 30 kids and 3/4 of those kids goof off during class so they can't learn. The school is a 'Football' school, and if you're not a football player good luck getting any money towards gear. Since I've been going here half the way through freshman year( moved from out of state.) My experience here has been disappointing at best. The one of the few upsides to the school is its 'new wing' which has some very good rooms for musical and fine arts, The orchestra room is top-notch, the instruments are not. And the 7 Class schedules are just a joke, 47 minute classes? you get in and the first 15 minutes are gone, therefore you can barely do anything unless you have a 2 block class.
—Submitted by a student

Although I am not a fan of the GEMS setup, Overall it's a very good school. Kids must become proactive or get lost. The staff, etc. are extremely responsive.
—Submitted by a parent

New Rochelle High School is the best-kept secret in Westchester, with outstanding academics and sports teams as well as a spectacular arts program. (The new wing includes an on-site Museum, dance studio with sprung dance floor, ceramics studio with five kilns, separate rehearsal spaces for band and orchestra, state-of-the-art theater with hydraulic orchestra pit, etc.) The school also has its own planetarium. NRHS is large, but its size and diversity is a strength: The depth of course offerings is great (including 26 AP courses as well as courses like Forensic Science and Astronomy) and there are dozens of clubs and after-school activities, offering every student a chance to excel. Placement officers who visit on College Night tell us parents that kids who graduate from NRHS do well everywhere!
—Submitted by a parent

I went to this high school and i loved it,the school is very diverse and they made us do an extensive amount of work that would further prepare us students for college.the selection of books that we read for english was remarcable. works like the alchemist, the great gatsby,critical thinking ability and technique teachers used to teach was just spectacular. the teachers were supportive especially in art programs.I loved to go to school and learn and i did not apreciate the high school experience as much intill i moved to indiana and went to 'lake central high' in Dyer indiana. then it dawned on me What a great school new rochelle was as far as academics and diversity. from my personal experience a child's ability to fit in to a learning facility enhances academic ability .thank you so much new rochelle. going there was a blessing that prepared me for college.
—Submitted by AWISI QUARTEY, a student

Both of my kids went through New Rochelle HS. Hard to find a better facility, especially with the new wing. Name another school with a fully funtioning planetarium. Academically challenging, great teachers. All in all, hard to beat.
—Submitted by a parent

Pretty good school with great extensive academic programs, great sports teams, a Performing Arts program, and a slew of extracurricular activites.
—Submitted by a student

Good school very diverse ethnicity, funding is good so many programs for kids.
—Submitted by a parent

This amazing school is filled with great programs for the students. There's plenty of diversity and many ways to get to know the other students and teachers. New Rochelle High is very open and the quality of learning is very high. The staff takes pride in teaching causing the students to move on successfully outside of high school.
—Submitted by Joanne Markowicz, a parent

When I went to this school it was a good school, but now I think it is even a better school. It has been expanded, and re-finished to better serve the kids needs.
—Submitted by a former student

A great school for all different kinds of kids. there is more diversity in this building than probably any school, anywhere. There is a place for everyone here, no matter who you are, there is a niche for you, and the faculty and staff will help you find it. Every possible kind of club and extracurricular activity exists here, and the variety of academic programs is amazing.
—Submitted by a former student

New Rochelle High School is an excellent school providing diverse areas of opportunities from the classroom to extra corricular activites. Most of the teachers take personal interests into each and every one of there students as well as the faculty. There is no reason why any student in this school should not be able to take advantage of NRHS and rise to their full potentional. From my four years there as well as my parents and grandparents I have grown so much personally, culturally, and most of all academically. The cultural diversity and automatic diffusion of multi cultural concepts is beyond comprehension with over 60 countries represented. I know people who went to harvard from NRHS and we have quite a few famous alumni. Through NRHS I have performed at carnegie hall, gone abroad, helped the homeless, Been on TV, helped the enviroment but most of all become a better person.
—Submitted by R B, a former student

An excellent school for smart kids with hands-on parents who stay informed and can fight administration. Wonderful music dept. great course offerings & teaching at the high end.These groups feed into the Ivies. Gym is a joke. The universal problem of cliques exists. Most of the top kids have been tracked together since 1st grade & the gifted programs in 4th. There's a large non-academic, rowdy population at the bottom. Teachers range from excellent to crummy. The best teach the fiercely competitive, receptive students in the top groups. Teaching for the disruptive, academically reluctant bottom tends to be uninspiring.
—Submitted by M. Lynch-Clare, a parent

Students can fall between the cracks, teachers are not available enough, student could cut class 30 times before parent hears about it, classes too large, English teachers teaching too many classes, many extracurricular activities in 'name only', not enough students chosen for honor classes (sometimes only 25 students out of 600 for an English honors class), school too big, physical education a joke, girls' sports (except for track) receives little or no attention, teachers not supervised enough b department heads, therefore not held to the same standards, no dress code with students coming to school inappropriately dressed, not much school spirit.
—Submitted by a parent