Bethlehem Central High School
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| Established | 1930 |
|---|---|
| School type | Public |
| Principal | Charles Abba |
| Students | Approx. 1,722 |
| Colors Mascot |
Orange and Black Eagle |
| Location | 700 Delaware Ave. Delmar, NY 12054 |
| Information | (518) 439-4921 |
| Website | http://bcsd.k12.ny.us |
Bethlehem Central High School is a high school in Delmar, NY, just south of Albany. The school serves students in grades 9-12 from the Towns of Bethlehem and New Scotland.
Construction on the original school was finished in 1932, but in 1952 its original premises were deemed too small and it moved to its current location in 1954. The former building now serves as the town's Middle School. Unfortunately, the words "Bethlehem Central High School" were permanently carved into rock on the original building, leading to confusion for out-of-towners trying to locate the school. This original building is located at 332 Kenwood Avenue in Delmar, New York. Currently, Bethlehem Central High School is located on 700 Delaware Avenue in Delmar.
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[edit] Famous Alumni
Famous alumni include Scott Sullivan, class of 1979 and WorldCom Inc.'s former chief financial officer, who was sentenced to five years in prison for engineering the telecommunication titan's $11 million fraud scheme. Ironically, his senior yearbook quote read, "Be careful of what you want. You may get it."
[edit] Hall of Fame
2005 Inductees
- Captain Dennis E. Fitzpatrick '76 - became commanding officer of the USS John F. Kennedy in October 2004. He joined the Navy in 1981 as a pilot. In 1989, he was named Instructor Pilot of the Year. He earned a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College and in 1999 was selected for the Nuclear Power Program. Dennis’s at-sea tours include executive officer of USS Theodore Roosevelt during a deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom after September 11 and as commanding officer of USS Shreveport. His awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal; Air Medal with Combat "V"; Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with three Gold Stars and Combat "V"; Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and various unit and campaign awards.
- Neal Shapiro '76 - Former president of NBC News where he oversaw the global operations of NBC’s News division and was also responsible for the news operations of MSNBC, the 24-hour cable news network. For eight years, Neal served as executive producer of Dateline NBC and was instrumental in turning the program into an award-winning primetime network newsmagazine and the first with a multinight franchise. He has been involved in the production of major breaking news stories, including the Oklahoma City bombing, the Columbine tragedy and the terrorist attacks on September 11. In addition, he was executive producer of several acclaimed news specials, including reports on corporate layoffs in America, migrant farm workers and welfare reform. Neal began his career in broadcast journalism at ABC News, where he served in various producer capacities and earned a George Polk Award, two Emmy awards and an Investigative Reporters and Editors award.
- Jo-Carol Block Davidson '74 - a popular and beloved singer, songwriter and stage performer in the San Francisco area, was a prominent neighborhood activist and civic leader. Jo-Carol worked tirelessly to preserve local parks, most notably San Francisco’s Cayuga Park, and was particularly active in AIDS awareness and fundraising, earning her a special citation from the Mayor of San Francisco. Upon hearing of her sudden death in 2003, the California State Assembly issued a proclamation honoring Jo-Carol for her humanitarian and civic work and her service to the arts, and they adjourned in her memory.
2006 Inductees
- Eva Marie Saint '42 - Academy Award-winning actress who played graceful leading ladies in many films starting in the 1950s. She won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in On the Waterfront (1954) and is best known for her roles in A Hatful of Rain (1957), North by Northwest (1959) and Exodus (1957). Saint also appeared in several made-for-TV movies and won an Emmy in 1990 for her role in the miniseries “People Like Us.” Most recently played the roll of Superman's mother in the film Superman Returns. She also has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Saint is also involved in charities such as the Epilepsy Foundation, and she and her husband offer an annual award to future filmmakers.
- Honorable Joseph Cannizzaro '72 - a New York State Supreme Court Justice, graduated from Albany Law School in 1982 and spent his career as an assistant public defender, a private practice attorney and a principal law clerk. In 2000, he was elected to the New York State Supreme Court. Cannizzaro was active in his community as a little league coach, a religious education instructor and a member of the Albany City School’s PTA and The Parents Association at LaSalle Institute. Cannizzaro passed away in 2005.
- Dr. Richard Jadick '83 - an osteopathic physician, completed a combat tour of duty in Iraq during 2004 and 2005 as a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, assigned as a battalion surgeon to the First Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Jadick is credited with saving the lives of more than 30 Marines who were wounded during fierce combat operations in Falluja, Iraq. In January 2006, he was awarded the Bronze Star with “Combat V” device for heroic valor. Earlier this year, he was profiled in a cover story in Newsweek magazine. Prior to attending medical school, Jadick was a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps.
- Trevor Byrnes '98 - entrepreneur, philosopher, and later in his short but varied career, honourary editor of Reader's Digest, Byrnes quickly made a name for himself as a pioneer of advanced RFID tagging methodologies currently in widespread use in the shipping industry. Having leased his proprietary technology to United Parcel Service in late 2001, he then turned his energies toward the intricacies of stereolithography, where he made many contributions effectively slashing processing to 1/20th the time, while minimizing surface discontinuities. He is now a prominent member of the Board of Directors of the privately held firm QuickParts. Recently, Byrnes has taken to blogging, where his site has gained fast popularity due to the unique insights he provides each week on subjects ranging from economics to evolution to the environment. By far his most controversial writings deal with the future of religion. From June of 2005 he has been an honourary editor of Reader's Digest.
[edit] Current events
The 2005-2006 school year was filled with controversy over alcohol, drug abuse, and gang related incidents. In 2006, the school has added a new no hat policy (which includes no hoods) This policy was met with considerable student protest, culminating in a petition circulated by students that acculmulated, over the course of a day, more than 800 signatures, more than one half of the studnet body. The issue has attracted much local media coverage in both the Times Union and local TV news formats. Hats have been banned because of suspected gang symbols. School has also banned handkerchiefs, bandanas and other things commonly associated with gangs.
The school is still under construction after several months. Several additions are currently underway by contractor Sano-Rubin Construction Services. A new gymnasium will be added, as will be several new wings on both the second and first floors of the building. Sano-Rubin is also responsible for adding 3 new science labs, relocating the Pupil Personnel Services, expanding the Counseling Center, expanding and relocating existing art rooms, expanding the cafeteria, and relocating the fitness center.
As the district's budget for 2006-2007 was rejected by voters, many budget cuts were made and a revised budget passed on June 20, 2006.
The school's Science Bowl team finished first in their regional competition in the 2005-2006 school year, earning them a trip to the national competition in Washington, DC.
Bethlehem High School has a history of producing excellent Masterminds teams, having won several championships in their league.
Recently, controversy has surrounded the school due to underage drinking and over-consumption of alcohol by its students, specifically at school dances and sporting events. Due to heavy student drinking at the unofficially-titled "Mardi Gras" dance on March 3, 2006, the district adopted a new policy on school dances. The major changes included the use of passive alcohol screening devices and increased chaperone presence. The move drew applause from some but ire from others, especially students. Many seniors, including the Student Senate President, encouraged a boycott of the popular "70s 80s" dance, which was next on the schedule. The boycott seemed to be effective, with only approximately 300 students attending the dance (in previous years, attendance had been more than double that total). Theft is also a problem. Electronics, such as iPods, are often being stolen.
[edit] Athletics
Bethlehem Central believes that participation in sports provides a wealth of opportunities and experiences that assist students in their education. Accordingly, the district offers students opportunities to participate in more than 20 sports across three seasons. The district is a member of the New York State Athletic Association, competing as a Class A school in Section II. BC's league affiliation is with the Suburban Scholastic Council, competing in the Council's gold division.
The Eagles compete in the following sports:
- Baseball
- Men's and Women's Baseketball
- Men's and Women's Bowling
- Cheerleading
- Men's and Women's Cross Country
- Field Hockey
- Football
- Men's Golf
- Gymnastics
- Ice Hockey
- Men's and Women's Indoor Track
- Men's and Women's Lacrosse
- Men's and Women's Soccer
- Softball
- Speech and Debate
- Men's and Women's Swimming
- Men's and Women's Tennis
- Men's and Women's Track
- Men's and Women's Volleyball
- Men's and Women's Wrestling
[edit] Lab school
Founded by James Nehring, the Lab School of Bethlehem Central High School was headed by Jane King until the 2005-06 school year, when she chose to take a job in Clifton Park, NY overseeing the creation of a biomedical curriculum. Its current head is Stephen Smith, who also oversees the school's newspaper, The Talon, which releases about 4 or 5 issues per year. It is a school-within-a-school and has a total of around 111 students in all four grades (9-12). It is focused more on hands-on projects and has an overall passing average of an 80 or above per year, instead of the regular 65.
Field trips:
Annual field trips are held, including one to Camp Chingachgook (located in Katskill Bay, New York) in September, and one to the Silver Bay Association in Silver Bay, New York. These field trips are held overnight and require strict adherence to school rules as though everyone present were in school instead of elsewhere.
Important projects:
Presentations are also held at least twice per year (with the exception of freshman year, in which only one is required). At least three visual aides must be used throughout each presentation. A panel of evaluators grades the presentation as it is being shown to a crowd of anywhere between 25 persons and the whole student body. There are 20-week and 40-week projects, and, more recently, 10-week projects. These projects result in a research paper on a debatable topic (e.g. "Does alternative medicine work better than regular medicine?") and a 5-minute presentation on an aspect of that topic, not the one written in the research paper. A health-related presentation must also be done in senior year. This presentation can be either informational or debatable. Topics in the past have included prosthetic eyes, blepharoptosis, and humor therapy. The most important presentation in the lab school student's career is the internship presentation. This one consists of a 35-minute presentation on an aspect of a semester-long internship anywhere the student chooses.
The senior year internship:
This internship must meet various guidelines as set forth by the school in order to meet various educational requirements. Throughout this internship, the participating student must keep a journal of their hours and experiences and hand it in at the end of the year for a grade.
The end-of-the-year banquet:
At the end of each year, a banquet open to all lab school students (or "lab rats" as they are sometimes referred to) is held. Stephen Smith, the present head of lab school, gives the farewells to the graduating seniors, but is not the emcee. The emcee (or emcees) of the banquets are students voted by their peers beforehand. Banquets are regularly held in late June at the Desmond Hotel in Albany, NY.
For more information, visit the following website: http://bcsd.k12.ny.us/high/LabSchool/lab%20school%20manual.pdf
