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Revision as of 19:13, 23 December 2007

Randolph School is an American independent private kindergarten-through-12th-grade college preparatory school chartered in 1959 in Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama. It started in an antebellum home on Randolph Street with just a few elementary classes. A few years later it moved to a much larger 17-acre campus on Drake Avenue, where it is now, gradually adding grade levels until having a graduating high school class in the early 1970s.

In 1998, the school purchased 50 acres of land on Garth Road, less than one mile from the present location of the main campus. After only expanding the athletic facilities there, in 2006, the Board of Trustees finally gave approval for the construction of a new campus for the high school, something which had been discussed since 1997. According to the plans, the second campus will more than double the square footage of available facilities, and allow continued increase in enrollment. The board estimates completion in time for the 2009-2010 school year.

As of 2005, the tuition is around $10,000, though the school offers need-based financial aid to some students.

Academic awards and other recognition

During the 2001-02 school year, and again in 2003-04, Randolph School was recognized with the Blue Ribbon School Award of Excellence by the United States Department of Education, the highest award an American school can receive.

Between a fifth and a third of each graduating class is identified as a Commended Scholar, Semi-Finalist, or Finalist in the National Merit Scholarship competition. Virtually all graduates go on to attend four-year colleges.

Athletics

Cross Country State Champs 1982, 2005-2007. Soccer State Champs 2000-2002;2006-2007. Also, the Randolph Raiders Varsity Soccer Boys were ranked 3 nationally in the southeast; first in their area. The Randolph Soccer team has either been state runner up or state champs since the year 2000. They were state champs in the years 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, and 2007. They were state runner up in 2003, 2004, and 2005. Randolph Varsity Boys Soccer has won 5 of the last 8 State Championships.

Technology

Randolph was one of the first high schools to provide its students with a computer lab in 1981, which was donated by Intergraph, a local software company. Randolph instituted a Bulletin Board System, enhanced by the donation of a 1200 baud modem in 1984 by local television station WAAY. National press coverage in 1998 covered the school's implementation of a wireless network which integrated the use of laptops. Randolph was one of the first schools to require all 8th-12th grade students to have wireless-capable laptops.

Alma Mater

Nestled 'neath the wooded mountains
Under southern skies
Boldly stands our alma mater
Holding standards high
Strength and courage on her banner
Never fear nor fail
Hail to thee our alma mater
Randolph School, ALL HAIL!

Notable alumni

Its alumni include many of the children of the German rocket scientists that moved to Huntsville with Wernher von Braun after World War II. Other notable alumni include:

• Susanna Phillips (graduated 1999) – soprano opera singer at the Chicago Lyric Opera
• Brian Reynolds – computer game designer and co-creator of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
• Bryan Shelton – Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's tennis head coach and six-time Wimbledon participant
• Jimmy Wales – founder of Misplaced Pages
• Bill Holbrook – illustrator, On the Fastrack

References

1. "Randolph School Trustees Approve Dual Campus Expansion Plan". Randolph School (in English). 2006-05-09. Retrieved 2006-09-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
2. Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 1999-2002 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed May 11, 2006.
3. Blue Ribbon Schools Program: Schools Recognized 2003 through 2006 (PDF), United States Department of Education. Accessed September 25, 2007.
4. CIBA cited as one of the best by Education Department, Journal Inquirer, November 16, 2006. "The Blue Ribbon award is given only to schools that reach the top 10 percent of their state's testing scores over several years or show significant gains in student achievement. It is considered the highest honor a school can achieve."
5. Viers Mill School Wins Blue Ribbon; School Scored High on Statewide Test; The Washington Post. September 29, 2005 "For their accomplishments, all three schools this month earned the status of Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor the U.S. Education Department can bestow upon a school."
6. "Star Alum Returns". Randolph School (in English). 2005-11-02. Retrieved 2006-09-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
7. "Tennis Champion Bryan Shelton '84 Swings By Randolph". Randolph School (in English). 2006-04-25. Retrieved 2006-09-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
8. Wales, Jimmy (2003-11-07). "Partial solution to rampant deletionism". (in English). Wikimedia Foundation. Retrieved 2006-09-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

External links

• Official web site

• Blue Ribbon schools in Alabama
• Educational institutions established in 1959
• Huntsville, Alabama
• Private schools in Alabama
• Elementary schools in Alabama
• Middle schools in Alabama
• High schools in Alabama