School type Public Principal Mr. Roy Teel Phone +1 919-856-7810 Founded 1929 | NCES School ID 370472001839 Enrollment 2,174 Number of students 2,174 Color Purple and Gold | |
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Schedule type Modified Block, 4-period (A-B Day) Hours in school day Monday-Friday, 7:25A.M-2:18P.M Address 723 St Marys St, Raleigh, NC 27605, USA District Wake County Public School System Teaching staff 122.41 (Full-time equivalent) Similar Enloe High School, Millbrook High School, Partnership Elementary School, Sanderson High School, Athens Drive High School | ||
Needham B. Broughton High School, commonly known as Broughton High School, is one of the flagship schools of the Wake County Public School System. It is located at 723 St. Mary's Street, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Broughton was named after the Raleigh businessman and politician, Needham B. Broughton, who contributed much to the public schools of the area. Broughton was ranked 690th in Newsweek's list of the top United States schools in 2007. It runs on a 4x4 modified block schedule (A Day-B Day which allows students to go a whole semester without missing a "core class" or a foreign language). Broughton is known for its castle-like stone facade and tall bell tower. The architect was William Henley Deitrick, FAIA.
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History
Needham B. Broughton High School was established in 1929 as then-Raleigh High School. It is the oldest high school in Raleigh still being used.
Academics
It offers over 25 Advanced Placement (AP) courses to challenge the upper tier of its students, as well as several International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. The school offers four foreign languages: French, German, Mandarin and Spanish. Broughton has produced eight University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Morehead-Cain Scholars, three North Carolina State University Park Scholars, and one Wake Forest University Reynolds Scholar.
Sports
Broughton's sports teams play under the name "Capitals", sometimes shortened to "Caps". The school has 18 varsity teams (the newest of which are the lacrosse and gymnastic teams) that compete with other 4A schools in the Cap-8 Conference and with schools around the state. Broughton's main sports facilities are the 3,000-seat Capital Stadium and the Holliday Gymnasium. In 2013, Broughton finished second in the Under Armor Finding Undeniable competition, which is a $140,000 prize toward a high school athletic program.
Broughton's historical rival is William G. Enloe High School.
Arts
Broughton strives to produce strong academic and athletic programs, and have a strong arts program. It has a well known band, orchestra, and chorus, among other groups. The "Carolina Spirit" show choir was known as the top show choir in the country during the 1990s, winning six consecutive Showstoppers National/International Championships. In 2007 the drama department, led by Bill Hagen, created a production of Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 Broadway play A Raisin in the Sun. In the summer of 2015, the drama teacher at the time, Julie Florin, took the drama team, consisting of Elin Waring, Skylar Fischer Sarah Mueller, Bryan Bunch, Alex Levine, Romeo Schnieder, Carlee Crawford, Kathryn Nance and others, to the Scotland Theater Festival, where they put on, "The Ugly Duckling."
Band
Broughton's award-winning band program has attended the 2008 and 2012 Tournament of Roses Parades. The 186 member band was one of fifteen bands selected to participate for the 2008 parade, and one of only six high schools. They are the first Raleigh band and the fourth North Carolina band to be invited. They were invited to march at the Inaugural Parade for N.C. Governor Bev Perdue. The Jazz I group also performed for President Barack Obama during his visit to Raleigh on July 29, 2009. The band is under the direction of Ms. Margie Harrison who took over after Jeffery Richardson retired in 2012 after 34 years in charge. In addition to its marching program, Broughton has a concert band, a symphonic wind ensemble, and a jazz band that performed for Jay Leno in 2011 and has made other appearances in Raleigh's "Pieces of Gold" at Memorial Auditorium, and played in Cameron Village's Chick-fil-A and Noodles restaurants.
Orchestra
Broughton's orchestra program is under the direction of Mr. Greg Logan.
Publications
Broughton has a strong publications program that includes the annual yearbook and newspaper. The yearbook is named the "Latipac" which is "Capital" (Broughton's mascot)spelled backwards. The 30-some member staff works around the clock all year to publish the Latipac and distribute it to students each May. The school newspaper, called the "Hi-Times" is published and distributed multiple times a year, highlighting interesting school events and stories. Both of these publications are created during class, as students who are on staff enroll in either Yearbook class or Newspaper class as a part of their schedule.
Community service
As part of Broughton's commitment to the community, students are required to perform 25 hours of service, each year, within the community; this requirement provides over 55,000 hours annually to Raleigh City and surrounding areas. Students can also participate in service trips to Guatemala (Proyecto Quetzal) and in projects such as a school-sponsored Habitat for Humanity house. The community service program is headed by Jane VanGraafeiland.
Technology
The school has undergone a technological renovation. Each room is equipped with at least one computer, and there are over six computer labs throughout the school. In addition, Broughton is serviced by the adjacent Wade Edwards Learning Lab (WELL), a program established by former Senator John Edwards that provides after-school access to computers. Here students put on a variety of programs and create special feature videos, from historical documentaries to Star Wars movie spoofs. Broughton's graphics department has also received an update, and students from this program do everything from designing T-shirts to creating 3-D models of airplanes.
From 2002-2004 Broughton underwent a $14 million renovation in which much of the school was gutted and refitted with state-of-the-art technology and new interiors. During the 2004-2005 school year Broughton received an additional $5 million to renovate its Holliday Gymnasium (the state's largest high school gym). One of the highlights of the renovations was the refurbishment of the newly titled Diane Payne Auditorium, named after the retired veteran principal.
WCAP
Broughton broadcasts its morning announcements via a closed-circuit network, headquartered from the WCAP media studio in the library. WCAP was founded in 1992 under the supervision of then-principal Diane Payne, and was then a monthly, pre-recorded news production informing students of the events happening around Broughton. By 1993 it had evolved to become a live, daily show broadcast from the media center. The set has undergone many renovations throughout the years, and WCAP celebrated its twentieth birthday on January 30, 2012.
Notable alumni
In popular culture
The music video for the 1993 song "'74–'75" by The Connells features members of the Broughton High School Class of 1975 as they appeared in 1993 with juxtaposed images of their senior pictures. An update to the video was done in 2015. Band members of The Connells who graduated from Broughton are lead singer David Connell and former drummer for The Connells, Peele Wimberly.