Established 1976 Principal David Spencer Enrollment 1199 (2015) Colors Maroon, Gold | Superintendent Tom Durbin, Interim Grades 9-12 Phone +1 513-232-7770 | |
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Type Public, Coeducational high school Address 2569 Bartels Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45244, USA District Forest Hills Local School District Mascots Spartans, 50pxTurpin's logo; redesigned in 2004. Similar Walnut Hills High School, Archbishop McNichol High Sch, Withrow Internatio High Sch, Glen Este High School, St Xavier High School Profiles | ||
Turpin High School is a public high school in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States that serves grades nine through twelve. The school is part of the Forest Hills Local School District and serves the affluent suburb of Anderson Township; admission is based primarily on the location of a student's home. Turpin is accredited by the Ohio Department of Education and the North Central Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges. Turpin is a member of the Ohio Association of College Admissions Counselors and of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors. Turpin has a strong history of academic achievement, and placed in the top 5 high schools in the state of Ohio on the recently released state report card, as well as in Newsweek's list of top 500 high schools in the nation.
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History
Turpin High School is the tenth school in the Forest Hills School District to be dedicated. Its roots lie buried in the history of Anderson Township.
Our pioneer ancestors, a few of whom established their homes as early as 1795, and many more who settled in the very early years of the next century, were concerned about the education of their children. They built log or frame school buildings haphazardly over the area.
As early as 1826 the township trustees made an attempt to systematically divide the township into twelve school districts. This distributed the school population more evenly and served the area for many years. Most of these schools were one-room, one-teacher type. Several had two rooms, one teacher with a classroom downstairs, the other with a class on the second level.
A number of schools were located in the area now served by Turpin High School. Union Bridge or Uniontown School was constructed in 1826 on Beechmont Avenue near the flood plains. In 1882, it was replaced by a school built on Clough Pike near the intersection of today's State Route 32. Additional schools included Newtown School, erected on Debolt Road in 1861, District Nine School on Little Dry Run, District Eight on Clough opposite Wanninger Lane, and District Seven School, also on Clough near State Road. Later this school was moved to Clough Pike opposite Berkshire.
Other schools constructed in the area include; Number Thirteen on Beechmont opposite Salem, and more recently Mercer, Wilson, and Sherwood Elementaries. The latest addition, Turpin Middle School, was dedicated on April 21, 1974. The Turpin campus is located on land purchased by Ichabod Benton Miller in 1796. Miller built a log dwelling which still stands on Clough and Bartels Roads and is now operated by the Anderson Township Historical Society.
Turpin is a well known name in this area. Phillip Turpin was the first resident owner of the entire Crittenden Survey of 1,000 acres (4.0 km2). His two sons, Ebenezer Smith Turpin and Edward Johnson Turpin, added to these acres by purchasing additional land in the surrounding surveys. Much of this land is in the same survey in which the school is located. In a document relating to District Ten School, eight of the sixteen signatures are Turpin by either birth or marriage. Descendants of the Turpin family still reside in the community.
The need for a new high school in the school district to alleviate the overcrowded conditions of Anderson High School became apparent in the early 1970s. A bond issue was placed on the ballot in November 1973. Upon passage of this 5.7 mill issue, architects Thomas J. McClorey and Associates were retained to design a functional school for the district. Ground was broken on the 50.3-acre (204,000 m2) Turpin campus on November 28, 1974.
Turpin High School, a multi-level, semi-open building containing three major wings, has 172,000 square feet (16,000 m2) of space. Much of this brick facility was constructed using pre-cast concrete frames. This helped expedite construction and at the same time kept the cost of the building to a minimum.
Total cost of Turpin High is approximately 6.5 million dollars. Outstanding features of the building include a spacious media center with a capacity of 15,000 volumes and seating for 200, large laboratories, shops, and classrooms. The building is kept comfortable year-round by a combination of forced air and radiation. The heat source is water heated in an electric boiler. Zone air-conditioning is utilized throughout most of the structure. Most areas are carpeted. The gymnasium/ pool complex also includes a small indoor running track on the balcony. Seating capacities are 1,500 for basketball contests and 275 for swimming events. Outdoor facilities include tennis courts, practice fields, a baseball diamond, and parking lots.
Conservation of energy was given a high priority when Turpin High School was designed. As a result, there is very little glass in the building. In addition, insulation has been placed between the brick and block of all exterior walls to insure a minimum of temperature change.
Turpin's first graduating class was in 1978, consisting of students who had been moved from Anderson High School to the new school as juniors for the 1976-77 school year. Turpin's overall student body consists of approximately 1,200 students for 2015-2016 school year [1].
Campus
The original building was constructed and finished in 1976, but its original design was scaled back and the auditorium was not built. The construction of the auditorium was resumed and completed in 1999. Both the main building and the auditorium are constructed of dark red brick. The main academic building contains 5 stories of classrooms (4 stories in a split-level configuration, plus a basement level which span the length of 3 wings). The campus also includes top notch athletic facilities which include a uniquely shaped baseball stadium (due to a lack of flat land area) which has undergone several major improvements and renovations in recent years (2005-2006). Furthermore, just in time for the 2006 school year, field-turf, a new age playing surface, was installed onto the existing grass football field to improves its durability and allow it to be used for other field sports, such as soccer and lacrosse. A new track was installed during the summer of 2007 along with new shot-put and discus throwing areas. The campus also includes tennis courts, practice fields, softball fields, weight lifting facilities, and track and field areas. Over the summer break between the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years, construction will begin on adding an additional branch to the building, including an auxiliary gymnasium, a new band room, office, and a few classrooms.
Academics
Turpin's school day runs from 7:20 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. It includes seven 49-51-minute periods and a 23-minute on-campus lunch.
Turpin offers twenty three Advanced Placement courses.
Turpin students take a college preparatory curriculum that requires four years of English, three years of math, three-and-a-half years of history, and three years of science. In addition to core subjects, a year of physical education and a half-year of health are required.
A wide array of elective courses are offered at Turpin. Four foreign languages are offered: Spanish, Latin, German,and Mandarin
Academic achievement
Turpin’s high Performance Index Score of 113.4 reported on the recently released 2010-2011 state report card placed them in the top 5 high schools in the state. The Performance Index Score of 113.4 indicates that many Turpin students are performing at the advanced or accelerated level in all five test areas – math, science, social studies, reading and writing.
Extracurricular activities
Turpin has a wide variety of athletic and non-athletic extracurriculars. There are chapters of national organizations such as the Key Club and National Honor Society.
Athletics
Turpin High School is a member of the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) and participates in the Eastern Cincinnati Conference. Participation in the athletic program is open to all boys and girls interested and skilled enough to compete. Turpin offers a wide variety of athletic programs. For boys and girls, these include: cross country, golf, soccer, tennis, basketball, bowling, diving, swimming, and track and field. For boys, these include: lacrosse, baseball, football, and wrestling. For girls, these include: volleyball and softball.
Marching band, cheerleading, dance team, and academic quiz team are also offered at various times throughout the school year.
Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships
Turpin has won the following state championships:
Other extracurricular activities
Additionally, the school's Latin Club functions as a local chapter of both the Ohio Junior Classical League (OJCL) and National Junior Classical League (NJCL).