Shelton High School (Connecticut)

Public school in Shelton, Connecticut, United States

Shelton High School

Address

120 Meadow St

Shelton

Connecticut

06484

United States

Coordinates| 41°19′17″N 73°07′01″W﻿ / ﻿41.3214°N 73.117°W﻿ / 41.3214; -73.117
Information
Type| Public
Established| 1973 (51 years ago) (1973)
School district| Shelton Public Schools
CEEB code| 070665
Headmaster| Kathleen Riddle
Faculty| 155
Grades| 9-12
Gender| Coeducational
Number of students| 1,356 (2019-20)[1]
Color(s)| Orange and black

Mascot| Gael
Newspaper| The Gael
Website| sheltonhigh.sheltonpublicschools.org

Shelton High School (SHS) is a public high school in Shelton, Connecticut, in eastern Fairfield County. It has an enrollment of approximately 1400 in grades 9 through 12.

## History

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Shelton High School during construction in 1973

The first four SHS graduates received their diplomas on June 26, 1889. In 1894, the First School Society became the Town School Committee, with Walter D. Hood as the first school superintendent.[2]

## Extracurricular activities

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### The Gael Magazine

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The school magazine is called the Gael Magazine. This magazine publishes in the fall, winter and spring.[3]

### Athletics

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Shelton High is part of the Housatonic Division of the Southern Connecticut Conference.[4] The school offers a variety of freshman, JV, and Varsity teams. The following sports run in the respective seasons:

SHS Sports  FALL  | WINTER  | SPRING

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Football  | Boys Basketball  | Baseball
Boys Soccer  | Girls Basketball  | Softball
Girls Soccer  | Indoor Track  | Girls Lacrosse
Cross Country  | Wrestling  | Boys Volleyball
Girls Swimming  | Boys Swimming  | Tennis
Girls Volleyball  |  | Golf
Field Hockey  |  | Outdoor Track & Field
Cheerleading  |  |

The Shelton Gaels high school football team won the state championship in 1988, 1995, 2000, and 2003.

The Shelton Gaels high school boys' volleyball team won the state championship in 2004 and 2005, with a 46-0 record. The team won the Southern Connecticut Conference title in 2015, 2017, and 2022.

The Shelton Gaels Varsity Cheerleading squad won the state championship in the 2000-2001 season.

The Shelton boys' cross country team won its first division championship, and the SCC championship in 2007, making its first trip to the New England championships. In 2008, it placed second in the CIAC State Open Championships, and fourth in the New England Championships.

### 2011 Prom

[edit]

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The Shelton High School headmaster banned a senior and two friends from attending the senior prom because[5] the students had taped a message of 12-inch high cardboard letters above the school's entrance inviting Tate's classmate, Sonali Rodrigues, to go to the dance with him.[5] In addition to giving the students in-school suspensions for what she described as a safety issue, the headmaster described the act as trespassing and banned them from the dance.[5]

The ban became the subject of protests on Facebook and was reported on national and international media.[6][7][8]

Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti[5] and Shelton High School alumnus NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky[9] questioned the appropriateness of the punishment. Connecticut governor Dannel Malloy sided with the student, saying, "While it seems that there are rules that were broken, in this case, it doesn’t seem as though the punishment fits the crime."[8] The punishment prompted state lawmakers Jason Perillo (R-Shelton) and Sean Williams (R-Waterbury) to introduce an amendment to a pending bill that, with an exception for vandalism and violence, would require schools to offer parents an alternative to banning students from school-related activities as means of punishment.[10]

On May 12, the headmaster announced that she stood behind her decision, citing long-standing policy.[11] Protests at the school continued the next day, with students being sent home saying they'd been told they were "inciting a riot and breach of peace".[12] On May 14, the headmaster held a press conference[13] reversing the decision, saying that "the level of distraction created by this incident" had "affected the culture of Shelton High School" and that "international notoriety" had forced her to reverse herself.[14]

## Notable alumni

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This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (August 2022)

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* Dan Orlovsky (2001), NFL quarterback
* Dan Debicella (1992), Connecticut State Senator

## References

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1. ^ "Shelton High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
2. ^ "SHS History".
3. ^ "Shelton High School | PowerIT". Archived from the original on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
4. ^ "Southern Connecticut Conference". Housatonic Division.
5. ^ a b c d Miller, Joshua Rhett (May 11, 2011). "Mayor: Punishment Doesn't Fit Crime in Case of Connecticut Teen Barred From Prom". Fox News.
6. ^ "Creative Prom Invite Gets Student Suspended", NPR https://www.npr.org/2011/05/11/136198925/creative-prom-invite-gets-student-suspended
7. ^ A story about this incident, featuring reporter Ben Sosenko, was aired nationially on NBC News [1]
8. ^ a b Gendreau, LeAnne (2011). "James Tate Take Prom Plea to Today Show". nbcconnecticut.com. Retrieved 12 May 2011.
9. ^ NFL QB Joins Huddle of Support for No-Prom Teen May 12, 2011 8:28 PM EDT http://www.foxnews.mobi/sr=1/dd=1/ms=1/jsrv=72/aamsz=banner_top/site=FOXNEWS/area=FN.WEATHER.FORECASTS/quickPage.html?page=22995&content=51794924&pageNum=-1
10. ^ "NFL Quarterback Backs Teen Barred From Prom, but School Stands Firm on Decision". Fox News. May 12, 2011.
11. ^ "Shelton school officials stand ground on Tate's prom ban as support for teen grows (Videos)- the New Haven Register - Serving New Haven, Connecticut". Archived from the original on 2012-09-16. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
12. ^ Tate serves suspension as fellow students attempt sit-in Anne M. Amato, Staff Writer Updated 11:16 p.m., Friday, May 13, 2011 http://www.ctpost.com/local/article/Tate-serves-suspension-as-fellow-students-attempt-1377675.php
13. ^ press video of press conference
14. ^ " "James Tate allowed to go to prom". Connecticut Post. 16 May 2011.

## External links

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* Shelton High School website
* Shelton High School "Strategic School Profile 2005-2006" from the state Department of Education
* School's Web page at Great Schools Web site

* v
* t
* e

Southern Connecticut Conference

* Amity
* Branford
* Career
* Cheshire
* East Haven
* Fairfield Prep
* Foran
* Guilford
* Hamden
* Hand
* Hillhouse
* Lauralton Hall
* Law
* Lyman Hall
* Mercy
* North Haven
* Notre Dame-West Haven
* Sacred Heart Academy
* Sheehan
* Shelton
* West Haven
* Wilbur Cross
* Xavier

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* NCES

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