Turpin high

Turpin High School

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 10 of high schools in the state of Ohio on the recently released state report card, as well as in Newsweek's list of top public high schools in the nation.

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 Newtown, 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 . 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 Turpin campus on November 28,1974.

Turpin High School, a multi-level, semi-open building containing three major wings, has 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 now consists of approximately 1,050 students.

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.

Academics

Turpin's school day runs from 7:20 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. It includes seven 50-minute periods and a 23-minute an on-campus lunch.

Turpin offers twelve 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 French.

Academic achievement

Turpin’s high Performance Index Score of 110.7 reported on the recently released 2006-2007 state report card placed them in the top 10 of high schools in the state. Out of Ohio’s 610 public school districts, Turpin ranks seventh among high schools, tied with Hudson High School, in Hudson, Ohio, for having one of the highest index scores.

The Performance Index Score of 110.7 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 Fort Ancient Valley 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.

OHSAA State Championships

Turpin has won the following state championships:

Girls Cross Country - 2001
Boys Soccer - 1986, 2000, 2001
Girls Soccer - 1986, 1996

Other extracurricular activities

Art Club
Band
Bike Club
Book Club
Chess Club
Chillin' Chums (Special Education)
Coffee House
Drama Club
DISCO (Diversity Club)

First Priority
Gallery House
German Club
Japanese Club
JETS
Junior State of America
Just Say No
Kaleidoscope
Key Club

Klinger Krazies
Lacrosse
Mock Trial
National Honor Society
Orchestra
Pride
Senior Leaders
Student Council

Notable alumni

Marc Burch — professional soccer player, D.C. United.
Stephanie Heinrich — (1998) Playboy Playmate.
Jim Leyritz — former professional baseball player, mostly with the New York Yankees. In June 2006, admitted to using amphetamines while playing in the major leagues.
Andy Sanders — professional golfer.
Michelle Yi — contestant on reality television series Survivor: Fiji.
Joey Nealson — musician, Beneath The Sky (Victory Records)
Matt Jones — musician, Beneath The Sky (Victory Records)
Jeff Nelson — musician, Beneath The Sky (Victory Records)
Christy Janisse — author, Mistaken, pseudo Brandy Jordan., (The Wild Rose Press 2007)
Bill Barrett — 1980 Olympic Team Qualifier in 100 m Breaststroke;1980 American Swimmer of the Year; World Record Holder in the 200 m Individual Medley; American Record Holder: Breaststroke & Individual Medley; 1979 National Champion in 100 m Breaststroke; 1980 National Champion in 200 m Individual Medley
Dave Niinemets — editor at The Kentucky Enquirer, Fort Mitchell

Controversies

In 1978, nine students from the first graduating class were suspended for 3 days when it was reported that they had been drinking beer at a school sponsored event. The students had been selected along with students from Anderson High School to attend a 5th grade camp as counselors and apparently gathered one evening after hours to consume the beer. Upon returning to their cabins, one especially inebriated Anderson High School student counselor woke the sleeping 5th graders, one of whom was the Turpin High School principal's son. Needless to say the incident was reported to the principal by his son. The Camp Kern Nine, as they came to be known, served their suspension in the detention room, while signs reading "Free the Camp Kern Nine" were slid underneath the room door.

On August 31, 2001, at a varsity football game, an incident occurred in which racial slurs were said by Turpin students to students at a diverse school, Walnut Hills High School. The students were quoted shouting, "You niggers do not belong on our football field," from the grandstands. Following the incident, Turpin made a formal apology to Walnut Hills and the issue was resolved.

However, three years later, on September 3, 2004, a nearly identical incident happened at Turpin when, at a varsity football game, racial slurs were hurled at African American students from Walnut Hills. An apology was once again issued.

In October of that school year (2004), some of Turpin's band members shadowed Walnut Hills students for a day. In September 2005, the two marching bands performed The Star-Spangled Banner together in a combined performance prior to a Turpin v. Walnut football game, held at Anderson High School. No further incidents have since been reported.