| Issue #35, November 24, 2006 |
IN PRAISE OF EAST HAMPTON HIGH SCHOOL
By David Lion Rattiner
I am so sick of hearing people talk about East Hampton High School like it is this violent and dangerous place. As a graduate of East Hampton High School, I take it pretty personally, especially when I think about my graduating class and all of the great things that so many of those students have gone on to do. Just about all of my friends went to and graduated college and are now working and doing well. One such friend is John Schrrippa, who is now a supervisor at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and just bought a condo in Arlington on his own. He is 24.
But the rumors about the school don’t stop and I just don’t get where they are coming from. “It’s a pool of illegal immigrants! There are fights! There is racial violence! There are bomb threats! Prep schools are where I am sending my kids! I don’t care what it costs, what choice do I have?”
You have got to be kidding me. Last time I checked, fights break out in prep schools too. You think drugs aren’t running rampant through a prep school? Think again. I can’t tell you how many burnouts I’ve known coming out of prep school. Illegal immigrants in the school are an issue because their families are not paying taxes to help pay for the school because they are not citizens. It’s a problem the whole country has been experiencing for a long time, and the media and the country has spotlighted it this year. Something will be done.
But as far as safety and school quality, the teachers are still passionate, the ball fields are still vast and the group of kids that are coming out of there have bright futures ahead of them. It shouldn’t be stated in any other way because that is the truth. When I was in high school six years ago, we had a few bad eggs too, but guess what? They were arrested or they shaped up.
I was not even a little surprised when I heard East Hampton High School senior Zach Brenneman got offered a full athletic scholarship to Notre Dame University (from the Rudy movie. Don’t act like you didn’t watch it a dozen times) for lacrosse. He’s not from a prep school, but from East Hampton High School. Zach is a polite, well-rounded kid who will do well in life and he’s got plenty of teachers from East Hampton High School to thank.
In last week’s newspaper, you could see a picture of Zach signing a document that stated his intent to attend Notre Dame. But what was striking to me about the picture was not Zach, but good old coach Mike Burns (my old football coach), Ralph Naglierie, Zach’s lacrosse coach (who by the way, is pretty much responsible for making lacrosse at East Hampton High School a reality) and many other directors, counselors and, of course, the principal. They all care about Zach and I can tell you how I know. Because Coach Mike Burns, Chris Tracy, Ms. O’Brien, David Douglas (my chorus teacher), Mr. McGintee (JV football), Mrs. Finazzo (English), Coach Herzog (my track coach) and everybody else at that school all cared about my future, and when I see them in the street today, I smile and say hello and I am very happy to see them. There are very, very good people at that school and some very, very extraordinary kids.
I’m sorry for this rant, but it needs to be heard. Every single time I meet a parent with a kid on their way into high school, there is talk about the school that is negative. Well, you need to know that it is a good place to be and it still is, and will always produce some of the best kids you’ll ever meet. East Hampton is a great place to grow up and East Hampton High School is a great place to go to school.
I’m not knocking prep schools, but you should send your kid there because you are fortunate enough to afford the higher pricetag, not because you think your kid is going to turn into a criminal if he or she stays here, or some other ridiculous thought.
Head down to any athletic event, school play or community project that the high school is involved in and you will see it first hand. You’ll see a community of students, parents and teachers who are part of something very positive and very special. And when the students graduate, you’ll see the majority of them studying at college or working hard and remembering the special times that they all shared together, whether it was a free period at the beach or a down-to-the-wire football game.
I think all of the above can be said about all the other high schools here on the East End, too.
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