Средняя школа ФМ в Манлиусе, Нью-Йорк: Обзор и особенности

High school in Manlius, New York

John Durkee is the school's interim principal and took office after ex principal Raymond Kilmer left to become the Oswego City School District Superintendent in the 2023 2024 school year. He will step down as principal in the coming 2024 2025 school year after FMCSD concludes its search.

Entering the 2014–15 school year there were 1460 students enrolled at F M High School and 130 faculty members, for a student teacher ratio of approximately 11:1. As of the 2005–06 school year, the racial/ethnic makeup of the student population was 91.8% White, 2.7% Black or African American, 4.4% Asian or Pacific Islander, and 0.8% Hispanic. Approximately 0.5% of the population, or 8 students, demonstrated limited English proficiency. Approximately 0.8% of students qualified for a reduced price lunch, and another 3.5% were eligible for a free lunch. Since then the Asian student population has increased significantly, and now makes up almost 10% of the school's population.

The school focuses on graduating all students with the minimum of a Regents Diploma, but some may also graduate with a less advanced local diploma. The Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation may be achieved with extended studies in a foreign language. Though the curriculum is developed and sanctioned by the New York State Department of Education, and classes are developed to prepare students to achieve success on the required Regents Examinations, most core courses offer one or two components that explore more advanced topics. The school offers standard level Regents courses, but also offers more advanced Honors courses, Interdisciplinary courses (in English and History), Advanced Placement (AP) courses, as well as Syracuse University courses offered through Syracuse University Project Advance (SUPA). SU courses offered through Project Advance are taught at the high school by F M faculty members (qualified by the university), and follow the same curriculum and are given the same credit as courses taught at the university. A large percentage of students opt to take SU courses offered through Project Advance instead of AP classes because their equally challenging curriculum is often more widely accepted for transfer credit by the students' successive colleges or universities. F M is part of an extremely small percentage in the country that does not rank students publicly with the exception of awarding valedictorian to a graduating senior. The school also uses a 100 grade point scale, as opposed to the much more common 4.0 scale, and weighs the GPA based on class difficulty level (Regents, Honors, AP, etc.). In addition, the athletic department does not participate in academic All America honors.

In 2006, the school graduated 100% of its senior class, 69% of whom received a Regents Diploma with Advanced Designation, and 28% of whom received a Regents Diploma. Of these graduating students, 98% continued on to higher education, 84% to a four year college, and 14% to a two year college. Of the remaining graduates, 1% continued into the workforce, and another 1% had unknown plans. The dropout rate also remained under 1%, about half of whom enrolled in a High School Equivalency or GED program.

The student activities program offers more than fifty clubs and activities in a wide range of interests. Student run publications include the Oakleaves yearbook, the student newspaper called The Buzz (formerly The Sting, formerly the Hornet's Nest), and a literary magazine, Voices. The school has a Quizbowl team and Amnesty International Club. Fayetteville Manlius also boasts a Model United Nations club with more than a hundred participants. The club hosts an annual Central New York MUN Conference (CNYMUN), often inviting over a thousand delegates from around New York. Another extracurricular area in which the Hornets excel is Mock Trial, where in 2016, Fayetteville–Manlius High School won the New York State Mock Trial Championship with an undefeated season record. The school has a chamber orchestra, string orchestra, concert orchestra, symphony orchestra, jazz ensemble, two bands, concert band, and wind ensemble as well as a very powerful Pep Band, and three vocal groups: choir, the select group's chorale, and Swing 16. The school also has the top Ukulele Ensemble in the Central New York area. FM also has three major stage productions during the year. The final production of the year, called Showboat, is the annual student run talent show, a tradition reaching back several decades. Fayetteville–Manlius High School also hosts a π memorization contest, which along with other events, culminates in an annual assembly called "pi day", which typically takes place on March 14 (the date signifies the first three digits of pi.) The assembly includes song performances as well as competitions including F M Family Feud hosted by Math Teacher Christopher Alvarez, a Rubix Cube competition, and a Pi digit reciting competition of which Elliot McDaniel has won two years consecutively. In the 2023 2024 school year, F M Fishing Club arose to prominence, boasting a count of over a hundred members under the administration of co presidents James Cao and Benny Liu. The club has and continues to work towards building the love for fishing at F M, and having students attend fishing field trips to local ponds.

The science wing, opened in 1998, includes eight laboratories and a large group instruction room. The "overpass", at the middle of the school, connects its two main sections; "House 1" (primarily English and Social Studies) and "House 2" (primarily Science, Mathematics, and Technology). The school also opened a new Art Wing in 2000. Subsequent additions and renovations have allowed the school to keep up with advances in technology, increases in enrollment, and changes in curriculum. Two new wings for science and music and a renovated library media center were opened in 1998, followed by a renovation of the auditorium in 1999. Since 1998, the school has opened seven computer labs spread throughout the school, in an ongoing commitment to making contemporary technology accessible to all students. Together, these labs contain almost 200 computers, in addition to around 10 student accessible computers in every classroom. In 2000, to accommodate the school's nationally renowned, award winning art programs, the district opened one of the most extensive art facilities of any public school system in Upstate New York. The new wing includes classrooms and studio space for drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, and digital media. Existing photography facilities remained intact and have since been updated to accommodate digital technologies. 2001 saw the opening of a television studio, FMTV, which develops and broadcasts a student run morning news program and special events to every classroom in the school. In 2003, after acquiring farmland adjacent to the campus, the school opened a new access road, expanded student parking lot, and additional athletic fields. Consolidated maintenance facilities, and an observatory opened in 2004, also as a result of this acquisition. An expanded counseling suite and administrative office was opened in 2004. The fitness center was expanded in 2008. The overpass was renovated and numerous classrooms were re purposed. During the Summer of 2011, the football stadium was renovated, and a new turf field was installed after a donation of $1.4 Million by the F M Community Sports Facility Association. During the Summer of 2019, the Library Media Center and bathrooms were renovated. During the 2019–2020 school year, an ongoing project has seen the replacement of fluorescent hallway and classroom lighting to LED lights.

During the 2006–2007 school year, the school gained national attention due to controversial policies implemented at school sponsored dances. Catching the attention of The New York Times in a December 17, 2006 article, was the decision by principal James Chupaila to ban "grinding", or any forms of perceived "suggestive dancing styles", at school dances, and to cancel one dance altogether for fear it could become a moral and legal liability. The story was also featured in the New York Observer, and on the front page of The Post Standard. Chupaila's decision led to the cancellation of the remainder of class dances, with the exception of the school's popular spring charity fundraiser, Dance Marathon.

During the 2007–2008 school year, F M was again in the news when the FBI was consulted in an investigation at Fayetteville–Manlius High School. At a faculty meeting Administrators disclosed that there was breach in computer network security. One student was caught trying to remove an electronic monitoring device (a hardware keylogger) from a school computer on October 24, 2007. Another student was caught trying to break into the school earlier that day, and the third was found waiting in a nearby car. Further investigation implicated eight students altogether, two of them graduates attending college (Syracuse University and Johns Hopkins University). The students faced criminal charges, some of them charged with multiple felonies.