Connetquot High School (CHS) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

serving students from the 9th–12th grades, located in

Bohemia, New York Bohemia is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 9,852 at the 2020 census. It is situated along the South Shore of Long Island in the Town of Islip, approximately 50 miles from N ...

. It is part of the Connetquot Central School District. Connetquot High School's school district, which only has a single comprehensive high school, includes the entirety of the communities of Oakdale and Ronkonkoma, and almost all of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, while it also serves parts of Islandia,

Sayville Sayville is a hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Located on the South Shore of Long Island in the Town of Islip, the population of the CDP was 16,569 at the time of the 2020 census. History The earlie ...

, and

West Sayville West Sayville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It had a population of 5,011 at the 2010 census. Geography West Sayville is located on the South Shore of Long Island in the Town of Islip. ...

Demographics

According to data from ''USN'', Connetquot High School has a total enrollment of over 1,700 students, with 51% being male, and 49% female. 74.6% of students are

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 14.8% are

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

, 5.9% are Asian, 3.4% are

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

, and 1% are of mixed race.

History

The school was established in 1963, three years after voters in the existing Oakdale-Bohemia and Ronkonkoma school districts voted to consolidate their two districts. Suffolk Country Police investigated the school in February 2023, after the alleged discovery of

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

graffiti in one of the school's hallways.

Failed shooting/bombing plans

Connetquot High School has been the target of multiple planned attacks. All of them, however, were discovered and prevented. The first was in 2007, when then student Christopher Franko planned to murder his fellow students as well as teachers in a plan reminiscent of

Columbine Columbine may refer to: Places * Columbine, Colorado, a census-designate place in Jefferson and Arapahoe counties in Colorado, United States ** Columbine High School, a high school in Columbine, Colorado, United States *** Columbine Memorial, a ...

. Franko planned to attack the school again in 2010, but was discovered and arrested. The final known planned attack was thwarted in 2019, when 3 students were discussing detonating explosives at the school on their school bus. Their conversation was overheard by another student, later leading to the three conspirators' arrest.

Principal departure and student protest

In March 2023, the Principal of Connetquot High School, Michael Moran, took a brief leave of absence from the school, although he did not make it clear why. It was generally believed, however, that the leave of absence was ordered by the

District A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

, and some Connetquot residents speculated this was the result of Moran's alleged support for the display of

pride flag A pride flag is any flag that represents a segment or part of the LGBTQ community. ''Pride'' in this case refers to the notion of LGBTQ pride. The terms ''LGBTQ flag'' and ''queer flag'' are often used interchangeably. Pride flags can represen ...

s in the school. This prompted a significant number of students to not attend their classes, instead

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

ing by sitting along the lockers, holding up signs requesting the district reinstate Moran to his position, and

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of no ...

ing for the return of the principal. Moran returned to his position a month later, in April 2023, and the protests ceased. From that point he has remained Principal of Connetquot High School.

Academics

According to ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' data, 91.2% of Connetquot graduates earn a New York state regent's diploma (55.2% with advanced designation). Also, 55.6% of graduates plan to attend a 4-year college and 35.8% plan to attend a 2-year college.

Athletics

The school competes in Section XI of the

New York State Public High School Athletic Association The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) is the governing body of interscholastic sports for most public schools in New York (state), New York outside New York City.http://www.nysphsaa.org/ ''nysphsaa.org'', accesse ...

. Connetquot High School was the recipient of the highest possible award for a football team in Suffolk County, the Rugter's Trophy, in 1989.

Swimming & diving

During the 2022 - 2023 school year, Connetquot and East Islip's boys

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), ...

team beat out all other teams in their league, and won the coveted title of ''undefeated'' for their schools. Adding to this accomplishment, in the following school year, Connetquot and East Islip's girls swimming & diving team also went undefeated, with a final victory rate of 8–0. From 2021 - 2024, 10 out of the 13 records for Connetquot and East Islip's boys swimming & diving team were broken by then Connetquot student, Tristan Weingarten, with most of his event times qualifying for New York state championships. Weingarten would then go on to make the All-Long Island boys swimming team in April 2024.

Notable alumni

Chris Franjola
writer/comedian /podcast host *

John Bolaris John Bolaris (born June 27, 1957) is an American television meteorologist and Realtor. He has worked as the Chief Meteorologist for ''Weekend Today'', NBC 10, WCBS and Fox 29. Bolaris currently works as the President of BlackLabel Luxury Real ...

- television meteorologist and real estate agent *

Sal Butera Salvatore Philip Butera (born September 25, 1952) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1980 to 1988, for five different teams. He was a major-league scout for the Toronto Blue Jays dur ...

– MLB catcher *

Michael Carbonaro Michael Joseph Carbonaro (born ) is an American actor, magician, and improvisation, improv artist. Early life Born and raised in Oakdale, New York, on Long Island, the younger of two sons of an electrician father and a nurse mother, he attended ...

– magician, television personality *

Thomas Croci Thomas D. Croci is an American politician and naval officer from the state of New York. A Republican, Croci represented the 3rd District of the New York State Senate from 2015 through 2018. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for ...

– former New York State Senator *

Stefanie DeLeo Stefanie DeLeo (born April 22, 1982) is an American author and playwright known primarily for her published play on autism, ''Worth a Thousand Words'' published in 2010 througJAC NEED Publishers In September 2017, she was published in the newes ...

– author, playwright *

Moira Kelly Moira Kelly (born March 6, 1968) is an American actress. She is known for portraying Kate Moseley in the 1992 film '' The Cutting Edge'' as well as single mother Karen Roe on the teen drama '' One Tree Hill''. She is also known for playing the ...

– actress *

Jane Monheit Jane Monheit (born November 3, 1977"Jane Monheit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 33. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2001. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 2017-05-07.) is an American jazz and traditional pop singer. Early life Mo ...

– jazz and adult contemporary vocalist *

John Pacella John Lewis Pacella (born September 15, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He became known for his unusual delivery that sometimes caused him to lose his cap after a pitch. Background Born in Brooklyn, New York, Pacella mo ...

– MLB pitcher drafted by

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

in 1974 *

Timothy Treadwell Timothy Treadwell (born Timothy William Dexter; April 29, 1957 – October 5, 2003) was an American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, documentary filmmaker, and founder of the bear-protection organization Grizzly People. He lived among coas ...

– documentary filmmaker *

Alexis Weik Alexis Weik (born September 17, 1972) is an American politician, civil servant, and businesswoman who has represented the 3rd district in the New York State Senate since 2021. A Republican, Weik had previously served as receiver of taxes for the ...

– New York State Senator * Pete D'Alessandro – former general manager of the Sacramento Kings *

Pete Correale Peter Correale (born April 20, 1970, in Oakdale, New York) is an American actor, stand up comedian, and writer. He currently co-hosts ''The Pete and Sebastian Show'' podcast with fellow comedian Sebastian Maniscalco that airs weekly on iHeartRadio. ...

– comedian

References

External links

High School website
{{authority control Public high schools in New York (state) Schools in Suffolk County, New York