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75th Anniversary
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Anniversary Posts 1-15
- 1: Monroe Academy: Henrietta’s First Famous School
- 2: First Schools: Uphill, Barefoot, Both Ways
- 3: 1938: Voters Reject Creation of Rush-Henrietta Central School District
- 4: Schoolhouse Records Give Glimpse of Life 100 Years Ago
- 5: 1946: Given Second Chance, Voters Embrace New District
- 6: A Different Time: When Rush Had More Kids Than Henrietta
- 7: Choosing a Mascot: Why We're Not the Royal Falcons
- 8: Meet the Board: Rush-Henrietta’s Original Fab Five
- 9: Late 1940s: The Beginning of a Population Explosion
- 10: Breaking Ground: Rush-Henrietta’s First New School
- 11: 1952: R-H’s First New School a ‘Splendid Dream’
- 12: First Meeting of the New Board of Education
- 13: 1959 R-H Grad Still Gets on the Bus Every Day
- 14: Humble Beginnings: Two School Buses to Start
- 15: 1954: Sudden Need for a Second New School
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Anniversary Posts 16-30
- 16: 1954-1955: Two Votes for a Second School
- 17: The Story of Gillette Elementary School
- 18: 1950s: Building a New School Each Year
- 19: 1957: Residents Press Pause, Reject Two New Schools
- 20: 1958: Fourth New School Helps District Keep Pace
- 21: 1950s: Curious Visitors Flock to New R-H School
- 22: Bill Farrell: ‘Architect of the R-H Sports Program’
- 23: 1961: Rush-Henrietta Gets a Junior High School
- 24: 1963: A New School Called Wedgewood
- 25: Elmer Gordon: A Rush-Henrietta Trailblazer
- 26: Remembering Jack Gaffney
- 27: Jack Gaffney's Incredible Connections to Our R-H Past
- 28: Remembering Wilma Jean Milhouse
- 29: 1964: West Henrietta Gets Its First New School
- 30: 1965: Fyle Elementary Named to Honor Respected Teacher
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Anniversary Posts 31-45
- 31: R-H Family History Revealed in Historic Records
- 32: Dr. John W. Parker: Devoted to District’s Early Success
- 33: 1966: Amidst Housing Boom, R-H Opens Sherman Elementary
- 34: 1968: Rush-Henrietta Opens Its First High School
- 35: Richard TenHaken: Superintendent Who Looked Controversy in the Eye
- 36: 1970: Vollmer Becomes R-H’s Last New School
- 37: The Dome Arena: R-H and Other Legends
- 38: The Lion in the Room - Senior High School Pride
- 39: Artists in Residence
- 40: Providing an Even Start
- 41: Paul McKee: Humility Meets Great Success
- 42: Raymond Delaney Had ‘Unshakeable Belief’ in Public Education
- 43: Roger Eckers Strikes Up the Band
- 44: 1982: R-H Denies West Brighton Request to Secede
- 45: George DesMarteau: One - Make That Two - of a Kind
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Anniversary Posts 46-60
- 46: Recognizing 75 Years of Music Excellence
- 47: Senior High School Mural Depicts 'Community of School'
- 48: 2006: Rush-Henrietta Alumni Council Established
- 49: A Bird's-Eye View of 1951
- 50: 1945: Preparing for the First Day of School
- 51: R-H is Where ‘The Rock’ Calls Home
- 52: 1974: Rush-Henrietta Takes to the Airwaves
- 53: Glory Years of WRHR: A Student’s Perspective
- 54: 1969: R-H a Trailblazer in Embracing Student Voice
- 55: 1975: Rush-Henrietta’s High School Reaches Capacity
- 56: 1975 to 1986: A Decade of Dual High Schools
- 57: 1987: New High School Name Helps Community Heal
- 58: How We Became the Royal Comets
- 59: Extracurricular Highlights
- 60: Spotlight on Bob Sagan, Act I
- 61: Spotlight on Bob Sagan, Act II
- 62: 1991: R-H Hires First New Superintendent in 20 Years
- 63: Werner Kleemann: More Than a Sports Legend
- 64: 2000: R-H Loses ‘Wonderful Mentor’
- 65: 2000: R-H Legend Returns to Stabilize High School
- 66: A Surprise Boost for Student Athletes and Musicians
- 67: Adventures of Ping: Restoring a One-of-a-Kind Painting
- 68: Dr. Ken Graham: Two Decades of Strong Leadership
- 69: R-H’s History of Putting Safety First
- 70: Girls Basketball Team Becomes Stuff of Legends
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Anniversary Posts 1-15
- Did You Know?
- Distinguished Alumni
- First Administrators
- Norm Miller: Portrait of a Rush-Henrietta Life Well Lived
- School Namesakes
- Superintendents
- Who Was Elmer Gordon?
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75th Anniversary
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- District Overview
- District Policies
- District Priorities
- District Progress Update
- Job Opportunities
- Program and Service Reviews
- Staff Directory
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- Title I
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- COVID-19 Reopening Summary
How We Became the Royal Comets
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Between its inception in 1946 and its peak enrollment in the early 1970s, the Rush-Henrietta Central School District went from dozens of students to many thousands. Thanks to strong leadership and an understanding community, the district managed manage dramatic changes in student enrollment. Others would have faltered if faced with similar circumstances.
After an impressive period of sustained growth in the 1960s and 1970s, Rush-Henrietta had nearly 11,000 students in its classrooms. By 1975, Sperry High School, only seven years old, was so jam-packed the Board of Education agreed to open a second building, Roth High School. The schools operated simultaneously through 1986, when declining enrollment dictated that the district return to its original one-building format for high schoolers.
Amidst controversy, the Board of Education made a commitment to move all students to Sperry High School in 1987. This decision caused lingering resentment among students, families, and staff of both buildings. In an attempt to bring the community together, Sperry High School was renamed Rush-Henrietta Senior High School. This is why the high school is referred to by this unifying name even today.
But what would become of the district’s dual mascots - the Royals of Roth and the Comets of Sperry?
A Democrat and Chronicle story from the time explains what happened next: “In these days of combined district teams, some schools neglect one of the most important elements of their new identity. A nickname. Not Rush-Henrietta’s girls’ basketball team. When Roth and Sperry merged this season, they bumped their names together: Royal Comets. “‘It’s not official,’” Coach Tom Dulmage told the newspaper. ‘We’re just using it for tournament programs until we get an official name.’”
As it happened, it turned out that a replacement name wasn’t a necessity after all, reporter Brett Avery observed. “If an 18-0 record for the emerging Monroe County League power was good enough this season, why isn’t the nickname?”
And so we became the Rush-Henrietta Royal Comets. We are proud of this most unique name!
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