Public, alternative magnet high school in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
R. H. King Academy
The main archway to the school, one of the original components of the 1922 building, shown in the center (top) Modern school building, partially built in 1975 on the western parking lot (bottom)
R. H. King Academy, formerly known as Scarborough High School, Scarborough Collegiate Institute and R.H. King Collegiate Institute is a secondary school and a de facto alternative school located in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, part of the Toronto District School Board. The school was established in 1922, then became a collegiate in 1930, renamed in 1954 and again in 1989. This school was named after Reginald Harold King (February 16, 1896 – November 4, 1962), a Canadian educator and classicist.
It was the first secondary school built in the former township of Scarborough and second-oldest surviving institution in Scarborough, after Agincourt Collegiate Institute. The R. H. King school motto is "Per Ardua Sapientia" which translates into Through the hard task of wisdom.
History
The inscription of the plaque written by the Scarborough Historical Society dated 1977.
Founded in 1922 as Scarborough High School, the school became Scarborough Collegiate Institute in January 1930, before becoming R. H. King Collegiate Institute in 1954, and being renamed again to R. H. King Academy in 1989.
Scarborough High School (1922–1930)
In 1919, the Township Council of Scarborough received a letter from the City of Toronto that it would have many students from Scarborough to turn away who wished to attend East Toronto High School. A council of public school trustees decided to form a High School District, but this was unheard of for a rural community such as Scarborough. There was no provision in the High School Act, so legislation was put through the offices of George S. Henry, Member of Provincial Parliament. The Government of Ontario passed the legislation and Scarborough High School was born. The first Board of Trustees was set up by the end of 1919.
The Board finally made the move to begin construction in 1922. The Board of Trustees purchased seven acres of land from the farms owned by the family of David Pherrill for $14,000 and on June 29, 1922, the cornerstone was erected for the new building. The next step was to find a principal and staff for the new school.
After reviewing many qualified applicants, the Board chose Dr. Reginald Harold King for the position of principal. Dr. King served the military during World War I and was a Classics Specialist. King, the first principal, served 32 years, although his education career began in Newmarket, Ontario. The school building was still under construction but classes began on September 6, 1922, in the basement of Birch Cliff Congregational Church with Dr. King, three staff members and 116 students. Designed by the architects Burden, Gouinlock, and Harold Carter, the Collegiate Gothic school building finally opened for classes on November 11, 1922 and the official opening was held on December 15, 1922.[1] The first few months of the school year in 1922 began at Birch Cliff Congregational Church.[2]
Scarborough H.S. took pride in its history from the beginning, recording its events in an annual edition of the local newspaper "The Advertiser". It wasn't until 1928 that Scarborough High School had its own yearbook, "The Scarborough Bluff", celebrating its first 5 years, published in cooperation with the "Agincourt Sense-or", for Agincourt Continuation School.
By 1928, the school population dramatically grew up to 300, with new Commercial courses being offered and talk of expansion.
Scarborough Collegiate Institute (1930–1954)
In January 1930, Scarborough High School went through its first change of many, to officially become Scarborough Collegiate Institute. This brought about more growth and the first addition to the school in 1932, despite The Great Depression. As time went on, however, the Depression began to take hold and the financial position of the Township changed. The population of the school continued to grow but the Township could no longer pay the teachers' salaries. To maintain the education of the students and the well being of the staff, teachers were paid with food stamps in order to provide food for their families.
Beginning in September 1939, there was a new challenge for the students of Scarborough Collegiate: World War II. As another war began against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in Europe and Imperial Japan and Asia, a new call for soldiers went out and SCI. responded with spirit. Students and staff of SCI, by the end of World War II, had invested over $25,000 in War Saving Certificates and close to $5,000 for overseas parcels and the Scarborough Red Cross. Many of the SCI students were decorated with medals or honours for their efforts, and in 1945 or 1946, there was a party for those 600 people who returned. The sixty-two students who perished during the war are still honoured in the school's War Memorial, and at the annual Remembrance Day Assembly.
In 1947, Scarborough Collegiate Institute celebrated its first 25 years, with a dance, cake and special magazine. S.C.I. had grown into a school with a strong tradition in sports such as Hockey, Basketball, Rugby, Student Clubs and some new problems - Double Shifts. The Double Shift was a programme that continued until 1952 when the next addition was completed. The Double Shifts were as follows:
The first shift for Grades 9 and 10 started at 8 am and ran until 1 pm.
The second shift for Grades 11, 12 and 13 started classes at 1 pm and ran until 6 pm.
The same teachers taught the whole day, and to make matters more challenging, the power was turned off at 4 pm to save electricity. Light for the remainder of the day came from two lanterns hanging in the middle of the class, with the teacher giving individual instruction. Due to space constraints, classes also took place in the halls and in sections of the cafeteria.
The 1952–53 year brought new facilities such as the library (later called the Heritage Room), a new gymnasium, and classroom space. The enlarged annex was designed by the architects Carter, Coleman and Rankin Associates. SCI was still growing at an incredible rate because in 1954 the double shift programme was re-introduced temporarily until new facilities were complete.[3]
R. H. King Collegiate Institute (1954–1989)
In 1954, Dr. King, who had been principal for the past 32 years, became the Director for the newly-formed Scarborough Board of Education. His close friend and vice-principal William A. Porter became principal, until his death in 1956. With this changing of the guard came the change of the school's official name: R. H. King Collegiate Institute.
The school expanded westward with the new addition that adds ten classrooms, a double gymnasium, and the modern entrance, which was completed by the start of the 1961-62 school year. This addition was designed by architects Allward and Gouinlock.
By then, the Scarborough Board announced R.H. King Collegiate's replacement of its outdated structures dated to 1922 due to fire hazards in the ceilings and floors for its $5.7 million replacement 1900 pupil campus.[4] King was second behind Weston Collegiate Institute in the adolescence list because the vocational art course were offered for 400 students due to pressures at Cedarbrae and Thomson Collegiates.[4][clarification needed] While the 1952 additions and the archway remain, the majority of the original 1922 structure was demolished in spring 1976, replaced by a modern structure with newer academic and science classrooms, library, swimming pool, offices, and cafetorium. Phase two of the construction remodelled the entire 1950s eastern wing.
In 1972, R. H. King C. I. celebrated its 50th anniversary.
R. H. King Academy (1989–present)
Beginning in the 1989-90 school year, the school was given academy status by the Scarborough Board of Education, thus rebranding itself as R.H. King Academy because of its possible threatening closure due to declining enrollment. The school was also given partial "special status" as an alternative school, meaning the school was not deemed automatically as a home-school for students residing nearby. "In area" students were granted the first available spaces, but could opt to go to one of the other nearby high schools if the "Academy" system was not what they wanted. Additional spaces were available after this first group of in area students were registered. These spaces would go to students from "out of area". There were no specific "academic" requirements for admission to King, but students and their parents did need to agree to abide by the Academy's uniform and other policies. The uniform was mandated for all students up until the 2021-2022 school year.
During the first 4 or 5 years of the Academy, there were "line-ups" for "out of area" registration. Parents would even come the day before to get a spot in line.[citation needed] These line-ups became a marketing problem for the board of education, so a more equitable system where students were selected through a lottery-system was established.
King has won three Canada Awards for Excellence from the National Quality Institute.[5][6][7]
In 2005, King implemented a new Leadership Pathway program in which students applying for first year can opt to apply for Leadership Pathway admission. Program admission requirements are applicable and enrollment in the program requires students to complete more tasks, such as an additional 25 hours of Ontario Community Involvement hours and taking an active part in at least 2 leadership councils each year. The first group of students who entered the program graduated in 2009.
Following the conclusion of the 2012-13 school year, King turned the Heritage Room, a university-style lecture room that was the school's library from the 1952 construction, into the Tommy Jutcovich Heritage Room. It was named after the school's long standing principal, Thomas Jutcovich, who left the school after a tenure which saw the school rise to one of the top public schools in Toronto.[8]
R. H. King Academy celebrated its 100th anniversary on September 22–25, 2022.[9]
Student life
Arts
King provides many opportunities[vague] for students to participate in visual arts, dance, photography, arts management, communications, technology, drama, fashion, media, improv, music (voice, band, strings, guitar), musical theatre, presentation skills, technical theatre production, technological design, video production and writers' craft. R.H. King provides a Leadership: Arts and Culture stream where successful students have 4 years of certain arts-based classes.
Athletics
The school provides opportunities[vague] for students to participate in volleyball, basketball, hockey, flag football, cricket, field hockey, curling, lacrosse, golf, cross country, rugby, soccer, swimming, ultimate frisbee, slo-pitch, badminton and track and field.
Leadership
This school provides two different streams for leadership alongside their regular stream.
Issuant from a circlet Or the upper rim set with hazelnuts alternating with trillium flowers Proper a demi lion Or holding between its paws a mortarboard cap Azure.
Escutcheon
Azure the entrance portal of the former Scarborough High School Argent.
Supporters
On a representation of the Scarborough Bluffs proper rising from barry wavy Argent and Azure two lions rampant Or each gorged with a collar compony Azure Sable and Vert and grasping a torch Sable enflamed Or.
Scarborough is a district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is situated atop the Scarborough Bluffs in the eastern part of the city. Its borders are Victoria Park Avenue to the west, Steeles Avenue and the city of Markham to the north, Rouge River and the city of Pickering to the east, and Lake Ontario to the south. Scarborough was named after the English town of Scarborough, North Yorkshire, inspired by its cliffs.
Agincourt is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Agincourt is located in northeast Toronto, along Sheppard Avenue between Kennedy and Markham Roads. Before the creation of the "megacity" of Toronto in 1998, the area was part of Scarborough. It is officially recognized by the City of Toronto as occupying the neighbourhoods of Agincourt South–Malvern West and Agincourt North.
Agincourt Collegiate Institute, formerly known as Agincourt High School and Agincourt Continuation School is a secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in Agincourt, a neighbourhood in the former suburb of Scarborough. It was owned and operated by the Scarborough Board of Education prior to it being amalgamated into the Toronto District School Board in 1998.
Francis Libermann Catholic High School is a Catholic secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Agincourt neighbourhood of Scarborough, and part of the Toronto Catholic District School Board, formerly the Metropolitan Separate School Board.
David and Mary Thomson Collegiate Institute is a semestered English-language high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the Bendale neighbourhood of the district of Scarborough. It was originally sanctioned by the Scarborough Board of Education and since 1998 under its successor board, the Toronto District School Board.
Cedarbrae Collegiate Institute, formerly Cedarbrae Secondary School is a semestered public secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Woburn neighbourhood in former suburb of Scarborough. It was established in 1961 by the former Scarborough Board of Education and is now operated by the Toronto District School Board.
Winston Churchill Collegiate Institute is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the Dorset Park neighbourhood of Scarborough, it is owned and operated by the Toronto District School Board The school was named after Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and 1951 to 1955.
West Hill Collegiate Institute is a public high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located in eastern Scarborough in the neighbourhood of West Hill. It is under the jurisdiction of the Toronto District School Board. From its founding until 1998, it was part of the Scarborough Board of Education.
Tam O'Shanter-Sullivan is a neighbourhood in the east end of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the district of Scarborough. The neighbourhood is bordered by Huntingwood Drive to the North, Kennedy Road to the East, Highway 401 to the South and Victoria Park to the West. The neighbourhood, which includes the Tam O'Shanter and Sullivan communities, takes its name from Tam O’Shanter Golf Course and O'Sullivan's Corners.
Cliffcrest is a residential neighborhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located along the shores of Lake Ontario in the district of Scarborough, bordered by Midland Avenue to the west, the Canadian National Railway to the north, and Bellamy Road to the east.
Midland Avenue Collegiate Institute, formerly Midland Avenue Secondary School and initially known as Central Collegiate Institute is a Toronto District School Board-owned alternative learning complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the former suburb of Scarborough, it consists of Scarborough Centre for Alternative Studies (SCAS), South East Year Round Alternative Centre (SEYRAC), and Caring and Safe Schools Midland program.
Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute is a high school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Birch Cliff neighbourhood of the former suburb of Scarborough. It operates under the Scarborough Board of Education with the latter board merged into the present Toronto District School Board. The school sits atop on the Scarborough Bluffs overlooking Lake Ontario in what is once the shores of Glacial Lake Iroquois and Birchmount Park itself. The motto is Veritas Omnia Vincit.
St. Joan of Arc Catholic Academy, formerly known as Jean Vanier Catholic Secondary School, is a Roman Catholic high school in the Eglinton East neighbourhood of Scarborough in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a member of the Toronto Catholic District School Board.
W. A. Porter Collegiate Institute is a secondary school in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Clairlea neighbourhood of the former suburb of Scarborough. The school provides grades 9-12 as part of the Toronto District School Board, formerly part of the Scarborough Board of Education.
The Scarborough Board of Education, formally the Board of Education for the City of Scarborough is the former public-secular school district serving Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. The board was founded in 1954 through a merger of the Scarborough Collegiate and Township School Boards.
George Wallace Gouinlock was a prominent Canadian architect. Gouinlock practiced mostly in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, including several designated buildings at Exhibition Place.
Scarborough Centre for Alternative Studies (SCAS), formerly Tabor Park Vocational School is an alternative and adult high school serving Scarborough, a part of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It operates under the Toronto District School Board and was previously part of the pre-amalgamated board, Scarborough Board of Education prior to merger. Originated at Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute in 1977 as the re-entry program, the school opened in 1986 at the Tabor Park building and as of 2010, the school is located in the campus of the former Midland Avenue Collegiate Institute sharing with the fellow schools, South East Year Round Alternative Centre and Caring and Safe Schools Alternative Program Area C. SCAS is located on Midland Avenue south of Eglinton Avenue East.
Bendale Business and Technical Institute, formerly Bendale Secondary School and Bendale Vocational School is a defunct specialized technical public high school that was located in Bendale, a neighbourhood in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada owned by the Scarborough Board of Education, that succeeded its operations into the present Toronto District School Board prior to merger. Existed from 1963 until its closure in 2019, it was the first vocational school that served in the former borough of Scarborough in which the school tailored for students with life skills or pursue career in the industry. The school's motto was Flourish Through Industry.
Carter, Coleman and Rankin Associates was a Toronto-based architectural firm responsible for building several high schools for the then Scarborough Board of Education in the 1950s. The firms' work on these schools were influenced by International Style during the post War period.
↑ [/awards/Recipients/Recipients2004.aspx "Canada Awards for Excellence Recipients 2004"]. National Quality Institute. Retrieved 2009-05-05.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
↑ [/NewsEvents/details.aspx?ID=536 "Fourteen Canadian Organizations to Receive Canada Awards for Excellence"]. National Quality Institute. 2005-10-17. Retrieved 2009-05-05.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
↑ [/awards/Recipients/Recipients2008.aspx "Canada Awards for Excellence Recipients 2008"]. National Quality Institute. Retrieved 2009-05-05.{{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
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