Shea High School

Shea High School
Address
485 East Ave. Pawtucket , Rhode Island 02860
Information
School type	Public high school
School district	Pawtucket School District
Principal	Matthew Bergeron
Staff	62.00 (FTE) [1]
Grades	9 – 12
Enrollment	823 (2022-2023) [1]
Student to teacher ratio	13.27 [1]
Color(s)
Mascot	Raider
Website	http://pawtucket.shea.schooldesk.net/
Pawtucket West High School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Coordinates	41°51′55″N71°23′19″W / 41.86528°N 71.38861°W / 41.86528; -71.38861
Built	1938
Architect	O'Malley, John F.
Architectural style	Art Deco
MPS	Pawtucket MRA
NRHP reference No.	83003845 [2]
Added to NRHP	November 18, 1983

The Pawtucket Marching Band is open to all Pawtucket middle and high schools

Charles E. Shea High School, commonly known as Shea High School and previously known as Pawtucket West High School, is an American public secondary school at 485 East Avenue in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Shea is part of the Pawtucket School Department. The mascot is the "Shea High Raider". The school was named after a well-known Pawtucket resident, Charles E. Shea.

About the school

In the 1950s through the late 1960s, what was then Pawtucket West High School shared a building with the East Avenue Elementary School, a local neighborhood all Caucasian school. After the Supreme Court ruling on Brown vs. the Board of Education, students were bussed to Samuel Slater Junior High School for their middle school years, which were seventh, eighth and ninth grade in that era. Students were tracked into a college preparation strand or a vocational education strand, as was common in those days.

LL Cool J and U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy made a surprise visit to Shea High School in 2005 to talk about the future and school academics. LL Cool J then met with students and signed autographs. ^[4]

After a low test-score history for some years, the State authorities were going to take control of the school, but good scores in 2006 averted this. ^[5]

After 2010 changes to the No Child Left Behind Act granted federal waivers for schools with low graduation rates upon implementing leadership change, then-principal Dr Christopher Lord stepped down to ensure funding, despite widespread acclaim and public support. ^[6] The school was targeted by the state in 2011 for turnaround because of low test scores and a graduation rate of 67 percent. ^[7] A new principal introduced changes, and by 2014 the graduation rate had risen to 88 percent, higher than the state average. ^[7] Graduation rates fell to 78% by 2020 upon the school's exit from turnaround ^[8]

School enrollment is about 1,188 students: 1% Asian, 29% Hispanic, 39% Black, and 31% White. ^[9]

Pawtucket Mayor Don Grebien attends Shea's graduation every year. Each year the school has a celebrity guest speaker for the graduating class.

Architecture

Front of the building

The main school building is an imposing three-story Art Deco structure, set back on a terraced lot on the west side of East Avenue. It is an E-shaped building, with a central portion flanked by end bays which project slightly to the front, and more to the rear. Behind the central portion a third leg extends to the rear. The building was designed by Providence architect John F. O'Malley and built in 1938–39 with funding from the Public Works Administration. ^[10] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. ^[2]

Notable alumni

• John M. Nielson, 1961, third president of Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary (1989-2001)
• Ronni Kern, Hollywood screenwriter
• Chet Simmons, President NBC Sports, President ESPN, Commissioner USFL

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Pawtucket, Rhode Island

References

1. "Charles E. Shea High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 7, 2024.
2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
3. Martinez, LuzJennifer (December 18, 2024). "Pawtucket district marching band said to be ready for greatness". Pawtucket, Rhode Island: The Valley Breeze. Archived from the original on December 18, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
4. "Top Stories". Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved March 4, 2007.
5. "2006 School Report Card".
6. "Pawtucket's loss is now town's gain: New AHS principal must move under NCLB".
7. Borg, Linda (June 7, 2015). "Pawtucket's Shea High School — and its students — on road to success". The Providence Journal. Retrieved June 8, 2015.
8. "RIDE Report Card".
9. "Charles e. Shea High School (2021 Ranking) | Pawtucket, RI".
10. "Historic Resources of Pawtucket (PDF pages 82-84)" (PDF). Rhode Island Preservation. Retrieved November 19, 2014.

External links

• Shea High home page
• Shea High Classes of 1979 and 1980 Home Page