North Carolina Schools Lead the Way in NFHS School Honor Roll
A total of 113 schools in 17 states have taken advantage of the NFHS School Honor Roll, which promotes professional development for high school coaches through the completion of specific online courses in the NFHS Learning Center (www.NFHSLearn.com).
The national recognition program was started in April 2020 – weeks after the shutdown of schools because of the COVID-19 pandemic – and has been a tremendous resource for schools to involve their coaches in ongoing education and promote that involvement with banners in their school gymnasiums.
Schools can earn three levels of merit within the School Honor Roll – Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. When 90 percent of a school’s coaches complete the required courses for each level, the school receives a large display banner commemorating their accomplishments.
Level 1 required courses are “Concussion in Sports,” “Sudden Cardiac Arrest,” “Protecting Students from Abuse” and “Fundamentals of Coaching.” To earn Level 2 status, coaches have to complete courses that pertain to their sports, as well as “First Aid, Health and Safety,” “Heat Illness Prevention” and “Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention.” Schools earn a Level 3 banner when 90 percent of their coaches complete the following courses: “Sportsmanship,” “Strength and Conditioning,” “Teaching and Modeling Behavior,” “Engaging Effectively with Parents” and “Bullying, Hazing and Inappropriate Behaviors.”
North Carolina has been the overwhelming leader of the School Honor Roll as 76 schools have earned a total of 86 banners in the first 2½ years of the program.
From the outset of the program in April 2020, a number of schools in two large North Carolina school districts – Cumberland County Schools in Fayetteville and the Wake County Public Schools in Cary – were some of the first to complete courses and earn banners.
Gray’s Creek High School, John Griffin Middle School and Pine Forest Middle School of the Cumberland County Schools were the nation’s first schools to earn Level 1 status. At the time, Dr. Marvin Connelly Jr., superintendent of Cumberland County Schools, had the following to say:
“I commend our coaches for taking advantage of the top-notch professional development provided through NFHS – our students are the ultimate beneficiaries,” Connelly said. “We are committed to providing our coaches with professional learning opportunities and will continue to encourage them to participate in these offerings. In our school system, we are focused on providing students with equitable access to engaging learning that prepares them to be collaborative, competitive and successful in our global world. Athletics are an important part of our students’ educational experience, serving as an extension of the classroom and helping our students learn important life skills.”
Later that year, Mac Williams Middle School – another Cumberland County School – became the nation’s first middle school to earn both Level 1 and Level 2 status.
Several North Carolina schools have continued to be involved in the School Honor Roll the past two years, including five of the seven schools nationally that have earned all three levels. West Craven High School in Vanceboro, Green Level High School in Cary, Jones Senior High School in Trenton, Pender High School in Burgaw and Union Middle School in Clinton have all received Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 banners as a result of 90 percent of their coaches completing all courses in the School Honor Roll program.
“We are grateful to the leadership in coaches education in the state of North Carolina,” said Dan Schuster, NFHS director of educational services. “The North Carolina High School Athletic Association, under the leadership of Que Tucker, and individuals such as Dr. Connelly in the Cumberland Schools and Deran Coe, director of athletics for the Wake County Schools, have been instrumental in spreading the word about this great professional development opportunity.
“In addition to many high schools in North Carolina that have been involved in the program, it has been great to see coaches at middle schools who have been taking courses through the School Honor Roll. We are hopeful that schools – high schools and middle schools – in other states begin to take advantage of this great professional development opportunity for their coaches.”
In addition to North Carolina, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have had multiple schools involved in the School Honor Roll. Six schools in New Jersey have earned a total of 10 banners, and four schools in Pennsylvania have earned 11 banners.
North Arlington High School and Irvington High School in New Jersey have earned Level 1 banners in each of the three years of Honor Roll – 2020, 2021 and 2022. Four other New Jersey schools have earned Level 1 status – Haddonfield Memorial High School, Triton Regional High School, Northern Burlington High School and Linden High School.
In Pennsylvania, Tacony Academy Charter School in Philadelphia was the first high school in the nation to earn Level 2 and Level 3 status. Tacony also earned Level 1 status and is one of the seven schools nationally to accomplish that feat, along with the five aforementioned North Carolina schools and another Philadelphia School – Mastery Charter Schools-Pickett Campus.
The nation’s most active school in the School Honor Roll has been another Philadelphia school – the Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush, which is the nation’s only school to complete Level 3 status three times, along with one Level 1 banner.
Schools in four other states have earned more than two banners. Three Wisconsin schools have earned five banners, three Mississippi schools have earned five banners, three Maryland schools have earned four banners and two Texas schools have earned three banners.
Other states with schools that have earned at least one banner since the program’s inception are Oregon, California, Oklahoma, Indiana, Arizona, Vermont, South Carolina, Nevada, Hawaii and Rhode Island.
A total of 20 schools in seven states (North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin, Texas, Maryland and Mississippi) have earned Level 2 status, and 10 schools in three states (North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Jersey) have achieved Level 3 status.
“Earning the NFHS School Honor Roll banner is a symbol that the school and its coaches are committed to providing a great experience for young people, and it’s something that everyone can be proud of within their communities,” Schuster said.
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