Needham B. Broughton High School, commonly known as Broughton High School, is one of thirty-two high schools in the Wake County Public School System. It is located at 723 St. Mary's Street, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Broughton was named after businessman and politician, Needham B. Broughton, who contributed much to the public schools of the Raleigh area. Broughton is known for its castle-like stone facade design and tall bell tower. The architect was William Henley Deitrick.[4]
History
Needham B. Broughton High School was established in 1929 as Raleigh High School. It is the oldest high school in Raleigh still being used.[5] Shortly after it was built, C. B. Edwards sent a letter to the Raleigh Public School Board, requesting that the school—then without an official name—be named for Needham B. Broughton in honor of his service to public education in the city. The renaming ceremony took place in 1930, towards the end of the school year.[6]
In 1935, Henry Watson Moore wrote a class song for his graduation, which later became Broughton's alma mater. Broughton's Queen of Hearts dance began in 1943, in an effort to raise funds for World War II. In 1957 during the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in the school's former auditorium.[7] Broughton was originally an all-white segregated school.[8] In 1961, Broughton was first integrated when three Black students, Myrtle L. Capehart, Dorothy J. Howard, and Cynthia E. Williams, started attending. [9] In 1989, Broughton's 3,000 seat Holliday Gymnasium opened, named after former principal and basketball coach Joe Holliday. In 2009, President Barack Obama visited the school.
Academics
Broughton offers 16 Advanced Placement (AP) courses as well as 28 International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. The school offers four foreign languages: French, German, Mandarin and Spanish. The school runs on a 4x4 modified block schedule (A Day-B Day which allows students to go a whole semester without missing a "core class" or a foreign language).
Athletics
Broughton's sports teams play under the name "Capitals", sometimes shortened to "Caps".[10] The school offers a variety of different sports teams (the newest of which are the lacrosse and gymnastic teams) that compete in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) 4A classification. The Capitals are members of the CAP 6 4A conference.[11] Broughton's main sports facilities are the 3,000-seat Capital Stadium and the Holliday Gymnasium.
Broughton has a band, orchestra, chorus, and dance program, among other groups. The "Carolina Spirit" show choir was known as the top show choir in the country during the 1990s, winning six consecutive Showstoppers National/International Championships.[citation needed] In 2007 the drama department produced Lorraine Hansberry's 1959 Broadway play A Raisin in the Sun. In 2015 the drama team put on The Ugly Duckling at the Scotland Theater Festival.[14]
Band
Broughton's award-winning band program has attended the 2008 and 2012 Tournament of Roses Parades.[15] The 186 member band was one of fifteen bands selected to participate for the 2008 parade, and one of only six high schools.[16] They were invited to march at the Inaugural Parade for N.C. Governor Bev Perdue. The Jazz I group also performed for President Barack Obama during his visit to Raleigh on July 29, 2009. Broughton also has a concert band, a symphonic wind ensemble, and a jazz band that performed for Jay Leno in 2011 and has made other appearances in Raleigh's "Pieces of Gold" at Memorial Auditorium, and played in Cameron Village's Chick-fil-A and Noodles restaurants.[citation needed]
Publications
Broughton's publications program includes the annual yearbook and newspaper. The yearbook is named the "Latipac" which is "Capital" (Broughton's mascot) spelled backwards. The school newspaper, the "Hi-Times", is published and distributed several times a year. Articles are also published on the Hi-Times website.[17]
Dance
Students from Broughton's Dance Program regularly perform throughout the country and at arts functions around the state. They put on several concerts each year, including a benefit concert in December which is completely produced by the Broughton Dance Company. In 2017, the Broughton Dance Director, Betsy Graves, was named Wake County Public School System Teacher of the Year.[18][better source needed]
Community service
Students are required to perform 25 hours of service each year within the community. Students can also participate in service trips to Guatemala (Proyecto Quetzal) and in projects such as a school-sponsored Habitat for Humanity house.[19][14]
Technology
Broughton is serviced by the adjacent Wade Edwards Learning Lab (WELL),[20] a program established by former Senator John Edwards that provides after-school access to computers. Broughton's graphics department has also received an update.
From 2002 to 2004 Broughton underwent a $14 million renovation in which much of the school was gutted and refitted with state-of-the-art technology and new interiors. During the 2004–2005 school year Broughton received an additional $5 million to renovate its Holliday Gymnasium (the state's largest high school gym). One of the highlights of the renovations was the refurbishment of the newly titled Diane Payne Auditorium, named after the retired veteran principal.[21][19]
WCAP
Broughton broadcasts its morning announcements via a closed-circuit network, headquartered from the WCAP media studio in the library. WCAP was founded in 1992 as a monthly, pre-recorded news production informing students of events happening around Broughton. By 1993 it had become a live, daily show broadcast from the media center. The set has undergone many renovations throughout the years, and WCAP celebrated its thirtieth birthday on January 30, 2022.[22][23]
Mike and David Connell, founders of pop rock group The Connells, whose best-known song '74-'75 remembers the passing of time and how their former comrades have evolved since their time at Broughton High School.
