Hall High School (Connecticut)

William H. Hall High School, also known as Hall High, is a four-year public high school located in West Hartford, in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Opened in 1924, it was named after William Hutchins Hall, who was a teacher, principal, and superintendent of schools in West Hartford.^[1][4][5] The school colors are blue and white, and the school’s mascot is the Titans, formerly the Warriors, after the Board Of Education voted to change it on February 1, 2022.^[6] It is one of two public high schools in the West Hartford Public Schools, the other being Conard High School.

William H. Hall High School
Location
975 North Main Street West Hartford , Connecticut 06117 United States
Coordinates	41°47′41″N 72°45′05″W
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1924 (101 years ago) (1924)[1]
Founder	William H. Hall
School district	West Hartford Public Schools
CEEB code	070900
Principal	Sarah Isaacs
Faculty	99.85 (on an FTE basis)[2]
Grades	9–12
Number of students	1,393 (2023–2024)[2]
Student to teacher ratio	13.95[2]
Color(s)	Blue and white
Team name	Titans
Newspaper	Hall Record
Yearbook	Hallmarks
Website	hall.whps.org
Source:[3] except where noted

Enrollment

The 2022–2023 demographic profile is as follows: White 60%, Hispanic 15%, Asian American 11%, Black 10%, two or more races 5%, American Indian/Alaskan Native 0.1%, and Hawaiian Native/Pacific Islander 0.2%.^[7]

Student body composition as of 2022^[7]

Race and ethnicity	Total
White	59.6%
Hispanic	15.2%
Asian	10.5%
Black	9.5%
Two or more Races	5.0%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	0.2%
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.1%
Sex	Total
Male	51%
Female	49%
Income	Total
Economically disadvantaged	21%

Athletics and clubs

Hall High School is part of the CCC, the Central Connecticut Conference competing in the west division. The Board of Education added varsity sports for girls in January 1972.^[8]

Soccer

In soccer, Hall won the state championship in 1980, 2019, and 2023. In 2018, they were state championship runner-ups. In 2020, the boys soccer team finished nationally ranked on several polls, including being ranked 3rd in the country, and as the highest ranked public school on the TopDrawerSoccer Fall Fab 50 rankings. ^[9]

Ice Hockey

Hall's boys' ice hockey team captured the CIAC Division II ice hockey state championship in 1993.^[10]

Cross Country

Hall's boys' cross country team has won the Central Connecticut Conference Championships five of the last six years dating back to 2012.^[11] Hall won the Class LL State Championship in cross country for the first time in 2021, and then repeated in 2022. In 2022, Hall also won the CT State Open Championship and the New England Championship in cross country.

Indoor Track

Hall's Boys' indoor track team won 5 consecutive CIAC Class LL Championships between 2019 and 2024 (no competition in 2021 due to Covid-19), as well as the CT State Open Championships in 2019, 2022, and 2023. ^[12]

Chess

In 2011, Hall's chess team won the state championship.^[13]

State championships

Team	Year
Boys Soccer	1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1980, 2019, 2023
Boys Indoor Track	1955, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
Boys Outdoor Track	2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Boys Tennis	1979, 1992, 1993, 2007
Boys Golf	1952, 1973, 1977
Boys Cross Country	2021, 2022
Girls Cross Country	1987, 2019
Wrestling	1976, 1987
Girls Outdoor Track	1986
Girls Golf	2021
Girls Gymnastics	2004
Boys Ice Hockey	1993

^[14]

Pops 'n Jazz

Hall High School has a renowned jazz program, which stages an annual production called Pops 'n Jazz that regularly sells over 3,000 tickets every year. They have also won the Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival twice, in 1998 and 2000. In 2023 they won the Charles Mingus Festival & High School Competition. The band has performed for the president at the White House, appeared in Ken Burns' documentary film "Jazz."^[15]

Academic accomplishments

• Blue Ribbon School in 1984–85.^[16]
• Ranked as the 11th best school in the state of Connecticut by U.S. News & World Report in 2018.^[17]

Notable alumni

• Natalie Anderson, Survivor: San Juan del Sur winner^[18]
• David Alan Basche, actor
• Shari Cantor, mayor ^[19]
• Chris Carrabba, musician and lead singer of the band Dashboard Confessional attended freshman year^[20]
• Dave Chameides, Emmy Award winning Director and Cameraman^[21]
• Jacob Fox, mathematician
• Joel Frahm, jazz tenor saxophonist^[22]
• Harvey Harris, American painter and art professor
• Jonathan Harris, former Connecticut state senator and former mayor of West Hartford^{[citation needed]}
• Peter Hotez, public health researcher and vaccine developer
• Charlie Kaufman, screenwriter, director^{[citation needed]}
• Matthew Yang King, actor, producer, director, and writer
• Marc Lasry (Class of 1977), billionaire co-founder/CEO of Avenue Capital Group, and co-owner of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks
• Frank Luntz, political and communications consultant, pollster, and pundit
• Jimmy Macbride, jazz drummer^[22]
• Brad Mehldau, Grammy award winning jazz pianist^[22]
• Jacob Neusner, scholar of Judaism^[23]
• Noah Preminger, jazz saxophonist^[22]
• Jessica Rosenworcel, Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission^[24]
• Michael Schur, Emmy Award winning actor, television producer, and writer.^[25]
• Roger Sperry, neuropsychologist and Nobel Prize laureate^[26]
• David H. Steinberg, film and television writer and producer
• Allyson Swaby, professional soccer player and captain of Jamaican national team^[27]
• Chantelle Swaby, professional soccer player
• Patrick Zimmerli, composer^[22]