1959 and 1960 were not affected. Fire insurance allowed the school to rebuild while displaced students were accommodated at local junior high schools under a time-sharing arrangement. On August 15, 2008, New Rochelle High School was struck by lightning. The resulting fire badly damaged the building's distinctive spire. The fire occurred just two months after the 40th anniversary of the 1968 arson fire that destroyed much of the school. The spring 2018 school semester at New Rochelle High School was marred by several instances of violence involving students. In 2019, it was reported that NRHS administrator Shadia Alvarez was being fired "for changing 212 grades for 32 students by making 'entries and changes to students' records in violation of NRHS grade-change practice and without any consistent, comprehensible or valid explanation.'" Academics To create a more personalized atmosphere, NRHS is organized into eight smaller learning communities of approximately 400-600 students each. The communities are geographically defined and serve as a home base for students and teachers. Ninth and tenth grade students in each community are teamed with core area teachers in English, social studies, mathematics, and science. These teacher-student 'teams' remain intact for ninth and tenth grade in order to provide continuity for students and staff. Eleventh and twelfth grade students remain within their communities even though most course work occurs throughout the campus. Departments Arts Department, an expansive program integrating Art, Music, Dance and Theater Arts within the school. The four main standards are stressed by the department: Creating, Performing, and Participating in The Arts; Knowing and Using Arts Materials and Resources; Responding To and Analyzing Works of Art; Understanding The Cultural Dimensions and Contributions of The Arts. The department also provides a Performing and Visual Arts Education (P.A.V.E.) program enabling students to major in the Arts. Each year competitive auditions are held for each artistic discipline; Visual Arts, Theater, Vocal Music, Orchestra, Band and Dance . Once in the program, students attend classes before school so that there are no conflicts with their regular academic course load. Business Education Department, geared towards preparing students for career and workplace success. Current programs of study include: Business; Marketing & Entrepreneurship; Marketing and Computer Applications. Engineering and Architectural Design Department, offers courses in architectural design, architectural presentation, CADD aided residential drawing and design and drawing for production. Students can select the Architectural design sequence of courses as their major. The department features