Shaker's 1964 Class Reunion - their 50th - is on Saturday

SHAKER HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1964 CELEBRATES 50TH REUNION, THE FIRST CLASS TO GRADUATE FROM SHAKER HIGH SCHOOL AS SIX-YEAR STUDENTS

Date: Sept. 6
Where: Shaker High School, 445 Watervliet-Shaker Rd., Latham, NY 12110
Time: 11 a.m.

LATHAM, N.Y.--On Sept. 6 , alumni will arrive in a North Colonie school bus at the front entrance of Shaker High School to tour the building and premises as they are today, given by current Key Club members. It will be a walk down memory lane as alumni reflect on the many “firsts” during their time at Shaker.

The Shaker High School Class of 1964 students were seventh graders when the school opened in the Fall of 1958 with 1,155 students, including 714 in the junior high school.  In no time, the school outgrew its walls. Construction of a new junior high school began almost immediately and was completed in 1963, leaving the Class of ’64 as the first of only five classes to benefit from six years in the state-of-the-art facility built with their future in mind. In all, 283 students graduated in June 1964.

50 years ago, Shaker High School was the first school in the area to install the latest in IBM computers and initiate a course in technology. It also was among the first schools to offer four years of seven different languages, including Russian and German, distinguishing the school as ahead of its time in educating students for the global world that was rapidly evolving.

The school implemented an innovative “school within a school” concept, an approach to create community in a large school, with the H-shaped building having three of its wings designated with their own students, faculty, and principal. Each had its own student government, honors recognitions, and activities, yet there was strong camaraderie among the entire school’s students. A similar concept continues today.