Collierville High School (Collierville, Tennessee)
Collierville High School is a public high school (grades 9–12) located in Collierville, Tennessee which operates under the administration of Collierville Schools. Its school colors are maroon and white and its mascot is the dragon, originally designed by elementary art teacher Lisa Ackerman as "Blister the Dragon".
Collierville High School | |
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Collierville High School in March 2020 | |
Address | |
11605 E Shelby Drive , Tennessee 38017 | |
Coordinates | 35.0181°N 89.6766°W |
Information | |
Type | Public |
Founded | 1905 |
School district | Collierville Schools |
Principal | Roger L. Jones III[1] |
Teaching staff | 136.50 (FTE)[2] |
Grades | 9–12 |
Enrollment | 2,773 (2018–19)[2] |
Student to teacher ratio | 20.32[2] |
Campus type | Suburban |
Color(s) | Maroon and White |
Mascot | Blister the Dragon |
Newspaper | Dragon Spirit |
Website | www.colliervillehs.org |
Collierville High School is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and holds memberships in NASSP, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA), NACAC, and SACAC.[3]
History
The original campus was built in 1905, with expansions and additions being made in 1911, 1924, and 1926; the last was a large gymnasium. In the 1930s, the school became one of the first buildings in Tennessee to be aided by the Civilian Conservation Corps, and it was granted a $250,000 grant by the CWA in the winter of 1933–34.[4] Hundreds of workers were brought in from Memphis, Tennessee to build an auditorium, library, and study hall in later years.[5]
The second campus sat at the intersection of Byhalia and Frank Road on the same property that once held the Bellevue High-Security Correctional Facility. Collierville High School transitioned there in the autumn of 1995, after ninety years at its original campus. The site received a $14,500,000 addition that made it the largest school facility in Shelby County.[6]
The third and current campus, first opened for the 2018–19 school year, was built on land south of State Route 385 and east of Sycamore Road on Shelby Drive due to overcrowding at the previous campus.[7][8] The old building became the seat of West Collierville Middle School.[9]
Academics
Academically, the school offers 5 dual enrollment courses, 34 Honors courses, and 25 Advanced Placement courses. It was listed on Newsweek’s America’s Best High Schools list from 2008-2013, has the largest PTSA in the state of Tennessee, and has had 21 United States Presidential Scholar candidates in the past fourteen years with two Presidential Scholar winners (in 2002 and 2014).
Extracurriculars
Collierville High School offers an array of extracurricular activities. 51 clubs are registered at the school, in addition to a public-access television cable TV station located on its campus that serves the local Shelby County Comcast and UVerse community on Comcast channel 98.7 & UVerse channel 119. Additionally, CHS's STEM program includes the Dragon Robotics team, which competes in the FIRST Robotics Competition and VEX.
Athletics
The school accommodates twenty-two sports and five club sports. The boys' baseball team won the state championship in 2013, and the school's Joshua Wheeler won the 2014 Decathlon state championship for track and field. In addition, it is one of only two schools in West Tennessee with a mountain biking team.
Awards and recognition
Collierville High School is the only public high school in Tennessee offered a charter from the Cum Laude Society.[10] CHS ranks in the "Top 10 High Schools in Tennessee" by U.S. News & World Report[11] and Newsweek's "America's Best High Schools". CHS is also recognized annually as a winner in The Washington Post's "High School Challenge."
Notable alumni
- Zack Cozart, professional baseball shortstop and third baseman for the San Francisco Giants
- Nikki McCray, coach, former professional women's basketball player, 2-time Olympic Gold medalist (1996, 2000)
- Drew Pomeranz, professional baseball pitcher
- Hunter Bradley, American professional football long snapper for the Green Bay Packers
- Olan Rogers, YouTube star and creator of Final Space on TBS
References
- "Roger L. Jones III named new principal at Collierville High". The Commercial Appeal. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
- "Collierville High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- Cognia. "Institution Summary". Archived from the original on 9 June 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- Van West, Carroll (2001). Tennessee's New Deal Landscape. University of Tennessee Press. p. 123. ISBN 1572331089.
- Dye, Robert. W. Shelby County. Arcadia Publishing. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-7385-4192-1.
- "History". Collierville High School. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
- "Tour gives vision of thrilling educational opportunities at new Collierville High". The Commercial Appeal. 6 October 2017. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- "Brand new $94M Collierville High School almost ready for students". WMC Action News 5. 9 January 2018. Archived from the original on 9 January 2018. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- "Collierville School Board names new middle school". The Commercial Appeal. 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- "2014 Member Schools" (PDF). http://www.cumlaudesociety.org. p. 6. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
- "Best High Schools in Tennessee". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 26 March 2019.