Greenhill School (Addison, Texas)

Greenhill School is a co-educational day school in Addison, Texas, United States. The school was founded in 1950 by Bernard Fulton. The 78-acre (320,000 m2) campus is located 12 miles (19 km) north of downtown Dallas, Texas and enrolls about 1,270 students from throughout the Dallas Metroplex.[1] The school is the first co-educational, non-denominational Pre-Kindergarten through grade 12 school in Dallas and is a member of both the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) and the Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC).

Greenhill School
Address
Greenhill School
Greenhill School
4141 Spring Valley Road

Addison
,
Texas

United States
Coordinates32.942335°N 96.844059°W / 32.942335; -96.844059
Information
TypeIndependent, Coeducational, and College Preparatory School
MottoPer Aspera Ad Astra (Reach for the Stars)
Established1950
GradesPreK-12
Enrollment1,279
CampusSuburban
Color(s)Green & Gold          
MascotHornet (Hugo the Hornet)
AccreditationIndependent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS)
Websitewww.greenhill.org

History

Greenhill School was founded in 1950 as a co-educational option among the independent schools in Dallas. From 1950 to 1976, Bernard Fulton served as the founding headmaster, and at the time, he introduced the concepts of independent co-education, the primer program, and open-space education while the school grew from 62 students to 1,002. After he retired from Greenhill School, he became the headmaster of Lakehill Preparatory School, and later, Fulton Academy in Rockwall, Texas, was named after him as well. On October 20, 1990, Governor Bill Clements declared Bernard Fulton Day “for his dedication to the education of young people in Dallas, in Texas, and in the nation."[2]

From 1955 to 1959, late State Representative Fred Agnich of Dallas was chairman of the board of the Greenhill School and was instrumental in the early development of the institution.[3]

The original Upper School building was a part of a farmhouse that was on the land prior to the school. It also housed Greenhill's library, cafeteria, and administrative offices. Unfortunately, in 1963, a fire decimated the building, leaving nothing in its wake. Due to Greenhill's tenacious spirit, classes resumed only 48 hours later. It took nearly 13 years, but the Upper School students got their new permanent building, named after the beloved founder Bernard Fulton, opening for its first day in 1974. But alas, on the morning of March 30, 1987, the fire department was notified that another fire had started in the Bernard Fulton Upper School building. The building was again decimated, and classes were displaced into library corners and temporary buildings. Again, the bright spirit of Greenhill shown through, and soon the phrase "Greenhill is not buildings.... it's people!" Students and faculty all came together to assist in the cleanup and restoration that enabled the reopening of the Bernard Fulton Upper School on February 5, 1988.[4]

The aftermath of the fire that destroyed the old Upper School in March 1987.

Academia

Greenhill's academic structure consists of each subject having a Division Head while Pre-K-12 Department Chairs supervise the curriculum. The school is divided into four sections: Preschool, Lower School, Middle School, and finally the Upper School, which houses about 471 students (9-12) with about 115 in each grade. In 2001, the school was ranked top 40 in public and private schools in Worth Magazine by the number of matriculants to Harvard University, Princeton, and Yale. Besides these, students in the last four years have been accepted into colleges such as Stanford University, Vassar College, Emory University, Northwestern University, Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, Harvard University, New York University, Rice University, Yale University, Wake Forest University, Dartmouth College, Boston College, Brown University, Duke University, Trinity University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, Pratt Institute, Vanderbilt University, and Washington University in St. Louis. The Upper School offers 15 AP courses. The average SAT scores for the Class of 2008 were 675 verbal, 673 math, and 665 writing. The Class of 2008 also had 21 commended finalists for National Merit scholarships, and 10 actual finalists for the scholarship. Academically, only three other private schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have achieved similar levels of prestige: St. Marks School of Texas, the Hockaday School, and Cistercian Preparatory School.[5] In addition to academics, students are also required to complete 48 hours of community service upon graduation.[6]

Admissions

Greenhill has a population of 1318 students; of those students, 471 of them are enrolled in the Upper School. The Greenhill policy “admits students without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, or disabilities.”[7] The admissions process begins in the fall, and applications are accepted one year prior to the year of expected entrance. Applicants take the CATS test in grades Pre-K to Primer and the ISEE test in grades 1-12.[8][9] Interviews, academics scores, test scores, Teacher Recommendations, Group observation test, extra-curriculars, athletic achievements, citizenship, and service are evaluated by the committee.[10] After these materials have been noted, the applicant is subject to three decisions: invited, waitpool, and non-acceptance. The Financial Aid Committee works to make sure that Greenhill is an affordable option. Families must reapply for financial aid each year.[11]

Traditions

The Water Tower

Each year, the incoming seniors paint the Water Tower in the parking lot with graffiti. They spray their names on it with an overriding theme and picture to depict their grade.[12]

First Day of School

On the first day of school, students come to school on campus with a painted water tower. The senior class comes to school with females dressed in white and males dressed in black. The whole school also attends an assembly in the Phillips Gymnasium to ring in the new year.[13]

Founder's Day

Founder's Day is the annual September 11 celebration of Greenhill's establishment on September 11, 1950. The whole school meets in the Phillips Gymnasium for an assembly to commemorate two teachers and honor five faculty members. The Student Council President (a senior) lights the Founder's Day Candle with the current longest working faculty member. During the assembly, the Service-Learning and Community Service Program announces the Estelle Dickens service project for the year. Legacy Heart of the Hill groups are named during this assembly. The Heart of the Hill program brings groups of students from each division—Lower, Middle and Upper—together to help instill a sense of community across the campus.[14]

Senior Breakfast

The Alumni Association holds the annual senior breakfast in the fall for the graduating seniors. During this time, the graduating seniors meet with alumni and are given their senior sweatshirts.[15]

Athletics

Greenhill is a member of the Southwest Preparatory Conference which includes private schools from Texas and Oklahoma. Students start playing athletics for the school when they enter the 7th grade and are able to participate in Basketball, Baseball, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Diving, Golf, Field Hockey, Football, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, and Volleyball. Greenhill has had many prominent athletes such as Ashley Rape (Class of 2008) who was featured in Sports Illustrated, and Parade All-America. She played Duke University and was selected as Gatorade Texas Girl Soccer Player of the Year for 2007-2008.[16] Chelsey Sveinsson (Class of 2011) was selected as SportsDay's 2007 Girls Newcomer of the Year and was selected as Gatorade Texas Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year for 2007-2008, 2008-2009, and 2009-2010.[17] Sveinsson also won the 2008 Nike National Cross Country Championship.[18]

The following records were found at the Greenhill Website and the Southwest Preparatory Conference Website. Due to the lack of retained information, some championships have not been recorded.

Southwest Preparatory Conference Championships
Sport Year
Boys Basketball 1975, 1998
Girls Basketball 1976, 1998, 1999, 2014, 2020
Boys Baseball
Girls Softball 1979, 1980
Boys Cross Country 1977, 1981, 1982, 1983, 2006
Girls Cross Country 1984, 1985, 2019
Boys Golf 1999, 2000
Girls Golf
Boys Football 2000
Girls Field Hockey 1974
Boys Lacrosse
Girls Lacrosse
Boys Soccer 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
Girls Soccer 1984, 1985, 1987, 1992, 2005, 2007
Boys Swimming
Girls Swimming
Boys Tennis 1973, 1978, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Girls Tennis 1973, 2008, 2009, 2015
Boys Track and Field 1999
Girls Track and Field 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016
Boys Volleyball 1985, 1986, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018
Girls Volleyball 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2015, 2016

Fine arts

Greenhill offers courses of study in visual arts, photography, band, orchestra, choir, dance, technical theater, debate, drama, and video production. Every year, the Upper School Fine Arts program travels to a different school in the country for the ISAS Fine Arts festival.

In 2000, the National Forensic League recognized Greenhill Debate as one of the top programs of the 20th Century. Greenhill holds many wins at the National Tournament of Champions.[19] In addition, Greenhill won the Baker Award, given to the overall top policy team in the nation in 2012.

Additionally, the school hosts a program called RockTalk which has featured artists such as The Fray, Saving Abel, Simple Plan, Bowling for Soup, Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights, Sorta, and Aranda.[20]

Notable alumni
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gollark: > > > PotatOS is at least interesting. The sandboxing stuff it uses is pretty generalizable.> > It's a virusPeople often foolishly label potatOS a "virus" just because it conveniently copies itself to disks and has sandboxing.
gollark: Yep!
gollark: https://forums.computercraft.cc/index.php?topic=161.0ÅAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
gollark: There are maybe... five good "OS"es at most?

References
  1. "Greenhill School | Quick Facts". www.greenhill.org. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  2. From Humble Beginnings: The First Fifty Years of Greenhill School: 1950-2000. By Thomas R. Perryman & David E. Perryman. Copyright 2000 Stinehour Press.
  3. "Frederick Joseph Agnich". Dallas Morning News, October 30, 2004. Retrieved September 20, 2013.
  4. "Greenhill School | Fulton & Korenvaes Upper School". www.greenhill.org. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
  5. National Merit Semi-Finalists: 2008-2012 Cumulative Totals.
  6. Greenhill. Greenhill School also has some of the most prestigious photography, debate, acting and film programs in the nation. The film program annually leads in high school admissions to the famous South by Southwest Festival. "Greenhill School-Overview" Check |url= value (help). Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  7. "Greenhill School | Discover Greenhill". www.greenhill.org. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  8. "Greenhill School | Prekindergarten & Kindergarten". www.greenhill.org. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  9. "Greenhill School | 5th - 12th Grade". www.greenhill.org. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  10. "Greenhill School | 5th - 12th Grade". www.greenhill.org. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  11. "Greenhill School Financial Aid Information". Greenhill School. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
  12. Greenhill. "Greenhill School ~ New Class of Seniors Leaves Its Mark on the Water Tower". Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  13. Evergreen Newspaper. "Pieces of the Hill - Campus traditions remain, continue to grow through years". Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  14. Greenhill. "Greenhill School ~ View News Detail". Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  15. Greenhill. "Greenhill School ~ Senior Breakfast Brings Early Inspiration". Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  16. Duke University. "Ashley Rape Bio". Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  17. Staff Reports from High School Gametime. "Greenhill Standout Runner Honored by Gatorade". Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  18. Greenhill. "Greenhill Athletics". Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  19. "Debate Team Members Post Historic Finish at St. Mark's Heart of Texas Invite". Greenhill School. 2017-10-17. Retrieved 2019-01-15.
  20. Greenhill. "Greenhill School ~ Greenhill Fine Arts". Retrieved 2008-11-13.
  21. "Lesli Linka Glatter". Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  22. "Friends, family say Irving's new mayor full of energy and dedication | Irving". Dallas News. 2011-06-25. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
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