Alpharetta High School

Alpharetta High School is a public high school located in Alpharetta, Georgia, United States within the Fulton County School System. Atlanta Magazine named Alpharetta High School one of the metro Atlanta area's best all-around high schools.[2] In 2020, the U.S. News & World Report ranked the school #7 in Georgia and #281 nationally.[3]

Alpharetta High School
Location
Alpharetta High School
Alpharetta High School
Alpharetta
,
Georgia

United States
Coordinates34°04′41″N 84°15′22″W
Information
TypePublic
Established2004
CEEB code110058
NCES School ID130228003364[1]
PrincipalShannon N. Kersey (August 2011-)
Grades9–12
Enrollment2,233 (2017-18)[1]
Color(s)Maroon, silver, and black
Slogan"To be nationally competitive in academics, the arts, athletics, and service to the community."
MascotRaider
Websiteschool.fultonschools.org/hs/alpharetta/Pages/default.aspx

History

The school was opened in 2004 to educate students in grades 9 to 12. The school was opened due to the growing number of students in Chattahoochee High School. The 330,000 square foot school was designed by Perkins and Will with sustainable design in mind. It was relieved by the 2012 opening of Cambridge High School.[4]

Alpharetta cluster

Alpharetta High is part of a cluster of schools in Fulton County that interact closely and educate students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

  • Creek View Elementary School
  • Lake Windward Elementary
  • Manning Oaks Elementary School
  • New Prospect Elementary School
  • Webb Bridge Middle School
  • Hopewell Middle School

Layout

Most of the campus at Alpharetta High School is occupied by a main building that contains three floors and three hallways (identified as the 2000, 3000, and 4000 hallways). The bottom (first) floor contains the cafeteria, media center, and access to the buses and portables outside. The second and third floor are mostly classes, and the second floor has access to the auditorium, gym, and orchestra room. Other parts of the school outside the main building include the band building, the soccer field, football fields, tennis court, trail, and softball field.

Athletics

Competitive sports at Alpharetta High School are football, basketball, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, wrestling, tennis, track and field, cross country, volleyball, swimming, diving, cheerleading, and golf. Although not officially recognized by the Georgia High School Association, additional athletic activities include rugby, fencing, chess, cricket, and ping pong.[5]

Fine Arts

Band

The band is directed by Mike Walsh and Ira Jenkins and contains three concert bands. The program also contains a marching band and smaller ensembles, including a percussion ensemble and trombone choir.[6]

Orchestra

The Alpharetta High School Orchestra is currently directed by Dr. Charles Laux and is also split into five ensembles, which are Concert, Philharmonia, Sinfonia, Symphony, and Chamber (in ascending order of skill level).[7] The program used to be directed by Mr. Sheldon Fisher, who retired in 2016.[8] The orchestra's Symphony ensemble frequently collaborate with the band in order to perform and compete as a full symphony orchestra.

Chorus

The Alpharetta High School Chorus is directed by Michelle Levesque. The chorus performs in several concerts and is divided in smaller ensembles and clubs.[9]

Extracurriculars

Alpharetta High School has many extracurricular activities and has about 95 clubs.[10] Most of these clubs occur either before or after school. Many of these clubs occur during Anchor Time, which is a 45-minute period that takes place every Tuesday and Thursday in both first and second semesters. Some of the notable clubs include Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Raider Ambassadors, National Honors Society, Raiders of the ARC, Science Olympiad, and Beta. Students may also form their own clubs.

International Baccalaureate

In the 2018-2019 school year, Alpharetta High School has officially been chosen to become an International Baccalaureate (IB) school.[11] Although the school already offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses and Dual Enrollment courses at various colleges, IB courses will be completely new. Students will be allowed to complete the IB Diploma Programme by taking the required classes, or they may take specific IB classes along with other classes.

Awards

Alpharetta has won awards in a variety of fields.

Academic
  • The school was the recipient of the 2007-2008 Governors Cup for the AAAAA school with the highest increase in SAT scores. Governors Office of Student Achievement
  • Alpharetta High School was nationally ranked in Newsweek's "Best High Schools 2012," coming in at 268.
  • The school has been consistently at the top on the US News report and is ranked #4 for the best Georgia high schools in 2020.[12]

Athletic
  • The 2008 girls' cross country team were Region 6-AAAAA Champions[13] and placed 6th in the state.[14]
  • The 2007 girls' track and field team was Region 6-AAAAA Champions[15] and placed seventh in the state.[16]
  • The 2009 competition cheerleaders were Region 6-AAAAA Champions and placed seventh in the state.
  • The 2009-10 boys' ice hockey team won the state championship (AA).[17]
  • The 2010 boys' tennis team won the school's first state championship (AAAAA).[18]
  • The 2010 competition cheerleaders won the state championship. (AAAAA)
  • The 2011-12 boys' ice hockey team won the state championship (AA).[19]
  • The 2012 boys' tennis team won the state championship (AAAAA).

Chess

On March 27, 2010, the Alpharetta High School Chess Team won the State Championships by defeating Creekview 5-0, Dunwoody 5-0, Greater Atlanta Christian School 5-0, Pace Academy 5-0, and Northview 5-0. This makes them the first chess team in Georgia history to win a state championship with a perfect 25-0.

FBLA

The school's FBLA team is one of the largest in Georgia. Many members compete at the regional, state, and national levels. For 6 years in a row, Alpharetta has won the State Sweepstakes Award for the most number of competitive wins.[20]

Quizbowl
  • The Academic Team won the 2007–2008 Annual High Q competition, which is hosted by Chuck Dowdle and airs on WSB-TV. They were originally alternates for the competition.[21]
  • In the 2013-2014 season, the varsity quizbowl team won the ATTACK III and GATA Winter Tournaments. The Junior varsity team won the GATA State tournament. Both the varsity and junior varsity teams won the MLK Day History Bowl Regional. The team was ranked 84th in the national quizbowl rankings at the end of the season.[22]
  • In the 2014-2015 season, the varsity quizbowl team finished third at the 25th Annual Walton Academic Challenge and won both the History Bowl and Bee Regional at Athens.[23]

Speech and Debate Team
  • The school's Varsity Speech and Debate Team placed second in the State Championship in Spring 2009. (2008-2009 Records)
  • The school's Varsity Speech and Debate Team placed fifth at the All-State competition in 2009. (2008-2009 Records)

Arts

The school's symphony orchestra, composed of nearly 90 select band and orchestra students, was chosen to perform at Chicago's 2012 and 2018 Midwest Clinic. Of thousands of schools that auditioned all over the world, Alpharetta was one of only a few that were chosen.[24]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Search for Public Schools - Alpharetta High School (130228003364)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  2. "Atlanta Magazine - January 2011 - School Guide". Archived from the original on January 10, 2011. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
  3. "Alpharetta High School in Alpharetta, GA - US News Best High Schools". U.S. News & World Report.
  4. Scott, Jeffry (August 13, 2012). "Cambridge High School opens its doors for first time Monday". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 17, 2010. Retrieved April 8, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Alpharetta High School Raider Band - Home". www.alpharettaband.org. Archived from the original on November 13, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  7. "The Director". Alpharetta High School Orchestra. May 10, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  8. "About". Alpharetta High School Orchestra. May 10, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  9. "Alpharetta High School Chorus". Alpharetta High School Chorus. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  10. "AHS Clubs and Organizations". school.fultonschools.org. Retrieved November 12, 2017.
  11. "International Baccalaureate Candidacy". school.fultonschools.org. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  12. "Alpharetta High School in Alpharetta GA - US News Best High Schools".
  13. "Region 6-AAAAA Meet- Girls Varsity - MileSplit GA". July 23, 2012. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  14. "GHSA Cross Country Championships - Girls AAAAA (Raw)". April 2, 2016. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  15. "Girls Region 6-AAAAA- Team Scores - MileSplit GA". July 30, 2012. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  16. "GHSA Girls State Championship - Coverage". MileSplit GA. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  17. "Georgia Student Hockey League powered by GOALLINE.ca". March 3, 2016. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  18. "State tennis championships | www.ajc.com". October 11, 2012. Archived from the original on October 11, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  19. "Georgia Student Hockey League powered by GOALLINE.ca". March 4, 2016. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  20. "About". ALPHARETTA HIGH SCHOOL FBLA. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  21. "Kavita Chhibber". www.kavitachhibber.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  22. "Tournament Results - AHS Quizbowl". sites.google.com. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  23. "Tournament Results - AHS Quizbowl". sites.google.com. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  24. "The Midwest Clinic - 2012 Performers and Concert Programs". Midwest Clinic. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  25. "Hometown Alpharetta girl back from Hollywood for play".
  26. "Michael Bennetts". Archived from the original on August 24, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2015.
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