Overton High School (Memphis, Tennessee)

Watkins Overton High School is a secondary school for the Creative and Performing Arts located in Memphis, Tennessee.

Watkins Overton High School
Address
1770 Lanier Lane

Memphis
,
Tennessee

United States
Coordinates35.08361°N 89.90452°W / 35.08361; -89.90452
Information
TypePublic secondary Creative and Performing Arts
Motto"Producing stars, in the classroom and on the stage."
Established1959
School districtShelby County Schools
PrincipalReginald Williams
Teaching staff67.80 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,156 (2017-18)[1]
Student to teacher ratio17.05[1]
CampusUrban
Color(s)Blue and Gray
MascotWolverines
Websitewww.overtonhs.net

The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Shelby County Schools district.

The School was named in honor of Memphis mayor S. Watkins Overton.

Athletics

Overton offers a variety of athletic clubs to both boys and girls.

Boys

Basketball, Baseball, Bowling, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Tennis, and Track.

Girls

Basketball, volleyball, Bowling, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Golf, Pom Pom, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, and Track.

Over the past few years Overton has produced some notable athletes including: Derrick Townsel (Murray State University), and Sergio Kerusch (Western Kentuck University).

Fine arts

Overton was declared a performing arts high school in 1976. The late Dr. Lulah M. Hedgeman was selected as choir director in 1976 and within five years, grew the program from 25 students to a choir of 150 students. The choir, under Dr. Hedgeman performed a full concert in 1988 at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The choirs were invited to Nice, France four times as guests of the city. Dr. Hedgeman was honored by the Walt Disney company in 1990 in their first production of The Salute to the American Teacher Awards. The Overton Choirs program, under the direction of Dr. Hedgeman were ranked number 1 in the state of Tennessee for 21 consecutive years until Dr. Hedgeman's death in December 1997. The Vocal Music Department at Overton is still ranked the number 1 performing arts high school choir in the city of Memphis as of April 2016. The band is the 2008 Division AAA Champions of the University of Memphis Bandmasters Championship and the 2008 Smoky Mountains Invitational Champions.

Other aspects of the CAPA program include Creative Writing, choirs, orchestra, jazz ensembles, drama, dance, and visual arts. Students must audition to qualify for CAPA programs.

Creative Writing, run by Shannon Marszalek, frequently hosts Poetry Slams for anyone who is interested in writing of any and all sorts. The Poetry Out Loud competition was held on Saturday, February 4, 2012. Many of the Scholastic Gold Keys come from both the Creative Writing Department and the Art Department.

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Overton High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
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