Chapel Hill High School is a public high school in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. It is located close to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Chapel Hill High School is part of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools district which contains two other high schools, Carrboro High School and East Chapel Hill High School. Chapel Hill High School was listed as one of the top performing US high schools in The Wall Street Journal (October 15, 1999), for "the best student performance over the past 10 years based on SAT, achievement-test and standardized-test scores."
History
The original Chapel Hill High School was located on Franklin Street until, due to desegregation efforts of the mid-1960s, the school was demolished in favor of the construction of a new high school across town. White Chapel Hill High School merged with the black Lincoln High School to form the new Chapel Hill High School.
Lincoln High School, which closed in 1966, had award-winning football and band programs. In particular, its 1961 football team won the state championship without a single point being scored against it all year and averaging over 40 points per game, an incredible feat.
Academics
In 2005, 62.5% of students took the SAT and scored an average of 1156 compared to a state average of 1008. Similarly, 97.3% of the student body has taken the PSAT, and scored an average of 155 compared to the state average of 133. Also, 69.2% (306 students) have participated in Advanced Placement (AP) examinations with 73.5% of all scores scoring above a 3. As of 2005, Chapel Hill High School also has a high graduation rate of 94.7%. In 2005, 94.7% of students were proficient on State English I tests, and 93.1% of students were proficient on State Algebra I tests. The school posted the third highest average SAT score in the Raleigh Durham area: 1754 with 87.9% of students taking the test.
Athletics
Chapel Hill High School has around 20 athletic teams. In the fall, the school offers cheerleading, cross country, field hockey, football, men's soccer, women's tennis, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, marching band, and women's golf. In the winter, the school offers cheerleading, men's basketball, women's basketball, swimming and diving, and wrestling. In the spring, the school offers men's golf, men's lacrosse, women's soccer, softball, men's tennis, track, baseball, and women's lacrosse. As of December 2013, CHHS athletics are directed by Timothy Bennett.
The arts
Chapel Hill High has very strong performing and visual arts programs. The school has a marching band, jazz band, symphonic band, concert band, orchestra, percussion ensemble and several choruses. The students also participate in a strong drama program, including award winning musicals, which also include an excellent pit orchestra. For example, in 2014 the drama department hosted successful presentations of 'Legally Blonde: The Musical'. The pit recently won Best Pit Orchestra at a regional competition.
Schedule change
Before the 2006-07 school year, the high school used a six-period schedule. However, during the 2006-07 school year, a new controversial seven-period schedule was introduced. A mostly student-led protest organized sit downs with several members of the school board in order to avoid the change into a block schedule. After long talks between the two parties, the school board altered their plan to the now seven-period day.
Controversy
During the 2007-2008 school year, a cheating ring was discovered inside the school. Several students had been in possession of a master key which they had used to repeatedly enter the school and teacher's rooms in order to access and photocopy tests and answer keys. The resulting answers were then used by these students to score higher on exams; the answer keys were usually stored on cell phones and passed or sent around between members of the group. Some colleges then contacted the school seeking information about who was involved such that the perpetrators could have their admissions revoked. However, only local colleges got in touch with the school, so most of the 11 implicated students managed to avoid harsh punishment.
The master key copies had been in existence for about two years before anyone was caught and to avoid the possibility of some of the copies not being confiscated, all of the school's doors were re-keyed and the new keys are being held under closer supervision. The cost of this re-keying has been estimated at several thousand dollars.
The Proconian was awarded the "Tar Heel Award" in 2013 along with six other school newspapers/magazines by the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association.
On April 15, 2010, a student brought a gun on a school bus and accidentally shot it at the ground. Nobody else was hurt, but the school and several nearby schools went on lockdown. The student was later arrested.
Notable alumni
- Sarah Dessen - an author of many best-selling books for young adults. Class of 1988.
- David Diliberto - film producer, credits include No Country For Old Men. Class of 1988.
- Devonte Edwards - an American football cornerback.
- Clark Gregg - an actor who is seen in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine, which debuted in early 2006. Married to Jennifer Grey.
- Meredith Hagner - Class of 2005. Actress; Liberty Ciccone on As the World Turns.
- Bernardo Harris - professional athlete, Green Bay Packers Linebacker during Super Bowl wins in the 1990s. CHHS Class of 1990.
- Bill Henderson (novelist) â€" author of Stark Raving Elvis and I Killed Hemingway. CHHS Class of 1961.
- John Haymes Newton - actor.
- Alexander Julian - Class of 1966. Fashion designer and CEO of Alexander Julian Inc.
- Mick Mixon - is the play-by-play radio announcer for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League.
- David Rees (cartoonist) - creator of Get Your War On. Class of 1990.
- Brian Roberts - Baseball player for Baltimore Orioles
- Henrik Rödl - a German former professional basketball player, and currently a basketball coach.
- Dexter Romweber - musician.
- Matt Stevens - Class of 1991. A football safety for the National Football League.
- Ben Strong - Class of 2004. Professional basketball player
- James Vernon Taylor - singer-songwriter and guitarist (attended until mid junior year)
- Livingston Taylor - singer-songwriter and guitarist.
- Peter Wallsten - reporter, Los Angeles Times, author of One Party Country with Tom Hamburger. Class of 1990.
- Melissa Walker - Class of 1995. Author of Violet on the Runway, Violet by Design, Violet in Private and Lovestruck Summer.
- Darrell Dickey - Class of 1978. College Football Coach.
- Bryce Reeve - health outcomes researcher and professor at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
References
External links
- The Chapel Hill High School Official Website
- The Chapel Hill High School Alumni Website
- Proconian newspaper website