Vestavia Hills High School
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| Established | 1970 |
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| Type | Public |
| Principal | Mr. Caswell McWaters |
| Faculty | 140 |
| Students | 1749 (2008-2009) |
| Grades | High school (9-12) |
| Location | Vestavia Hills, AL, USA |
| Accreditation | Southern Association of Secondary Schools and AdvancED |
| Colors | Red and Blue |
| Mascot | Rebels |
| Newspaper | 'The Vedette' |
| Website | http://www.vestavia.k12.al.us/high/ |
Vestavia Hills High School (VHHS), founded in 1970, is a public high school in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham. Part of the Vestavia Hills School System, the high school is known primarily for the success of its band, math, debate, "We the People" Team, Economics Challenge Team, American football, wrestling, and baseball teams.
The student enrollment for the 2008-2009 academic year is 1749. The current school principal is Cas McWaters, a (former) chemistry teacher and VHHS assistant principal who left Vestavia briefly (2004-2006) to serve as principal at Tarrant High School. He returned to his alma mater in 2006 to lead the high school. Assistant principals include Dr. Danny Steele, David Howard, Charles Bruce, and Melissa Smith. VHHS has more than 20 National Board Certified teachers.
VHHS has recently undergone a long-awaited face lift, with the front of the school, its office suite, and lobby being remodeled in 2007-2008. Another 22 classrooms are currently being built to the campus. In 2003-2004, the new "E" wing was also completed. Interactive classrooms with state-of-the-art technology were installed all over the school in Summer 2008.
The school mascot is the Rebel (a cartoon depiction of a "Southern gentleman" patterned after the University of Mississippi mascot). Occasional controversy about the use of the Rebel mascot has not made much impact in Vestavia Hills, which has an overwhelmingly white student body. The name "Rebels", the mascot, the Confederate battle flag (though not the school's official flag) as a rallying symbol was the subject of a school board debate in November 2000. After hearing many opinions, mostly in favor of keeping these symbols, the board took the advice of its legal counsel and made no new policy. The use of the flag, once common, is now strongly discouraged and remains a divisive issue among students.
However, the school renewed the issue in 2006, by giving out free school flags during the football season. This school flag was designed over 10 years ago, but failed to garner the attention of the student body. The second attempt has proved much more successful, with students readily accepting the flag.[citation needed]
Vestavia Hills High School is known to have a long-time rivalry in academics and sports with Hoover High School in Hoover, Alabama. Footage from a Hoover vs. Vestavia Hills football game can be seen on Hoover High School's former television show, MTV's Two-A-Days.
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[edit] Academics
Vestavia has 150 courses available on yearly basis. Vestavia offerers a number of AP courses (U.S. History, European History, English Language & Lit., Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Psychology, Physics B, Physics C, Statistics, Biology, Chemistry, French, Latin, Spanish, German, Government, Economics, Art, Music Theory, etc.). Vestavia also offers a number of Honors courses. Dual Enrollment classes are available for both English and Math.
The graduating class of 2008 had a S.A.T. Verbal mean of 618 and a Math mean of 643. The average ACT composite score was 24.4. There were 20 National Merit Finalists in 2008 and [1]. The AP exam "pass score" of 3 or higher was 83% in 2008.
[edit] Faculty
The school employs 140 teachers (for a student:teacher ratio of 13:1). The average Vestavia Hills teacher has 17 years of experience, with 81% of the faculty holding Master's or more advanced degrees. More than 20 of the school's teachers have achieved "National Board Certification" with several more on track to be certified.
We the People sponsor, Amy Maddox, was named the (national) Daughters of the American Revolution Teacher of the Year in Summer 2008 and traveled to Washington, D.C. for her awards ceremony. Counselor Christine Rohling was named Alabama School Counselor of the Year in November 2007.
Outstanding teaching staff include Kay Tipton, chair of the math department from 1989 to her retirement in 2007, who won Cornell University's Outstanding High School Educator Award, the Golden Apple Teacher of the Year Award, and received the White House Commission of Presidential Scholars Distinguished Teacher Award three times.
Former Debate Coach Marilee Dukes was inducted to the National Forensics League Hall of Fame in 2004. [2] She is also in the Tournament of Champions Coaches Hall of Fame. Dukes coached at Alabama’s Vestavia Hills High School for over twenty years and made the program one of the powerhouses of the 1990s. Her students have claimed the championships and top speaker awards at every major national tournament during her tenure, and she has coached debaters to finals at the Tournament of Champions an unprecedented seven times. She is one of ten coaches honored by having a debate round in the Barkley Forum for High Schools at Emory University named after her. [3].
Former Band Director Ted Galloway not only conducted performing groups of consistently high quality, but also brought many legendary jazz musicians, such as Urbie Green to the school for performances.
[edit] Achievements
In 2008, Vestavia won the national Economics Challenge, and its We the People team has won national acclaim since 2005, most recently winning second in the nation at the 2009 National Finals. [4]
Vestavia's math team has dominated national competition for more than a decade. The team has earned 15 first-place and 3 second-place finishes in their 18 National Mu Alpha Theta Convention competitions. Most recently, Vestavia finished second to Buchholz High School of Gainesville, Florida at a national competition in Tampa, Florida. [5] Other successes include four victories at the regional Furman University Wylie Mathematics Tournament from 1999 to 2004 [6]
The debate team, winners of seven national championships, has the distinction of being the first team in history to win both the Lincoln-Douglas Debate and the Policy Debate in the National Forensic League championships. [7] Vestavia is also the only school to have two national champions in Lincoln-Douglas debate.
Vestavia's newspaper, The Vedette, received the All-Alabama award for the 2005-2006 school year and has won state-level honors every year since then. The All-Alabama award, sponsored by the Alabama Scholastic Press Association is the highest award that can be given to a high school newspaper in Alabama.
Vestavia has a long-standing tradition of a quality music department. Both the band and choir have won numerous state and regional awards, and consistently place best-in-class in competition. Vestavia's jazz program, in particular, has been notable since its founding by bandleader Ted Galloway. The bands are currently under the direction of Jerell Horton, assisted by Heather Palmer. Vestavia's choirs are currently under the direction of Megan Rudolph.
[edit] Athletic programs
Vestavia Hills High School fields varsity teams in football, cheerleading, basketball, baseball, soccer, wrestling, golf, tennis, softball, swimming, volleyball, lacrosse, cross country/track and field, and weight training.
The Vestavia athletics program has produced several notable successes. The soccer, golf and tennis teams have enjoyed notable successes. The baseball team, under the late Coach Sammy Dunn, won nine state titles in the highest division of competition, including seven straight from 1994-2000 and the 1998 national championship. Dunn's 27-year record at Vestavia was 647-146.
The Rebels' wrestling teams have won the last three (2007-09) Class 6A state team championships. The wrestling team, under legendary Coach Steve Gaydosh, has won 12 state titles and the school has won 13 overall. The 13 state titles ranks second in the state behind Benjamin Russell's (Alexander City) 14 state titles.
Vestavia athletics have enjoyed tremendous success during the 2006-07 school year, as the girl's soccer, girl's tennis, and wrestling teams won 6A state championships. The boy's soccer team placed second in the state and the football team made it to the state semi-finals. The football team returned to the semi-finals in 2007.
The varsity cheerleading squad competes annually and placed 2nd in the UCA National High School Cheerleading Competition in 2006.
The Vestavia varsity boys basketball team won the 6A state championship in 2009.
[edit] Alumni
Notable alumni of Vestavia Hills High School include:
- Fred Mitchell (1979), creator of the gravity set fractals
- Michael Papajohn (1983), actor, film producer & stunt performer
- Chris Hammond (1984), Major League Baseball pitcher (Reds, Marlins, Braves, Yankees, A's, Padres)
- Christopher Lee Nutter (1988), journalist (The New York Times, The Village Voice), media consultant, and author, The Way Out: The Gay Men's Guide to Freedom HCI Books, 2006, and Ignite the Genius Within, Penguin, March, 2009.
- Colter Bean (1995), Major League Baseball pitcher (New York Yankees)
- Josh Hancock (1996), former Major League Baseball pitcher (St. Louis Cardinals)
- Rebecca Moore, Miss Alabama USA 2007
[edit] References
- Barnett Wright. (November 30, 2000) "Vestavia Board lets Rebels, flag, mascot stay." The Birmingham News.
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 33°25′10″N 86°46′50″W / 33.41936°N 86.78057°W
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