Highland Middle School (Louisville, Kentucky)

Infobox School
name = Highland Middle School


imagesize =
caption =
type = Public
district = Jefferson County Public Schools
grades = 6-8
principal = Steven Heckman
enrollment =
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location = 1700 Noris Place, Louisville, Kentucky, 40205
country = USA
information = 502-485-8266
website = http://jefferson.k12.ky.us/Schools/Middle/Highland.html

Highland Middle School is a free public middle school, with grades 6-8, in the Highlands section of Louisville, Kentucky, for which it is named. It is in the Deer Park neighborhood and adjacent to Bellarmine University. Highland is part of a Jefferson County Public Schools, one of the largest school districts in Kentucky.

Programs

From 1989 [cite news|title=SCHOOL BOARD WILL EXPAND MAGNETS IF U.S. PROVIDES FUNDS|date=1989-03-14|author=Holland, Holly|publisher=Courier-Journal|pages=1B] onward, Highland has offered a magnet program in international studies, initially with the assistance of a Federal grant. Highland also offered a Spanish immersion program in the mid-1990s. [cite news|title=HIGHLAND MIDDLE CLEARS THE WAY FOR GIRL WHO USES WHEELCHAIR|publisher=Courier-Journal|date=1994-07-17|author=Balu, Rekha|pages=1B]

History

Highland was founded in February 1928 [cite news|title=Highland Middle seeks alumni for anniversary
url=http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080917/ZONE01/809170553/-1/ZONE01|date=2008-09-17|publisher=Courier-Journal] and has opperated continually on the same location. Jackie Robinson spoke at the school in 1955.

The three-story building faces Norris Place to the east and Richmond Drive to the south. To the north is a two block long field used for recreation. A driveway on the school grounds runs on the edge of the field between it and Norris Place, which is used for parking and school bus staging purposes. The drive was enlarged and first paved in 1933, replacing an earlier cinder path that proved useless after rains. [cite news|title=Committee Seeks Concrete Walk to Replace Cinders and Highland School|date=1933-05-09|publisher=Courier-Journal|pages=2-13]

The initial building was intended for 500 students, and by the 1960s the building had become overcrowded and dilapidated. In 1964 a new wing was built, adding 9 classrooms, an expanded library, a kitchen, two shops and a teachers lounge as well as a new entrance. [cite news|title=Highland School Project Set to Start|date=1964-01-21|publisher=Courier-Journal|pages=2-1] In 1996 a $1.5 million, 9,200 square foot addition fronting Richmond Drive was completed. [cite news|title=Higland Middle plans dedication|date=1996=05-04|publisher=Courier-Journal] The wing contains a science lab, band room, chorus room and classrooms.

A newspaper, the "Highland Echo", published its first edition in November 1937. [cite news|title=Highland Echo To Be Off Press This Week|pages=4-3|publisher=Courier-Journal|date=1937-11-07]

The school has a fight song set to the tune of the "Washington and Lee Swing". It was long forgotten until 1990 when an alumnus sponsored a contest for the students to learn the lyrics, which had to be updated by the school's chorus teacher, as the school's name had changed from Highland Junior High since the last time the song had been sung. [cite news|title=HIGHLAND MIDDLE STUDENTS SING SCHOOL PRAISES AGAIN|date=1990-11-14|author=Elson, Martha|publisher=Courier-Journal|pages=1N]

Notable alumni

*Hunter S. Thompson, writercite news|title=Highland Middle's past springs forth at Fling|date=1996-05-29|author=Elson, Martha|publisher=Courier-Journal|pages=1N]
*Benjamin M. Friedman, economist
*Fred Cowan, Kentucky Attorney General

Principals

*Steven Heckman. 2004-present.
*Holly Nolan. 1997-2004. [cite news|date=2004-06-24|title=10 Principals to retire|publisher=Courier-Journal|author=Gagliardi, Melissa]
*Robert Knight. 1991-1997. [cite news|title=MANY STUDENTS WILL BE GREETING NEW PRINCIPALS AT SCHOOL THIS YEAR|author=Nimon, Mary Pat|pages=N5|date=1991-08-21|publisher=Courier-Journal]
*Ron Crutcher. ?-1991.
*Robert Sanders. 1947-1961.
*Samuel Noe. 1946-1947.
*Eva T. Mason. 1928-1946.

References