Chapel Hill High School (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)

Established	1916
Type	Public
Coeducational
Principal	Jesse Dingle
Faculty	115 (2006)
9–12
Location	1709 High School Road, Chapel Hill, North Carolina,  United States
District	CHCCS
Accreditation	SACS
Colors	Gold and black
Nickname	Tigers
Yearbook	Hillife
Newspaper	The Proconian
Website	www.chccs.k12.nc.us/chhs/
References[1][2][3][4]
Planters adorning the front entrance

Coordinates: 35°56′47″N 79°04′49″W / 35.9465°N 79.0803°W / 35.9465; -79.0803 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."^[5]

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.^[6] White Chapel Hill High School merged with the black Lincoln High School to form the new Chapel Hill High School.^[6]

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.^[7]

Academics

In 2005, 62.5% of students took the SAT and scored an average of 1156 compared to a state average of 1008.^[4] Similarly, 97.3% of the student body has taken the PSAT, and scored an average of 155 compared to the state average of 133.^[4] Also, 69.2% (306 students) have participated in Advanced Placement (AP) examinations with 73.5% of all scores scoring above a 3.^[4] 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.^[4]

Demographics

Chapel Hill High School (CHHS) is known for its diverse student body. The school has a student population of 1360 students in grades 9-12. There are 403 freshmen, 367 sophomores, and 302 juniors. The smallest segment of the population is the senior class with 288 students. The senior class shows smaller numbers due to the opening of Carrboro High School 3 years ago. Of the 1360 students, 667 are male (49 %) and 693 are female (51%). The racial breakdown of the student population is: 835 White (61.1%), 200 Black (14.7%), 115 Hispanic (8.5%), 145 Asian/Pacific Islander (11%), and 64 Multi-Racial (4.7%).

CHHS serves an additional twenty-eight students who are cross-enrolled in other schools within the Chapel Hill Carrboro City School (CHCCS) district. Eight of the cross-enrolled students attend East Chapel Hill High School, 9 students attend Carrboro High School, 2 students attend Smith Middle School, and 4 students attend Phoenix Academy.

To date, for the 1360 students attending CHHS full time during the 2009-2010 school year, the average daily attendance is approximately 1292 or 95%. In the last SIP cycle, the average daily attendance was approximately 1439 or 95% of the 1367 students enrolled at that time.

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 September 2009, CHHS athletics are directed by Tod Morgan.^[8]

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. 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^{[citation needed]} 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.^[9]

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.^[10]

On April 15, 2010, a student brought a gun on a school bus and shot it at the ground. Nobody was hurt, but the school went on lockdown. The student was later arrested.^[11]

Notable alumni

• Sarah Dessen - an author of many best-selling books for young adults. Class of 1988.
• Laurie Dhue - an anchor and a reporter for the syndicated television show Geraldo at Large, which is produced by Fox Broadcasting Company.
• 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 1990s. CHHS Class of 1990.
• Alexander Haydon O'Brien - News Broadcaster
• Bill Henderson (novelist) – 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.
• Corey Mock - Class of 2009. All-American Wrestler; The only four time 4a State Champion from North Carolina.
• John Powers - current manager of Stanford University's $12 billion endowment
• 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.
• James Vernon Taylor - singer-songwriter and guitarist (attended for part of his junior year only)^[12]
• 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.
• Mick Mixon - is the play-by-play radio announcer for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League.
• Skeet Baldwin- is the 1st African American from Orange County to attend UNC on a football scholarship.

References

1. ^ "Karla Eanes Named Principal of Chapel Hill High School". Archived from the original on 2006-09-02. http://web.archive.org/web/20060902094854/http://soe.unc.edu/alumni/alumni_today/alumni_news/2006/eanes_karla.php. Retrieved 2006-12-09. 
2. ^ "2007-2008 Profile". East Chapel Hill High School. http://www2.chccs.k12.nc.us/education/sctemp/a4dd8478bd005a4eed1a77bb595af44f/1212542141/2007-2008_Profile_single_pa.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-04. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ "Chapel Hill High School Course Handbook (2004)". Archived from the original on 2006-11-03. http://web.archive.org/web/20061103143243/http://www.chccs.k12.nc.us/chhs/coursebook/coursebook2004.pdf. Retrieved 2006-12-09. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Chapel Hill High, North Carolina Public School - Overview - SchoolMatters" (PDF). http://www.schoolmatters.com/app/location/q/stid=34/llid=118/stllid=170/locid=960396/catid=-1/secid=-1/compid=771/site=pes. Retrieved 2006-12-09. 
5. ^ "Orange County, NC: Education Statistics". Archived from the original on 2006-12-07. http://web.archive.org/web/20061207054911/http://www.co.orange.nc.us/ecodev/stats/educstat.htm. Retrieved 2006-12-09. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "A Thousand Words" column by Jock Lauterer, "Chapel Hill High School, 1962", The Carrboro Citizen, December 24, 2008, pg. 8
7. ^ "Project aims to focus on Northside’s history". The Daily Tar Heel. http://dailytarheel.com/news/city/project_aims_to_focus_on_northside_s_history-1.1321413. 
8. ^ "Chapel Hill High School - CHHS Athletics - Home of the Tigers". http://www2.chccs.k12.nc.us/education/components/scrapbook/default.php?sectiondetailid=3934. Retrieved 2006-12-09. 
9. ^ Winn, Patrick (2006-04-21). "Chapel Hill high school day to grow". The News & Observer. http://www.newsobserver.com/161/story/431046.html. Retrieved 2006-12-09. ^{[dead link]}
10. ^ http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2503173/
11. ^ http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/04/15/438582/suspect-in-custody-for-reportedly.html
12. ^ White, Timothy. James Taylor: Long Ago and Far Away, Omnibus Press, 2002, ISBN 0-7119-9193-6. p. 112.

Skeet Baldwin is the 1st African American from Orange County to attend UNC on a football scholarship.

External links

• The Chapel Hill High School Official Website
• The Chapel Hill High School Alumni Website