Munford High School

Munford High School
Location
1080 Mclaughlin Drive Munford, Tennessee 38058 United States
Information
Type	Public
School district	Tipton County School District
Principal	Darry Marshall
Faculty	69.9 (on FTE basis)[1]
Grades	9 to 12
Enrollment	1,310[1]  (2005-06)
Student to teacher ratio	18.7[1]
Mascot	Cougar
Website	www.tipton-county.com/mhs

Munford High School is a public high school located in Munford, Tennessee. The school educates about 1,300 students in grades 9 to 12 in the Tipton County School District.

General information

Munford High School is noted in West Tennessee for its diverse academic offerings, high quality teachers, and its commitment to athletics and the arts, most notably its band program, regarded by some to be one of the best in Tennessee. The test scores show the school to be about the state average if not above average in some areas such as math.^[2] Munford High School's English and EOC Gateway exams were the highest in the state for the 2005-2006 school year and its 2009 State Writing Assessment scores were in the 99th percentile. The principal as of. October 2011 is Darry Marshall. The assistant principals are Dr. Sharon Ivie, Dr. Courtney Fee, Steve McCullough, and James Walker.

The school's location since 1983 is 1080 McLaughlin Drive. Previously, it was located on the current site of the Munford City Hall. Its mascot is the Cougar, adopted in 1983. Previous mascots were the Black Cat and the Tiger. The yearbook at one time was called the Conqueror, at least from 1947 to 1957, but is no longer published under that name. The school graduated its first class in 1930.

Academics

The school offers several academic courses, with many options in agriculture, health sciences, and industrial arts/vocational tech courses. A small number of AP courses are offered. A Dual Enrollment program with Dyersburg State Community College is also an option for some core classes, including English and History. A number of visual arts courses are offered, but few other arts courses are part of the curriculum.

Activities

The school receives most recognition for its band program, established in 1946. The band has won thirteen University of Memphis Bandmaster's Championships since 1995.^[3] In 2007 and 2010 the band was named USSBA State Champions, and placed 3rd in their class at the USSBA National Championships in Baltimore, MD.^[4] In 2009, the band returned to the USSBA National Championship, placing 2nd overall, as well as receiving Highest Visual Score, Highest Percussion Score, and the United States Marine Corps "Esprit de Corps" award.^[5] In 2011, the band took first in the USSBA National Championship with the tightest National Championship winning margin in USSBA history, garnering twenty-five hundredths of a point higher than Immaculata H.S. from Somerville, N.J. ^[6] Barry Trobaugh is the Director of Bands and Gary Fite (MHS c/o 86) and Peter Colin, Jr. (MHS c/o 05) are the assistant directors.^[7] The school is also known for its baseball team, which was the 1991 state champions with a 29-1 record ^[8] and perennially performs well in the regular season and postseason. The football team has made it to the state championships and was previously coached by former Kansas coach and Houston Nutt's replacement as head coach for Murray State Mike Mahoney. The baseball team has one state championship in 19991 with Fultz being the catalyst. The baseball team also had three straight state tournament appearances in 02-03, 03-04, and 04-05. Other noted and acclaimed activities include FFA chapter, girl's volleyball team, and Academic Knowledge Team, which have been recognized for outstanding achievements in recent years. The school also offers baseball, basketball, soccer, softball, track, HOSA, BPA, DECA, FCCLA, National Honors Society, SADD, Key Club, French Club , choirs, theatre arts, and other activities. The Band is also the 2011 USSBA National Champions.

Notable alumni

• Cato Ellis, Sr.-former Tennessee State Senator; as a federal marshall, served a temporary restraining order and complaint as directed by the Federal Court to Martin Luther King, Jr. for marching without obtaining a permit and planning a second march without a permit on April 3, 1968
• Aaron Fultz, pitcher who has played on several MLB, including the San Francisco Giants and the Cleveland Indians,^[9]
• Johnnie Jones, football player for the University of Tennessee where he was the MVP of the 1983 Citrus Bowl and professional Canadian football player. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the 5th round of the NFL Draft following the 1984 season.
• Richard Todd Payne, professional opera singer currently appearing in the national tour of Porgy and Bess
• Matthew Wardell, conductor of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra
• Justin Cockerham, touring pianist of the Glenn Miller Orchestra
• Chris Love, independent rock musician who performed with Switchfoot, Maroon 5, and Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience as the winner of the Jimi Hendrix Family's Guitar Competition; named Memphis's Most Eligible Bachelor by Forbes Magazine
• Hope Partlow-pop singer formerly on Virgin Records and Decca
• Cody Overbeck-minor league baseball player drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008.

Many alumni enter local and state public service, with several current positions in city and county government held by Munford alums.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Munford High School". National Center for Education Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?Search=1&SchoolID=470408001700&ID=470408001700. Retrieved 2008-05-20. "Students: 1310 (2005-2006)" 
2. ^ "Munford High School Test Scores". GreatSchools.net. 2006. http://www.greatschools.net/modperl/achievement/tn/1459. Retrieved 2007-11-11. 
3. ^ "Munford Band Awards". munfordband.com. 2010. http://munfordband.com/awards/. Retrieved 2010-01-07. 
4. ^ "Munford Band 2007 Awards". munfordband.com. 2007. http://munfordband.com/awards2007.html. Retrieved 2008-09-11. 
5. ^ "Munford Band 2009 Awards". munfordband.com. 2010. http://munfordband.com/awards2009.html. Retrieved 2010-01-07. 
6. ^ "2011 Open Class National Championships Review". http://www.yea.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ussbaUSSBA.+2011. http://www.yea.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=20104&news_iv_ctrl=1402. Retrieved 2011-11-14. 
7. ^ "Munford Band Directors". munfordband.com. 2010. http://munfordband.com/directors. Retrieved 2010-01-19. 
8. ^ "1991 USA Today Best Baseball Teams In The Nation". Yahoo.com. 2006. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006030713127. Retrieved 2008-05-11. 
9. ^ "Aaron Fultz Statistics". The Baseball Cube. http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/F/Aaron-Fultz.shtml. Retrieved 2008-05-20.