Hillcrest Christian School

Hillcrest Christian School is a private school that was founded in 1971, just after integration laws came into effect, and is situated on South Siwell Road, Jackson, Mississippi, USA. The School began as a branch of Hillcrest Baptist Church and, though the school separated from the church in the late 1970s, they never abandoned their Christian roots. For much of its early life, the school was located at Sykes Road and Wheatley Drive in south Jackson, and operated as a K-9 school. In 1986, the school purchased the former McCluer Academy property on Siwell Road, where it established a high school and relocated the middle school. The school ultimately moved all operations to that campus and sold the Wheatley property in the late 1990s following the construction of an elementary school building at the Siwell campus.

Education

Hillcrest educates pupils in all grades from Kindergarten 3 to Grade 12. [ [http://www.hillcrestchristian.org/ Hillcrest Christian School] , Official site]

95% of the pupils are white and there is a 1:10 student:teacher ratio. [ [http://www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/ms/private/1165 "Hillcrest Christian School"] , Great Schools]

Hillcrest Christian School has also has a variety of very notable clubs and organizations. The Hillcrest National Honor Society has a tradition of excellence established throughout the Jackson area and the state of Mississippi. In YMCA Youth Legislature, the school has experienced great success. Over the past ten years, over 10 students have been named Outstanding Senator and/or Representative. Also, Hillcrest has been represented in positions such as House Floor Leader and Youth Governor.

Alumni

The National High School Baseball Coaches Association 2006 'Slugger Senior State Players of the Year' for Mississippi was Justin Reed from Hillcrest. [ [http://www.baseballcoaches.org/2006stateplayers.pdf "Slugger Senior State Players of the Year"] , Baseball Coaches Association] Reed is Mississippi's first junior Olympics finalist and now plays for the University of Mississippi. [ [http://mississippi.scout.com/2/418754.html "Jr Olympics Finalist Chooses Ole Miss"] , Yancy Porter, The Ole Miss spirit, August 3, 2005]

Taryn Foshee won the 2003 Miss Clinton pageant while a pupil at Hillcrest Christian School and received a commendation from the Mississippi Legislature. [ [http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2003/html/SC/SC0573SG.htm "Senate Concurrent Resolution 573"] , Mississippi Legislature, 2003] Subsequently Foshee became the 2006 Miss Mississippi contest winner and then finished 3rd runner-up in Miss America 2007. [ [http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070130/NEWS01/70130005 "Miss Mississippi makes it to top 5 in Miss America pageant"] , Chris Joyner, Hattiesburg American, 15 February 2007] Foshee is a current student at Mississippi State University.

Other Notable Alumni

* Stephen Head, minor league first basemen for Cleveland Indians and winner of Boo Ferris Award, given to Mississippi's top collegiate baseball player.
* Seth Smith, minor league outfielder for Colorado Rockies
* Scott Savage- Former drummer for Multi Platinum, Grammy and Dove award winning band Jars of Clay
* Jeff Savage- Recording artist. Grammy nominated and Dove award winning producer and songwriter for such multi platinum selling groups and artists TobyMac, dcTalk, Jars of Clay, Natalie Imbruglia, and Plumb

Arts

Hillcrest Christian School has a diverse fine arts program that includes Symphonic and Marching Band, Praise Band, Choral Music, 2-D Art and 3-D Art, Drama, and Elementary Drama and Music.

uccess

The Choral Music and Instrumental Music programs have had a strong history of success at regional and national festivals and competitions. The Hillcrest "One Spirit, One Sound" Marching Band has had a long history of success, posting all-superior ratings at regional and state marching competitions. Most recently, the band has scored all-superior at the 2006 Pinson Valley Marching Competition and Best Overall at the 2005 West Alabama Marching Festival. In concert band, Hillcrest posts evenly impressive results. Last year, after participating in the 2006 St. Louis, Missouri Heritage Festival, the band received their second invitation to the Festival of Gold, national competition, held in Boston Symphony Hall. The band first attended the Festival of Gold in April 2005, posting a 4th place finish nationally.

Athletics

All Hillcrest teams participate in the Mississippi Private School Association's Division AAA. Hillcrest fields teams in football, basketball, baseball, golf, tennis, track, and cross country.

Baseball

Coached by former Mississippi State standout Shane Kelly, the Cougars won the 2006 MPSA Academy AAA Division I title, beating Jackson Academy. They also won the Academy AAA Division II State Championship in 2007, beating Magnolia Heights School. Also, under the leadership of Coach Paul Wyczawski, the current pitching and recruiting coach at Murray State University, the Cougars also won several state titles in the 1990s, including three consecutive state AAAA titles from 1996 to 1998.

Since 1993, Hillcrest has had more than 30 student-athletes to play in the collegiate ranks.Several of these athletes include:
*Seth Smith: Hillcrest Class of 2002, Ole Miss graduate, and current Colorado Rockies player.
*Stephen Head: Hillcrest Class of 2003, Ole Miss graduate, and current minor league player for the Cleveland Indians.
*Justin Reed: Hillcrest Class of 2006 and current minor leaguer in the Cincinnati Reds organization.
*Logan Power: Hillcrest Class of 2005 and current player for the University of Mississippi.
*Cody Satterwhite: Hillcrest Class of 2005 and current starting relief pitcher for the University of Mississippi.

In the past 15 years, Hillcrest teams have appeared in the MPSA State championship ten times, including victories in 1996,1997,1998, 2006, and 2007.

Basketball

Under the coaching direction of Kenny Bizot, the Cougars won the MPSA Overall Championship in the 2000 and 2001 seasons. The Cougars also won the MPSA Overall Championship in the 2003 season under Penn Majors. In February 2007, the Varsity Cougars, led by head coach James Crain, won the MPSA Division II AAA State Basketball Championship. During February 2008, the Cougars failed to defend their Division II crown but won the MPSA AAA State Tournament, defeating Jackson Preparatory School, Jackson Academy, and Pillow Academy. After advancing to the MPSA Overall Tournament, the Cougars defeated Trinity Episcopal Day School of Natchez, Mississippi, and Riverdale Academy of Coushatta, Louisiana, but, after advancing to the championship game, lost a close four point decision to defending champions Madison-Ridgeland Academy.

Footbag

The Central Mississippi Footbag Club was founded at this school. [ [http://www.footbag.org/clubs/show/1138770797 "Central Mississippi Footbag Club"] , Footbag Worldwide]

References