Pelham High School
| Pelham High School | |
| Established | 1974 |
|---|---|
| School type | Public |
| District | Pelham City Schools |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Principal | Jason Yohn |
| Enrollment | 1,743 (2012) |
| Colors | Forest green & gold |
| Mascot | Panthers |
| Location | 2500 Panther Circle Pelham |
| Website | phs.pelhamcityschools.org |
Pelham High School is a public high school in Pelham. It was founded in 1974 as part of the Shelby County Schools system, but was taken over by the newly-created Pelham Board of Education in 2014.
Since opening, the school has been expanded several times. The campus was damaged during the 1994 Shelby County tornado outbreak.
The school's mascot is "Paws" the Panther, and its colors are Forest Green and Vegas Gold.
History
Former Pelham principal Bob Lavett served over two decades at the high school. He retired as principal in late May 2014 to begin working part-time as an assistant to Superintendent Scott Coefield.<ref>http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2014/05/pelham_school_board_pulls_from.html</ref> In June 2014, after Lavett’s retirement, the Pelham Board of Education hired Jason Yohn as the new principal of Pelham High School. Yohn was formerly the principal at Smiths Station High School in Smiths Station, Alabama, where he worked for six years. The Pelham Board of Education also hired John Prestridge as assistant principal.<ref>http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2014/06/pelham_hires_new_high_school_p.html</ref>
As of June 1, 2014, the city of Pelham separated itself from the Shelby County School System and became part of its own school district known as Pelham City Schools. The 2014-2015 school year is not only the first year where Pelham will be operating independently, but it is also the first year that residents of Helena, Alabama, will not be attending Pelham High School due to the official opening of Helena High School in August 2014.
Organizations and clubs
- Band - Pelham High School has had a band program since the school opened in 1974. The band has received excellent ratings at marching and auxiliary competitions, as well as concert band festivals. The band program currently has several groups: the "Tower of Power" marching band, which includes visual ensemble members in the color guard, dance team, and majorettes; a jazz band; and two concert groups, the wind ensemble and the symphonic band.<ref>http://www.pelhamband.com/about.html</ref> Jim Duren was band director from 1987 to 1999 before moving on to become the director at Oak Mountain High School.<ref>http://www.alabamamea.org/Hall%20of%20fame/</ref> When Duren left, Jeff Burnside took over as Pelham's band director in 1999 and stayed until the Pelham/Helena split in 2014, when he took a job as Helena High School's band director.<ref>http://www.shelbycountyreporter.com/2013/12/20/phs-band-director-moving-to-helena-high/</ref> The current Pelham band director is Justin Ward, who previously served as the assistant director to Jeff Burnside from 2011 to 2014.<ref>http://www.pelhamband.com/staff.html</ref>
- Baseball - The Pelham High School Varsity Baseball team won the 2004 and 2013 AHSAA State Championships.
- Color Guard - The Pelham High School Varsity and Junior Varsity Winter Guards have both received multiple state and regional titles through the South Eastern Color Guard Circuit. They compete with the "Tower of Power" Marching Band during the Fall season.
- Debate - Pelham recently resurrected their debate team. In 2006, Pelham had public forum teams place first, fifth, and sixth at Vestavia Hills High School's Novice Tournament. Pelham also had public forum teams finish as finalists and semi finalists in the 2007 Alabama state debate tournament. Pelham's Public Forum team of Brandon Grimes and Loren Willis qualified for the National Forensic League's high school national tournament in 2007. Also produced current University of Alabama debate team member Jacob Forehand who was the 7th best speaker nationally in 2009 in Parliamentary Debate.
- Scholars' Bowl - The Pelham High School varsity scholars' bowl team won the Shelby County championship title in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2012. In 2007, the junior varsity team placed first in the Shelby County tournament.
- Team Sunshine- winners of back to back (2010,2011) recreational league baseball championships. Voted "Greatest Baseball Team in History". Team also had the "World's Greatest Dad".
Notable alumni
- Deidre Downs (1998), Miss America 2005
- Dabo Swinney, Clemson Tigers head football coach
- Tyler Watts, former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback
- Montez Billings, NFL wide receiver
- Elizabeth Cochran, Miss Alabama 2009
- Jake Holland, former Auburn Tigers linebacker
References
External links
- Pelham High School at pelhamcityschools.org