Hillcrest High School (Springfield, Missouri)
| Hillcrest High School | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1958 |
| Type | US Public secondary |
| Principal | James "Jay" Rush |
| Students | 1,136 |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Location | Springfield, Missouri, USA |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Blue and Silver (orange is a popular alternate color) |
| Mascot | Hornets |
| Website | http://www.hillcresthornets.org/ |
Hillcrest High School is a high school located at 3319 N. Grant Avenue in Springfield, Missouri. Hillcrest High School is one of five public high schools in Springfield. It is located in the north part of Springfield. It was opened in 1958. As of 2010, there was an enrollment of 1,136 students, making it the smallest of the five public high school in Springfield.
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[edit] Notable programs
[edit] JROTC
Hillcrest is the only high school in Springfield, Missouri to have a JROTC program, associated with the Army. The JROTC program teaches students citizenship and patriotism. They are recognized throughout the community for their volunteerism and community service. The cadets visit the Veterans' Home several times yearly to support the veterans. The JROTC Program at Hillcrest has several activities the different teams participate in. The have a saber team, color guard, shooting team, and exhibition team. The color guard has performed at several events in the community from the sms bears basketball games to the 9/11 ceremony the JROTC holds at Hillcrest High School every year on September 11. The JROTC cadets are very proud of their unit. Col. Don Baldridge and SGT Major Paul Rock are the Cadets' teachers and leaders. Col. Baldridge and Sgt. Major Rock created an event to bring the JROTC from Hillcrest and the surrounding areas together called the JROTC Olympics. Hillcrest High School has the travelling trophy for the 2008–2009 year beating out the other JROTC squads from the surrounding areas to bring the trophy home. The Hillcrest JROTC program is supported by their booster club. Their booster club is made up of parents, alumni, cadets, students and the community. The president for the booster club is Carolyn Jones and the Vice President is Lynn Ziverk.Hillcrest JROTC
[edit] HTV Magazine
Hillcrest also has an award-winning TV and internet-based magazine, [1]. The show is entering its 20th year on Public-access television cable TV in 2008–2009. It has become one of the nation's most-honored scholastic journalism programs, earning the following national awards in recent years:
- National Television Academy "Award for Excellence" (3 total)
- Robert F. Kennedy High School Journalism Award (6 total)
- Channel One "Number One Newscast" (3 total)
- NSPA Broadcast Pacemaker (11 total, and the most out of any school in the nation, the next school has 5.)
HTV Magazine is student-produced, and has consistently covered compelling, sometimes controversial topics since its beginning in October 1989. In 2002, HHS Principal Dr. Julie Leeth received the national "Courage In Journalism" award for backing HTV when the district sought to censor a student commentary. The broadcast program has such a great reputation, that they are currently the subject of a documentary produced by Evangel University.
Adviser Dave Davis created "HTV Magazine" in the fall of 1989, and remains the only broadcast teacher Hillcrest has ever had. Davis is the director of "Camp STN", considered by many[who?] the nation's best workshop for scholastic broadcasting teachers. The camp takes place each summer in Springfield, Missouri. Dave Davis is also the creator of STN (Student Television Network).
[edit] Hillcrest Basketball
In 2010, they won the class 5 state championship for Missouri.
[edit] Hillcrest Baseball
Hillcrest High School is known for its baseball program. Dick Birmingham is its most well known coach. Under Birmingham's reign, 120 players received college baseball scholarships or signed professional contracts, with six players drafted professionally from the 1966 Hillcrest team (a national high school record) and four others taken during the 1972 major league draft. In 1990 he was inducted into the halls of fame of both the American Baseball Coaches Association and the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association.[1] The most recent player drafted was pitcher Jon Barratt by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2003. Twenty-three players have been drafted from Hillcrest since 1960, more than any other school in Springfield. Some of its better known players are: Bob Detherage (LAD), George Frazier (NYY), Doug Bennett (LAD) and Keith Drumright (OAK), just to name a few.
[edit] Renovations
On April 4, 2006, Springfield Public Schools' voters approved an 18-cent increase in the district's debt service levy. Among the approved projects was an upgrade to the science and technology labs at Hillcrest and two other Springfield high schools.
The project added new science–technology classroom labs, renovated old lab space into additional classrooms; remodeled and provided new areas for student services. The final cost was $5.75 million. Construction began in September 2007 and finished in 2008.[2]
[edit] Notable alumni
- John Ashcroft, former Missouri Governor, former U.S. Senator and former U.S. Attorney General
- Dorial Green-Beckham
[edit] References
- ^ "Har Bell Heritage Hero Coach – Dick Birmingham". Big Sports. November 1998. http://bigosports.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=93:dick-birmingham&catid=43:har-bells-heritage-heroes-coaches&Itemid=77. Retrieved November 10, 2011.
- ^ "SPS - Hillcrest High School Profile". Springfield Public Schools. http://springfieldpublicschoolsmo.org/relocating/hillcrest.htm. Retrieved May 8, 2010.
[edit] External links
