Grandview High School (Colorado)
| Grandview High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
20500 E. Arapahoe Rd. Aurora, CO 80016 | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1998 |
| School district | Cherry Creek School District |
| Principal | Kurt Wollenweber |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 2851[1] |
| Color(s) | royal blue, black, and white |
| Athletics | 5A |
| Athletics conference | Centennial League |
| Mascot | Wolf |
| Information | 720-886-6500 |
| Website | http://www.ghs.ccsd.k12.co.us/ |
Grandview High School is the second largest high school in the Cherry Creek School District, with approximately 2,800 students. Grandview opened in 1998 as CCSD's fifth high school, built to accommodate a population boom the district's growing southeastern region. Grandview is located in Aurora, Colorado and uses the wolf as its sports mascot. This school is known for its sports programs and its high pass rate on the AP History exams (for college credit).
Grandview High School was ranked 437th on Newsweek's list of the 1500 top US high schools in 2009.
History
During the 1995-96 school year a committee of teachers, administrators, parents and students gathered to meet with architects to design the blueprints for High School 5. In January 1997, Linda Fox formally accepted the assignment as the founding principal. By March of that year, groundbreaking at the site began and a cadre of coordinating teachers were hired to create what would become Grandview High School. Mrs. Fox, Associate Principal Harry Bull, bookkeeper Sherry Andrews, and secretary Vickie Davis settled into Rolling Hills elementary in a nearby neighborhood to spend a year preparing to open a new high school. The cadre joined them in the evenings and then full time in January 1998.
According to Terry Conley, Executive Director of High Schools, one clear message from parents was that they "wanted students to have a competitive edge upon graduation, and equal rights" From this, the Mission Statement evolved: To inspire academic achievement, responsible citizenship, and individual development in a supportive environment.
With this goal in mind, it was time to choose a name, colors, and a mascot. In the fall of 1997, three names for the high school were submitted to the school board, with Grandview garnering the highest recommendation. In the winter of 1997-98, the school colors were chosen. Black, teal, and purple had the greatest number of votes until a student brought a photograph of Duke athletes in uniform to a community meeting. The entire group changed their vote to blue, black and white which became Grandview's colors. Choosing the mascot proved more difficult. Wanting a mascot that made "good tracks," the "Let's Get Started" committee recommended the wolf over a hornet or diamondback.
As the year progressed, staff was hired, curriculum decisions were made, and the school was built. On August 3, 1998, Mrs. Fox received the keys to the building. With semi-trailers lined up to unload all the furniture, parents came to help assemble desks and ensure that the color-coded furniture made it to the right wings of the school. Books were unpacked, computers were set up, and the staff began to move in.
On August 24, 1998, Grandview proudly opened its doors to 830 ninth and tenth grade students.
In 2000, the principal of Grandview, Linda Fox, was promoted to Executive Director of High Schools and Assistant Principal Harry Bull was selected to become the new Principal of Grandview High School.
In 2006 Dr. Harry Bull was promoted to Executive Director of High Schools, after Linda Fox's retirement. Assistant Principal Kurt Wollenweber was selected to become the new principal of Grandview High school for the 2007-2008 school year
Gordon Young is known as the voice of the wolves. He announces at various sporting events. He is remembered for his wolf call at the beginning of every game. Even after his retirement from teaching, he still fulfills his announcing duties.
On December 2, 2007, Grandview's varsity football team defeated Douglas County High School to win the Colorado 5A State Football championship. The game was tied at the end of regulation play and Grandview won in the first overtime on a touchdown.
In 2007 the Grandview Poms team won the title of League and State Champions. At Nationals their dances, Poms and Jazz, earned them 7th place in Pom and 9th in Jazz.
On the night of October 12, 2008, an unidentified man crashed his SUV through the front doors of the school in an apparent suicide attempt. After the accident, he was taken to Parker Adventist Hospital for minor injuries, and held in the mental health wing for observation. He is currently being held on $10,000 bond. It is known that the broad metal doors were totally destroyed and the administration was afraid that there would be damage to the structural integrity of the building. Therefore, classes were canceled for that subsequent Monday, but resumed on Tuesday after a thorough inspection.[2]
In 2009 the Grandview Poms team placed fifth in the nation in the Large Varsity Poms division and ninth in the Large Varsity Jazz Division.
Also in the 2009 the Grandview Cheerleaders, 5 of which are men, also placed fifth in the Large Varsity Division
The wrestling team has won the league championship 7 years in a row.
In 2009, the Grandview Poms team won the title of League Champions, USA Regional Hip Hop Champions, and UDA Regional Large Pom Champions.
Academics
Grandview offers wide variety of courses for students to choose from. Grandview, like many other schools in the Cherry Creek School District, offers an Advanced Placement Program, but Grandview does not have an IB program. There are also Honors classes. The only AP course offered to incoming Freshmen is AP human geography, and a test and essay was required.
Advanced Placement
Grandview offers the following Advanced Placement Classes:
English
AP English Language
AP English Literature
Social Studies
AP European History
AP Human Geography
AP Psychology
AP U.S. Government
AP U.S. History
AP World History
AP Comparative Government and Politics (Introduced 2006-2007)
Mathematics
AP Statistics
AP Calculus AB
AP Calculus BC
Science
AP Environmental Science
AP Biology
AP Chemistry
AP Physics B
AP Physics C
World Language
AP French Language
AP German Language
AP Spanish Language
AP Chinese Language(to be introduced 2009-2010)
AP Spanish Literature
Other
AP Computer Science A
AP Computer Science AB
AP Music Theory
State Accountability Report
For the 2005-2006 school year, Grandview was rated as a "High School" with Stable academic growth. Grandview met the AYP for Reading, but failed to make AYP for math; out of the 35 goals grandview had, they achieved 33.
| Full Time | Part Time | |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers | 137 | 10 |
| Paraprofessionals | 15 | 16 |
| Administrators | 5 | 0 |
| Other Professionals | 21 | 2 |
| School Support | 39 | 11 |
Standardized Testing[3]
| Test | School | District | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9-10 CSAP Reading (Percent of Students meeting Advanced or Proficient) | 76% | 75% | 67% |
| 9-10 CSAP Writing (Percent of Students meeting Advanced or Proficient) | 64% | 61% | 51% |
| 9-10 CSAP Math (Percent of Students meeting Advanced or Proficient) | 45% | 44% | 35% |
| 11th ACT Reading | 21.48 | 19.41 | |
| 11th ACT Writing | 21.07 | 18.22 | |
| 11th ACT Math | 21.34 | 18.86 |
Athletics
Grandview offers most standard varsity sports, and has achieved notable success with its football, soccer, cheers, volleyball and pom-pom teams.
In 2008, Sports Illustrated rated Grandview High School to have the best athletic program in the state of Colorado.[4]
Fall Sports
Boys' Cross Country
Girls' Cross Country
Boys' Golf
Football
Boys' Soccer
Boys' Tennis
Boys tennis
Girls' Field Hockey
Softball
Volleyball
Cheers/Poms
Track
Winter Sports
Boys' Baskeball
Girls' Basketball
Co-ed Wrestling
Cheers/Poms
Girls' Swimming and Diving
Boys Hockey
Spring Sports
Baseball
Boys' Swimming and Diving
Boys' Lacrosse
Girls' Lacrosse
Girls' Golf
Girls' Soccer
Girls' Tennis
Boys' Track and Field
Girls' Track and Field
Boys' Volleyball
Boys' Club Hockey
External links