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Pioneer High School (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

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Coordinates: 42°15′43.8″N 83°45′13.7″W / 42.262167°N 83.753806°W / 42.262167; -83.753806
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Pioneer High School
Location
Map
Ann Arbor
,
Michigan

US
Coordinates42°15′35″N 83°45′15″W / 42.259651°N 83.754057°W / 42.259651; -83.754057
Information
TypePublic secondary
MottoHome of Purple Pride
EstablishedOctober 5, 1856
LocaleAnn Arbor Public Schools
PrincipalMichael White
Grades9-12
Color(s)Dark Violet & White    
MascotPioneers
Websitehttp://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/pioneer.home
Pioneer High School: view of the east, or "A Hall," entrance

Pioneer High School is a public school in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with a rich tradition in the arts and sciences. Pioneer's music program recently won its sixth Grammy Award from the Grammy Foundation,[1] an award which goes to the best High School music program in the United States each year. In 2010, Pioneer was listed as a "Silver Medal School" by the US News & World Report.[2]

In previous years Huron High School, another secondary school in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Pioneer were among the largest high schools in the state, however due to the addition of Skyline High School enrollment numbers have steadily declined.[3] The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) lists Pioneer (10th) and Huron (21st) respectively as the largest high schools in the State of Michigan.[4]

History

Founded in 1856, Pioneer High School has held several names and occupied various buildings in its 150 years of existence. First known as the Union School, the institution opened on October 5, 1856. The school was later renamed Ann Arbor High School, and its yearbook, The Omega, was first published in 1884. In 1904, Ann Arbor High School burned down, and the rebuilt high school opened in 1906 at the corner of Washington and State Streets in Ann Arbor. This structure was later known as the Frieze Building after it was sold to the University of Michigan; it was demolished by the university in early 2007 to make way for the new North Quad residence hall.[5] Through a local essay contest run by The Ann Arbor News, the mascot nickname, the Pioneers, was chosen in 1936. In May, 2011, 250 Pioneer High School students participated in a senior prank that led to 31 suspensions for vandalism such as defecating on the football fields of other area high schools, spray painting graffiti and thousands of dollars of other damage. [6] Despite the widespread damage, Ann Arbor schools will not prosecute students criminally and will allow all students involved in the damage to participate in graduation. The land on which the school currently resides, sitting directly southwest of the University of Michigan Football Stadium, which the University uses as a parking lot on football Saturdays, on West Stadium Boulevard at South Main Street, was purchased in 1953. After construction of the new high school was completed, Pioneer High School opened its doors in the fall of 1956.[7] By the 1960s, the new building had already reached capacity, and thus, in 1967, the school board established Huron High School, the city's second comprehensive high school, on the city's east side, and renamed the old school to Pioneer High School.[8] In 1968, before Huron's building was completed, students from the old and new schools shared the Pioneer building in a split schedule, with Pioneer students attending classes in the morning and Huron students in the afternoon.

In 1971, Pioneer II, an experimental off-shoot of Pioneer High School, was established. The school utilized a small, self-selected group of Pioneer faculty and students working under "free-school" principles, and eventually became Earthworks High School before merging with Community High School in 1978.[9]

The Pioneer Theater Guild won Class A State Championships in 1986 and again in 1988 when they performed Sam Shephard's Fool For Love. In the fall of 2006, the Pioneer Theater Guild was the first high school theater company to do a stage production of Disney's High School Musical, Willy Wonka, and Miss Saigon. Pioneer Theater Guild has put on several popular productions including Les Misérables, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors, Romeo and Juliet, Hair, The Wizard of Oz, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Urinetown. In both 2009 and 2010 Pioneer Theatre Guild placed second in the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association's theater competition.[10]

Pioneer athletics

Highlights

  • Swimming: The Pioneer women's swim team won the Michigan High School Athletic Association's State Championship in 2000-2007. Swimming World magazine named the team the winner of their fictitious national swim meet for the 2002-2003, 2004-2005 (shared), and 2005-2006 seasons. Four national records were set by Pioneer at the state meet one season.
  • Cross Country: The Pioneer Men's Cross Country team has been a dominant running force in the state for over 40 years.
  • Field Hockey: Pioneer Field Hockey won 5 straight state championships from 2005–2009, and has 21 titles overall.[11]
  • Synchronized Swimming: The small synchronized swimming team has won the state championship 17 times.

State Championships

Men's

Sport Year(s)
Baseball 1898, 2004, 2010
Basketball 1999
Cross Country 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1994, 2008
Football 1899, 1908, 1923, 1943, 1952, 1955, 1962, 1984, 1987
Golf 1931, 1936, 1945, 1946, 1953
Gymnastics 1925, 1965, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1985
Ice Hockey 1964, 1966, 1967, 1971, 1984, 1985
Lacrosse 1992
Swimming 1956, 1957, 1959, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1993, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009
Tennis 1990, 1991, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Track 1900, 1907, 2007, 2010
Water Polo 1974, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1988, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002
Wresting 1949, 1950


Women's

Sport Year(s)
Cross Country 1987, 1988, 1997, 2010
Field Hockey 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
Golf 1986, 1993
Lacrosse 1995
Swimming 1979, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2002*, 2003, 2004**, 2005*, 2006, 2007, 2008
Synchronized Swimming 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010
Tennis 1992, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2010
Track 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008
Water Polo 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009
* National Champions
** National Co-Champions

Notable alumni

This list includes graduates under the school's former names of Union School and Ann Arbor High School:

See also

References

  1. ^ Performing Arts (2006). AAPS: Pioneer High School.
  2. ^ (2010). Pioneer High School: Best High Schools - USNews.com.
  3. ^ (2009). MHSAA enrollment by school: 2009.
  4. ^ (2010). MHSAA enrollment by school: 2010.
  5. ^ University of Michigan: Regents approve request for site preparation for North Quad. Frieze building's planned demolition.
  6. ^ [http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/05/14/31-michigan-high-school-students-suspended-destructive-prank http://www.annarbor.com/news/pioneer-high-school-suspends-31-students-for-senior-prank-that-caused-more-than-2700-in-damage-to-sk]
  7. ^ Official Pioneer High School History
  8. ^ SCHOOL HISTORY
  9. ^ Sharon Woodson, "'Free school' stresses 'learning' rather than 'teaching'", Ann Arbor News, 19 September 1971; Sharon Woodson, "Pioneer II: a close-up look at what goes on", Ann Arbor News, 17 Jan. 1972.
  10. ^ Pioneer Theater Guild Past Productions
  11. ^ [1] Ann Arbor Pioneer defeats Ann Arbor Huron 2-0 for fifth consecutive field hockey state title

External links

42°15′43.8″N 83°45′13.7″W / 42.262167°N 83.753806°W / 42.262167; -83.753806

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