Virgil I. Grissom High School

Virgil I. Grissom High School, more commonly referred to as Grissom High School, is a public high school in Huntsville, Alabama, United States with approximately 2000 students in grades 9-12 from Southeast Huntsville. The school was named a 2007 Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.^[2] In the Newsweek ranking of schools throughout the nation for 2015, Grissom High School was ranked second best in the state and 390th nationally.^[3] Grissom was the only high school in Huntsville to make the 2015 list.

Location

The school is located in Southeast Huntsville and serves an area of largely middle to upper-middle-class neighborhoods. The suburban middle schools within the area include: Mountain Gap Middle School, Challenger Middle School, and Whitesburg Middle School.

History

Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom

Grissom High School was founded in 1969 and is named for astronaut Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, killed in the Apollo 1 fire at Cape Kennedy, Florida on January 27, 1967. Huntsville is home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and has ties to the space program. At the same time, the Huntsville City Schools named Roger B. Chaffee Elementary and Ed White Middle School for Grissom's fallen Apollo 1 crewmates.^[4]

In August 2012, the Huntsville City Schools announced plans to tear down the original two-story main high school building and replace it with a three-story structure at an estimated cost of $58 million. The rebuild would see ninth graders held at their feeder middle schools until construction is completed in 2016.^[5]

Tom Drake served as Grissom's principal from 2000 through August 2013. The school board named June Kalange, then a vice-principal and former science teacher at Grissom, as his replacement in early August 2013.^[6] As of 2015, the current principal is Rebecca Balentine.

Potential construction

The Huntsville City Schools had been contemplating rebuilding the school by around 2016 either at the current site, or else at a 60-acre site adjacent to Weatherly Road's west end.^[7][8] The board learned on March 7, 2013, that a different, larger piece of land was offered at no additional cost just south of the Weatherly Road site.^[9] The now-under construction Grissom property is on National Boulevard, immediately west of Lowe's and Sam's Club. Published plans would extend Weatherly Road across Memorial Parkway in order to serve that site.^[10]

Two memoranda of understanding (MoU) were signed on May 3, 2013.^[11] These interrelated MoUs are frameworks without contractual obligation.^[12]

• First of two is "MoU-B/C" that has two parties: Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, and City Schools Superintendent Casey Wardysnki
• Second of two MoU between Mayor Battle and Superintendent Wardysnki also adds a third party: Hylis Inc. President John W. Hays

The MoUs acknowledge a "gift to the city by Hylis"^[12] consisting of difference between selling price ($2,531,267) and appraised value ($9,830,000 per Hylis). Additional parcels for access roads and a park will also be donated by Hylis.^[11]

Re-use of Bailey Cove site

Several plans are under discussion for usage of Grissom High School's present campus at 7901 Bailey Cove Road.

One plan envisions creation of Southeast Huntsville Municipal Complex, which would include:^[13]

• Relocation of the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library's Bailey Cove branch
• Relocation of Huntsville Police Department's South Precinct
• Gymnasium and athletic fields become a Parks and Recreation Department facility
• Auditorium becomes a community theater/conference center
• Cost is estimated at $8.4 million

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding GHS land was on agenda for the Board of Education work session of May 2, 2013.^[14] The MoU approved at that session pledges a transfer to the City of Huntsville, of the Grissom and J.O. Johnson High School campuses, following their respective relocations.^[11][15]

Academic achievement

In 2007, Newsweek magazine ranked Grissom among the top 5% of all high schools in the United States. The school was ranked 531 among the top 1200 high schools in the nation based on the number of Advanced Placement, Cambridge tests, and/or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all students at a school and then dividing by the number of graduating seniors.^[16] In the Newsweek ranking of schools throughout the nation for 2015, Grissom High School was ranked second best in the state and 390th nationally.^[3] Grissom was the only high school in Huntsville to make the 2015 list.

Grissom produced 28 National Merit Semifinalists for 2007, the highest number in the state.^[17] Grissom's math teams and academic team have also earned national recognition. Grissom's 2007 Science Olympiad state team placed 2nd at the state competition at Samford University. They participated in the National Science Olympiad competition in Kansas in May 2007, and in 2008 participated in the National competition in Augusta, Georgia. In 2008, Grissom's Debate and Speech Team qualified for, and competed in the NFL National Tournament in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Notable people

Notable alumni

• Mo Brooks, class of 1973, congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Alabama's 5th congressional district
• Michael E. Brown, class of 1983, professor of planetary astronomy at the California Institute of Technology
• Spike McRoy, class of 1986, former professional golfer on the PGA Tour and Nationwide Tour
• Hunter Morris, class of 2007, All-American collegiate baseball player
• Marvin Stone, class of 1999, professional basketball player
• Tim Stowers, class of 1976, head football coach at Georgia Southern University
• Jayson Swain, class of 2003, formerly a wide receiver for the Chicago Bears

Notable faculty

• Kay Cornelius, author^[18][19]

Advanced Placement classes

Grissom High School offers the most Advanced Placement Program courses in the area,^[20] including, but not limited to:

Students from Grissom can participate in a dual enrollment program and take classes at Calhoun Community College, the University of Alabama in Huntsville, and the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa through correspondence.^[21]

Extracurriculars

Grissom Band 2006-2007

As of 2007, Grissom has football, boys' and girls' basketball, volleyball, baseball, cross country, softball, track, golf, swim/dive, boys' and girls' soccer, boys' and girls' tennis, wrestling, and cheerleading teams, a dance program, a choral program, a theatre program,^[22] as well as marching, symphonic, and jazz bands. Other notable extracurricular activities include an academic team and an extremely competitive math team, that in addition to competing in contests, runs numerous mathematics programs, camps, and competitions. Rocket City Math League is an international mathematics competition run by Grissom math team students. A wide variety of extracurricular clubs are also present at Grissom.

Grissom's academic team has won 9 Alabama UAB/Alabama Scholastic Competition Association (ASCA) state championships (1982 (4A), 1987 (5A-6A), 1991, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, & 2013 (The state's inaugural Junior Varsity Championship.)) - the most of any Alabama high school.^[23]

School publications

Grissom's bimonthly newspaper is The Imprint, which is recognized by the Alabama Scholastic Press Association. The annual literary magazine is called Seed, and the annual school yearbook is named Invictus.

Army JROTC

Grissom High School has an Army JROTC program.^[24][25] The JROTC has three active extracurricular activities currently. The Military Skills Team attends national competitions annually, recently placing First and Third in the nation in 2012. The program also maintains a color guard and drill team. The color guard presents and retires the American and Alabama state flags at many city-wide and school events.^[26]

References

Further reading

• Bryan, Shevaun. "Groundbreaking for Grissom High’s new site." WHNT. October 2, 2014.
• Riopka, Melissa and Matt Kroschel. "UPDATE: Big plans for Grissom High School once new campus is complete." WHNT. October 2, 2014.

External links

• Grissom High School official website