Pioneer High School (Ann Arbor, Michigan)

For other schools with this name, see Pioneer High School (disambiguation)
Pioneer High School

Home of Purple Pride
Address
601 West Stadium Boulevard
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48103
United States
Coordinates 42°15′35″N 83°45′15″W / 42.259651°N 83.754057°W / 42.259651; -83.754057Coordinates: 42°15′35″N 83°45′15″W / 42.259651°N 83.754057°W / 42.259651; -83.754057
Information
Type Public secondary
Established October 5, 1856
School district Ann Arbor Public Schools
Principal Tracey Lowder
Grades 9–12
Color(s) Purple & White          
Mascot Woody the Pioneer
Rivals

Huron High School

Skyline High School
Website http://www.a2schools.org/pioneer
Pioneer High School: view of the east, or "A Hall," entrance

Pioneer High School is a public school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 2010, Pioneer was listed as a "Silver Medal School" by the U.S. News & World Report.[1]

In previous years Huron High School, another secondary school in Ann Arbor and Pioneer were among the largest high schools in the state, however due to the addition of Skyline High School enrollment numbers have declined.[2]

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 Huron 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.[3] Through a local essay contest run by The Ann Arbor News, the mascot nickname, the Pioneers, was chosen in 1936. 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. Construction of the building was completed before Ann Arbor High moved to the new location in the fall of 1956.[4] 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.[5] 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 offshoot 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.[6]

Pioneer High School was the first high school in the US to have a planetarium, which was donated to the school in 1956 by the Argus Camera Company.[7] As of October 2012, it held the record for being the longest continuously run planetarium in a school in the western hemisphere.[8]

Theater

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.[9]

Music

Pioneer has three separate music departments: band, choir, and orchestra. Pioneer's band is split into three different classes. It has a varsity band, concert band, symphony band. The level of skill required to be accepted into the bands are from easiest to hardest. Any students wishing to do band can be accepted to varsity band. Students wishing to move to a higher level band, must audition. Pioneer also offers jazz band.

Pioneer's orchestras are similar in hierarchy of its bands. Its lowest orchestra is philharmonic orchestra followed by concert orchestra and symphony orchestra. Philharmonic orchestra is offered to anyone wishing to join orchestra. Students audition for seats in the concert and symphony orchestras.

Pioneer's music program won its eighth Grammy Award from the Grammy Foundation in 2015,[10] an award which goes to the best High School music programs in the United States each year.

Ann Arbor High School, and its descendant, Pioneer High School, have a long tradition in music, and have benefited from a strong association with the School of Music at the University of Michigan. Joseph Maddy, the first band director, was a shared employee between the University of Michigan Music Department and the Ann Arbor High School Band. Maddy founded the Interlochen Arts Camp in 1926 as a national band and orchestra camp, and Ann Arbor high school students at Pioneer, Huron, and Skyline High Schools have been going to Interlochen for band camp every August for decades. The Pioneer High School Music Program has been recognized on a national level multiple times since 1999, when the GRAMMY Foundation began citing the top high school music programs in the country.

2001–2002 Pioneer H.S. submitted its first application for GRAMMY consideration and was selected as a GRAMMY Signature School, one of the top 100 high school music departments in the nation, and received a grant of $1,000.

2002–2003 Pioneer H.S. was selected as a GRAMMY Signature School, that year one of the top 50 high school music departments in the nation, and received a grant of $1,000.

2003–2004 Pioneer H.S. was selected as a GRAMMY Gold Signature School, one of the top 50 high school music departments in the nation, and received a grant of $5,000.

2004–2005 Pioneer H.S. was selected as a GRAMMY Gold Signature School, one of the top 6 high school music departments in the nation, and received a grant of $7,000.

2005–2006 Pioneer H.S. was selected as the National GRAMMY Signature School, the top high school music department in the nation, and received a grant of $20,000. As the reigning National Signature School, Pioneer was ineligible to reapply until 2009-2010.

2009–2010 Pioneer H.S. was selected as a GRAMMY Gold Signature School, one of the top 3 high school music departments in the nation, and received a grant of $5,000.

2010–2011 For the second time in six years, Pioneer H.S. was named the National GRAMMY Signature School, the Number One high school music department in the nation, and received a grant of $15,000. As the reigning National Signature School, Pioneer was ineligible to reapply until 2014-2015.

2014–2015 For the eighth time, Pioneer H.S. was awarded a National GRAMMY award, being named a GRAMMY Gold Signature School, as one of the top 3 high school music departments in the nation, and received a grant of $3,500.[11]

Athletics

Highlights

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
Crew 2007
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[14]
Tennis 1990, 1991, 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (Spring and Fall)
Track 1900, 1907, 2007, 2010
Water Polo 1974, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1988, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2011
Wrestling 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, 2012, 2014 [15]
Golf 1986, 1993
Lacrosse 1995
Swimming 1979, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2002*, 2003, 2004**, 2005*, 2006, 2007, 2008[16]
Synchronized Swimming 1990, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014
Tennis 1992, 1998, 2001, 2005, 2010
Crew 2007, 2014, 2015
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

Football

Pioneer competes in the Southeastern Conference Red Division (commonly abbreviated SEC-Red) and has one of the greatest high school football programs in the state historically. Pioneer is second behind Muskegon in all-time victories at 699 (as of the 2011 season).[17] 2 MHSAA State Championships and 43 League Championships.[18]

1891: Michigan Wolverines 62 Pioneer 0

To open up the 1891 college football season, the Michigan Wolverines of the University of Michigan played Pioneer (then Ann Arbor High School) at Regents Field on October 10, 1891. Michigan won the game handily as expected by the final score of 62–0. This was the first and only meeting between the two schools.[19]

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pioneer High School in ANN ARBOR, MI - Best High Schools - US News". rankingsandreviews.com. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  2. ↑ http://www.mhsaa.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=lxpD75plRn0%3D&tabid=571
  3. ↑ "Regents approve request for site preparation for North Quad". umich.edu. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Ann Arbor Pioneer High School: history". aaps.k12.mi.us. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  5. ↑ http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/pioneer.students/school_history
  6. ↑ Sharon Woodson, "'Free school' stresses 'learning' rather than 'teaching'", Ann Arbor News, September 19, 1971; Sharon Woodson, "Pioneer II: a close-up look at what goes on", Ann Arbor News, January 17, 1972.
  7. ↑ Miller, Janet (December 2, 2011). "Pioneer's Argus Planetarium needs donor for $80,000 in critical upgrades". http://www.annarbor.com. The Ann Arbor News. Retrieved March 8, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  8. ↑ Arndt, Danielle (October 24, 2012). "$100,000 donor steps forward to save Ann Arbor Pioneer's Argus Planetarium". http://www.annarbor.com. The Ann Arbor News. Retrieved March 8, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  9. ↑ "Pioneer High School Theatre Guild". aaps.k12.mi.us. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  10. ↑ http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/pioneer.home/performing_arts
  11. ↑ Concert Program, The Ann Arbor Pioneer Music Department program for the 2015 GRAMMY Signature School Gold Award Celebration Concert, held in Schreiber Auditorium on May 28, 2015
  12. ↑ "More than just a coach: The story of Pioneer High School's Bryan Westfield". USA Today High School Sports. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
  13. ↑ "Ann Arbor Pioneer defeats Ann Arbor Huron 2-0 for fifth consecutive field hockey state title". mlive.com. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Boys Swimming and Diving Team Champions 1925–2011". mhsaa.com. MHSAA. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  15. ↑ Cunningham, Peter (October 31, 2009). "Ann Arbor Pioneer defeats Ann Arbor Huron for fifth consecutive field hockey state title". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Girls Swimming and Diving Team Champions 1925–2011". mhsaa.com. MHSAA. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
  17. ↑ "Team Records". mhsaa.com. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Ann Arbor Pioneer Pioneers Historical Michigan High School Football Scores Since 1950". michigan-football.com. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  19. ↑ "1891 Football Team -- University of Michigan Athletics". umich.edu. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Ron Asheton". nndb.com. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  21. 1 2 3 "Death claims drummer Scott Asheton, influential punk rock pioneer and former Ann Arborite". MLive.com. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Scott Asheton". nndb.com. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Ann Arbor native wins Nobel Prize for developing new high-powered microscope".
  24. ↑ "Keith Bostic". databaseFootball.com. databaseSports.com. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  25. ↑ Ann Arbor Film Festival. 2007. p. 4.
  26. ↑ "Home » Steeplechase Films". Ricburns.com. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  27. ↑ "Ken Dyer". Pro Football Encyclopedia. Retrieved November 2014.
  28. ↑ "Records: Bob Elliott". Ann Arbor Pioneer Athletics. Ann Arbor Public Schools. Retrieved February 21, 2013.
  29. ↑ "Ann Arbor's 'The Good Wife' star Zach Grenier leads all-star cast in local 'Ajax' and 'Philoctetes' reading". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  30. ↑ Jonathan Marwil (1987). A history of Ann Arbor. University of Michigan Press. p. 34.
  31. 1 2 Battista, Judy (November 23, 2011). "The Harbaughs' Sibling Rivalry". New York Times. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
  32. ↑ Wallace, Anise C. (July 24, 1989). "'Genius' Grant For Founder Of Magazine". The New York Times.
  33. ↑ "PTSO Newsletter". Ann Arbor Pioneer High School. January 2004.
  34. ↑ "Pioneer grad Kara Lynn Joyce is 50 meters from 1st individual Olympic medal". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Phil Kessel Signs Contract with the Boston Bruins". Gopher Sports. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  36. ↑ http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20099739,00.html
  37. ↑ http://annarboralumni.org/?sitePage=custom&pageURL=school_files/annarboralumni/pages/notable_alumni.html Ann Arbor Public Schools Alumni
  38. ↑ "Jack Robert Lousma". NASA. February 1999.
  39. ↑ Paul Trynka (December 7, 2011). Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed. Random House Digital. p. 37.
  40. ↑ "2014 U.S. Olympic Team Media Guide". Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  41. ↑ "Ann Arbor Public Schools Alumni". Alumni Channel. Retrieved August 2014.
  42. ↑ "Bob Seger reflects on growing up in Ann Arbor, looks forward to concert at EMU". AnnArbor.com. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  43. ↑ "Early Japanese Students" (Archive). Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan. Retrieved on July 6, 2015.
  44. ↑ Weller, Thomas Huckle (2004). Growing Pathogens in Tissue Cultures: Fifty Years in Academic Tropical Medicine, Pediatrics, and Virology. Boston Medical Library. p. 15.

External links

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