Forest Hills Central High School

Forest Hills Central High School
Location
5901 Hall St SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Coordinates	42°56′37″N 85°31′22″W / 42.9436°N 85.5229°WCoordinates: 42°56′37″N 85°31′22″W / 42.9436°N 85.5229°W
Information
Type	Public
Established	1958 (first graduating class 1961)
Principal	Steve Passinault
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1300
Schedule type	Six periods (Seven including Zero hour)
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Forest Green, White and Black
Athletics conference	Ottawa-Kent Conference Black Division
Mascot	Rangers
Website	www.fhps.net/centralhs/

Forest Hills Central High School is located in Ada Township, Michigan, near Grand Rapids.^[1][2] It is one of three high schools in the Forest Hills Public Schools system. The district also includes Forest Hills Eastern High School (FHE) and Forest Hills Northern High School (FHN).

Forest Hills Central High School (originally "Forest Hills High School") became the first high school of the newly formed Forest Hills School District in the fall of 1958. The doors opened in September with only freshman and sophomore students. The first graduating class was 1961.

The school was memorable for its campus style construction consisting eventually of thirteen separate buildings, including an auditorium added in 1977. The classroom buildings were long hallways, which connected five or six individual rooms. Michigan winters were not amenable to the open campus and the constant walks outside from building to building. In addition, the student population continued to grow, and the buildings began to quickly deteriorate. In 1986, Central High was completely rebuilt with the exception of the auditorium, the gymnasium, the cafeteria, and the art/industrial arts wing, all of which were incorporated into one new building. Since that time, the school has undergone numerous building and remodeling projects.

In 2009, the building underwent a multimillion-dollar construction project that included a new weight room, student and staff parking lots, main office renovation, athletic field entrance, athletic office, classrooms, and a new gym entrance and foyer. Also added to the new gym entrance were heated sidewalks. In 2010, the auditorium was remodeled.

The school celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 2008.

Central's yearbook is called "Profiles," the morning live television news is simply called FX and the magazine is The Central Trend", which recently was made into a website as well, thecentraltrend.com.

Education

Forest Hills Central has been ranked as one of the top 1,300 public schools nationwide in Newsweek's "America's Top Public Schools" since 2005.^[3] It was ranked 739th in the United States in 2005. It has been on the list five times.

Central offers 186 courses taught by an 84-person staff. Students from Central High have scored in the top one percent on the Michigan Merit Test (MME) and have out performed the state average in each category every year the test has been given.

Forest Hill Central students often matriculate at Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Valley State University, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University, Central Michigan University, and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Most other major schools FHC graduates matriculate at are local schools like Kalamazoo College, Hope College, and Calvin College. Nearly every year, one to two students matriculate at private universities like Cornell University, Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Chicago, or Harvard University.

Athletics

Forest Hills Central's athletic teams compete under the "Rangers" mascot. Most teams compete in the Ottawa-Kent Conference White division. Forest Hills Central currently offers the following varsity sports.

Many Ranger Alumni have gone on to play sports at the college level including several at the NCAA Division 1 level.

Men's sports

• Baseball
• Basketball 6-Time Conference Champions (2001–02,2002–03,2004–05,2007–08,2008–09,2013–14,2014–15), 4-Time District Champions, 3-Time Regional Champions
• Bowling
• Cross Country
• Rowing (Crew) 2006 HEBDA State Champions.^[4]
• Football 1994 State Runner-up ^[5]
• Golf 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2010 State Runner-up, 2009, 2011 State Champions, 2012 District Champions ^[6]
• Hockey
• Lacrosse 2007 was the first year of competition separate from Forest Hills Northern. Prior to that, the two schools fielded a combined team. 1990 State Champions, 2008 Runners-Up. 2010 Division II State Champions. 2012 Division II State Champions 2013 Division II state runners up ^[7]
• Rugby (club sport with FHE and FHN High Schools) 1997, 2004, 2006 and 2012 State Champions
• Skiing 1996 State Champions ^[8]
• Soccer 2004, 2015 State Champions,^[9]
• Swimming and Diving 2009 Varsity MVP( Senior Taylor Digby)
• Tennis 1998, 2003 State Champions, 2001, 2002, 2011 Runner-up, 2014 State Champions, 2015 State Champions^[10]
• Wrestling

Women's sports

• Basketball
• Bowling 2011 Regional Champions
• Rowing (Crew) 2000, 2002, 2004 & 2005 HEBDA State Champions.^[4]
• Cross Country
• Field Hockey
• Golf
• Gymnastics
• Lacrosse
• Skiing
• Soccer 2005, 2007, 2008, State Champions, 2003 Runner-up ^[11]
• Softball
• Swimming and Diving 1993, 1994 State Champions, 1995, 2007 Runner-up,^[12]
• Tennis 1985 State Runner-up ^[13]
• Track & Field
• Volleyball 1986, 1987 State Runner-up
• Water Polo

Co-educational

• Rowing (Crew) 2005 & 2006 HEBDA State Champions.^[4]

Music

Forest Hills Central is known for its music programs. The high school has one of the largest high school band programs in the state of Michigan, and it has had the largest high school marching band (band members to students ratio) in the state for many years. Many Forest Hill Central alumni from the band have gone on to become members of college marching bands at the University of Michigan, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, and Michigan State University. Currently, the band is directed by Robert Ash.

In addition to its band program, the high school also has two orchestras, known as Concert Orchestra (for freshmen) and Symphony Orchestra (for sophomores through seniors); both of these orchestras are directed by Andrew Pool. The high school's choir program is directed by Sean Ivory, who also directs the Grand Rapids Symphony Youth Chorus. There are three different choir groups: concert choir, women's chorus and chorale. Additionally, the high school has a smaller jazz choir that rehearses before school.

Theatre

At Forest Hills Central, there are several theatre classes offered. These include Theatre I, Theatre II, and Musical Theatre. The Theatre Program at the school puts on several shows and events every year, including the Fall Play, the Spring Musical, a talent show entitled "Random Acts of Talent," and an improvisation show known as "Improv Central."

Weekend education

The Grand Rapids Supplemental School (グランドラピッズ補習授業校 Gurando Rappizu Hoshū Jugyō Kō), a part-time Japanese school, holds its classes at the high school.^[14]

References

1. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Ada township, MI (Part 2) (Archive). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on April 6, 2015. See Part 1 of Ada Township (Archive), See Overall (Archive)
2. "Contact Us." Forest Hills Central High School. Retrieved on April 6, 2015. "Central High School 5901 Hall Street SE Grand Rapids, MI 49546"
3. "Newsweek: The Top of the Class". Retrieved 2009-03-14.
4. "FHCCrew.org". Retrieved 2007-08-05.
5. "MHSAA Yearly Results". Retrieved 2007-08-05.
6. "Team Champions - Boys Golf". MHSAA Sports. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
7. "FHCLacrosse.com". Retrieved 2007-08-05.
8. "MHSAA Yearly Results". Retrieved 2007-08-05.
9. "MHSAA Yearly Results". Retrieved 2007-08-05.
10. "Team Champions - Boys Tennis". MHSAA Sports. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
11. "MHSAA Yearly Results". Retrieved 2012-05-04.
12. "Team Champions – Girls Swimming & Diving". MHSAA Sports. Retrieved 2012-05-04.
13. "MHSAA Yearly Results". Retrieved 2007-08-05.
14. "北米の補習授業校一覧（平成25年4月15日現在）." (Archive) MEXT. Retrieved on May 5, 2014. "Forest Hills Central High School 5901 Hall St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 U.S.A."