Grandview High School (Aurora, Colorado)

Grandview High School
Address
20500 E. Arapahoe Rd.
Aurora, CO 10018
Coordinates 39°35′33″N 104°44′49″W / 39.59250°N 104.74694°W / 39.59250; -104.74694Coordinates: 39°35′33″N 104°44′49″W / 39.59250°N 104.74694°W / 39.59250; -104.74694
Information
Type Public
Established 1998
School district Cherry Creek School District
President Sarah Grobbel
Dean

Grade 12: Darryl Keeton[1]

Grade 11: Desmond Davis[1]

Grade 10: TBD[1]

Grade 9: Scott Learned[1]
Principal Sarah Grobbel[1]
Staff 142
Faculty 156
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 2,851[2]
Color(s) royal blue, black, and white             
Athletics 5A
Athletics conference Centennial League
Mascot Wolf
Information 720-886-6500
School Newspaper The Grandview Chronicle
Website http://grandview.cherrycreekschools.org

Grandview High School is the second largest high school in the Cherry Creek School District, with an enrollment of 2,851 students serving grades 9 through 12. Grandview opened in 1998 as the district's fifth high school, built to accommodate a population boom in the district's growing southeastern region. Grandview is located in Aurora, Colorado and uses the wolf as its sports mascot, sporting the colors of blue, black and white.

Grandview High School was ranked 437th on Newsweek's list of the 1,500 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.

The Grandview High School cafeteria from the outside.

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 2002, The Grandview cheer team won their first state championship.

In 2004, the highly esteemed Grandview volleyball team lost a close 5 set state championship match to Doherty High School.

In 2005, the volleyball team won their first state championship. Defeating Doherty in 4 sets and going 30–1 on the season. In 2006, the volleyball team won their second state championship. Defeating Eaglecrest in the semi-final after losing twice previously in the season to the Raptors, then defeating Chaparral in the state final.

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 1, 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.[3]

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 2009 the Grandview Cheerleaders placed fifth nationally in the Large Varsity Division at UCA Nationals.

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.

In 2010, the Grandview Cheer team won their second state championship.

The Grandview Boys Basketball Team has made four Great Eight Appearances, advancing to the Final Four three times.

In 2014, the Grandview Poms team and the girls Softball team both won the 5A State CHampionship.

Academics

Grandview offers a wide variety of courses for students to choose from. Grandview, like many other schools in the Cherry Creek School District, offers and has had tremendous success in their Advanced Placement Program, but Grandview does not have an IB program. Grandview also has a variety of Honors classes. The only AP course offered to incoming Freshmen is AP Human Geography, and an essay and teacher recommendation is required.

As languages go, Grandview's Chinese language curriculum is the strongest of the few schools that offer it in the Cherry Creek School District. Students have the option to participate in a home-stay in China every 4 years. There is a Chinese Club and National Chinese Honor Society. Spanish has a variety of teachers to accommodate the large number of students who choose to study it. There is a National Spanish Honor Society. French studies are also popular, with multiple teachers available. There is a French Club and National French Honor Society. Grandview also offers German language classes. There is a home-stay trip to Germany every other year. German students also do a home-stay with Grandview students in America. Classes are also offered in American Sign Language.

Advanced Placement

Grandview High School has the most promising AP Department in the state of Colorado as it boasts a 96.8% pass rate in all of its exams. Its 99.1% AP Physics C Pass Rate has been the highest in the whole nation. US News marked it with an honorable rank of 13 in the US with its Advanced Placement Success. The only schools that come close to Grandview's Success in Advanced Placement courses are Cherry Creek High School with an 87.3% pass rate and Mullen High School with an 82% pass rate. Its AP success has been marked as it has been a John Irwin School of Excellence for the last 4 years ('04-09').

Grandview offers the following Advanced Placement Classes:

English
Social Studies
Mathematics
Science
World Language
Other

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.[4]

Full Time Part Time
Teachers 137 10
Paraprofessionals 15 16
Administrators 5 0
Other Professionals 21 2
School Support 39 11

Standardized Testing

Test School District State
9–10 CSAP Reading (Percent of Students meeting Advanced or Proficient) 66% 75% 67%
9–10 CSAP Writing (Percent of Students meeting Advanced or Proficient) 54% 61% 51%
9–10 CSAP Math (Percent of Students meeting Advanced or Proficient) 40% 44% 35%
11th ACT Reading 19.41
11th ACT Writing 18.22
11th ACT Math 18.86

Athletics

Grandview offers most standard varsity sports, and has achieved notable success with its football, soccer, cheers, volleyball and pom-pom teams. Grandview's volleyball team has a notable record with state championships in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2013, and 2014. The program has held high success largely in part to Coach Patty Childress.

Grandview also shares Legacy Stadium with Cherokee Trail and Eaglecrest as its home field. Legacy Stadium retains artificial grass for its field that is used by several varsity sports such as soccer, football, and lacrosse.

In 2008, Sports Illustrated rated Grandview High School to have the best athletic program in the state of Colorado.[5]

Fall Sports

Winter Sports

Spring Sports

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Grandviw High School Administration. Accessed August 30, 2014.
  2. ↑ Colorado High School Activities Association profile for Grandview High School. Accessed March 20, 2007.
  3. ↑ http://www.9news.com/rss/article.aspx?storyid=101719
  4. ↑ Colorado School State Accountability Report. Accessed July 24, 2007.
  5. ↑ Top Programs: No. 1 in Each State – More Sports – SI.com
  6. ↑ "Greg Bird Named to SAL All-Star Team". Minor League Baseball. August 29, 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Trump Looks At Asian-American Student And Asks If He's From South Korea". http://huffingtonpost.com/. External link in |work= (help)
  8. ↑ Hochman, Benjamin (June 4, 2012). "Kevin Gausman, former Grandview HS star, drafted at No. 4 by Orioles Read more: Kevin Gausman, former Grandview HS star, drafted at No. 4 by Orioles". Denver Post. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  9. ↑ Oakes, Courtney (March 8, 2010). "Grandview: 'Strength and pride combine'". Aurora Sentinel. Retrieved May 18, 2014.

External links

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