Palmer Ridge High School

Palmer Ridge High School
Address
19255 Monument Hill Road
Monument, Colorado, El Paso County, 80132
United States
Coordinates 39°06′45″N 104°51′46″W / 39.11245°N 104.86265°W / 39.11245; -104.86265Coordinates: 39°06′45″N 104°51′46″W / 39.11245°N 104.86265°W / 39.11245; -104.86265
Information
School type The Foundation, Public High School
Motto Ignite, Encourage, Engage, and Expect Excellence
Established 2008
School district Lewis-Palmer School District 38
Principal Gary Gabel
Years offered 9-12
Enrollment 1120
Color(s) Navy Blue and Gold         
Mascot Bears
Average ACT scores 24.3
Website http://prhs.lewispalmer.org

Palmer Ridge High School (commonly PR, or PRHS) is a public high school in Monument, Colorado, USA, serving students in grades 9–12. The school is one of two high schools in the Lewis-Palmer School District, with admission based primarily on the locations of students' homes.

As of 2010, Palmer Ridge offers 25 varsity sports, 9 Advanced Placement courses, and vocational training.

Palmer Ridge is known for being the largest public geothermal project in the State of Colorado, and is made famous by its glass bridge that connects its academics and arts/athletics wings.

History

Establishment

In 2006, Lewis-Palmer School District decided to build a second high school to alleviate crowding in Lewis-Palmer High School.[1] They decided to take the land of Mary Wissler, a local ranch owner, through the use of Eminent Domain. Many people were outraged, and threatened to recall the School Board by collecting thousands of signatures.[2] The School District eventually decided on another plot of land.[3]

Building

H+L Architecture designed the building for Palmer Ridge High School.[4] Saunders Construction built the actual building, and finished in time for the 2008-2009 school year.[5] The building itself covered 217,000 square feet (20,200 m2) after its completion.[6]

Opening

Palmer Ridge High School opened during August 2008, with approximately 530 students and 70 faculty.[7]

Present-day operation

Today, Palmer Ridge is a full-class 9-12 high school with approximately 1120 students enrolled. The school's first graduating class was the Class of 2011. Palmer Ridge offers a wide variety of student-centered programs, including a monthly school publication, the Bear Truth, which reports on athletics, academic and extracurricular issues, and news of the school and community.[8] Other programs include PRTV's Ridgeline, PR's Student Council, DECA, Rachel's Challenge, Ridge Rage, Forensics/Model United Nations, and many more.

Awards and recognition

Palmer Ridge High School is considered one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the state of Colorado, as well as one of the largest geothermal projects in the state.[4] It carries an Energy Star Label.[9]

Palmer Ridge and Lewis-Palmer School District 38 is Accredited with Distinction by the State of Colorado.

Academics

21 Palmer Ridge students scored 30+ on the ACT (2009–2010).
18 Palmer Ridge students scored a 5 in at least one area of the Advanced Placement Exam

Athletics

The Lewis-Palmer District Hockey team won the Colorado State Championship 2 years in a row; 2010 and 2011.
The Lewis-Palmer District Men's Swimming team won the State Championship in 2010.
PR Men's Track won the 4A State Championship in 2014, scoring a record amount of points.
PR Men's Cross Country won the 4A State Championship in 2014.
Palmer Ridge sent 5 wrestlers to the 2011 State Championships, 3 of which won state titles.
The Palmer Ridge Cheerleading team is second in the league and currently holds a spot as State Finalists.
9 out of 10 Palmer Ridge fall sports teams qualified for post-season play.
PR had 6 3-sport athletes in 2009-2010.
PR offers 25 varsity sports for its athletes.
PR produced the Colorado Athlete of the Year (2009–2010) in its hockey goalie Brent Schwarz.
PR is home to the nation's 5th fastest cross-country runner.
Kiersten Wang won Gymnastics NCAA National Championships 2013 with the Florida Gators.

Fine Arts

The Palmer Ridge Band sent 22 students to the Colorado All-State Band in 2011.
In 2014, more than half of the students elected to play in All City Honor Band were from Palmer Ridge. Palmer Ridge also has a wonderful theatre company. Palmer Ridge's Bear Necessity Theatre Company broke district-wide attendance records with their musical in the fall of 2010.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "http://www.ourcommunitynews.org/v6n10daacpresentation.pdf" (PDF). Retrieved 7 February 2011. External link in |title= (help) (3.71mb)
  2. ↑ "Willser Ranch backers turn to recall". The Colorado Spring Gazette. April 12, 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  3. ↑ "D-38 seeks two parcels of land instead of widow's site". The Colorado Springs Gazette. July 21, 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  4. 1 2 "H+L Architecture". Retrieved 23 January 2011. Under "Our Projects", then go to K-12, then scroll over to Palmer Ridge High School. Scroll all the way to the right to see the information.
  5. ↑ "More Projects | Saunders Construction". Saunders Construction. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  6. ↑ "Citadel Group " Blog Archive " Palmer Ridge High School". Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  7. ↑ "Palmer Ridge High School — School History". Retrieved 30 January 2011.
  8. ↑ "PRHS Fact Sheet" (PDF). Palmer Ridge High School.
  9. ↑ "ENERGY STAR Labeled Building Profile". Retrieved 26 January 2011.

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