Howard High School (HHS) is a public secondary school located in the Bibb County School District in Macon, Georgia, United States. Built on the site of a former Christmas tree farm, it opened in 2008. It offers AP classes, Career and Technology programs, a leadership program, and classes for second language learners.
| Howard High School | |
|---|---|
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| Address | |
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6400 Forsyth Rd 31210 United States | |
| Coordinates | 32°54′12″N 83°46′21″W / 32.90345°N 83.77259°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Public |
| Motto | Follow the PACK |
| Established | 2008 |
| School district | Bibb County School District |
| CEEB code | 111974 |
| Principal | Michael Scott[1] |
| Teaching staff | 70.30 (FTE)[2] |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 1,076 (2022-23)[2] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 13.51[2] |
| Color(s) | Black, maroon, white |
| Mascot | Husky |
| Website | bibbcountysdhowardhs |
Description
editHoward High School in Bibb County School District is located in a racially and socioeconomically diverse community in a "rural fringe" region of middle Georgia, southeast of Atlanta. It is a Title I School.[3] It serves students in grades 9 through 12, with a total student population of 1,210 students in the 2020-2021 school year, and a student-teacher ratio of 17.26.[3] Minority enrollment is 81% of the student body (majority Black), which is higher than the Georgia state average of 62% (majority Black).[4] All students "are eligible to participate in the Free Lunch and Reduced-Price Lunch Programs under the National School Lunch Act of 1946".[3]
HHS offers programs and courses in Advanced Placement,[5] work-based learning,[6] English for Speakers of Other Languages,[7] Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America,[8] and Career and Technology.[9]
HHS was the only high school in Bibb County in 2011 to make "Adequate Yearly Progress",[10] a designation that determines whether schools meeti standards under the No Child Left Behind Act. It relies on "test participation, academic achievement and other indicators, such as the attendance or graduation rates at a school".[10]
Middle Georgia's "Climate Star Ratings" are based on four measures of school climate that include a combination of hard data and surveys: "surveys of parents, students and teachers; discipline data; substance-abuse data and survey results; and attendance".[11] HHS received a rating of 3 stars (out of 4) in 2014.[11]
According to U.S. News & World Report's 2017 national rankings, "Howard High School in Bibb County earned a silver medal, as No. 55 in Georgia and No. 2,000 in the nation."[12] In 2022, "Howard High School was ranked no. 1 in Macon in 2022, with a 83% graduation rate, a 15.9 college readiness score, and an enrollment of 1,210. In the overall Georgia ranking, the school ranked no. 137."[13]
Georgia's School Grades report for 2020-2021 presented a performance snapshot of HHS including these points:[14]
- "Its four-year graduation rate is 85.4%, which is higher than 31% of high schools in the state and higher than its district."
- "51.3% of graduates are college ready."
In February 2022, the CBS station WMAZ-TV highlighted Howard High School's newly opened "Howling Huskie" coffee shop as "real-life coffee shop experience while students get real-life work experience". HHS students in the Career, Technical and Agricultural Education (CTAE) program run the café.[15]
History
editOpened in 2008, the $28 million school complex was dedicated in 2009, "the result of a long grassroots campaign to build a high school in the fast-growing northern part of Bibb County".[16] In 1999, the Bibb County School District had bought a Christmas tree farm on Forsyth Road, and secured funding with a sales tax approved by voters to build schools in the northern and southern parts of the county. A second sales tax initiative, passed in 2004, was needed to complete construction on Howard High in north Bibb County.[16]
In 2011, athletic facilities under construction at HHS included "a field house for its football team, as well as a new tennis court, baseball and softball fields and other facilities, to add to its existing practice fields."[17]
References
edit- ^ "Michael Scott, Principal". bibbcountysdhowardhs.ss19.sharpschool.com. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Howard High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Howard High School". nces.ed.gov. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
- ^ "Howard High School (2022-23 Ranking) - Macon, GA". Public School Review. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ Ramati, Phillip (April 12, 2011). "AP students, teachers at Howard High could qualify for payments". The Telegraph. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
The Advanced Placement program offers standardized courses to high school students that are generally recognized to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in college. Participating colleges give credit to students who obtain high enough scores on exams to qualify... Starting next school year, Howard High students and teachers in the school's Advanced Placement program stand to receive payments depending on how well the students score on exams, officials announced Tuesday. Howard High is one of about 30 high school across the country -- and the only one in Georgia -- to win a grant that would fund the initiative. The award, $238,000 over three years, beginning next fall, is designed to increase and improve Advanced Placement opportunities in math, science and English.
- ^ "Work-Based Learning". bibbcountysdhowardhs.ss19.sharpschool.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ "ESOL". bibbcountysdhowardhs.ss19.sharpschool.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ "LEDA". bibbcountysdhowardhs.ss19.sharpschool.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ "Career and Technology". bibbcountysdhowardhs.ss19.sharpschool.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ a b Castillo, Andrea (November 2, 2011). "Eight more Bibb schools make AYP; Howard only Bibb high school to make list". The Telegraph. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
Eight more Bibb County schools made Adequate Yearly Progress compared to the state's initial report in July, including Howard High School, bringing the total to 23 schools... Howard High is the only high school in the system to make AYP.
- ^ a b Timmerman, Jeremy (November 9, 2022). "Georgia's School Climate Star Ratings mix data with perception". The Telegraph. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
The ratings are determined through a combination of four equal parts — surveys of parents, students and teachers; discipline data; substance-abuse data and survey results; and attendance. That combination of hard data and survey results creates a broader picture of what's going on in public schools, said Jeff Hodges, who works in the policy division at the Georgia Department of Education...Howard High School: CCRPI Single Score — 71.3; School Climate Star Rating — 3.
- ^ Honaker, Andrea (April 27, 2017). "4 area high schools make list of nation's best". The Telegraph.
The U.S. News & World Report looked at state assessment, graduation rates and college readiness from the 2014-15 school year. Schools received gold, silver and bronze status based on their performances... Howard High School in Bibb County earned a silver medal, as No. 55 in Georgia and No. 2,000 in the nation.
- ^ Perrineau, Tamari (April 26, 2022). "What are the best high schools in Middle Georgia? U.S. News releases annual rankings". The Telegraph. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
According to the reports, the methodology focuses on college readiness, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth, and graduation rates...In Macon, Howard High School was ranked no. 1 with a 83% graduation rate, a 15.9 college readiness score, and an enrollment of 1,210. In the overall Georgia ranking, the school ranked no. 137.
- ^ "Georgia School Grades". public.gosa.ga.gov. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
- ^ Hicks, Taelore (February 4, 2022). "Howard High School officially opens its 'Howling Huskie' coffee shop". WMAZ.
- ^ a b Maley, Dan (October 19, 2009). "Howard High School at last gets its dedication ceremony". The Telegraph (Macon, Georgia). Retrieved November 9, 2022.
The $28 million building, located on Forsyth Road in north Bibb County, actually opened its doors to students in August 2008. Officials said they waited until all construction was done before they planned the dedication... Howard is the result of a long grass-roots campaign to build a high school in the fast-growing northern part of Bibb County...The school system took the first steps toward this goal in 1998, when it bought a Christmas-tree farm on Forsyth Road. A sales tax initiative approved by voters in 1999 promised to provide the funds to build a combined middle and high school complex on the Forsyth Road... It took another sales tax initiative, passed in 2004, to complete the project.
- ^ Castillo, Andrea (August 30, 2011). "Progress on renovations, construction at Bibb schools continues". The Telegraph. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
Construction is under way at Howard High School for several athletic facilities, including a field house for its football team, as well as a new tennis court, baseball and softball fields and other facilities, to add to its existing practice fields.