Mt. Juliet High School (MJHS) is a public high school located in Wilson County, Tennessee. It is not within Mt. Juliet city limits, but it serves parts of southern and eastern Mt. Juliet.[3][4] Ryan Hill, a 2005 MJHS graduate, became the principal July 1, 2023.[5]
| Mt. Juliet High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
 | |
1875 Golden Bear Gateway Mt. Juliet, Tennessee 37122 | |
| Coordinates | 36°12′59″N 86°29′37″W / 36.21625°N 86.49354°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public grades 9–12 |
| Motto | Bear Pride Mt. Juliet High. |
| Established | 1854 |
| Principal | Ryan Hill |
| Teaching staff | 89.62 (FTE)[1] |
| Enrollment | 1,675 (2023–2024)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 18.69[1] |
| Color(s) | Black and Vegas gold [2] |
| Team name | Golden Bears[2] |
| Website | https://www.wcschools.com/mjhs |
In 2008, MJHS moved from its previous building on N Mt. Juliet Road to a new building located at 1800 Curd Road.[6] The old building became Mt. Juliet Middle School. The address changed to 1875 Golden Bear Gateway in 2017.[7]
The school's slogan is "Bear Pride Mt. Juliet High."
Academics
editMt. Juliet High School offers a variety of core and elective classes. These include over 25 Advanced Placement courses, 9 career and technical education programs, 16 fine arts programs, and 27 dual enrollment classes through 3 different colleges and universities.[8]
Athletics
editMt. Juliet offers 21 separate athletic programs.[8] Mt. Juliet competes in Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Division 1, District 9-AAA in all sports except football. In football, Mt. Juliet participates in the TSSAA Division 1, 6A Region 4.
Football
editMt. Juliet fielded its first football team in 1923–24 and was coached by Jack Gifford. The high school has fielded a team every year since 1936. The team is coached by Trey Perry.
Mt. Juliet has appeared in the TSSAA playoffs 17 times and has appeared every year since 2006. In 2012, Mt. Juliet went to the 6A state semifinals, losing to eventual state champion Memphis Whitehaven 41–35.
Baseball
edit2001–2018: Mark Purvis (516–194). Under Purvis, Mt. Juliet went to eight TSSAA sectional games and won the District 9-AAA championship nine times (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016 & 2018). Over 100 of Purvis' players played collegiately, including nine in the SEC—eight to Vanderbilt University and one to the University of Tennessee.[9]
2019: Mark Decker (349–181) replaced Mark Purvis.
Girls Basketball
editTSSAA Girls Basketball AAA State Champs 1977, 1983, and 2005
Rivalries
editWilson Central, MJHS's rival school, opened in 2001. When Wilson Central opened, the area was re-zoned, moving some Mt. Juliet students to Wilson Central.
Similarly, Green Hill High School (GHHS) was completed in 2020, rezoning hundreds of students from MJHS. On October 29, 2021, GHHS defeated MJHS in their first-ever football game at Elzie D. Patton stadium.[10] However, just under a year later, on October 28, 2022, MJHS won the TSSAA Region 5-5A football championship and was presented the Mayor's Cup, after their 26-19 victory over GHHS.[11][12]
Extracurricular activities
editMt. Juliet High School has 42 student-led clubs. Clubs are faculty-sponsored and meet regularly throughout the year.[8]
- American Sign Language Club (ASL)
- Art Club
- Bear News Network (BNN)
- BearTalk News Podcast
- Best Buddies
- Bible Club
- Black Student Union (BSU)
- British Culture Club
- Creative Writing Club
- Criminal Justice Club
- Electronic Gamer Club
- Esports
- French Culture Club
- Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
- Future Farmers of America (FFA)
- Future Health Professionals (HOSA)
- Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA)
- Girls Flag Football
- Golden Bear Gazette
- Interact Club
- Japanese Culture Club
- Latin League Literary Alliance
- Men's Volleyball Club
- Mock Trial
- Mu Alpha Theta (ΜΑΘ)
- National Art Honor Society (NAHS)
- National Honor Society (NHS)
- National Technology Honor Society (NTHS)
- Orchestra
- Ping-Pong Club
- Prom Committee
- Quiz Bowl
- Science Bowl
- South Korean Culture Club
- Spanish Culture Club
- STEM Club/Skills USA
- Student Council
- Ultimate Frisbee Team
- Young Democrats
- Young Republicans
- Youth in Government (YIG)
- Youth Prevention Coalition
History and notable events
editTornado recovery
editAs a result of the deadly March 2020 tornado, MJHS was temporarily converted to a grade 7-12 school to house displaced students from West Wilson Middle School (WWMS). WWMS students were relocated to the west wing of MJHS, while MJHS students were relocated to the east wing. All students shared the common areas.
Notable alumni
edit- Levi Brown, quarterback for the Buffalo Bills
- Amanda Butler, former head women's basketball coach at Clemson University and former head coach at University of Florida[13][14]
- Alysha Clark (born 1987), American-Israeli basketball player for the Israeli team Elitzur Ramla and the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)[15]
- Caleb Cotham, baseball player[16]
- Jared Followill, bassist from band Kings of Leon[17]
- Matthew Followill, guitarist from band Kings of Leon[17]
- Ben Hayslip, 2011 and 2012 ASCAP Country Music Songwriter of the Year
- Taylor Hill, professional baseball player
- Michael Jasper, head football coach at Bethel University, football player for the New York Giants.[18][19]
- Dale Wainwright, Texas Supreme Court Justice (2003–12)[20]
- Barry E. Wilmore, NASA astronaut[21]
References
edit- ^ a b c "MT. Juliet High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
- ^ a b "Mount Juliet High School". Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
- ^ "Zoning Map". Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
- ^ "School Zone Maps". Wilson County School District. Retrieved July 6, 2021. - See Mount Juliet High School Zone, Green Hill High School Zone, and Wilson Central High School zone.
- ^ Aronin, Ivan (May 10, 2023). "Ryan Hill named next principal at Mt. Juliet High School - Main Street Media of Tennessee". Main Street Media of Tennessee -. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
- ^ "City obtains first Curd Rd right of Way," page 5. "Chronicle of Mt. Juliet," November 14, 2007
- ^ Humbles, Andy. "Mt. Juliet hopes for major traffic relief with new road set to open in July". The Tennessean. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Mt. Juliet High School Profile 2022-2023" (PDF). www.wcschools.com. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
- ^ Bryan, Tommy. "Joe Decker to coach MJ baseball". The Wilson Post.
- ^ Aronin, Ivan. "Green Hill throws two TD passes in final minute, beats Mt. Juliet 25-21". Main Street Preps. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
- ^ "Mt. Juliet plays Green Hill for TSSAA Region 5-5A football championship". www.tennessean.com. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
- ^ Brown, Adam (October 29, 2022). "Middle TN High School Football Game of The Week: Mount Juliet Golden Bears vs Green Hill Hawks". Rutherford Source. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
- ^ "Clemson names new women's basketball coach Amanda Butler". www.independentmail.com.
- ^ Amanda Butler Named Florida Women's Basketball Head Coach, Retrieved October 28, 2008
- ^ Alysha Clark WNBA, Retrieved April 8, 2010
- ^ Humbles, Andy. "Mt. Juliet's Caleb Cotham sent down after Yankees debut". The Tennessean.
- ^ a b Stones, Rolling. "Kings of Leon: Biography". Archived from the original on March 28, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
- ^ "Bethel hires Mike Jasper as new head football coach". WBBJ TV. January 24, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
- ^ SB Nation – Michael Jasper, Retrieved June 16, 2013
- ^ ""New Texas Supreme Court Justice began aspirations in Mt. Juliet," The Tennessean, May 29, 2003".
- ^ NASA Biography, Retrieved on May 17, 2009.