Henry Ford II High School
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Henry Ford II High school is a public school in Sterling Heights, Michigan, a suburb north of Detroit. The school opened in 1973, with its first graduating class in 1975. It is the 4th and newest high school in Utica Community Schools. The principal as of the 2003-2004 school year is Robert Monroe, with Ken Marnon (2003) Jim Hall (2003) and Lisa McDill (2006) being associate principals. Robert Monroe is the 3rd principal of the school, being preceded by Lillian Demas (1997-2003) and David Lathers (1973-1997) There are currently over 2000 students enrolled in grades 9-12. Henry Ford II is a National Blue Ribbon school of excellence(2004) and a Michigan Exemplary School (1985). In 1999, US News and World report ranked Henry Ford II as an Outstanding National High School.
The school is located at 11911 Clinton River Road. The mascot is the Falcons. School colors are Maroon and White, formerly Maroon and Gold.
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[edit] Building and History
The floor plan of the building is a unique shape, resembling a four-leaf clover. This unique design produces many wedge-shaped classrooms and curved hallways. The four main pods of the school house the indoor athletic facilities, English/Social Studies/foreign language (also known as “The Forum”), Math and Science, and Industrial Technology. Two smaller pods house the main office and music facilities.
The building was originally designed to be very open, with many half-walls and open classrooms. Over the years, the district realized this was insufficient to learning, and added many walls and extensions to walls. The result is an uneven and unbalanced HVAC system, with and many noticeable seams in walls.
Many of these same modifications have taken place at the school’s sister school, Dwight D. Eisenhower high school, which was completed in 1970 and has the same floor plan.
The school has a large main gym with a balcony, originally intended for an auxiliary gym. The main auxiliary gym is, however, an addition, completed in 1990. As of March 2007, a second auxiliary gym has been completed to meet the needs of the MHSAA changing the basketball season regulations. The athletic facility also features a weight room, a fitness room, and a competitive-size pool, an advantage many other area high schools have not, namely Adlai E. Stevenson High school, which calls Henry Ford II’s pool home.
The outdoor athletic facilities are named after “James P. King”. The school has a regulation track, 2 baseball diamonds, 2 practice football fields, and 2 soccer fields. The football field is sufficient for freshmen and JV football games, but was never converted into a stadium. One of the several reasons for this is because it is near the M53 Van Dyke expressway and that stadium lights would interfere with traffic. Thus, Henry Ford II’s varsity football team calls Phillip E. Runkel Field home, which is located at Adlai E. Stevenson high school.
In the center of Henry Ford II High school is the commons. The commons is a multipurpose room bordered by food facilities, the school store, the counseling career center, and the media center. It is used for gatherings, ceremonies, dances, and daily as the cafeteria. Prior to 2006, the commons was a relatively dark space using high energy lighting and spoked chandeliers. The space featured a room-length brick wall, which bordered the Library/Media center on the other side. The wall however did not reach the ceiling which caused interference to the Media Center from the sounds in the commons during lunch hours. In 2005, this was corrected in a series of 2003 Bond Issue remodelings, first of which was the Media Center. The new media center features a clean, sleek, modern façade with glass windows and alcoves, and an entrance directly into the commons. This created a more personal space, featuring lounge chairs and contemporary seating and furniture. There is also a tiled area with bar-style tables where food and drink is allowed. Along with the media center, a large skylight was installed, reducing the need for artificial lighting.
Previous to 2005, behind the media center was the school’s auditorium, named the David Lathers Little Theatre. The little theatre sat up to 400. It featured a stage and removable seating where the schools’ drama and vocal departments performed. The little theatre was demolished in 2005 along with the media center to make way for the new “Lillian Demas Media Center” and a “Distance Learning Center” renamed the “ECC” or Electronic Collaboration Classroom in 2006. The ECC and the Media Center opened in the 2005-2006 school year. The ECC features state of the art projection and lighting systems and is used for presentations and small to medium size gatherings.
In 2004, the school’s locally-famous circle drive was modified to make way for construction on the new Performing arts center on the Clinton River Road front of the school. The performing arts center, scheduled to open in April 2007, will hold up to 800 patrons and features modern touches and state of the art lighting and sound systems. The performing arts center will debut with the spring one-act "Yellow Boat", the spring play "Romeo and Juliet", and also a Collage concert, which will showcase all of the performing arts departments in the school.
The school has 5 parking lots: a main student lot, athletic lot, auxiliary student lot, limited access industrial tech lot, and staff/visitors lot. Juniors and Seniors are permitted to drive.
[edit] Falcon Sports
Ford is in the MAC red (Macomb Area Conferences Highest division) for all of its major sports.
[edit] Extra Curricular Activities
Ford offers many clubs in which students can participate:
- Student Council
- National Honor Society
- International Thespian Society
- Forensics
- French Club
- Spanish Club
- DECA
- Japanese Club
- German Club
- Key Club
- CO-OP
- CLUB SCENE KIDS AKA FRESHMEN GIRL CLUB
- SKILLS USA (formerly VICA)
- SCHWA
- SADD
- Polish Club
- Static
- Interact Club
- Roller Hockey Club
- Equestrian Club
- Destination Imagination
- Science Olympiad
- Yearbook
- Newspaper
[edit] Notable Alumni
Former Ohio State University quarterback Craig Krenzel attended Henry Ford II High School for four years before graduating.
NFL star football player, Dan Marino attended Henry Ford II High School for three years before playing for the Dolphins.
[edit] Statistics
Student/Teacher ratio: 21:1
[edit] Nicknames
Henry Ford II High School was known locally as "Suicide High". Although the name is fading, October 22nd 2007 will mark the 10th anniversary of a series of 5 suicides that took place between June and October of 1997. [1]
Henry Ford II High School also has many novelty nicknames, such as "H.F. Two" and "H.F. Duece", which are variations of namesake Henry Ford II Although it is not a nickname, this year many seniors have been wearing t-shirts sporting the saying, "We're chuckin' deuces and peacin' out."
[edit] Feeder Schools
Henry Ford II High school only has one of the district's 7 junior high schools as a feeder school. Bemis Junior High school, grades 7 and 8, produces freshman classes that range from 550-700.
Henry Ford II High School
District Website
Utica Community Schools
