Jenkins High School

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H.V. Jenkins High School
Established	1956
Type	Public High School
Students	1700
Grades	9–12
Location	Savannah, Georgia USA
Accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Colors	Crimson, Gray, Black
Mascot	Warrior
Yearbook	The Sequoyah
Military	NJROTC (elective)
Website	[1]

Herschel V. Jenkins High School is a public high school located in Savannah, Georgia, at 1800 East Derenne Avenue. Currently there are nearly 1700 students enrolled at the school. Students come from the school's neighborhood attendance district as well as from elsewhere in Chatham County through the Honors Academy for Academic Excellence. Jenkins is part of the Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Georgia Accrediting Commission.

Jenkins operates on a block 4x4 schedule. Students take four courses per semester. Traditionally each semester a student will take two core courses and two elective courses. Senior students are also eligible for Joint Enrollment. This program partners with Armstrong Atlantic State University, Savannah Technical College and Savannah State University. Joint Enrollment enables a student to leave school early and take college core courses. The tuition is completely free of charge to the student. In addition, Jenkins offers AP courses, honors/advanced courses and Project Lead the Way courses.

The school is named for the late local philanthropist Herschel Vespasian Jenkins. The principal of Jenkins High School as of January 8, 2007, is William "Lang" Brannen.

1 History
2 Mission, Vision, Motto and Beliefs
3 AP Courses
4 Project Lead the Way
5 Honors Academy for Academic Excellence
6 Extracurricular Activities and Athletics
7 References

[edit] History

Originally opened in the mid-1950s, the school was a segregated, whites-only establishment. The building was a "Florida-style" school. Typically, these schools were characterized by a low-ceiling building with outdoor corridors. A classroom was equipped with long glass windows the legnth of the room, two outlets, and fluorescent lighting. What the building lacked, in such a hot climate, was air-conditioning.

In the late 1980s the school was expanded tremendously with several new buildings, including a new social studies building building, expanded science building, a new technology building and a new gymnasium. The old gymnasium was then renovated into an auditorium. The existing buildings were enclosed, insulated, and air-conditioned. New windows and electrical systems were installed. As well, a gabled roof was added, new laminated flooring was laid, walls were painted, and new suspended ceilings were hung. The renovation was complete by the 1990-91 school year.

By the mid-1990s the Magnet Program, now called Honors Academy for Academic Excellence, was in full throttle. Some of the brightest students Jenkins ever hosted came to the school. With such successful and opportunistic programs Jenkins was named a Blue Ribbon School and a School of Excellence in 1997 and 1998 respectively.

Currently the school is 500 students over the maximum capacity of 1200 students (but at enrollment levels during the 1960s and 1970s baby boom years). Redistricting in 2005 was supposed to alleviate this overcrowding but students flocked back to Jenkins. There are no plans for another expansion at this time. However, a high-tech high school is in the works for Pooler, a suburb of Savannah. If and when this school opens, Jenkins will most likely experience a population drop.

[edit] Mission, Vision, Motto and Beliefs

-Mission

To ignite a passion for learning and teaching at high levels

-Vision

From school to the world: All students prepared for productive futures

-Motto

Striving to educate with excellence

-Beliefs

Student learning is the primary focus for the school.
Students' learning should be the primary consideration for all

school decisions.

All students can learn.
Students should receive a variety of instructional approaches

in order to support different learning styles.

Active engagement in the learning process promotes student

learning.

Each student is valued as a unique individual with unique

physical, social, emotional, and intellectual needs.

Exceptional students merit special services and resources.
Positive relationships among students, parents and staff can

enhance students' self-esteem.

Students learn best in a safe and comfortable environment.
Teachers, administrators, parents, students and the

community share the responsibility for fostering the school's mission.

Students should become confident, self-directed, lifelong

learners.

[edit] AP Courses

The Advanced Placement Program is a U.S.- and Canada-based program designed to allow high-school students the opportunity to take university grade classes. Jenkins offers 16 of these courses.

[edit] Project Lead the Way

Project Lead the Way or simply (PLTW) is a program designed to instill more technological learning into schools. The program has been offered at Jenkins in previous years but is not currently being offered in the 2006-07 school year. The teachers are typically math or science teachers and a need for more of these teachers to their respective fields has caused the PLTW courses to be placed on hiatus this school year.

[edit] Honors Academy for Academic Excellence

The primary focus of this program is to provide higher-level courses to the advanced learner. Through this program any student in Chatham County who meets certain criteria is eligible to enroll at Jenkins. Typically the number of students in this program floats around 300.