Maryville High School (Tennessee)

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Maryville High School
Location
Maryville, TN
United States of America
Information
School district Maryville City Schools
Principal Mike Casteel
Type Public
Mascot Red Rebels
Color(s) Red and Black
Established 1918
Homepage www.maryvillehighschool.org

Maryville High School is four-year public high school founded in 1918 in Maryville, Tennessee.

In 2005-2006 there were approximately 1400 students enrolled, and the senior class consisted of 279 students. The staff-to-student ratio was approximately 1:15. The school principal is Mike Casteel. In 2006-2007 the total number of enrollees into the school reached approximately 1600.

Maryville High School is famous for both its academic and athletic excellence. The Governor of Tennessee has designated Maryville High School as an A+ school, and five National Merit Finalists graduated in the class of 2003. Almost every year students qualify for various state and national championships in both academics and extracurricular activities.

Many of its sports teams (nicknamed the "Red Rebels") are also well-known for region and state championships nearly every year. The Red Rebel football team has won seven out of the past eight 4A state titles. They currently have a 60 game win streak, and have won four 4A state football titles in a row. During the 2007 basketball season, the Rebel basketball team also won the state championship in class 3A.

Contents

[edit] History

The southwest wing is the oldest part of the current building, built in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration. The school has been extended several times to the northeast. The school once included the Maryville Polytechnic Institute building, which faced onto Broadway Avenue, but this building has since been demolished.

[edit] Controversy

Since 1938, Maryville High School teams have been using the name Red Rebels, and since the 1960s (around the centennial of the Civil War) the Confederate flag.

In 1999, Dr. Christie English, a local doctor, filed a civil rights complaint against the school board, equating the football games with Ku Klux Klan rallies. The school board promptly changed the school's flag, but fans, almost exclusively students, continued displaying, wearing, and bringing the controversial symbol to support the rarely defeated football team.

Supporters of the school board defended their position by stating that the flags (most of which were fastened on poles used to make more celebratory noise by banging on bleachers) were a security issue that could cause serious injury. Opponents argue that the ban is obviously one on the symbol itself, a symbol which, in their minds, no longer represents racism, but is merely an emblem of their beloved school.

Despite administrators' attempts, the student body still managed to bring the Rebel flag into their stadium and others on their clothes, tied around their waists, or even painted on their bodies. When assistant principals attempted to kick students out for wearing the flag, a $20 million lawsuit was pressed against the school for denying the right of free speech. In response, students created facebook groups with names like, "Don't like the rebel flag? Well, don't fly it and shut the hell up!" where they argue that the flag is not a symbol of racism because the Civil War was not fought over slavery, but over state's rights.

Controversy surrounding the issue received national attention. The former president of a North Carolina NAACP chapter agreed with the Sons of the Confederacy's opposition of the ban, saying that the flag should no longer be considered a symbol of racism. In fact, H.K. Edgerton organized a walk from Johnson City to Maryville to protest the decision, and he subsequently attended every football game of the season dressed in a Confederate uniform and carrying a Confederate flag.

In 2006, Josh Ellis and Ellis Metz brought their chosen senior mascot - a stuffed raccoon - into the stadium before the Maryville-Alcoa football game. A large outcry arose from the public, insisting that the students had racist intentions behind their choice of animals. Newspapers and news channels carried stories about the incident for about a month after the game itself. Though the animal was banned immediately after the game, Dr. Ken Jarnagin has been quoted as defending the students: "These children, I think, did not know [what the symbol meant] at all. It was just another silly thing they were bringing in as a mascot." Josh later wrote a letter to the community asking that the raccoon issue be laid to rest, as it was causing more problems now that it had become a major community issue. A "diversity council" has since been formed at the school to raise racism awareness.

[edit] Student Life

Like at every other high school, Maryville creates lasting relationships for the students. The students attend four classes a day in a block schedule, with a fifteen minute break in between first and second block.

The clubs that are available for the students are as follows: Band, Amnesty International, Anime Club, Art Club, Chess Club, Chess Club Fan Club, Cultural Awareness Club, Cycling Club, Dance Team, DEBS, DECA, Drama, Echoes Literary Magazine, Equestrian Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Forensics, Interact Club, Jazz Band, Juggling Team, Junior Classical League, Key Club, Maryville Scholars, Maryville Singers, Miniature Golf Club, Mock Trial, Mu Alpha Theta, National Art Honor Society, National Honor Society, Orchestra, Outdoor Activity Club, Positive Role Models, Recycling Club, Red & Black School Newspaper, Religious Understanding Club, Rock Climbing Team, Scholars' Bowl, Step Team, Student Council, Trebelettes, Xbox Club, Yearbook Staff, and the National Society of Pigsters of America.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

[edit] External links