| Forest Hills Central High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 5901 Hall St SE |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1958 (first graduating class 1961) |
| Principal | Terry Urquhart |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 1369 |
| Schedule type | 6 periods (7 including Zero hour and/or seventh hour) |
| Color(s) | Forest Green & White |
| Athletics conference | Ottawa-Kent Conference Black Division |
| Mascot | Ranger |
| Website | http://www.fhps.us and http://schoolcenter.fhps.us/education/school/school.php?sectionid=2 |
Forest Hills Central High School is located in Ada Township, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is one of three high schools in the Forest Hills Public Schools system. The district also includes Forest Hills Eastern High School and Forest Hills Northern High School.
Central High (originally just "Forest Hills High School") became the first high school of the newly formed Forest Hills School District in the fall of 1958. The doors opened in September with only freshman and sophomore students. The first graduating class was 1961.
The school was memorable for its campus style construction consisting eventually of thirteen separate buildings, including an auditorium added in 1977. The classroom buildings were long hallways, which connected five or six individual rooms. Michigan winters were not amenable to the open campus and the constant walks outside from building to building. In addition, the student population continued to grow, and the buildings began to quickly deteriorate. In 1986, Central High was completely rebuilt with the exception of the auditorium, the gymnasium, the cafeteria, and the art/industrial arts wing, all of which were incorporated into one new building. Since that time, the school has undergone numerous building and remodeling projects.
In 2009, the building underwent a multi-million dollar construction project that included a new weight room, student and staff parking lots, main office renovation, athletic field entrance, athletic office, classrooms, and a new gym entrance and foyer. Also added to the new gym entrance was heated sidewalks. In 2010, the auditorium was remodeled.
The school celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in 2008.
Central's yearbook is called "Profiles," the morning video news is called Central Sights and the newspaper is The Forest Edge.
Forest Hills Central has been ranked as one of the top 1,300 public schools nationwide in Newsweek's "America's Top Public Schools" since 2005.[1] It was ranked 739th in the United States in 2005. It has been on the list five times.
Central offers 186 courses taught by an 84 person staff. Students from Central High have scored in the top one percent on the Michigan Merit Test (MME) and have out performed the state average in each category every year the test has been given.
Forest Hills Central's athletic teams compete under the "Ranger" mascot. Most teams compete in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Black Division. Forest Hills Central currently offers the following varsity sports.
Men's Sports:
Women's Sports:
Co-Educational: