| Greenhill School | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Per Aspera Ad Astra (Reach for the Stars) |
| Established | 1950 |
| Type | Independent, Coeducational, and College Preparatory School |
| Headmaster | Scott Griggs |
| Students | 1,270 |
| Grades | PreK-12 |
| Location | Addison, Texas, United States |
| Accreditation | Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Green & Gold |
| Mascot | Hornet |
| Newspaper | The Evergreen [1] |
| Website | www.greenhill.org |
Greenhill School is a co-educational day school in Addison, United States that was founded in 1950 by Bernard Fulton. The 78-acre (320,000 m2) campus is located 12 miles (19 km) north of downtown Dallas, Texas and enrolls about 1,270 students from throughout the Dallas Metroplex. The school is the first co-educational, non-denominational Pre-Kindergarten through grade 12 school in Dallas and is a member of both the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) and the Southwest Preparatory Conference (SPC).
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Greenhill School is a diverse community of learners that strives for excellence; values individuality; fosters a passion for learning; promotes the balanced development of mind, body, and character; encourages service; and instills a respect for others.[1]
While Bernard Fulton was assistant headmaster at the St. Mark's School of Texas, he had an idea to create a co-educational school in Dallas. Thus, Greenhill School was founded in 1950 as a co-educational option in the bubble of independent schools in Dallas. From 1950-1976, Bernard served as the founding headmaster, and at the time, he introduced the concepts of independent co-education, the primer program, and open-space education while the school grew from 62 students to 1,002. After he retired from Greenhill School, he became the headmaster of Lakehill Preparatory School and later, Fulton Academy in Rockwall, Texas was named after him as well. On October 20, 1990, Governor Bill Clements implemented Bernard Fulton Day “for his dedication to the education of young people in Dallas, in Texas, and in the nation."[2]
In 2011 Greenhill took 50% more students from within the Plano Independent School District boundaries than it did in 2010. Increased concerns with demographic changes, state budget cuts, and larger school populations in the Plano ISD schools resulted in increased interest in private schools like Greenhill from parents living within Plano ISD.[3]
Greenhill's academic structure consists of each subject having a Division Head while PreK-12 Department Chairs supervise the curriculum. The school is divided into four sections: Preschool, Lower School, Middle School, and finally the Upper School which houses about 433 students (9-12) with about 100 in each grade. In 2001, the school was ranked top 40 in public and private schools in Worth Magazine by the number of matriculants to Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. Besides these, students in the last four years have been accepted into colleges like; Stanford University, Vassar College, Emory University, Northwestern University, Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, Harvard University, Rice University, Yale University, Wake Forest University, Dartmouth College, Boston College, Brown University, Duke University, Trinity University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, Vanderbilt University, and Washington University in St. Louis. The Upper School offers 15 AP course. The average SAT scores for the Class of 2008 were 675 verbal, 673 math, and 665 writing. The Class of 2008 also had 21 commended finalists for National Merit scholarships, and 10 actual finalists for the scholarship. Academically, only two other private schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area have achieved similar levels of prestige; St. Marks School of Texas and the Hockaday School. In addition to academics, students are also required to complete 48 hours of community service upon graduation.[4]
Greenhill has a population of 1243 students, of those students, 433 of them are enrolled in the Upper School. The school accepts about 25% of all applicants. The Greenhill policy “admits students without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, or disabilities.” The admissions process begins in the fall, and applications are accepted one year prior to the year of expected entrance. Applicants take the CATS test in grades Pre-K to Primer and the ISEE test in grades 1-12. Interviews, academics scores, test scores, extra-curriculars, athletic achievements, citizenship, and service are evaluated by the committee. After these materials have been noted, the applicant is subject to three decisions: invited, waitpool, and non-acceptance. The Financial Aid Committee works to make sure that Greenhill is an affordable option, and families must reapply for financial aid each year.[5]
Each year, the incoming seniors paint the Water Tower in the parking lot with graffiti. They spray their names on it with an overriding theme and picture to depict their grade.[6]
On the first day of school, students come to school on campus with a painted water tower. The senior class comes to school with females dressed in white and males dressed in black. The whole school also attends an assembly in the Phillips Gymnasium to ring in the new year.[7]
Founder’s day is the celebration of the day Greenhill was founded - September 11, 1950. The whole school meets in the Phillips Gymnasium for an assembly to commemorate two teachers and honor five faculty members. The Student Council President (a senior) lights the Founder’s Day Candle with the current longest working faculty member. During the assembly, the Service-Learning and Community Service program announces the Estelle Dickens service project for the year. Legacy Heart of the Hill groups are named during this assembly. The Heart of the Hill program brings groups of students from each division—Lower, Middle and Upper—together to help instill a sense of community across the campus.[8]
The Alumni Association holds the annual senior breakfast in the fall for the graduating seniors. During this time, the graduating seniors meet with alumni and are given their senior sweatshirts.[9]
Greenhill is a member of the Southwest Preparatory Conference which includes private schools from Texas and Oklahoma. Students start playing athletics for the school when they enter the 7th grade and are able to participate in Basketball, Baseball, Cheerleading, Cross Country, Golf, Field Hockey, Football, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Track and Field, and Volleyball. Greenhill has had many prominent athletes such as Ashley Rape (Class of 2008) who was featured in Sports Illustrated, and Parade All-America. She currently plays for Duke University and was selected as Gatorade Texas Girl Soccer Player of the Year for 2007-2008.[10] Chelsey Sveinsson (Class of 2011) was selected as SportsDay’s 2007 Girls Newcomer of the Year and was selected as Gatorade Texas Girls Cross Country Runner of the Year for 2007-2008, 2008-2009, and 2009-2010.[11] Sveinsson also won the 2008 Nike National Cross Country Championship.[12]
The following records were found at the Greenhill Website and the Southwest Preparatory Conference Website. Due to the lack of retained information, some championships have not been recorded.
| Sport | Year |
|---|---|
| Boys Basketball | 1975, 1998 |
| Girls Basketball | 1976, 1998, 1999 |
| Boys Baseball | |
| Girls Softball | 1979, 1980 |
| Boys Cross Country | 1977, 1981, 1982, 1983, 2006 |
| Girls Cross Country | 1984, 1985 |
| Boys Golf | 1999, 2000 |
| Girls Golf | |
| Boys Football | 2000 |
| Girls Field Hockey | 1974 |
| Boys Lacrosse | |
| Girls Lacrosse | |
| Boys Soccer | 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 |
| Girls Soccer | 1984, 1985, 1987, 1992, 2005, 2007 |
| Boys Swimming | |
| Girls Swimming | |
| Boys Tennis | 1973, 1978, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 |
| Girls Tennis | 1973, 2008 |
| Boys Track and Field | 1999 |
| Girls Track and Field | 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 |
| Boys Volleyball | 1985, 1986, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 |
| Girls Volleyball | 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006 |
Greenhill offers courses of study in visual arts, photography, band, orchestra, choir, dance, technical theater, debate, drama, and video production. Every year, the Upper School Fine Arts program travels to a different school in the country for the ISAS Fine Arts festival. Brian Donnell, the Upper and Middle School Band director has led the Band program to receive countless awards including awards from the ISAS and Sandy Lake Park festivals. Additionally, the school hosts a program called RockTalk which has featured artists such as The Fray, Saving Abel, Simple Plan, Bowling for Soup, Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights, Sorta, and Aranda.[13]