Hoover High School (Alabama)

For high schools named after Herbert Hoover, see Herbert Hoover High School (disambiguation).
Hoover High School
Address
1000 Buccaneer Drive
Hoover, Alabama, 35244
United States
Coordinates 33°20′39″N 86°50′16″W / 33.34409°N 86.83765°WCoordinates: 33°20′39″N 86°50′16″W / 33.34409°N 86.83765°W
Information
Type Public
Established 1994
School district Hoover City Schools
Principal Don Hulin
Faculty 208[1]
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 2592[1]
Campus Suburban
Color(s) Orange, Black, White             
Nickname Buccaneers
Website School website

Hoover High School is a public high school in Hoover, Alabama, USA, serving grades 9-12. It was built & opened in 1994 as a replacement for W. A. Berry High School. It is currently one of the two International Baccalaureate schools in the Greater Birmingham area. Hoover High School is known as being the school featured in the MTV reality television series Two-A-Days. It is a part of the Hoover City Schools.

Academics

Hoover High was home to ten National Merit Semi-Finalists in 2006,[2] and fifteen in 2007.[3] In 2009, there were 24 students recognized by the National Merit Corporation.[4]

Athletics

Hoover High School plays in the Class 7A of the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA), and are known as the Buccaneers or more commonly, the Bucs. Hoover, the largest school in Alabama by student population and by square footage, has won over 40 state championships in 20 sports in the last 10 years. Overall, Hoover has made an appearance in 22 state championship playoffs.

The Bucs won the 2008 Class 6A baseball championship, defeating nationally ranked Opelika in two games after losing the first game in nine innings in the best-of-three series. The title was Hoover's first state championship in 27 years; the last was when the school was still known as W.A. Berry High.

Hoover High School track and cross country teams have won multiple state champions and were runner up many times for both the boys' and girls' teams. Both track teams were state champions in 2010. The boys' cross country team is the second-winningest high school program in the state of Alabama after Mobile's McGill-Toolen High School girls' volleyball team.

In the 2009-2010 school season, Hoover High teams won the State Championships in Football, Wrestling, Girls' Basketball, Girls' Track & Field, and Boys' Track & Field. Winning 5 State Championships in one year (of the 12 recognized sports by the AHSAA).

The Bucs recorded their 100th state championship in 2013 in Girls' Basketball.

Football

The Hoover football team has been nationally ranked a number of times and has won the state championship seven times since 2000,[5] including four in a row (2002–2005) under the direction of former head coach Rush Propst. Before the start of the 2006 season, Hoover was ranked #1 in the nation by USA Today and Sports Illustrated, a ranking it maintained until being defeated 28-14 by #6 ranked John Curtis of River Ridge, Louisiana on ESPNU High School Showcase September 29. The team won four consecutive state championships from 2002–2005, and just missed winning 6 straight after losses in the championship game to Daphne in 2001 and Prattville in 2006. Hoover defeated Prattville to win the title in 2009. The Bucs finished the season ranked in the national top-25 polls in 2003 (#16),[6] 2004 (#4),[7] 2005 (#8)[8] and 2009 (#7).[9][10]

The 2005 football team is featured on the MTV show Two-A-Days. Season two for the Two-A-Days show, showcasing the 2006 football team, was filmed at the school as well and began its run in late January 2007.

Since 2008 the program has made seven consecutive state championship appearances (2008-2014). In these seven appearances, the Bucs have won four times (2009, 2012, 2013, 2014). In 2008, the Bucs were beaten by Prattville High School with a score of 16-13. In 2009, the Bucs won State by beating Prattville High School with a score of 28-23. The Bucs were defeated by Daphne High School in 2010 with a score of 7-6. In 2011, Prattville edged out the Bucs 35-34. The Bucs defeated Opelika High School winning the school's 98th athletic state championship in 2012. In 2013, the Bucs defeated Auburn High School for the school's 99th athletic state championship.

Theatre

Hoover High School's drama program was started by Sandra L. Taylor, who retired in 2005. The school's on-campus theater is named in her honor. Hoover competes annually at Alabama's Walter J. Trumbauer Drama Festival. In 2006 the one-act play "World Without Memory" was named the runner-up in state competition and was given a special invitation to the International Thespian Festival in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Music Department

In 2013, Hoover City Schools and the city of Hoover were formally recognized as a “Best Community for Music Education” by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM).[11]

Band Department

The ensembles include:

Marching Band

The Hoover High School marching band includes more than 200 members plus auxiliary (flags and dance teams).They have performed in the Rose Bowl Parade, Orange Bowl Parade, Fiesta Bowl Parade, the Macy's Day Parade, among many others. They were awarded “President’s Award” for their performance in the April 2009 Flambeau Parade of Lights.

Jazz Band

Controversy

See also: Rush Propst

Hoover High School became embroiled in controversy in the summer of 2007 over allegations that grades for certain athletes were changed to make them eligible for college sports under National Collegiate Athletic Association regulations. The charges center around players on the football team.[13] Rush Propst, the Bucs' head coach, denied any wrongdoing, as did then-principal Richard Bishop. Hoover Superintendent Andy Craig appointed retired federal prosecutor Sam Pointer to investigate the charges. The report was released on October 12, 2007, and found that grades had been changed for two athletes, along with various other issues. (The report can be seen on the school website.)

On July 25, 2007, the Hoover School Board voted to not renew Bishop's contract after one year of service. The action was based largely on a less-than-satisfactory performance assessment by a former assistant superintendent. Dr. Ken Jarnagin was named the interim principal; he started the previous month as the school system's chief academic officer.[14]

Hoover High School again came under public scrutiny in October 2007 after reports that a player failed to properly transfer from Hanceville High School. The AHSAA investigation resulted in the forfeiture of all games in which he played, reducing the team record from 6-1 to 2-5 at the time.[15][16] The Bucs still qualified for the post-season playoffs, however.

The state director of K-12 accreditation for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools announced his concern with the leadership at Hoover High. SACS asked for and received an outline of the changes necessary to fix the problems in order for the school to retain its accreditation.[17]

Notable alumni

Notable alumni from W. A. Berry High School include:

Notable alumni from Hoover High School include:

Freshman Campus (2007-2011)

In February 2011, the Hoover City school board approved a realignment plan that affected schools across the system. One change made involves freshmen being brought back into the senior campus, with a freshman-specific wing to be completed by the end of the 2011-2012 school year. This date has been moved to February of 2013. Seventh- and eighth-grade students at Bumpus Middle School were moved into the building that housed the freshmen, with fifth- and sixth-grade students attending Brock's Gap Intermediate School, the former Bumpus Middle School building.[18]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Hoover High School: About The School
  2. ↑ "Ten Hoover High students named National Merit Semifinalists "
  3. ↑ "Hoover High Boasts 15 Merit semifinalists" THE BIRMINGHAM NEWS SEPT 12., 2007
  4. ↑ Pages - SchoolProfile
  5. ↑ "Football Past State Champions". AHSAA. Retrieved 2009-01-22.
  6. ↑ prepnation.com
  7. ↑ "Super 25 football rankings". USA Today. May 20, 2005. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Final 2005 Super 25 football rankings". USA Today. December 20, 2005. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Final Super 25 rankings: Don Bosco Prep finishes at No. 1". USA Today. December 23, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  10. ↑ Xcellent 25 National High School Football Rankings: Don Bosco No. 1 - MaxPreps News
  11. ↑ Anderson, Jon (April 8, 2013). "National music merchant group honors Hoover as one of nation's "best communities" for music education (videos)". Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  12. ↑ "Midwest Clinic Concert Schedule 2012".
  13. ↑ Stock, Erin (July 20, 2007). "Pointer outlines investigation of school athletics". The Birmingham News.
  14. ↑ Stock, Erin and Jon Solomon (July 25, 2007). "Hoover school board dismisses Hoover High principal". The Birmingham News (al.com).
  15. ↑ Solomon, Jon; Erin Stock (October 24, 2007). "Hoover wins forfeited; heat on Propst grows". The Birmingham News (al.com).
  16. ↑ Steinbauer, Peter (October 18, 2007). "AHSAA Probes Player's Status". The Birmingham News (al.com).
  17. ↑ Stock, Erin (October 26, 2007). "SACS has concerns about Hoover High". The Birmingham News (al.com).
  18. ↑ "2011 HCS Realignment Plan". Hoover City Schools. Retrieved 30 April 2011.

External links