Jay M. Robinson High School

Jay M. Robinson High School, often referred to as Robinson or JMR by students, is a comprehensive public high school located in Concord, North Carolina. It is the fifth high school of the Cabarrus County Schools system, opening its doors in August 2001, the county's first new high school since 1966. With an enrollment of approximately 1,500 students in grades 9-12 (built for 1400), it is the largest high school in Cabarrus County. The school's enrollment dropped with the openings of Cox Mill High School and Hickory Ridge High School.

The school was constructed under the name Southwest Cabarrus High School, but was renamed in 2001 after the death of Dr. Jay Robinson, Chairman of the North Carolina State Board of Education and former Cabarrus County Schools administrator.

Campus and Facilities

Robinson sits in the southwest sector of Cabarrus County, one mile (1.6 km) northeast of Lowe's Motor Speedway. Designed by Yates-Chreitzberg-Hughes Architects, The single-floor school is constructed around two central courtyards that can only be accessed from the interior of the school. At over 270,000 square feet (25,000 m²), it is the largest school building in the county and one of the largest Public buildings in the county. Robinson is locally characteristic for its distinctive architecture, 20-foot (6 m) wide hallways, and massive commons areas near the front of the school.

David S. Wright Auditorium, named for Robinson's first principal, hosts numerous functions throughout the year including concerts by high school and college groups and assemblies for community groups such as churches. Due to its large size, the school system often uses it for meetings for large numbers of staff members.

Athletic facilities located on the campus include Bulldog Stadium (football, soccer, and athletics), a large gymnasium (basketball, volleyball, wrestling) and adjoining practice gymnasium, tennis courts, and a baseball/softball complex.

Academics

A photograph of the Jay M. Robinson High School campus from the Southeast.

Robinson offers a full range of classes in all subjects required under the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI). Advanced Placement courses are offered in U.S. History, European History, American Government, Calculus BC, Statistics, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Music Theory, Studio Art, English Grammar and Composition, and English Literature. In 2006 Robinson added an on-campus AFJROTC program, which has become one of the best in the county, it only having lost the in-county competition between the AFJROTC units twice. The school also hosts broadcasting classes, with a 6-minute show airing each day. The Marching Band, known as the "Pride of Robinson", is one of the most successful marching bands in the state of North Carolina, winning over 30 awards in 2006. Robinson also offers the following Career Technical Education program areas: Business, Marketing, Health Occupations, Family & Consumer Sciences, Drafting, Automotive Service Technology, Furniture & Cabinetmaking, Masonry, Electrical Trades, and Technology. Many of our CTE teachers bring 'real world' experience to the classroom.

Robinson was recognized by DPI as a "School of Distinction" under the state's ABC standards for public education for the 2005-06 school year.

Its high school newspaper is the Paw Print, which is a member of the High School National Ad Network.

Academic Clubs

Robinson offers a wide range of academics-related extracurricular activities, with clubs for nearly every academic department. The Beta Club serves as the school's honors society. In academic competition, Robinson's quiz bowl team has consistently been among North Carolina's top teams in the past several years and participated in the PACE National Scholastics Championship in June 2007 at the University of Michigan. The school also hosts a small number of other extracurricular clubs such as The Junior Engineering Technological Society (JETS) has attained its highest membership in four years. At a recent competition hosted at UNC Charlotte, the JETS teams placed second overall.

Athletics

Robinson's athletic teams are known as the "Bulldogs". The school is a member of the 3A division of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association and competes in the South Piedmont Conference with several other public high schools in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus County. The school sponsors interscholastic football, cross country (boys and girls), volleyball, basketball (boys and girls), wrestling, swimming (boys and girls), soccer (boys and girls), tennis (boys and girls), track and field (boys and girls), golf, baseball, and softball.

From 2005 to 2009, Robinson competed in the 4A classification of the NCHSAA, in the ME-CA 7 Conference.

Robinson has several local rivals, but the three largest are with Hickory Ridge, Northwest Cabarrus and Central Cabarrus, the three schools that contributed a vast majority of the students. It also has a growing rivalry against Cox Mill.

In 2007 Robinson won its first state championship, when senior Jake Wainwright finished first in the high jump at the NCHSAA 4A Track and Field championships. In 2008 sophomore Dominic Parisi went undefeated in the 112-pound weight class to win the NCHSAA 4A Wrestling championship.

In the 2009-2010 season Robinson also won a state championship in wrestling for both the dual team tournament and the individual tournament, for Robinson's first-ever team state championship. Parisi and Garrison White won first in the state for their respective weight classes.

Notable alumni

• R.J. Mattes (2008) - NFL offensive lineman with the New England Patriots
• David Ragan (2004) - NASCAR Driver
• Chrissy Wallace (2006) - NASCAR Truck Series Driver, daughter of NASCAR driver Mike Wallace.

Principals

• David Wright (2001–2003)
• Jane Rollins (2003–2005)
• Todd Smith (2005–2008)
• Beverly Mack (2008–2011)
• Chris Lowder (2011, interim)
• Gregory Hall (2011–present)

Partial List of Assistant Principals

• Kim Morgado (2000–2002, 2003–2005)
• Julia Smith (2001)
• Gerry Knorr (2001–2003)
• Doug Doby (2002–2003)
• Bill Kinsey (2002–2003)
• Ken Cartrett (2003)
• Ron Violette (2003)
• Tony Paroli (2003–2005)
• Brian Hamilton (2004–2007)
• Gloria Hawks (2004–2006)
• John Lentz (2005)
• Michael Collins (2005–2007)
• Beverly Mack (2005–2008)
• Kevin Blackburn (2006–2009)
• Brad Hinson (2007–present)
• Stacey Douglas (2007–present)
• Julia Erdie (2007–2008)
• Phillip Johnson (2008–2011)
• Ashlee Luff (2009)
• Michelle Cline (2010–2011)
• Anna Blessington (2013–present)

References

External links

• Official school website
• "The Pride of Robinson" JMRHS Marching Band Home Page
• Robinson Quiz Bowl

Coordinates: 35°21′45″N 80°39′42″W / 35.3626°N 80.661675°W / 35.3626; -80.661675