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Auburn High School
Auburn High School is a Public High School in Auburn, Alabama , enrolling 1120 students in grades 10-12. Auburn High offers technical, academic, and International Baccalaureate programs, as well as joint enrollment with Southern Union State Community College and Auburn University . Founded in 1837 in a log church on the Alabama Frontier , Auburn High has grown into an elite center of secondary learning recognized as one of the top public high schools in the United States. ACADEMICS Auburn High School is a comprehensive secondary school in the classic American model. As such, Auburn High offers a diverse curriculum including traditional high school academic subjects, advanced academic classes, music and art, and programs in or International Baccalaureate courses for students who seek an academic challenge. Classes at Auburn High are arranged in a unique combination block/alternating day schedule in which four 90 minute classes are offered each day. Some classes meet every day for one Semester , while others alternate every other day for the whole year. ACHIEVEMENTS Auburn High was ranked in the top 100 public high schools in the nation by the Associated Press based on Advanced Placement test scores, the 125th best public high school in the United States by the US News And World Report (out of 22,000), the 135th best non-magnet public high school in the US by Newsweek in June 2003, and the second best educational value in the Southeast by SchoolMatch, as reported in the Wall Street Journal. Some 90% of Auburn High graduates go on to post-secondary education, with 5% of the senior class earning National Merit Finalist or National Achievement Finalist status (fourteen AHS students were National Merit Finalists in 2001). A full quarter of AHS graduates receive academic scholarships to colleges and universities ranging from local schools such as Auburn University and UAB to national schools such as Duke , Rice , Chicago , Indiana , Vanderbilt , and the University Of Virginia . Recent graduates also attend MIT , Princeton , Harvard , Columbia , the University Of Pennsylvania , and Yale . HISTORY Auburn High was originally started as a Frontier school in 1837, less than three years after the Auburn area had been opened to settlement. A log school building was constructed in 1838, and in the early 1840s a separate male academy had been spun off of the school. With most of the secondary students now being female, the school was named the "Auburn Female College." The Auburn Female College attracted hundreds of boarding students to Auburn in the 1840s and 1850s , largely in part of it offering a complete secondary education to women (including ancient and modern languages, literature, mathematics, and musical arts) at the same academic level of that given to men. The school was turned over to Mason control in 1852, becoming the Auburn Masonic Female College. A new multi-room school building was constructed in the late 1850s, which would serve as Auburn High's home for the remainder of the century. By 1860, the male academy had dissolved and the "Female College" became coeducational once again. When the Civil War began in 1861, virtually the entire male junior and senior classes of the school, as well as most of the faculty joined the Confederate 37th Alabama Infantry Regiment. As the "principal teacher", W.F. Slaton, was also a Major in the regiment, classes in Auburn stopped for the remainder of the war. The regiment was captured at Corinth, Mississippi , and exiled to the Johnson's Island Prisoner Of War camp in Lake Erie . While imprisoned there, Slaton held the school's classes in the camp. Notably, the African American Union guards, who were prohibited by law from attending school in their native Wisconsin , were invited to join the classes, making Auburn High one of the first Southern schools to Integrate , some 90 years before Brown V. Board . Upon the end of the war, students and teachers returned back to Auburn, but economic hardships in the aftermath of the war and Reconstruction left Auburn High closed for several years. By the 1870s , the school had reopened, though with substantially lower enrollment than two decades prior. In 1892, Auburn University (then the Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College) decided to Admit Women . However, since the college only admitted women with junior standing, Auburn High added two more years of classes beyond the secondary level (equivalent to Freshman and Sophomore college classes) for women. With this addition, the name of the school was changed to the Auburn Female Institute. In 1898 , a new, two-story school was built for Auburn High. By 1910 , Auburn High had fielded its first Basketball team, and by 1915 , its first Football squad. Also in 1915, Auburn High became the flagship high school for the county and was officially renamed "Lee County High School", as well as moving into a new building. In 1925 , Auburn High became one of the first high schools in the state to be accredited by the Southern Association Of Colleges And Schools . Over the next two decades, Auburn High developed its modern face, forming Band , Choir , and other Extracurricular programs, as well as adding Occupational classes. In 1956 , the school was officially renamed Auburn High School again. In 1961 , the City of Auburn created its own school system, and Auburn High joined the new district. In 1966 , the current school building was constructed, organized as a "Freedom of Choice" school designed to promote Desegregation . In 1971 , Auburn High merged with nearby Drake High to complete its Integration . The last three decades have been marked with rapid growth of the school. Five major additions have been made to Auburn High since the original construction in 1966, and in 2004 the school was changed from housing grades 9-12 to housing grades 10-12. CAMPUS Auburn High is situated on 42 acres (0.18 km&2) in the east central part of Auburn. There are nine detached buildings separated by outdoor walkways and courtyards spread out over 70% of the campus area. The campus contains 94 academic classrooms, a 1250 seat Auditorium , a 1500 seat competition Gym (the Auburn Fieldhouse), six Tennis Courts , a baseball field (Sam Welborn Field), a track, Cafeteria , Library , multi-media room, small auditorium, practice gym, and Physical Education fields. Off-campus athletic facilites include 10,000 seat Duck Samford Stadium, the Auburn Softball Complex, and the James E. Martin Aquatic Center. STUDENT BODY Due in part to its proximity to a major Research University , Auburn High School has a relatively diverse student body for the area. One-quarter of Auburn High's enrollment is African-American , one-tenth is of Asian descent, and the remainder is mostly White . Roughly half were born outside of Alabama , and one in ten students is from outside the United States . Due to the influence of nearby Auburn University , almost 15% of students are children of Auburn University faculty or administrators. TRADITIONS Mascot Auburn High's Mascot is the Tiger . The tiger was chosen because of its association with Auburn in Oliver Goldsmith 's 1770 poem '' The Deserted Village ''. The first line of the poem is "Sweet Auburn! Loveliest village of the plain", while a later line describes Auburn as, "where crouching tigers wait their hapless prey." Auburn High's costumed mascot is Samford, an anthropomorphic tiger. Samford was created in 1995 and named for three symbols of the school--Samford Avenue, which runs by the school; Duck Samford Stadium, Auburn High's football stadium; and Samford Hall, the most prominent building in Auburn. Alma Mater Our alma mater, Auburn High We love to roam thy halls. Where knowledge grows and friendship glows Within thy dear old walls. You showed us how to make our way With steadfast faith in thee, To live aright from day to day In truth and loyalty. We offer you our song of praise As days go drifting by. We'll always cherish memories Of dear ole Auburn High. - ''Words and music by George Corradino'' ''and the Auburn High School Glee Club, 1955.'' Fight Song Hooray for Auburn! Hooray for Auburn! Someone in the crowd is yelling "Hooray for Auburn!" One, two, three, four; Who you gonna yell for? Auburn, that's who! - ''Music by Tommy Goff, 1961;'' ''words adapted from a public domain cheer.'' NOTABLE ALUMNI
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