Auburn High School is a public high school in Auburn, Alabama, United States. It is the only high school in the Auburn City School District. Auburn High offers technical, academic, and International Baccalaureate programs, as well as joint enrollment with Southern Union State Community College and Auburn University. Auburn High School is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.Auburn High School Program of Study, 2007–2008, (Auburn: Auburn High School, 2007), 2–3, 6;Auburn High School Student Handbook, 2006–2007 , retrieved July 13, 2007; State of Alabama Department of Education, Enrollment by Ethnicity and Gender (School Level) Year 2015—2016 . January 3, 2016.

Founded in 1837 as Auburn Academy, Auburn High School is the oldest public secondary school in Alabama, and is the fifth-oldest extant public high school in the American South.United States Bureau of Education, Annual report of the Commissioner of Education for the year ended 1902 (Washington: G.P.O., 1902), 1696, 1696–1879; Mollie Hollifield, Auburn: Lovliest Village of the Plain (S.l.: s.n., 1955), 72. From 1852 through 1885, the school was known as the Auburn (Masonic) Female College, offering secondary and, prior to 1870, collegiate degrees.United States Bureau of Education, Annual report of the Commissioner of Education for the year ended 1902; United States Bureau of Education, Report of the Commissioner of Education made to the Secretary of the Interior for the year 1890, with accompanying papers (Washington: G.P.O., 1890). From 1892 through 1908, the school was named the Auburn Female Institute, providing collegiate programs equivalent to an associate degree.Hollifield, Auburn: Lovliest Village of the Plain, 73; Auburn High School, Auburn High School Catalogue, Session 1908–1909 (Auburn: The Auburn High School, 1908). Auburn High became Lee County's flagship high school in 1914 as Lee County High School, and gained its present name, Auburn High School, in 1956.Mickey Logue and Jack Simms, Auburn, A Pictorial History of the Lovliest Village (Auburn: s.n., 1996), 98; Lee County Bulletin, August 30, 1956. The school moved to its current campus in 2017.https://www.auburnschools.org/Page/2552 History of Auburn City Schools

Auburn High was ranked the 28th best non-magnet public high school and 77th best public high school in the United States by Newsweek in May 2006, and the second best educational value in the Southeastern United States by SchoolMatch, as reported in The Wall Street Journal.Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Wingert, "America's Best High Schools, 2006", Newsweek 147 (May 8, 2006): 50–54. The non-magnet ranking was taken by eliminating schools from the 2006 Newsweek list which used selective processes for admission. Tamar Hausman, "School Expenses", The Wall Street Journal, Southeast Journal, May 13, 1998 Auburn High School averages seven National Merit finalists a year, and has scored among the top five percent of Alabama high schools on statewide standardized tests each year since testing began in 1995.J. Terry Jenkins, Auburn City Board of Education Presentation to the Auburn City Council, January 3, 2007, p. 4; PSK12.com, Ranking of High Schools in Alabama , retrieved on April 8, 2007; Alabama State Department of Education, State Board of Education Report Card, years 1994–1995 – 2005–2006, records online from 1998–1999 through 2005–2006. Top five percent figure from comparison of individual school scores. Auburn High's varsity sporting teams have won 40 team state championships, and the Auburn High School Band has been rated one of the top high school concert band programs in the United States, winning the John Philip Sousa Foundation's Sudler Flag of Honor in 1987.Data on All-sports rankings and state championships collated from the AHSAA website; John Philip Sousa Foundation, Sousa Foundation Sudler Flag of Honor . Retrieved July 13, 2007. Auburn High School has been competing in Science Olympiad since 2000, and has represented the state of Alabama at the national level every year since 2014.

Academics

Profile

Auburn High School, the fourteenth–largest high school in Alabama (fourth-largest by grades 10–12 enrollment), enrolled 1,748 students in the 2015–2016 school year.Alabama State Department of Education, Enrollment by Ethnicity and Gender (School Level) Year 2015—2016 . Twenty-six percent of Auburn High's enrollment is African American, ten percent is of Asian descent whose majority is Korean, fifty-nine percent is of European descent. Three percent of students are classified as Hispanic.State of Alabama Department of Education, Enrollment by Ethnicity and Gender (school level)—2015–2016 . Over forty languages are spoken in the homes of Auburn High School students, and twenty percent of enrolled students are eligible for federal free or reduced lunch programs.Terry Jenkins, "This is a year for AHS to be proud", The Auburn Villager, May 27, 2010; Mitch Sneed and Beverly Harvey, , Opelika–Auburn News, December 10, 2006; State of Alabama Department of Education, Free Lunch by System and School Year 2009—2010 , retrieved June 6, 2010. Auburn High School has a 14.8:1 student-teacher ratio and a drop-out rate of 1.09%.State of Alabama Department of Education, Dropout Report (School Level) Year 2009 , retrieved December 10, 2010.

Auburn High was ranked the 77th best public high school overall and 28th best non-magnet public high school in the United States by Newsweek in May 2006 and one of the top 100 public high schools in the United States by the Associated Press based on Advanced Placement test scores. The school was rated the 125th best public high school in the United States by U.S. News & World Report and the second best educational value in the Southeast by SchoolMatch, as reported in The Wall Street Journal.Kantrowitz and Wingert, "America's Best High Schools, 2006", 50–54. The non-magnet ranking was taken by eliminating schools from the 2006 Newsweek list which used selective processes for admission. Hausman, "School Expenses"; Trey Armistead, The Auburn High School Band—About Auburn High School . Retrieved July 8, 2007.

All teachers are certified in the area in which they teach. Of the 90 faculty, 4 have Doctorates and 57 have a Masters or AA degree. The student-teacher ratio is 1:25.

Auburn High School has four professional school counselors, a college and career readiness coordinator, an International Baccalaureate coordinator, a registrar, and a Counseling Department secretary.http://www.auburnschools.org/ahs/Counseling/2011-2012%20Profile.pdf

On average, seven Auburn High students earn National Merit Finalist status each year. In 2006, 92 students were named AP Scholars by the College Board. Three Auburn High alumni have been named Fulbright Scholars, two Truman Scholars, one alumnus a Marshall Scholar, and one a Rotary Scholar.Auburn University, AU COLLEGE OF BUSINESS TO HOST AUBURNBANK CHAIR AS VISITING EXECUTIVE, retrieved November 3, 2007; University of Michigan, University of Michigan Faculty and Staff: Kyle D. Logue , retrieved November 3, 2007; Sean Selman, "Senior dies in car accident", Auburn Plainsman, October 1, 1992; US Fellows Directory: Tanisha V. Carino , retrieved November 2, 2007; UAB Junior Akofa Bonsi Named Truman Scholar , retrieved November 3, 2007; Smith College, Emma Clark ’06: Fulbright Scholar, Botswana, Africa , retrieved November 3, 2007. . Retrieved February 25, 2009. In 2007, ninety-five seniors received 190 scholarships worth US$5.54 million to 69 different colleges in 24 states. ($6 million, $7.5 million, $14.18 million in scholarship moneys in 2011, 2010, and 2012, respectively.) Graduates of the class of 2007 attend the University of Chicago, Columbia, Duke, Harvard, and Princeton."AHS scholarship winners", Opelika–Auburn News, May 23, 2007; "Congratulations AHS scholarship winners!", The Auburn Villager, May 17, 2007.

In 2012, there were 68 AP Scholars, one National AP Scholar, nine AP Scholars with Honor, six AP Scholars with Distinction, eight National Merit Commended students, two National Merit semi-finalists, five National Merit finalists, two National Merit Special Scholarship Competition Award recipients, and 1 National Merit Hispanic Recognition Program Award recipient. Also in 2012, US$14.18 million in scholarships were raised by seniors, whose population was about 450. Some of these seniors then attended U-Penn, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Chicago, Vanderbilt, Emory, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Cooper Union, McGill, and Berklee College of Music.Opelika–Auburn News http://www2.oanow.com/news/2012/apr/26/auburn-seniors-earn-more-14m-scholarships-ar-3682305/ As many students won scholarships that averaged about US$31,000 per students from these colleges and local colleges.

Curriculum The Auburn High School curriculum includes traditional high school academic subjects, advanced academic classes, music and art, and programs in business and marketing, agriscience, industrial systems technology, and engineering.Auburn High School Program of Study, 2010–2011, (Auburn: Auburn High School, 2010), 2–6, 11–19, 25–44. Auburn High School awards three diploma endorsements indicating advanced study in a particular field, as well as the International Baccalaureate Diploma.Auburn High School Program of Study, 2010–2011, 5–6. Auburn High offers 35 college-level Advanced Placement, Technical Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate courses for college credit. Students are also provided access to college courses at nearby Auburn University and Southern Union State Community College.Auburn High School Program of Study, 2010–2011, 15–16, 25–44. Classes offered for college credit are; Advanced Placement: AP Studio Art, French 105 (AP/IB), German 105 (AP/IB), Spanish 105 (AP/IB), AP Eleventh Grade English (AP English Language and Composition), AP Twelfth Grade English (AP English Literature and Composition), AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP/IB Biology, AP/IB Chemistry, AP/IB Physics (Physics B), AP European History, AP U.S. History, AP Economics, AP Government, and AP/IB Psychology; International Baccalaureate: IB Studio Art, IB Art Research, French 105 (AP/IB), German 105 (AP/IB), Spanish 105 (AP/IB), IB Music Theory, IB English 11, IB English 12, IB Theatre, IB Standard Level Math, IB Higher Level Math, AP/IB Biology, AP/IB Chemistry, AP/IB Physics, IB History of the Americas I, IB History of the Americas II, AP/IB Psychology, and IB Economics; Technical Advanced Placement: up to 15 hours college credit in Agriscience, Business/Marketing, Health Science, Pre-engineering, and Industrial Systems Technology. There is an option for 11th and 12th grade students who have completed all of their high school requirements, to jointly enroll at Auburn University or Southern Union State Community College.

Auburn High School has nine departments: the Foreign Language Department (1838),"To the Public.", Columbus Enquirer, February 22, 1838; "Auburn Male and Female Academies", Columbus Enquirer, December 8, 1841. the Language Arts Department (1838), the Department of Mathematics (1838), the Science Department (1838), the Department of the Social Studies (1838), the Music Department (1841),"Auburn Male and Female Academies", Columbus Enquirer, December 8, 1841. the Art Department (1846),"Auburn High Schools.", Columbus Enquirer, December 22, 1846. the Athletic Department (1911),"Basketball Game on Friday Night", Columbus Enquirer–Sun, March 1, 1911. and the Department of Career and Technical Education (1915).J.A. Parrish, Report of Lee County High School for the Scholastic Month Ending February 1, 1916.

History

Beginnings