Rock Island High School, also known as "Rocky", is a public four-year high school located in Rock Island, Illinois

Rock Island, Illinois

Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...

, USA. Rocky is within the Rock Island-Milan School District No. 41

Rock Island/Milan School District 41

Rock Island-Milan School District No. 41 is a Public School District serving the Rock Island, Illinois and Milan, Illinois areas of the Quad Cities. Dr. Michael Oberhaus, Ed.D, serves as the current superintendent.-Administration:...

, and the school colors are crimson and gold.

Technology

The library contains two computer labs, powered by Apple iMac

IMac

The iMac is a range of all-in-one Macintosh desktop computers built by Apple. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its introduction in 1998, and has evolved through five distinct forms....

 computers. Each teacher has an Apple MacBook

MacBook

The MacBook was a brand of Macintosh notebook computers built by Apple Inc. First introduced in May 2006, it replaced the iBook and 12-inch PowerBook series of notebooks as a part of the Apple–Intel transition. Positioned as the low end of the MacBook family, the Apple MacBook was aimed at the...

 laptops, and Promethean

Promethean Ltd

Promethean World plc is based in Blackburn in Lancashire. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index...

 boards are found throughout the building. In addition, seven different computer labs are available, powered by both Apple OS X and Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

.

Academic Programs

The high school has a strong academic program, with multiple honors and AP classes available.

Honors and AP Classes

• Honors English 9-11
• AP College English
• Honors Chemistry
• Honors Physics
• Biology II
• Honors Algebra II
• Honors Geometry
• Honors Pre-Calculus
• AP Calculus I
• AP Statistics
• AP American History
• AP European History
• AP Federal Government

Music Programs

• Marching Band
• Jazz Band
• Concert Band
• Symphonic Band
• Concert Choir
• Symphonic Choir
• Chamber Choir
• Orchestra

Elective Programs

• Graphic Design
• CAD/Drafting
• Welding
• Career Center Training (at United Township High School
  United Township High School
  United Township High School, also known as UTHS or UT, is a public four-year high school located in East Moline, Illinois, a city in Rock Island County, in the United States. The school is the only public high school in the city of East Moline, and is part of United Township High School District 30...
  
  )
• Ceramics

Athletics

Rock Island High School participates in the Illinois High School Association

Illinois High School Association

The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...

 and is a member of the Western Big 6 Conference

Western Big 6 Conference

The Western Big 6 Conference is a high school conference in western central Illinois. The conference participates in athletics and activities in the Illinois High School Association...

.

The Rocks won the IHSA 3A Boy's Basketball championship on March 19, 2011. They defeated the Centralia Orphans by a score of 50-40 in double overtime. The Rocks also have one the IHSA Speech sectional for 11 years in a row, which has qualified them for the Illinois State Championship in speech, a contest that has no class divisions.

Boys Sports

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Cross Country
• Football
• Golf
• Soccer
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Wrestling
• Track and Field

Girls Sports

• Basketball
• Bowling
• Cross Country
• Golf
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Track
• Volleyball

Rock Island Public Schools Stadium and Almquist Field

Rock Island High School has an on-campus stadium, the Rock Island Public Schools Stadium, with a seating capacity of nearly 16,000. Within the stadium, Almquist Field is surfaced with a AstroTurf

AstroTurf

AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...

 artificial turf

Artificial turf

Artificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...

.

Notable alumni

• Joel D. Collier
  Joe Collier
  Joel D. Collier is a former American football coach. He was head coach of the American Football League's Buffalo Bills from 1966 through part of 1968, compiiling a 13–16–1 record....
  
   (1949) is a former head coach for the Buffalo Bills
  Buffalo Bills
  The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
  
   and defensive coordinator
  Defensive coordinator
  A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
  
  , most notably with the Denver Broncos
  Denver Broncos
  The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
  
  .
• Steve Decker
  Steve Decker
  Stephen Michael Decker , is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played from -, -, and . He is the current manager of the Fresno Grizzlies, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants....
  
   - former MLB catcher. Manager of the Connecticut Defenders
  Connecticut Defenders
  The Connecticut Defenders were a minor league baseball team based in Norwich, Connecticut. The team, which played in the Eastern League, was the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major-league club from 2003 until following the 2009 season, when the Defenders relocated to Richmond,...
  
   (AA affiliate of the San Francisco Giants
  San Francisco Giants
  The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
  
  -Eastern League)
• Susann McDonald
  Susann McDonald
  Susann McDonald is an American-born classical harpist. In addition to a successful performing career, she has made a number of recordings and held significant academic and organizational posts.-Life:...
  
   (1953) is a classical harpist
  Harp
  The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
  
   and professor of music. In 1989, she founded the USA International Harp Competition
  USA International Harp Competition
  The USA International Harp Competition is one of the most prestigious and important music competitions in the world, founded in 1989 by world-renowned harpist and pedagogue Susann McDonald...
  
  .
• Pete Mickeal
  Pete Mickeal
  Fenton Pete Mickeal is an American professional basketball player who was selected by the Dallas Mavericks in the second round in the 2000 NBA Draft...
  
   (1996) is a professional basketball player, currently playing for Regal FC Barcelona
  FC Barcelona Bàsquet
  FC Barcelona Bàsquet, known as FC Barcelona Regal for sponsorship reasons, is a Spanish professional basketball club. It is part of the FC Barcelona sports club and was founded on August 24, 1926 which makes it the oldest club in Liga ACB. The club competes in the Asociación de Clubes de Baloncesto...
  
  .
• Don Nelson
  Don Nelson
  Donald Arvid "Don" Nelson is a former NBA player and head coach. He coached the Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Golden State Warriors....
  
   is a former professional basketball player and coach. His 1335 victories as a head coach is the all-time record for a head coach in NBA history.
• Gary Payton
  Gary Payton (astronaut)
  Colonel Gary Eugene Payton, USAF, is a former American astronaut.-Education:Payton graduated from high school in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1966. He went on to attended Bradley University, in Peoria, Illinois...
  
   (1966) is a former astronaut who flew aboard the space shuttle Discovery
  Space Shuttle Discovery
  Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
  
  as a part of mission STS-51-C
  STS-51-C
  STS-51-C was the 15th flight of NASA's Space Shuttle program, and the third flight of Space Shuttle Discovery. It was also the first shuttle mission to deploy a dedicated United States Department of Defense payload, and as such many mission details remain classified...
  
  .
• Mark Schwiebert
  Mark Schwiebert
  Mark William Schwiebert was Mayor of the City of Rock Island, Illinois from May 1989 until May 2009. Prior to his election as Rock Island Mayor, Schwiebert served the people of his City as an attorney and City Councilman since the mid-1970s...
  
   (1968) is the former mayor of Rock Island (1989–2009).
• Austin Wheatley (1995) is a former professional football player who briefly played for the New Orleans Saints
  New Orleans Saints
  The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
  
   in 2000.
• Sara Von Gillern - Starred on the FOX show, So You Think You Can Dance
  So You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)
  So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States.The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, and was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions...
  
  .