Spain Park High School
Encyclopedia
Spain Park High School is a public high school
located in Hoover, Alabama
, USA
and is managed by the Hoover City School District. The school opened in the fall of 2001. The principal is Chris Shaw. The current enrollment at Spain Park is around 1,450 students.
by the United States Department of Education
in September 2008, the highest honor awarded to secondary schools by the department. Spain Park also won the National Lighthouse Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Award in the same year, making it the only U.S. school to have won both Blue Ribbon awards in the same year.
team advanced to the AHSAA
Final Four state championship, losing in their semi-final matchup against LeFlore Magnet High School in 2007.
Spain Park's football team was shown on MTV
's television program Two-A-Days
, as an opponent of arch-rival Hoover High
. The team also advanced to the "Super Six" Class 6A final game of the Alabama High School Athletic Association
football championship in 2007, losing to defending champion Prattville High School
(which defeated Hoover in the 2006 finals). Al Del Greco
, former kicker for the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans
, is the boys' golf
coach
and the football team's
kicking coach.
Spain Park has eight state championships in Class 6A: Women's Soccer (2004, 2009 & 2010), Men's Tennis (2007), Men's Golf (2008, 2009 & 2010), and Women's Golf (2009).
The Spain Park High School Lacrosse program produced the state's first Division 1 lacrosse recruit in Trent Chrane, who plays at the Naval Academy.
participated in the New York City
Nation's Parade, which celebrated Veterans Day
. The band also participated in the New Year's Day
Parade in Rome, Italy on January 1, 2008.
, known as The Park Singers, has been very successful in competitions across the South. Highlights include Grand Championships at the Auburn University
Jazz and Show Choir Festival (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), the Opelika High School
Southern Showcase (2004, 2005), the Homewood High School
South Central Classic (2005, 2006, 2007), and the Enterprise High School Show Choir Invitational (2007). The Park Singers have also competed at Show Choir Nationals in Nashville, Tennessee
, since 2006. More recently, the Park Singers performed in Fame Orlando in 2008, placing first runner-up.
The Dance program attends the UDA Camp each year at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and performed at the 2009 Sugar Bowl
between the University of Alabama
and the University of Utah
along with hundreds of other dancers from all over the Southeast.
In debate, Spain Park competes in numerous tournaments in metro Birmingham, and in the Harvard Debate Tournament and Yale Invitational.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
located in Hoover, Alabama
Hoover, Alabama
Hoover is a city in Jefferson and Shelby Counties in north central Alabama, in the United States. The largest suburb of Birmingham, the population of the city was 62,742 as of the 2000 census and 81,619 in the 2010 census. Hoover is part of the Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA and is also included in the...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and is managed by the Hoover City School District. The school opened in the fall of 2001. The principal is Chris Shaw. The current enrollment at Spain Park is around 1,450 students.
Academics
Spain Park High was named as a Blue Ribbon SchoolBlue Ribbon Schools Program
The Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States government program created in 1981 to honor schools which have achieved high levels of performance or significant improvements with emphasis on schools serving disadvantaged students. The program centers around a self-assessment conducted by the...
by the United States Department of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
in September 2008, the highest honor awarded to secondary schools by the department. Spain Park also won the National Lighthouse Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Award in the same year, making it the only U.S. school to have won both Blue Ribbon awards in the same year.
Athletics
Spain Park's athletic teams are known as the "Jaguars." For the first time in the school's short history, the Jaguar basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
team advanced to the AHSAA
Alabama High School Athletic Association
The Alabama High School Athletic Association , based in Montgomery, is the agency which oversees interscholastic athletic programs for public schools in Alabama....
Final Four state championship, losing in their semi-final matchup against LeFlore Magnet High School in 2007.
Spain Park's football team was shown on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's television program Two-A-Days
Two-A-Days
Two-A-Days is a show on the United States cable television channel MTV. The show chronicled the lives of teens at Hoover High School in Hoover, Alabama, a suburb of nearby Birmingham...
, as an opponent of arch-rival Hoover High
Hoover High School (Alabama)
Hoover High School is a public high school in Hoover, Alabama, USA, serving grades 9-12. It was built as a replacement for W. A. Berry High School. It is currently one of the two International Baccalaureate schools in the Greater Birmingham Area...
. The team also advanced to the "Super Six" Class 6A final game of the Alabama High School Athletic Association
Alabama High School Athletic Association
The Alabama High School Athletic Association , based in Montgomery, is the agency which oversees interscholastic athletic programs for public schools in Alabama....
football championship in 2007, losing to defending champion Prattville High School
Prattville High School
Prattville High School, formerly Autauga County High School, is a high school in Prattville, Alabama and forms part of the Autauga County School System...
(which defeated Hoover in the 2006 finals). Al Del Greco
Al Del Greco
Albert Louis Del Greco is a former American football placekicker and a current sports radio personality and high school coach in Birmingham, Alabama.-Biography:...
, former kicker for the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
, is the boys' golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
and the football team's
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
kicking coach.
Spain Park has eight state championships in Class 6A: Women's Soccer (2004, 2009 & 2010), Men's Tennis (2007), Men's Golf (2008, 2009 & 2010), and Women's Golf (2009).
The Spain Park High School Lacrosse program produced the state's first Division 1 lacrosse recruit in Trent Chrane, who plays at the Naval Academy.
Band
In November 2006, the Spain Park Marching BandMarching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
participated in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Nation's Parade, which celebrated Veterans Day
Veterans Day
Veterans Day, formerly Armistice Day, is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans. It is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11. It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark...
. The band also participated in the New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
Parade in Rome, Italy on January 1, 2008.
Show Choir
Since the school's founding, Spain Park's show choirShow choir
A show choir is a group of people who combine choral singing with dance movements, sometimes within the context of a specific idea or story.-History:...
, known as The Park Singers, has been very successful in competitions across the South. Highlights include Grand Championships at the Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
Jazz and Show Choir Festival (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007), the Opelika High School
Opelika High School
Opelika High School is located in Opelika, Lee County, Alabama. Opelika High School, of the Opelika City Schools, serves students in grades 9-12. The principal is Dr. Farrell Seymore...
Southern Showcase (2004, 2005), the Homewood High School
Homewood High School
Homewood High School is a public high school, serving grades 9-12, in Homewood, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. It is the only high school in the Homewood City School System. The student enrollment for the 2009-2010 academic year was approximately 1,000. The current principal is Dr....
South Central Classic (2005, 2006, 2007), and the Enterprise High School Show Choir Invitational (2007). The Park Singers have also competed at Show Choir Nationals in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, since 2006. More recently, the Park Singers performed in Fame Orlando in 2008, placing first runner-up.
Other Programs
The school's theatre department, directed by 2009 Spain Park Teacher of the Year Jesse Tilton, won two consecutive state championships in 2006 and 2007 and won second place in 2009. They also won Best Original Play at the Southeastern Theatre Conference Secondary School Play Competition in 2010, as well as Best Set at the SETC 2011.The Dance program attends the UDA Camp each year at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and performed at the 2009 Sugar Bowl
2009 Sugar Bowl
The 2009 Allstate Sugar Bowl was the 75th annual edition of the annual college football bowl game that is part of the 2008–09 bowl season of the Bowl Championship Series 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season...
between the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
and the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
along with hundreds of other dancers from all over the Southeast.
In debate, Spain Park competes in numerous tournaments in metro Birmingham, and in the Harvard Debate Tournament and Yale Invitational.