Palmer Ridge High School

Palmer Ridge High School
Address
19255 Monument Hill Road Monument, Colorado, El Paso County 80132 United States
Coordinates	39°06′45″N 104°51′46″W / 39.11245°N 104.86265°WCoordinates: 39°06′45″N 104°51′46″W / 39.11245°N 104.86265°W
Information
School type	Public high school
Motto	Ignite, Encourage, Engage, and Expect Excellence
Established	2008
School district	Lewis-Palmer School District 38
Principal	Gary Gabel
Years offered	9-12
Enrollment	1120
Color(s)	Navy blue and gold
Mascot	Bears
Average ACT scores	24.3
Website	http://prhs.lewispalmer.org

Palmer Ridge High School (PR, or PRHS) is a public high school in Monument, Colorado, United States, serving students in grades 9–12. It is one of two high schools in the Lewis-Palmer School District, with admission based primarily on the locations of students' homes.

As of 2010, Palmer Ridge offers 25 varsity sports, nine Advanced Placement courses, and vocational training.

Palmer Ridge is known for being the largest public geothermal project in the state of Colorado, and is made famous by its glass bridge that connects its academics and arts/athletics wings.

History

Establishment

In 2006, Lewis-Palmer School District decided to build a second high school to alleviate crowding in Lewis-Palmer High School.^[1] They intended to take the land of Mary Wissler, a local ranch owner, through the use of Eminent Domain. Many people were outraged, and threatened to recall the school board by collecting thousands of signatures.^[2] The district eventually chose another plot of land.^[3]

Building

H+L Architecture designed the building for Palmer Ridge High School.^[4] Saunders Construction built the actual building, and finished in time for the 2008-2009 school year.^[5] The building covered 217,000 square feet (20,200 m²) after its completion.^[6]

Opening

Palmer Ridge High School opened in August 2008, with approximately 530 students and 70 faculty members.^[7]

Present-day operation

Today, Palmer Ridge is a full-class 9-12 high school with approximately 1120 students enrolled. The school's first graduating class was the Class of 2011. Palmer Ridge offers a wide variety of student-centered programs, including a monthly school publication, the Bear Truth, which reports on athletics, academic and extracurricular issues, and news of the school and community.^[8] Other programs include PRTV's Ridgeline, PR's Student Council, DECA, Rachel's Challenge, Ridge Rage, and Forensics/Model United Nations.

Awards and recognition

Palmer Ridge High School is considered one of the most environmentally friendly buildings in the state of Colorado, as well as one of the largest geothermal projects in the state.^[4] It carries an Energy Star Label.^[9]

Palmer Ridge and Lewis-Palmer School District 38 are "Accredited with Distinction" by the state of Colorado.

Academics

21 Palmer Ridge students scored 30+ on the ACT (2009–2010).

18 Palmer Ridge students scored a 5 in at least one area of the Advanced Placement Exam

Athletics

• The Lewis-Palmer District hockey team won the Colorado State Championship two years in a row; 2010 and 2011.
• The Lewis-Palmer District men's swimming team won the State Championship in 2010.
• Palmer Ridge men's track won the 4A State Championship in 2014, scoring a record number of points.
• PR men's cross country won the 4A State Championship in 2014.
• Palmer Ridge sent 5 wrestlers to the 2011 State Championships, 3 of which won state titles.
• The Palmer Ridge cheerleading team is second in the league and currently holds a spot as state finalist.
• Nine out of ten Palmer Ridge fall sports teams qualified for post-season play.
• PR had six three-sport athletes in 2009-2010.
• PR offers 25 varsity sports.
• PR produced the Colorado Athlete of the Year (2009–2010): its hockey goalie Brent Schwarz.
• PR is home to the nation's fifth fastest cross-country runner.
• Kiersten Wang won Gymnastics NCAA National Championships 2013 with the Florida Gators.

Fine arts

The Palmer Ridge Band sent 22 students to the Colorado All-State Band in 2011. In 2014, more than half of the students elected to play in All City Honor Band were from Palmer Ridge.

Palmer Ridge's Bear Necessity Theatre Company broke district-wide attendance records with their musical in the fall of 2010.

See also

• Lewis-Palmer School District 38
• Lewis-Palmer High School

References

1. "http://www.ourcommunitynews.org/v6n10daacpresentation.pdf" (PDF). Retrieved 7 February 2011. External link in |title= (help) (3.71mb)
2. "Willser Ranch backers turn to recall". The Colorado Spring Gazette. April 12, 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
3. "D-38 seeks two parcels of land instead of widow's site". The Colorado Springs Gazette. July 21, 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
4. "H+L Architecture". Retrieved 23 January 2011. Under "Our Projects", then go to K-12, then scroll over to Palmer Ridge High School. Scroll all the way to the right to see the information.
5. "More Projects | Saunders Construction". Saunders Construction. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
6. "Citadel Group " Blog Archive " Palmer Ridge High School". Retrieved 26 January 2011.
7. "Palmer Ridge High School — School History". Retrieved 30 January 2011.
8. "PRHS Fact Sheet" (PDF). Palmer Ridge High School.
9. "ENERGY STAR Labeled Building Profile". Retrieved 26 January 2011.

External links