Collierville High School is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

(

grades Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also r ...

9–12) located in

Collierville, Tennessee Collierville is a town in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and a suburb located in the Memphis metropolitan area. With a population of 51,324 in the 2020 census, Collierville is the third largest municipality in the county after Memphis ...

which operates under the administration of

Collierville Schools Collierville Schools is a municipal school district that serves approximately 9,000 students in Collierville, Tennessee. It was formed by secession from Shelby County Schools in 2014. History Collierville Schools was formed in 2014 as one of ...

. It was previously under the authority of Shelby County Schools until Collierville Schools splintered from it in 2014. Its

school colors School colors (also known as university colors or college colors) are the colors chosen by a school as part of its brand identity, used on building signage, web pages, branded apparel, and the uniforms of sports teams. They can promote connectio ...

are maroon and white—formerly black and gold—and its mascot is the

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

, originally designed by elementary art teacher Lisa Ackerman as "Blister the Dragon". Collierville High School is fully

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...

and holds memberships in NASSP, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA), NACAC, and SACAC.

History

The original campus was built in 1905, with expansions and additions being made in 1911, 1924, and 1926; the last was a large

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

nasium. In the 1930s, the school became one of the first buildings in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

to be aided by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

, and it was given a $250,000 grant by the

CWA CWA or Cwa may refer to: Organisations * CWA Constructions, a Swiss manufacturer of gondolas and people mover cabins, a division of Doppelmayr Garaventa Group * Catch Wrestling Association, a former German professional wrestling promotion * Contin ...

in the winter of 1933–34. Hundreds of workers were brought in from

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

to build an

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, and

study hall Study hall, known as private study, SAS, structured study or free periods in the United Kingdom, is a term for a place to have a study time during the school day where students are assigned to study when they are not scheduled for an academic cl ...

in later years. The second campus sat at the intersection of Byhalia and Frank Road on the same property that once held the Bellevue High-Security Correctional Facility. Collierville High School transitioned there in the autumn of 1995, after ninety years at its original campus. The site received a $14,500,000 addition that made it the largest school facility in Shelby County. In 2014, Collierville High School became the central high school of the newly-created

district after its formation from Shelby County Schools. The third and current campus, first opened for the 2018–19 school year, was built on land south of State Route 385 and east of Sycamore Road on Shelby Drive at a cost of $94 million due to

overcrowding Overcrowding or crowding is the condition where more people are located within a given space than is considered tolerable from a safety and health perspective. Safety and health perspectives depend on current environments and on local cultural n ...

at the previous campus. The former building at Byhalia and Frank Road became the location of the

West Collierville Middle School West Collierville Middle School, (formerly known as Schilling Farms Middle School) is a public middle school ( grades 6–8) located in Collierville, Tennessee, which operates under Collierville Schools. SFMS was originally located at 935 Colbert ...

Academics

Academically, the school offers 25

dual enrollment In the United States, dual enrollment (DE), also called concurrent enrollment, programs allow students to be enrolled in two separate, academically related institutions. Generally, it refers to high school students taking college or university cours ...

courses, 34 Honors courses, and 26

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

courses, and the school reports an ACT average of 25.3. It was listed on ''Newsweek''’s America’s Best High Schools list from 2008-2013, has the largest PTSA in the state of Tennessee, and has had 21 United States Presidential Scholar candidates in the past fourteen years with two Presidential Scholar winners (in 2002 and 2014). Collierville High School has numerous

National Merit Scholarship Program The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organizat ...

finalists every year. Collierville High School offers an array of

extracurricular activities An extracurricular activity (ECA) or extra academic activity (EAA) or cultural activities is an activity, performed by students, that falls outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school, college or university education. Such activities a ...

, with 113 clubs are registered at the school.

Athletics

The school accommodates twenty-two sports and five club sports. The boys'

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team won the state championship in 2013, and the school's Joshua Wheeler won the 2014 Decathlon state championship for

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

Robotics

The school has a team participating in

First Robotics Competition FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an international high school robotics competition. Each year, teams of high school students, coaches, and mentors work during a six-week period to build robots capable of competing in that year's game that weig ...

. Founded in 2014 under the name of ''Dragon Robotics'', they are team number 5002. They have won numerous awards at competitions, including the Highest Rookie Seed and Rookie All-Star awards in their rookie year. Along with these, they have earned the Team Spirit Award in and First Dean's List Finalist Award in 2018, the Safety Award in 2019, and the Regional Finalists award in 2022.

Awards and recognition

Collierville High School is the only public high school in Tennessee that was offered a charter from the

Cum Laude Society The Cum Laude Society is an organization that honors scholastic achievement at secondary institutions, similar to the Phi Beta Kappa Society, which honors scholastic achievements at the university level. It was founded at The Tome School in 19 ...

. CHS ranks in the "Top 10 High Schools in Tennessee" by '' U.S. News & World Report'' and ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

's'' "America's Best High Schools". CHS is also recognized annually as a winner in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

s "High School Challenge."

Notable alumni

Zack Cozart Zachary Warren Cozart (born August 12, 1985) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Angels. The Reds selected Cozart in the second round of the 20 ...

, professional baseball shortstop and third baseman for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

* Nikki McCray, coach, former professional women's basketball player, 2-time Olympic Gold medalist (1996, 2000) *

Drew Pomeranz Thomas Andrew "Drew" Pomeranz (born November 22, 1988), nicknamed Big Smooth, is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, ...

, professional baseball pitcher * Hunter Bradley, American professional football long snapper for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

Olan Rogers Thomas Olan Rogers (born June 11, 1987), is an American comedian, actor, filmmaker, and YouTuber. He is the creator of the animated television series ''Final Space'' as well as the voice of Gary Goodspeed, Mooncake, and various others. Rogers s ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

star and creator of ''

Final Space ''Final Space'' is an adult animated space opera comedy drama television series created by Olan Rogers and developed by Rogers and David Sacks. The series involves an astronaut named Gary Goodspeed and his immensely powerful alien friend Moonca ...

'' on TBS