Jefferson Area High School is the only

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 ...

in the

Jefferson, Ohio Jefferson is a village in and the county seat of Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,226 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Ashtabula micropolitan area, northeast of Cleveland. Modern-day Jefferson sports the worl ...

area of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The current principal is Tim Fairfield, and the superintendent is John Montanaro. The school's nickname is "The Fighting Falcons", almost always shortened to "Falcons", and its colors are red, white and black. The logo varies from a

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

in human shape to the old

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

logo flying through a J.

Sports

The school's main rivals are Edgewood,

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Lakeside Lakeside or Lake Side may refer to: Places Australia * Lakeside College, Pakenham, Victoria * Lakeside Joondalup Shopping City, Joondalup, Western Australia * Lakeside, near Reservoir, Victoria * Lakeside International Raceway, Pine Rivers, Quee ...

, and Conneaut High Schools. They compete in the NE8 (

Northeast 8 Athletic Conference The Northeast 8 Athletic Conference (NE8) is an OHSAA athletic league that began competition for the 2018-19 school year. It is primarily made up of members that were part of the All-American Conference along with previously independent South Range ...

). The Falcons are former members of the AAC (All American Conference), the NEC (North East Conference), and the GRC (Grand River Conference). Jefferson's best-known sports figure is

Matthew Hatchette Matthew Hatchette (born May 1, 1974) is a former a professional American football player who played wide receiver for six regular seasons for the Minnesota Vikings, the New York Jets, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. During his career, he caught 6 ...

who played quarterback for the Falcons high school, but transitioned to wide receiver in college. He was drafted in the 7th round of the NFL Draft by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

and also played for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

, the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the

NFL Europa NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

team Amsterdam Admirals before leaving the league after 2003.

Music programs

The school offers programs such as

Marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

, Show Choir, Treble Choir,

Concert Choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

Jazz Band A jazz band (jazz ensemble or jazz combo) is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands vary in the quantity of its members and the style of jazz that they play but it is common to find a jazz band made up of a rhythm section and a ...

, and Music Technology.

References

External links

District Website
{{authority control High schools in Ashtabula County, Ohio Public high schools in Ohio