Valley Springs High School is a

secondary 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 '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

Valley Springs, Arkansas Valley Springs is a town in Boone County, Arkansas, Boone County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 175 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is part of the Harrison, Arkansas, Harrison Harrison micropolitan area, Micropolita ...

, United States. The school is the sole high school serving grades 9 through 12 in the Valley Springs School District. In 2012, Valley Springs was nationally recognized with the Silver Award in the U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools ranking report.

History

In 1912, the North Arkansas Conference of Methodist Churches felt a need to establish a high school in the Ozarks. Valley Springs, with its academic background, was selected, and it became Valley Springs Training School. In 1922, the first organized high school was started in an old two-story frame structure on the south hill at Valley Springs. For a dormitory, the school used the old Dr. Hale home above the spring. The church bought a campus and a farm of on which the boys worked to help pay expenses. Part of this farm is now the present school system.

Academics

The assumed course of study follows the Smart Core curriculum developed by the

Arkansas Department of Education Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

(ADE). Students complete regular (core) and career focus courses and exams and may select

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 ...

(AP) coursework and exams that provide an opportunity for students to obtain college credit.

Athletics

The Valley Springs High School mascot and athletic emblem is the tiger with green and white serving as its school colors. For 2012-14, the Valley Springs Tigers compete in the 3A 1 East (Basketball) Conference under the administration of the

Arkansas Activities Association The Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) is the primary sanctioning body for high school sports in state of Arkansas. AAA is a member association of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSHSA). Every public secondary sch ...

(AAA). Interscholastic activities include baseball, basketball (boys/girls), cheer, cross country (boys/girls), golf (boys/girls), softball, tennis (boys/girls), track (boys/girls), and volleyball. The Valley Springs Tigers boys basketball team has been one of the state's most successful with six state championships between 1950 and 1996, including three consecutive titles in 1950–52.

Notable alumni

James Dickey James Lafayette Dickey (February 2, 1923 January 19, 1997) was an American poet and novelist. He was appointed the eighteenth United States Poet Laureate in 1966. He also received the Order of the South award. Dickey is best known for his no ...

- collegiate basketball coach *

Tim Sherrill Timothy Shawn Sherrill (born September 10, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed relief pitcher who played in 18 games for the St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based i ...

- Former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Player (

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

)

References

External links

* {{authority control Public high schools in Arkansas Educational institutions established in 1912 Schools in Boone County, Arkansas 1912 establishments in Arkansas