Mountain Brook High School

Mountain Brook High School (MBHS) is a three-year public high school in the city of Mountain Brook, Alabama USA. It is the only high school in the Mountain Brook City School System. The school's colors are green and gold and the athletic teams are called the Spartans. The MBHS competes in AHSAA Class 6A athletics.

Recognition

MBHS is consistently recognized as one of the best high schools in Alabama:
* MBHS was ranked 4th among the 12 Alabama schools included in the ''Washington Post'''s 2015 list of "America's Most Challenging High Schools."
* MBHS was included among the "Top 150 high schools in the U.S." by the ''Daily Beast''.
* SchoolDigger ranks MBHS second among 357 high schools in the state of Alabama and first among high schools in the Birmingham-Hoover metropolitan area.
* Niche ranks MBHS 2nd in the state of Alabama and 2nd among high schools in the Birmingham-Hoover metropolitan area.
* The U.S. Department of Education has recognized MBHS as a National Blue Ribbon School, the highest honor awarded by the department.

Athletics

The Mountain Brook Spartans compete in Class 6A of AHSAA and hold 122 state championships, the most in Alabama.

Mountain Brook High School has a history of successful sports teams, with the men's basketball team winning state championships in 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021. They also reached the Final Four in 2001 and were the runner-ups in 2015 and 2020.

The girls' cross country team have won 12 state championships in a row, since 2003, and the boys have won the previous three state championships. The girls' cross country team previously had a 14-year state championship winning streak.

The boys tennis teams have won 23 state championships, the most in the state. The girls tennis teams have also won 23 state championships, holding the record for most state championships.

The school's football team won two state titles in 1975 and in 1976 with the all-American running back Major Ogilvie.

Accomplishments

* United States Department of Education Blue Ribbon School; 1983–84, 1992–93.
* United States Department of Education Secondary Schools Recognition Program.
* Selected by Redbook magazine as one of 155 schools honored for "overall excellence"
* Recognized by Newsweek magazine as one of the nation's top 100 high schools.
* Honored by College Board for academic excellence and outstanding support and participation in Advanced Placement Program.
* Mountain Brook has graduated three Rhodes Scholars.
* Mountain Brook has won more state athletic championships (119) than any other public school in the state of Alabama.
* In October 2006, Mountain Brook High School's drama department, under the direction of Pat Yates, combined with Fairfield High Preparatory School to present Christopher Sergel's dramatization of Harper Lee's ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. The joint production received local and eventually national attention, and was featured on NBC's ''Today Show'' and ''NBC Nightly News''. Even Harper Lee herself took notice, as the normally private author agreed to meet with the cast.
*Mountain Brook was named the top athletic program in Alabama for the 2006–2007 season by Sports Illustrated.
In 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 the Mountain Brook High School basketball team, led by coach Bucky McMillan, reached the state finals in Alabama's highest classification winning state championships in 2013, 2014, 2017, and 2018.

Controversy

The school attracted national attention in 2022 for a series of anti-Semitic incidents. The school responded by adopting a diversity program by the Anti-Defamation League, but dropped it after complaints that the diversity program "focused too heavily on race and gender". A Jewish student was reprimanded by the school for posting a video of a teacher making his class give a Nazi salute during a lesson on how symbols change.

Notable graduates

* Nate Bland, former MLB player (Houston Astros)
* Scott Bondy, an American folk/alternative musician. Formerly lead singer of the band Verbena.
* Courteney Cox, actress (''Friends'', ''Scream'', ''Cougar Town'', ''Dirt'')
* Alan Hunter, MTV Veejay
* Willson Love, former Alabama defensive linemen, Current head coach of Strength and Conditioning for Ole Miss
* Spencer Jakab, author and Wall Street Journal editor
* David Jaffe, video game designer (''God of War'', ''Twisted Metal'')
* Pat DuPré, semi-finalist at Wimbledon in 1979 and a quarter finalist in the U.S. Open. 1979–1981; he was ranked in the top 20 in the world, reaching as high as 12th.
* Graeme McFarland, football player (Indiana University)
* Emeel Salem, All-American baseball player at the University of Alabama, former minor league player in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. (6th round draft pick 2007)
* William Vlachos, center for the University of Alabama National Championship Team in 2009 and 2011.
* Tommy Dewey, actor (17 Again, The BabyMakers, The Mindy Project)
* Sarah Simmons, Top 8 finalist on season 4 of ''The Voice''.
* Tribble Reese, quarterback for Clemson, and star in the Reality Series '' The New Atlanta''.
* Trevor Holder, pitched in College World Series for University of Georgia. Currently with Washington Nationals organization.
* Natalee Holloway (class of 2005), an 18-year-old who mysteriously disappeared while in Aruba with friends in 2005.
* Bucky McMillan, Samford basketball coach who coached at Mountain Brook from 2008 to 2020.
*Trendon Watford, a LSU basketball player as of (2021)
*Patrick Claybon, Anchor for NFL Network
* Ethan Fasking, a Northeastern University roller hockey player as of 2022

References

External links

MBHS website

MBHS profile on SchoolDigger

MBHS profile on NicheAlabama High School Athletic Association Records

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Public high schools in Alabama
Educational institutions established in 1966
Schools in Jefferson County, Alabama
1966 establishments in Alabama
Mountain Brook, Alabama