Cleveland Heights High School (commonly known as Heights, Heights High or Heights High School) is the senior high school of the

Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, located in

Cleveland Heights, Ohio Cleveland Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and one of Cleveland's historical streetcar suburbs. The city's population was 45,312 at the 2020 census. As of the 2010 census, Cleveland Heights was ranked the 8th larges ...

, United States.

History

Cleveland Heights High School was established in 1901 by the Cleveland Heights Board of Education. The building that is currently being used opened in 1926. The student population was 1,772 as of the 2018-2019, school year with 15.02 student/teacher ratio. The student body is mostly African-American, with 75 percent identifying themselves as such, and Caucasian (15%), multiracial (6%), Hispanic (3%), and Asian (2%) minorities. Heights athletic teams play in Division I. The school is known for its strong music departments, including the Vocal Music Department (VMD) which includes A Cappella, Men's and Women's Barbershop, Singers, and Men and Women's choruses. The Heights Gospel Choir was founded in 1974, and remains active as an extracurricular ensemble. The Instrumental Music Department (IMD) consists of the Heights High Symphony, Symphonic Winds, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Concert Orchestra, Marching Band, Jazz Lab, and Jazz Band. During the 1960 and 1970s, Heights High's music programs were nationally recognized, with the Choir and Orchestra considered among the best in the country. For a number of years, world-renowned musicians performed with the Orchestra. The Heights Band & Orchestra Parents organization and Heights Choir Parents Organization played a major role in promoting music and making Heights High synonymous with the highest quality music. The Heights High Symphony, Symphonic Winds and Jazz Ensemble competed in the 2007 Heritage Festival in

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, culminating with an award ceremony at

Medieval Times In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire an ...

where the Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Jazz Ensemble, received Gold (or Superior) ratings. The life stories of 48 graduates of Cleveland Heights High School are featured in the book ''Every Tiger Has a Tale'', written by Gary Stromberg, a 1968 graduate of the school. In 1991, the school won the 23rd National High School chess tournament. The team consisted of Andy Gard, Joshua Jex, Ari Singer and Wenning Xing. Xing also tied for the second place individual spot with a score of 6.0 out of seven, and Waitzkin (of ''Searching for Bobby Fischer'' fame) took first place with 6.5 out of seven. In the summer of 2015, the building began going under major renovations. The building re-opened on August 21, 2017, and the students used the original building for the 2017-2018 school year. The students used the Wiley campus for the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years.

Ohio High School Athletic Association state championships

* Baseball — 1947 * Basketball — 1997 *

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

— 1976

Notable alumni

* Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley (1976), former U.S. Ambassador to

Republic of Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

* Hal Becker (1972),

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

Jean Berko Gleason Jean Berko Gleason (born 1931) is a psycholinguist and professor emerita in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at Boston University who has made fundamental contributions to the understanding of language acquisition in children, ...

(1949),

psycholinguist Psycholinguistics or psychology of language is the study of the interrelation between linguistic factors and psychological aspects. The discipline is mainly concerned with the mechanisms by which language is processed and represented in the mind ...

* Chuck Cooper,

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

-winning actor *

James Fox William Fox (born 19 May 1939), known professionally as James Fox, is an English actor. He appeared in several notable films of the 1960s and early 1970s, including '' King Rat'', ''The Servant'', ''Thoroughly Modern Millie'' and ''Performanc ...

(1965), James Gang founder drummer and organist *

Jason Kelce Jason Daniel Kelce (; born November 5, 1987) is an American football center for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Eagles in the sixth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football a ...

(2006), NFL player for

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

Travis Kelce Travis Michael Kelce (; born October 5, 1989) is an American football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft and later won Super Bowl LIV ...

(2008), NFL player for

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

* Mike McGruder (1980), NFL player for

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

, played in Super Bowl XXXI *

Barry Cofield Barry Joseph Cofield, Jr. (born March 19, 1984) is a former American football defensive tackle who played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted in the fourth round by the New York Giants in the 2006 NFL Draft and ha ...

, NFL player *

Clea Lewis Clea Lewis (born July 19, 1965) is an American actress, best known for her television role as Ellen's annoying friend, Audrey Penney in Ellen DeGeneres' sitcom '' Ellen''. Personal life Lewis was born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, to a write ...

(1983), actor

Notes and references

External links

Cleveland Heights High School websiteCleveland Heights-University Heights School District website
{{authority control High schools in Cuyahoga County, Ohio Cleveland Heights, Ohio Educational institutions established in 1901 Public high schools in Ohio * 1901 establishments in Ohio