Hillsboro High School (Oregon)

Hillsboro High School
Address
3285 SE Rood Bridge Road Hillsboro , Oregon 97123 United States
Coordinates	45°29′42″N122°57′32″W / 45.494917°N 122.958984°W / 45.494917; -122.958984
Information
School type	Public, high school
Motto	"Be Think Live Blue"
Opened	1913 (current campus completed in 1969)
School district	Hillsboro School District 1J
Principal	Cary Meier [1]
Vice Principals	Kelly Cox John Matsuo
Staff	60.29 (FTE) [2]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,288 (2020–21) [3]
Student to teacher ratio	21 [3]
Language	English
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Royal blue, white, and scarlet
Team name	Spartans
Rival	Glencoe High School
Website	http://www.hsd.k12.or.us/hilhi

Hillsboro High School (colloquially known as Hilhi) is a public high school in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States, and is the oldest high school in the Hillsboro School District. The current campus was built beginning in 1969. Prior to this, the first campus opened in 1913 at 3rd Avenue and Grant Street; the second campus, built in 1928, was located downtown at 6th Avenue and Lincoln Street, where J.B. Thomas Middle School stood until 2009. Currently 1,195 students attend the school in grades 9–12. The official school colors are blue and white with red and black as accents, and the mascot is the Spartan.

The athletics and activities of the school compete in category 5A's Northwest Oregon Conference under the Oregon School Activities Association.

Alumni include professional soccer player Tiffeny Milbrett, hall of fame coach Ad Rutschman, former professional baseball players Bob Beall and Scott Brow and actor Eric Michael Cole.

Hillsboro High's most recent team state championship came in 2017 for boys' swimming.

As of 2022, the school's graduation rate was 90%.

History

In September 1908, tenth grade was added to the Hillsboro school district, with classes held on the top floor of the school. ^[4] Eleventh and twelfth grades were soon added, and in June 1911 the first students to complete four years of high school graduated. ^[5] This class totaled five students, consisting of four girls and one boy. ^[5] In September 1911, the school added manual training and domestic science courses to the curriculum. ^[6] That same year, voters approved of a $50,000 bond measure to pay for constructing a high school building, ^[7] with construction completed in 1913 at a cost of $40,000 for the three-story building. ^{[8] [9]} In 1913, the school graduated eight students. ^[8] A gymnasium was built beginning in 1915. ^[10] The school grew in size, with the 1920 graduating class totally 36 students, the largest number up to that time. ^[11] As early as the 1910s, "Hilhi" was used as a colloquial name for the school; the 1917 annual yearbook featured the title "The Hilhi" on its cover.

In 1929, a new high school building was completed, with additional buildings and the wings added in later years. ^[12] Located near downtown Hillsboro, at NE Sixth Avenue and Lincoln Street, the site became a junior high once the current campus was built beginning in 1969. ^[12] In 1970, the new senior high school campus opened on 48 acres (190,000 m²) on the south side of Hillsboro, with enrollment of the high school district reaching 3,621 students that year. ^[12] Students complained that the new layout that consisted of classrooms spread out over the campus instead of a single central building was a poor choice for Oregon’s rainy and cold winters. ^[12]

The former campus served as Thomas Jr. High/Middle School from 1969 until it was demolished in 2009.

The school has been remodeled several times since opening in 1969. The first time was around 1980, when some minor updates such as the covered walkways were added. During the summer of 1999 the school received further updates. Blue and beige paint replaced the old brown colors on the buildings, the commons area was built adjacent to the cafeteria, a new auditorium was constructed, a new building was built to house technology related classes, and the main office was remodeled. After the expansion Hilhi had a total of 256,652 square feet (23,843.8 m²) of space spread out among eleven single-story buildings on campus. ^[13] During the summer of 2008 the locker rooms were remodeled, improving the lighting, showers, and bathrooms. Future plans included the replacement of aging HVAC units and controls by 2011. ^[14]

In 2003, the school, along with all schools in the district, made national news when 17 days of classes were cut from the school year, which allowed students to begin summer break in May, due to budget cuts to education in Oregon. ^[15]

Teacher Don Domes won the Software Association of Oregon Foundation's Oregon Technology Educator of Year in 2004. ^[16]

Since 2006 the school has participated in the MIT-Lemelson InvenTeam program. Through the program, the school has received a $10,000 grant for a team of students to invent a self-installable heads-up display for automotive use and a $4,000 grant to invent an industrial sized robotic vacuum/floor cleaning system. ^[17]

The former campus near downtown was demolished in 2009. ^[18]

In the fall of 2015, the school became the first in the district to implement a mariachi band program into the curriculum, started by Hilhi alumni and Choir Director, Benjamin Noyes. ^[19]

Academics

Administration building

Hillsboro High School has offered the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme since 2003, and in 2009, began offering the Middle Years Programme. ^[20] The school also has an ASPIRE program ^[21] and a robotics team. ^[22]

2004–2005 SAT scores ^[23]

Category	HHS	State	Country
Critical Reading	519	523	503
Math	528	529	518
Writing	496	503	497
Percentage tested	46%	55%	NA

In 2008, 80% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma. Of 364 students, 293 graduated, 39 dropped out, three received a modified diploma, and 29 were still in high school in 2009. ^{[24] [25]}

The school's 2020–21 graduation rate was 90%. ^[26]

Athletics

Hilhi, known as the Spartans, competes in the Northwest Oregon Conference at the OSAA class 5A level. ^[27] School colors are royal blue and white, and the athletic director is Steve Drake. ^[28]

Cross-town school Glencoe has been Hilhi's arch-rival since Glencoe became the second high school in the district in 1980. The football rivalry was featured on the Great American Rivalries series in October 2007. Teams play for bragging rights at the shared Hare Field. ^{[29] [30]} The 2009 game featured a 61-yard Hail Mary pass at the end of the game caught by Colt Lyerla for a touchdown after time expired to give Hilhi the victory. ^[31] The play was named as ESPN's top play of the day and of the week. ^[31] That season the team finished ranked number one in their classification and won the state title, the first in football since 1973. ^[32]

Mouse Davis, an early proponent of the run and shoot offense, coached Hillsboro High to the 1973 football state championship. ^[33] Oregon Sports Hall of Fame coach Ad Rutschman coached the baseball team from 1955 to 1968 before moving on to Linfield College. ^[34] Rutschman also led the Spartans to a state championship in football in 1966 with a 17–2 victory over South Salem.

Since 1965, the school has used Hare Field for football, baseball, and track. ^{[35] [36]}

OSAA State Championships

Team titles

• Wrestling: 1952, 1990 ^[37]
• Baseball: 1962 (tie), 1966, 1968, 1993 ^[38]
• Football: 1966, 1973, 2009 ^[39]
• Girls' basketball: 1979, 1980 ^[40]
• Girls' cross-country: 1979 ^[41]
• Boys' soccer: 2006 ^[42]
• Boys' swimming: 2017 ^[43]

Student life

The school previously held a homecoming king and queen ceremony, but this was terminated by the student government in 2016. ^[44] Beth Graser, the chief of communications of the school district, stated that the move was made to prevent a popularity contest from occurring, while the class president of the 12th grade and the student government adviser stated it was done to make student culture more inclusive for genderqueer individuals. ^[45]

Notable alumni

• Bob Beall, baseball player
• Scott Brow, baseball pitcher
• Rick Dancer, television anchor and politician ^[46]
• David Edwards, politician
• Thomas Garrigus, Olympic athlete
• Tom Hughes, politician
• Josh Inman, Olympic athlete
• Bill Kellar, football player ^[47]
• David Larsen, actor
• Colt Lyerla, football player
• Tiffeny Milbrett, Olympic soccer player
• Adolf Rutschman football/baseball coach
• Wes Schulmerich, baseball player
• Bruce Starr, politician
• Bryce Zabel, television producer

See also

• Rood Bridge Park

References

1. "CARY MEIER SELECTED AS HILHI PRINCIPAL". Hillsboro School District. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
2. "Hillsboro High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
3. "US News". US News. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
4. "Hillsboro Adds Tenth Grade". The Oregonian. September 21, 1908. p. 13.
5. "Five Students of Hillsboro High School Complete Four Year Course". The Oregonian. June 6, 1911. p. 5.
6. "School Courses Added". The Oregonian. September 15, 1911. p. 7.
7. "Hillsboro to Vote on Bond Issue". The Oregonian. May 6, 1911. p. 6.
8. "Hillsboro Exercises Held". The Oregonian. June 1, 1913. p. 12.
9. "Development of Oregon Counties in 1913 Reviewed in Brief". The Oregonian. January 1, 1914. p. 4.
10. "Hillsboro High School Notes". The Oregonian. December 19, 1915. p. 10.
11. "Hillsboro High Class 36". The Oregonian. May 25, 1920. p. 10.
12. Philpott, Betty. Hillsboro school began in one-room log cabin in 1854. Hillsboro Argus, October 19, 1976.
13. "Hillsboro High School" (PDF). Rapid Visual Screening - Senate Bill #2 - Seismic Needs Assessment. Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. June 13, 2006. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
14. High School Projects. Archived 2008-05-05 at the Wayback Machine Hillsboro School District. Retrieved July 31, 2008.
15. Oregon schools cutting class. Archived 2007-12-11 at the Wayback Machine CNN.com, May 24, 2003.
16. Blackmun, Maya. Teaching technology. The Oregonian, November 9, 2006.
17. MIT: High School Invention Grants: Hillsboro High School InvenTeam. Lemelson-MIT. Retrieved on October 29, 2007.
18. Gordanier, Susan (July 19, 2009). "Recycling effort drives work behind the fence at J.B. Thomas site". Hillsboro Argus. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
19. Castillo, Andrea (29 May 2014). "HSD hears proposal for mariachi band, community service learning classes". The Oregonian. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
20. Owen, Wendy (2010-01-12). "International Baccalaureate Middle Years a hit at South Meadows and Hillsboro High". The Oregonian . Retrieved 2010-01-13.
21. ASPIRE High Schools in Oregon. Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine ASPIRE. Retrieved on August 4, 2008.
22. Owen, Wendy (April 2, 2010). "Hillsboro robotic teams build, program and battle robots". The Oregonian . Retrieved 4 April 2010.
23. Oregon Department of Education: 2007 Reportcard
24. "State releases high school graduation rates". The Oregonian . 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
25. "Oregon dropout rates for 2008". The Oregonian . 2009-06-30. Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
26. "Hillsboro High School in Hillsboro, OR". U.S. News & World Report . Retrieved 2022-03-01..
27. Beseda, Jim (September 16, 2010). "Tualatin at Hillsboro". The Oregonian . Retrieved 10 October 2010.
28. "Hillsboro High School". Oregon School Activities Association. Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2010-10-10.
29. "Great American Rivalry Series" . Retrieved 2009-10-07.
30. Forbes, Ron (2007-10-02). "Rivalry football series will shine at Hare Field". The Hillsboro Argus . Retrieved 2007-10-30.
31. Ulmer, Jerry (October 5, 2009). "Colt Lyerla, Hillsboro go nationwide on ESPN thanks to radio broadcaster's efforts". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
32. Binder, Doug (December 12, 2009). "Spartans end a title drought of their own by defeating Democrats". The Oregonian. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
33. Delkin, Fred. "Mouse Returns to Join PSU Football Revival" Archived 2007-10-07 at the Wayback Machine . Oregon Magazine. Retrieved on August 4, 2008.
34. Hillsboro to honor baseball coach Rutschman. The Oregonian , March 7, 2007.
35. McKinney, Dick. Sparts win first game at Hare. The Hillsboro Argus , October 19, 1976.
36. Gaynair, Gillian. Hillsboro thinks things will go better with Coke. The Oregonian , May 21, 1998.
37. "OSAA Wrestling Championships" (PDF). Oregon School Activities Association. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
38. "OSAA Baseball Championships" (PDF). Oregon School Activities Association. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
39. "OSAA Football Championships" (PDF). Oregon School Activities Association. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
40. "OSAA Girls Basketball Championships" (PDF). Oregon School Activities Association. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
41. "OSAA Girls Cross Country Championships" (PDF). Oregon School Activities Association. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
42. "OSAA Boys Soccer Championships" (PDF). Oregon School Activities Association. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
43. Evanson, Wade (February 21, 2017). "Spartan boys conquer state!". Hillsboro Tribune . Retrieved 22 February 2017.
44. "Hillsboro High School ending tradition of crowning homecoming king, queen". KGW-TV. 2016-10-06. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
45. Hammond, Betsy (2016-10-06). "Hillsboro High ends tradition of homecoming court, king, queen". The Oregonian . Retrieved 2017-02-02.
46. Sowell, John (June 5, 2008). "Dancing away from politics". The News-Review . Retrieved 2009-09-07.
47. Keller, Richard (12 November 1977). "Cardinal career overshadowed". The Stanford Daily. Vol. 172S, no. 5.