McMillen High School

C.A. McMillen High School
C.A. McMillen High School
	A stone arcade at the front entrance of McMillen High School.
Address
	750 North Murphy Road; Murphy , Texas ; United States
Coordinates	33°01′41″N96°36′38″W / 33.028133°N 96.610598°W
Information
Type	Free public
Motto	Cultivating our potential yields a thoughtful revolution.
Established	2011
School district	Plano Independent School District
Principal	To be announced
Faculty	80.89 (FTE)
Grades	9th and 10th
Enrollment	1,251 (2018-19)
Student to teacher ratio	15.57
Campus size	282,000 square feet
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	Black and Gold
Mascot	Panther
Website	www.pisd.edu/mcmillen

Last updated November 11, 2023

C.A. McMillen High School, commonly known as McMillen High School, McMillen, or MHS, is a secondary school serving grades nine and ten, located in the East Cluster of the Plano Independent School District. Murphy Middle School and Armstrong Middle School feed into McMillen. Students graduating from McMillen will attend Plano East Senior High School for the eleventh and twelfth grades. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency.^[2]

History

C.A. McMillen High School is named in honor of Comfort Allen McMillen, a farmer who owned large tracts of land in what is now the city of Murphy, Texas and founder of the Corinth Presbyterian Church. ^[3]

McMillen High School's inaugural year was 2011–2012, with doors opening in August 2011. It is Plano Independent School District's sixth (and last) 9-10 high school and was built to relieve overcrowding at nearby T. H. Williams High School. The first principal, George King, helped to plan and oversee the design and construction of the campus.

Design and construction

The 282,000 square-foot two-story high school was designed by the SHW architectural firm, and the construction of the school was given to the Cadence McShane Companies, who completed the project under-budget at $37,074,743.^[4] Situated on the same site as Murphy Middle School and Tom Kimbrough Stadium, McMillen High School was designed to complement the architectural style of the adjacent facilities.

The high school's exterior façade is composed of structural steel, masonry, and cast stone. McMillen has a total of 67 classrooms, 10 science laboratories, band and music spaces, library, competition and practice gymnasiums, an auditorium, and a full-service cafeteria and kitchen. The campus also has several athletic venues, such as a practice softball and baseball field, batting cages, a running track, and practice football fields. McMillen athletes compete at the adjacent Tom Kimbrough Stadium in sports such as football and track. The school also has a parking lot with 224 parking spaces.^[5]

Because McMillen was built in 2011, the campus features many unique design and architectural aspects that are not found at any other school in the district. SHW Group designed the 278,800 SF building to include a series of both formal and informal learning spaces. Each education wing is intended to promote collaboration between students and teachers in both the "pod" (an innovative learning and gathering area featuring whiteboards, study tables, and chairs) and the classrooms surrounding it. The pods were designed to provide flexibility and additional space for instruction, discussion, and project work. The campus also features comfortable seating areas and café tables for the students.^[6]

Instead of having dry erase boards, each classroom at McMillen has one wall coated in IdeaPaint, which allows the whole wall, from floor to ceiling, to be written on. The "board" also doubles as a projection screen and allows teachers and students to write on the images shown on the wall.^[7]

Principals

Todd Williams was the former head principal, being so since the start of the 2021–2022 school year. He replaced Brian Lions, who is now the current head of Plano ISD's Director for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. A new head principal is to be announced in November 2023.

Current assistant principals are Kamden Kneisel, Tracie Langford, and Kamili Carthlege.

Students

The current enrollment at McMillen is about 1,220.^[8]

In the 2015–2016 school year, McMillen High School, along with two other Plano ISD 9-10 campuses (Jasper High School and Shepton High School), piloted a block lunch program, in which all students are on lunch at the same time during the day. "Lions Lunch" at McMillen is 72 minutes long and was designed as an opportunity for failing students to attend tutorials. In Spring 2016, McMillen instituted mandatory academic tutorials during the first half of "Lions Lunch" for students failing 2 or more classes.

A small handful of middle school students (often from adjacent Murphy Middle School) take 7th period mathematics courses at McMillen that are not offered at their middle school. These courses include Geometry and Algebra 2. Exceptional mathematics students also have the option of sitting in on one of McMillen's Pre-Calculus classes.

School hours are 9:00 AM–4:15 PM, with doors opening at 8:00 AM and the building usually remaining open until about 5:30 PM for after school activities. McMillen High School is a closed campus, meaning that all students must remain inside the building during school hours.

Academics

Like most other Plano ISD 9-10 high schools, McMillen offers 4 AP (Advanced Placement) classes; AP Human Geography, AP World History, and AP European History (elective), AP Computer Science Principles. AP students at McMillen can choose to take the AP exam for their corresponding classes, offered each May by the College Board. Students earning a 3, 4, or 5 on the AP exam may be eligible for college credit.

Like the other five Plano Independent School District 9-10 high schools, McMillen offers a Humanities class for gifted-and-talented (GT) students as a continuation from the elementary school and middle school PACE (Plano Academic Creative Education) program. Humanities is a one-period class that students take for two years. Though both 9th and 10th grade students are sitting in the same classroom and learning the same content, 9th grade students earn a Pre-AP English I credit (4.5 GPA) and 10th grade students earn an AP World History credit (5.0 GPA). The Humanities course curriculum follows the AP World History course but is split between two years (Humanities I and Humanities II).

In addition to the AP courses McMillen High School offers, the campus also has a range of On-Level and Pre-AP (Honors) courses for students to choose from, as well as various electives such as Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID), Peer Assistance and Leadership (PALs), fine arts, art, engineering, and computer technology.

McMillen students can choose from a variety of foreign language classes, including Spanish, French, German, Latin (available online), Chinese, and American Sign Language.

Extracurricular activities

McMillen offers band, choir, orchestra, theater, PALS, athletics, Student Senate, HOSA Future Health Professionals, National Honor Society (NHS), Library Teen Advisory Board, Drill Team, [National Art Honor Society] (NAHS) and Marching Band (named the Golden Roar Marching Band). Other organizations have been founded by McMillen students in recent years, including COBALT (Corporation of Business and Law Technology), Mock Trial and McMillen UNICEF.

Athletics

The school colors are black and gold, and the school mascot is the Panther as of the 2023-2024 school year. Plano East Senior High School, McMillen High School, and Williams High School all now don the black and gold for the Panthers.

The McMillen Panthers compete in the following sports:

Athletes in select sports, such as swimming, must travel to Plano East Senior High School to compete. Students with stellar athletic ability may choose to compete with the Plano East athletic teams instead of with the McMillen athletic teams.

Music programs

McMillen offers Band, Orchestra and Choir classes. Their marching shows over the past years were Pirates of the Caribbean (2012), Arabian Nights (2013), Frozen (2014), Holst's The Planets (2015), New World Symphony (2016), Time (2017), and Blend (2018)

The bands, orchestras, and choirs perform in University Interscholastic League (UIL) festivals, as well as local music contests, such as the Choice Music Events. McMillen also hosts the Plano Independent School District East Cluster Solo & Ensemble Festival each spring for orchestra students.

Related Research Articles

Murphy is a city in suburban Collin County, Texas, United States. The 2020 census reported the population as 21,013, compared to 3,099 in 2000. Murphy is located northeast of Dallas and has a history that goes back to the late 1800s.

Cupertino High School, colloquially referred to as "Tino", "CHS", is a four-year comprehensive public high school located near the Rancho Rinconada and Fairgrove neighborhoods of Cupertino, California, USA. The school serves mostly suburban residential and areas in eastern Cupertino, southern Santa Clara, and west San Jose.

Plano Independent School District is an independent school district in southwestern Collin County, Texas, based in Plano.

Plano Senior High School is a public secondary school in Plano, Texas, serving students in grades 11–12. The school is part of the Plano Independent School District, with admission based primarily on the locations of students' homes. Plano is a two-time Blue Ribbon School and a Texas Exemplary School. Students at Plano Senior typically attended one of two feeder high schools: Clark or Vines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DeBakey High School for Health Professions</span> Public magnet high school in Houston, Texas, United States

Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions is a medical secondary school located in the Medical Center area of Houston, Texas, United States. It is a part of the Houston Independent School District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flower Mound High School</span> Public high school in Flower Mound, Denton County, Texas, United States

Plano East Senior High School is a public secondary school in Plano, Texas (USA) serving high school juniors and seniors, as well as freshmen and sophomores as a part of the IB World School. It is part of the Plano Independent School District and enrolls students based on the locations of students' homes. Students at Plano East attended one of two feeder high schools: McMillen or Williams.

Biotechnology High School (BTHS), or commonly referred to as Biotech, is a four-year comprehensive vocational public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in Freehold Township, Monmouth County, United States, as part of the Monmouth County Vocational School District (MCVSD). Its curriculum includes a science program, consisting of eight different science classes spread over four years, designed to prepare students to pursue further education in biotechnology and the natural sciences. Emphasis is placed on research, laboratory skills, critical thinking, problem solving, technology, and teamwork. Over 90% of the 2009 graduates selected college majors in the life sciences. The school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liverpool High School</span> Public school in Liverpool, New York, United States

Liverpool High School (LHS) is a comprehensive New York public high school located on Wetzel Road in Liverpool, northwest of the city of Syracuse in the Liverpool Central School District, serving ninth to twelfth grade students. It is the only high school within the district, and is the successor to Liverpool Middle School, Soule Road Middle School, Chestnut Hill Middle School, and Morgan Road Middle School. The school is governed under the authority of the New York State Education Department, whose standardized examinations are designed and administered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York.

T. C. Jasper High School is a public co-educational secondary school in Plano, Texas (USA) serving grades nine and ten. Founded in 1996, the school is part of the Plano Independent School District. Robinson Middle School and Rice Middle School feed into Jasper. Students leaving Jasper will attend Plano West Senior High School. The school colors are blue, black, and white, and the school mascot is the Wolf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keystone School</span> Private school in Texas, United States

Keystone School, generally called Keystone, is a co-educational independent private school for students from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade, located in the Monte Vista Historic District in Midtown San Antonio, Texas, USA. The greater Keystone School consists of the Little School of Keystone, serving PK-3 and PK-4 students, Lower School, serving kindergarten through fourth-grade students, the Middle School, serving fifth- through eighth-grade students, and the Upper School, consisting of the ninth through twelfth grades. Keystone is regarded as one of the most academically competitive schools in the United States and has been acclaimed for its academic performance. It has been placed as one of the best private high schools in America by the Washington Post multiple times and ranked #1 in 2015.

T. H. Williams High School is a secondary school in Plano, Texas (USA) serving grades nine and ten. It is part of the Plano Independent School District. In Plano ISD, high school freshmen and sophomores attend one of six high schools. Juniors and seniors attend "senior high schools". Bowman and Otto middle schools feed into Williams. Williams High School feeds into Plano East Senior High School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monarch High School (Florida)</span> Public high school

Monarch High School (MHS) is a public high school located in Coconut Creek, Florida. Monarch is a part of the Broward County Public Schools system, and serves neighborhoods in: Coconut Creek, Deerfield Beach, Margate, and Pompano Beach.

Aldine Senior High School is a public high school located in the Greenspoint district of northern Houston, Texas, United States. It is part of the Aldine Independent School District. The senior high school campus serves grades 10 through 12. The separate Aldine Ninth Grade School hosts students in grade 9.

The Academy of Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Science (ATEMS) is a STEM high school founded in 2009 located in Abilene, Texas. ATEMS is a part of the Abilene Independent School District. ATEMS is housed in premises owned by the Texas State Technical College System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korea International School, Jeju Campus</span> College-prep, international school in South Korea

Korea International School, Jeju Campus (KISJ) is South Korea's first international boarding school. The school is a sister campus to Korea International School and an affiliate of YBM, a publishing and English-language education services company. Founded in 2010 and first opened in 2011 as part of the Jeju Global Education City, the school's first senior class of 52 students matriculated in May 2016. KISJ is a proprietary, nonsectarian school offering an internationalized American college preparatory curriculum from Junior Kindergarten through Grade 12, with a boarding program starting in Grade 6. The high school began its AP Capstone™ in 2017–18, one of seven schools to offer it in South Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plano ISD Academy High School</span> School in Plano, Collin County, Texas, United States

Plano ISD Academy High School, commonly referred to as Academy High School, is a STEAM, interdisciplinary and project-based learning high school. The school serves students from grades 9-12. This school is not a regular secondary school because this school uses a selection process to draw eighth graders from various middle schools in Plano ISD. The school is an alternative to the regular high school experience by offering collaborative team projects, more STEAM classes and the ability to attend classes without structured class periods. This school is one of the three Academy Programs in Plano ISD. The others are the Plano ISD Health Sciences Academy and The IB World School at Plano East.

References

1 2 3 "C A MCMILLEN H S". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
↑ "2015 Accountability Rating System". Texas Education Agency.
↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 5, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
↑ "McMillen High School".
↑ "SHW Group". Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
↑ "New technology abounds at McMillen High".
↑ "Schools & Facilities / McMillen High School Landing Page".

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[NCES-1] 1 2 3 "C A MCMILLEN H S". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved May 17, 2020.

[2] "2015 Accountability Rating System". Texas Education Agency.

[3] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[4] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 5, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[5] "McMillen High School".

[6] "SHW Group". Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2016.

[7] "New technology abounds at McMillen High".

[8] "Schools & Facilities / McMillen High School Landing Page".

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]