Grandview High School | |
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Address | |
20500 E. Arapahoe Rd. Aurora, CO 80016 |
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Coordinates | 39°35′33″N 104°44′49″W / 39.59250°N 104.74694°WCoordinates: 39°35′33″N 104°44′49″W / 39.59250°N 104.74694°W |
Information | |
Type | Public |
Motto | "It's great to be a wolf!" |
Established | 1998 |
School district | Cherry Creek School District |
Principal | Dr. Lisa Sprague |
Faculty | 235 |
Grades | 9–12 |
Enrollment | 2,572 (2014-15) |
Color(s) | Royal blue, black, and white |
Athletics | Class 5A |
Athletics conference | Centennial League |
Mascot | Wolf |
Newspaper | The Grandview Chronicle |
Website | grandview |
Grandview High School is the second largest high school in the Cherry Creek School District, with an enrollment of 2,851 students in grades 9 through 12. Grandview opened in 1998 as the district's fifth high school, built to accommodate a population boom in the district's growing southeastern region. Grandview is located in Aurora, Colorado and uses the wolf as its mascot, sporting the colors of blue, black and white.
Grandview High School was ranked 414th in the nation on Newsweek's list of the 500 best US high schools in 2016. Grandview was the only high school in the Cherry Creek School District and the City of Aurora to make the list.
During the 1995–96 school year a committee of teachers, administrators, parents and students gathered to meet with architects to design the blueprints for High School 5. In January 1997, Linda Fox formally accepted the assignment as the founding principal. By March of that year, groundbreaking at the site began and a cadre of coordinating teachers were hired to create what would become Grandview High School. Fox, Associate Principal Harry Bull, bookkeeper Sherry Andrews, and secretary Vickie Davis settled into Rolling Hills elementary in a nearby neighborhood to spend a year preparing to open a new high school. The cadre joined them in the evenings and then full-time in January 1998.
According to Terry Conley, Executive Director of High Schools at the time, one clear message from parents was that they "wanted students to have a competitive edge upon graduation, and equal rights." From this, the school's mission statement evolved: "To inspire academic achievement, responsible citizenship, and individual development in a supportive environment."
With this goal in mind, colors and a mascot were chosen. In the fall of 1997, three names for the high school were submitted to the school board, with "Grandview" garnering the highest recommendation. In the winter of 1997–98, the school colors were chosen. Black, teal, and purple had the greatest number of votes until a student brought a photograph of Duke athletes in uniform to a community meeting. The entire group changed their votes to blue, black and white, which became Grandview's colors. Choosing the mascot proved more difficult. Wanting a mascot that made "good tracks," the "Let's Get Started" committee recommended the wolf over a hornet or diamondback.
As the year progressed, a staff was hired, curriculum decisions were made, and the school was built. On August 3, 1998, Fox received the keys to the building. With semi-trailers lined up to unload all the furniture, parents came to help assemble desks and ensure that the color-coded furniture made it to the right wings of the school. Books were unpacked, computers were set up, and the staff began to move in.