Oak Mountain High School

Oak Mountain High School is a four-year public high school in the northern Shelby County suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama. It is the largest of Shelby County School System's seven high schools. School colors are red, white, and blue, and the athletic teams are called the Eagles. Oak Mountain competes in AHSAA Class 7A athletics.^[1]

Recognition

Oak Mountain has been consistently recognized as one of the best high schools in Alabama:

• SchoolDigger ranks Oak Mountain 6th out of 357 high schools in the state and 3rd among high schools in the Birmingham metropolitan area.^[2]
• The Washington Post ranked Oak Mountain 7th among the 12 Alabama schools included in its list of America's Most Challenging High Schools.^[3]
• Oak Mountain was one of eight Alabama high schools included in the Daily Beast's 2014 list of America's Top High Schools.^[4]
• Oak Mountain was also named a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education, the highest recognition a high school can receive from the department.^[5]

Student profile

Enrollment in grades 9-12 for the 2013-14 school year is 1,645 students. Approximately 82% of students are white, 9% are African-American, 5% are Asian-American, and 4% are Hispanic. Roughly 10% of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch.^[6]

Oak Mountain has a graduation rate of 96%. Over 90% of its students meet or exceed proficiency standards in reading and mathematics. The average ACT score for Oak Mountain students is 25 and the average SAT composite is 1670.^[7]

Curriculum

College preparation

Oak Mountain students can take one or more of the following 16 Advanced Placement courses:^[8]

Oak Mountain students are also eligible for dual enrollment at Jefferson State Community College, allowing them to earn high school and college credit simultaneously.

Career preparation

Oak Mountain students can take courses from five different clusters offered through the school's career technical education curriculum:^[9]

• Business, management, and administration
• Finance
• Food, wellness, and diatetics
• Marketing, sales, and service
• Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

There is also a variety of career and technical education academy options available via the Shelby County College and Career Center.

Athletics

Oak Mountain competes in AHSAA Class 7A athletics and fields teams in the following sports:^[10]

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Bowling
• Cheerleading
• Cross Country
• Football
• Golf
• Outdoor Track & Field
• Soccer
• Softball
• Swimming & Diving
• Tennis
• Volleyball

Oak Mountain has won state championships in the following sports:

• Boys' cross country (2001)
• Boys' soccer (2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2016)
• Girls' soccer (2012, 2014, 2015)
• Girls' softball (2001)

Oak Mountain has won national championships in the following sports:

• Boys' soccer (2005, 2016)
• Girls' soccer (2014)

The Oak Mountain football team has played in the state playoffs four times, reaching the semifinals once.^[11]

Sports facilities on campus include a practice gymnasium, a competition gym seating 2,000 fans, baseball and softball stadiums, a band practice field, and soccer practice fields. A multi-purpose stadium, seating 5,000 spectators, was also built on Hwy. 119 to house the football, soccer, and track and field events.

Notable alumni

• John Ball, Christian musician
• David Dahl, MLB baseball player for the Colorado Rockies^[12]

Music

The Oak Mountain High School band program, under the director of Head Director of Bands Kevin Ownby and Associate Director Travis Bender, consistently rank as one of the best and largest bands in the state, with membership of around 250 students. The concert band, symphonic band, and wind ensemble earn superiors at state competitions and are often invited to perform at notable venues, such as Carnegie Hall in 2010 and 2016 and the 2017 AMEA conference. The school's two jazz ensembles offer students the opportunity to perform in a laid back setting and to explore different concepts of music. Also offered as electives are two percussion ensembles, which explores percussive arts and enables students to interact in a creative environment. The award winning 227 member Oak Mountain High School "Spirit of Cahaba" marching band is recognized as a premier ensemble in the state of Alabama, and performs at all varsity football games along with marching contests in the fall, in which the marching band consistently earns superiors and 'best in class' awards.^[13]

The Choral Department, under the direction of Mr. Michael Zauchin, consists of six choirs: Women’s Choir, Men’s Choir, Women’s Honor Choir, Concert Choir, The Muses, and Oak Mountain Singers. The Concert Choir is the flagship choir at Oak Mountain High School. Made up of athletes, student government officers, band and theater members, Masters, Peer Helpers, and PALS, the Concert Choir has the largest membership of all the choirs. This choir consistently earns the highest markings at state festivals.In addition to their classical repertoire, “Muses” "Singers" perform as competitive show choirs. In recent years they have placed consistently in the top of their class at competitions around the southeast, including attending show choir nationals in 2013 and 2016.^[14]

External links

• Oak Mountain High School homepage
• Oak Mountain school profile on SchoolDigger
• Oak Mountain school profile on Niche
• Oak Mountain football history
• Oak Mountain High School band
• Oak Mountain High School choir

References

Coordinates: 33°22′0.15″N 86°44′5.46″W / 33.3667083°N 86.7348500°W / 33.3667083; -86.7348500