Jefferson City High School

Jefferson City High School
Location
609 Union Street Jefferson City, Missouri 65101 United States
Information
Type	Public
Motto	"Pride Through Excellence"
Established	January 22, 1964
School district	Jefferson City Public School District
Head Principal	Bob James
Staff	167
Grades	10-12
Number of students	2,534
Student to teacher ratio	19:1
Athletics conference	Independent
Mascot	Jays, Jaybirds
Rival	David H. Hickman High School
Accreditation	Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Average ACT scores (2015)	21.40
Newspaper	Red and Black
Yearbook	Marcullus
Colors	Black and Red
Schedule	Block
Website	JCHS

Jefferson City High School, also known as JCHS, is a public secondary school in Jefferson City, Missouri. It is one of the five public high schools in Cole County and the only one in Jefferson City.

History

The Jefferson City Public School District was established in 1838, but the first separate high school building was not built until 1905, with the creation of what is now the Simonsen 9th Grade Center. The current high school building opened on January 22, 1964 and houses 10th-12th graders.

Academics

Jefferson City High School serves approximately 1805 students grades 10-12. The school began operating under a 4x4 Block Schedule in the 2000-01 school year. Students attended 4 classes a day for approximately 90-minute periods. Students had the opportunity to earn 2 credits per year with grades and credits issued in each of four 9-week terms. For the 2015-16 school year, the school changed to a schedule with 5 classes a day for approximately 75 minutes. Many classes meet on alternating days, while certain courses are offered every day. Jefferson City High School is designated as a high school by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The school is accredited by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Students may earn college credit from Lincoln University through approved courses on the JCHS campus during regular school hours.

Speech and Debate

As of the 2010-2011 school year, the Jefferson City Speech and Debate team is ranked 102nd among the National Forensic League's (NFL) 2,800 teams, placing it around the top three percent in the U.S In November it ranked first in the Eastern Missouri NFL district, in which there are thirty schools total. In March 2011, the team qualified three students to the NFL national tournament and nine students to the Missouri State High School Activities Association state tournament.

Alumni

• Matt Blunt: Governor of Missouri between 2005 and 2009
• Jim Dyck, Former MLB player (St. Louis Browns, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds)
• Justin Gage (NFL: Chicago Bears, Tennessee Titans)
• Steve Martin (NFL: Indianapolis Colts, Philadelphia Eagles, New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, Minnesota Vikings)
• Dennis Meyer (NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers)
• Justin Smith (All-American: 1997)(NFL: Cincinnati Bengals, San Francisco 49ers)
• Gravity Kills, Industrial Rock band, Matt Dudenhoeffer, Doug Firley, Kurt Kerns, Jeff Scheel
• Sylvester Williams: (NFL: Denver Broncos)
• White Rabbits (band), Indie Rock band
• Charlie Weber (actor)
• Pete Adkins was the Hall of Fame legendary football coach of the Jays from 1958-1994. His record at Jefferson City was 341-48-2 in 36 years with the Jays. His overall record in his coaching career was 405-60-4. He won 9 State Championships at Jefferson City.