Hancock County High School

Hancock County High School
Address
Map
80 State Route 271 South


United States
Information
School typePublic high school
MottoHigh Expectations—Success for All!
Opened1914[1]
School districtHancock County
NCES District ID2102460[2]
NCES School ID210246000507[3]
PrincipalGinger Estes
Teaching staff33.00 (FTE)[3]
Grades9–12
Enrollment483 (2022-2023)[4]
Student to teacher ratio14.64[3]
Color(s)Red and gray     [5]
Athletics conferenceKentucky High School Athletic Association
NicknameHornets[5]
AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement of the AdvancED Accreditation Commission
Websitehancock.k12.ky.us/1/Home

Hancock County High School (HCHS) is a public school located in Lewisport, Kentucky, for grades 9 through 12, recognized by the Kentucky Department of Education for having best practices.

History

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The first Hancock County High School was established in Hawesville, Kentucky, in 1914. Housed in an antebellum mansion purchased by the Board of Education, it was described as "a handsome and commodious dwelling, planned for hospitality."[6][7]

Later, the school was split into Lewisport and Hawesville High Schools, but in 1957 the school board purchased 46 acres of land in Lewisport,[8] and in 1961 the schools were consolidated to the new location known as the Patch by the Pike. The school was again named "Hancock County High School".[9][10]

In 1973, a new $18 million, 89,000 square foot, single-story brick school building was constructed. Classrooms were designed in a "semi-open space area", shaped like honey comb, with a large central media-library. The site also featured a new football field and a new gymnasium that could be partitioned for handball courts and wrestling areas. It was designed for 500 students, and the 1961 high school building was converted for Hancock Middle School use.[11]

In 2014, the county prioritized major renovations at HCHS, including the construction of 15 new classrooms, at a cost of $7.3 million.[12] In 2016, a group of HCHS students led a drive to raise taxes to pay for replacing the Hancock Middle School facility.[13]

For the school year 2020-2021 HCHS enrolled 501 students.[14]

In 2021 vice principal Ginger Estes[15] replaced Ashley Gorman as principal.[16]

The HCHS "Hornets" mascot displays school colors of red and gray.[17]

Curriculum

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In 2021 HCHS was recognized by the Kentucky Department of Education for its implementation of lesson plan playlists, considered best curriculum practices involving a sequence of resources or activities for students to complete.[18]

The school also placed first in their region in the 2021 Kentucky Summative Assessment, the state of Kentucky's collective ranking of students' academic performance. HCHS students' combined scores ranked first out of the twelve schools in the district in categories of high school math and high school science.[19][20]

In 2018, the school introduced the Cadet Core, a program founded by a military veteran to teach military and leadership skills.[21] Since 2018 the school has also offered a career preparation course, "Survey of Industry Careers", to "help students understand business and industry opportunities close to home", according to Bobbie Hayse of the Messenger-Inquirer.[22] Subjects of the curriculum include, "human resources, accounting, production, supervision, maintenance, engineering and information technology".[23]

Activities

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In 1999, HCHS played in the Kentucky Class A football championship game, and quarterback Travis Atwell was named Kentucky's Mr. Football.[24]

Hancock County High School won the girls class A cross country state championship in 2001 and 2002.[25][26]

The Hancock County High School Band competed in the 2019 Kentucky Music Educators Association State Marching Band Championships held at Western Kentucky University, winning the Class A state championship for the first time in the school's history, and making them the second school in the state to have won their class in their first state finals appearance.[27]

References

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  1. ^ De La Hunt, Thomas James (April 16, 1922). "Some sprigs of Pennyrile". Messenger-Inquirer. p. 4.
  2. ^ "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Hancock County". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Search for Public Schools - Hancock County High School (210246000507)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  4. ^ "Hancock County High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Hancock County High School". Kentucky High School Athletic Association. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  6. ^ Bigham, Darrell (October 17, 2014). Towns and Villages of the Lower Ohio. University Press of Kentucky. p. 240. ISBN 978-0813157498.
  7. ^ de la Hunt, Thomas (1922-04-16). "Some Sprigs of "Pennyrile"". Messenger-Inquirer. p. 4. Retrieved 2022-03-23. In 1914 this stately old mansion passed forever out of the Trabue family into official hands, as the first Hancock county high school.
  8. ^ "Board purchases site for central high school". Messenger-Inquirer. October 6, 1957. p. 55. Retrieved March 22, 2022. and "Board purchases site for central high school (cont.)". Messenger-Inquirer. October 6, 1957. p. 55. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  9. ^ "Round of area construction news". The Paducah Sun. April 6, 1960. p. 8. Retrieved March 22, 2022. Bids will be opened April 12 on construction of the Hancock County High School at Hawes-ville, Ky. Plans are on file at the AGC office.
  10. ^ "Hawesville expecting big things from eagles". Messenger-Inquirer. November 11, 1960. Retrieved March 25, 2022. In 1961-62 the Eagles will combine with Lewisport to form Hancock County High School.
  11. ^ "New School is different". Evansville Courier and Press. 1973-07-29. p. 70. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  12. ^ "District facility plan" (PDF). Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  13. ^ Kelly, Brenna R. (September 2014). "Can we have a nickel? Hancock County students lobby school board for property tax increase to build new school". www.ksba.org. Kentucky School Advocate. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  14. ^ "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Hancock County High School". nces.ed.gov.
  15. ^ "Ginger Estes named high school principal". May 12, 2021. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  16. ^ Lawrence, Keith (May 27, 2017). "Hancock County graduates left our marks here". Messenger-Inquirer. p. B1. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  17. ^ Welsh, Angel. "Hancock County Hornets Win WBKR's High School Mascot Contest". WBKR. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  18. ^ "Hancock County High earns recognition". Messenger-Inquirer. 2021-09-28. pp. C1. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  19. ^ "Hancock County High School to assess students' testing ability". Messenger-Inquirer. 2018-01-29. pp. B1. Retrieved 2022-03-22. and "Testing (cont. from B1)". Messenger-Inquirer. 2018-01-29. pp. B3. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  20. ^ "Hancock Schools tops region in K-PREP scoring". The Hancock Clarion.
  21. ^ "HCHS starting military-style class next year". The Hancock Clarion. and Taylor, Dave (March 29, 2018). "HCHS starting military-style class next year". 1954.newstogo.us. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  22. ^ "Hancock County High students prepare for careers close to home". Messenger-Inquirer. 2018-02-25. pp. B1. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  23. ^ "Careers (cont. from B1)". Messenger-Inquirer. 2018-02-25. pp. B6. Retrieved 2022-03-25.
  24. ^ Messenger-Inquirer, JIM PICKENS. "Atwell fueled Hornets' big run in '99". Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer.
  25. ^ KHSAA. "Kentucky High School Athletic Association Girls Cross Country Champions" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  26. ^ "1998-99 Kentucky High School Athletic Association State Champions". khsaa.org.
  27. ^ "Band Roundup". Messenger-Inquirer. 2019-11-06. pp. D3. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
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36°32′36″N 83°11′54″W / 36.5433°N 83.1983°W / 36.5433; -83.1983