North Mecklenburg High School is a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Huntersville, North Carolina Huntersville is a large suburban town in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. A part of the Charlotte metropolitan area, the population was 61,376 at the 2020 census, making Huntersville the 15th largest municipality in North Carol ...

. The school mascot is the

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

, and the school colors are royal blue, red, and white. Founded in 1951, the school was integrated during the 1960s. The principal is Stephanie Hood.

History

North Mecklenburg High School first opened its doors to students on September 4, 1951. Many of North Meck's first expansions occurred in 1957, with the addition of the H-hall to meet the needs of the growing student population. During the 1960s, North's curriculum expanded to include instruction in Art, Orchestra, Drama, Spanish, Child Care, Auto Mechanics and ROTC.

Desegregation Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

began at North Meck during the 1965–1966 school year. By 1969, the school had been fully integrated. During the early 1970s, North Meck's student population had reached around 1100 students. By the 2000–2001 school year, North Meck had grown into the largest high school in the state, with over 2700 students. To help alleviate with the growing student body, the school added more buildings and mobile classrooms. In the fall of 2001, Hopewell High School opened its doors to help with the needs of the growing Huntersville community.

Curriculum

North Mecklenburg High School offers a comprehensive program including

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...

, which is the most rigorous program at North Meck,

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

, Academically Gifted, and advanced classes,

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwor ...

programs, Air Force JROTC, and a variety of

workforce The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic reg ...

development courses. The school serves as a World Language Magnet High School for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. The school has one of two auto tech courses in North Carolina. Eighty-six percent of graduates attend four-year colleges, universities, or junior colleges.

Extracurricular activities

Sports

North Mecklenburg is a 4A school that is a part of the

North Carolina High School Athletic Association The North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) is the governing organization of high school athletics in North Carolina, United States. The association maintains the official rule books and governs the officiating standards across ...

(NCHSAA), and competes in the MecKa Conference. The conference consists of Charlotte/Mecklenburg County Schools.

Speech and Debate team

The Speech and Debate team, a member of the

National Speech and Debate Association The National Speech and Debate Association is an American student debating society. It was established in 1925 as the National Forensic League; the name was changed in 2014. It is one of four major national organizations that direct high schoo ...

, is active in both North and South Carolina, as well as in the national circuit. The team hosts the annual "The Jimmy K Poole Viking Classic" each October. They have coached several students who went onto be ranked number 1 nationwide in their events, and several National Semi-finalists, Finalists, and Champions.

Notable alumni

Duggar Baucom Robert Franklin "Duggar" Baucom (born September 21, 1960) is an American college basketball coach, most recently the head men's basketball coach at The Citadel. Baucom was hired as the Citadel's head coach following the 2014–15 season. He was p ...

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

head coach * Christopher O. Barnes, chemist and Professor at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...

* Jeff Hammond,

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

personality and commentator *

Larry Hefner Larry Hefner is a former linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). Biography Hefner was born Larry Douglas Hefner on August 2, 1949 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He attended North Mecklenburg High School in Huntersville, North Carolina ...

, NFL

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the t ...

1972–1975 *

Melvin Hoover Melvin Hoover (born September 21, 1959) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL). Early life and high school Hoover was born and grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina and attended North Meckle ...

, former NFL wide receiver * Robert Jackson, NFL

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative (Netherlands), Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that ...

with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conferenc ...

1975–1985 *

DeMarco Johnson DeMarco Antonio Johnson (born October 6, 1975) is an American retired professional basketball player and former assistant basketball coach at Hampton University. Early life Johnson graduated from North Mecklenburg High School in 1993. He was an a ...

, professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player * Bishop Eddie L. Long, served as senior

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

New Birth Missionary Baptist Church New Birth Missionary Baptist Church is a megachurch in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, near Lithonia. It has embraced a Pentecostal theology not typically found in African-American Baptist churches. History The church was founded in 1 ...

Lithonia, Georgia Lithonia (, ; AAVE: ) is a city in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The city's population was 2,662 at the 2020 census. Lithonia is in the Atlanta metropolitan area. "Lithonia" means "city/town of stone". Lithonia is in the heart ...

* Alyssa Ramsey,

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who played for the United States women's national team * Ryder Ryan,

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

in the Texas Rangers organization, member of USA 2020 Olympic baseball team *

Jamie Skeen Jamie O'Brien Skeen (born May 2, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for Leuven Bears of the Pro Basketball League. College career Between 2006 and 2008, Skeen played college basketball for Wake Forest. Skeen was declared inelig ...

, professional basketball player *

Andrea Stinson Andrea Stinson (born November 25, 1967) is a retired professional basketball player from the United States, playing from 1998 to 2005 for the Charlotte Sting and the Detroit Shock. Early life Andrea went to North Mecklenburg High School in Hunt ...

, three-time WNBA All-Star with the

Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007. The Sting was originally the sister organization of ...

* Tony Wike, actor, radio personality and journalist * Scott Williams, former NFL fullback and

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

References

External links

Official school website
{{authority control Public high schools in North Carolina International Baccalaureate schools in North Carolina Schools in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina 1951 establishments in North Carolina Educational institutions established in 1951