Muriel Williams Battle High School (commonly known as Battle) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in Columbia,

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, United States. It opened for summer school on June 3, 2013, and began its first school year in August 2013. The school serves students in

grades Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...

9– 12, although seniors did not attend the first year of operation. It is one of four public high schools in the

Columbia Public Schools Columbia 93 School District, also known as the Columbia Public School District, is located in Columbia, Missouri, Columbia, Boone County, Missouri. The district is Accredited with Distinction by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secon ...

district.

History

Columbia's population growth was well over 20% between the 2000 and 2010 censuses. Due to this rapid growth, the city passed a $120 million bond issue in April 2010, partially to fund a new high school. The school was named in honor of Dr. Muriel Battle, the first

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

principal for

who helped end

racial segregation Racial segregation is the separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, ...

for the school district. A committee discussed whether to name the school after Dr Battle and her husband, but her husband requested that his name not to be added. There were also guidelines discouraging naming places after living people. The name for the school was approved on November 2010. The school officially opened its doors for

summer school Summer school (or summer university) is a school, or a program generally sponsored by a school or a school district, or provided by a private company, that provides lessons and activities during the summer vacation. Participation in summer school ...

on June 3, 2013 to 475 students.

Athletics

The following sports are offered to students at Battle: * Baseball (boys, spring season) * Basketball (boys and girls, winter season) * Cross country (boys and girls, fall season) * Cheerleading (boys and girls) * Football (11-man) * Golf (boys and girls, spring season) * Softball (girls, fall season) * Soccer (boys and girls, fall/spring season) * Swimming & diving (boys and girls, winter season) * Tennis (boys and girls, fall/spring season) * Track & field (boys and girls, spring season) * Volleyball (boys and girls, fall season) * Wrestling (boys and girls, winter season) * Stunt (girls)

Performing arts

Battle has four

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

s. The mixed-gender "Battalion" functions as both a concert choir and a competitive

show choir A show choir (previously known as a "swing choir") is a Ensemble (musical theatre), musical ensemble that combines choral singing with choreographed dance, often integrated into a narrative story or overarching theme. Origin Show choirs have been ...

. "Apollo" is a concert choir for tenor/bass voices, and "Siren Sound" and "Voices of Sparta" are concert treble choirs. The program also hosts its own competition every year, BattleFest.

References

External links

* {{authority control High schools in Columbia, Missouri High schools in Boone County, Missouri Public high schools in Missouri Educational institutions established in 2013 2013 establishments in Missouri