Pell City High School
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Pell City High School is the only high school serving the Pell City School system. The school has approx. 1,100 students in grades 9-12 and just recently finished adding on a million dollar multi-purpose building. The school offers an advanced diploma track that allows students to take honors classes in math, and the sciences, and honors or AP classes in English, Chemistry, and History. Generally however the school is not considered on par academically with some of the larger Birmingham area schools such as Hoover High School and Mountain Brook High School.
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[edit] Sports
The Pell City School colors are black and Vegas gold and their mascot is a Black Panther. The Panthers participate in 6A level sports and are one of the smallest schools in the division. Despite this, their football team has continually advanced to the playoffs for 5 years in a row under head coach and athletic director Jay Brown. The Panthers also field teams in men's and woman's tennis, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's and women's golf, outdoor track, cross country, and women's volleyball.
[edit] Clubs
Pell City High School offers many after and during school clubs. First Priority, FFA, Pelmel yearbook staff, and the school newspaper called the "Panther Paw" are four popular clubs. In addition the School offers National Beta Club, Key Club, S.A.D.D (Students against Destructive Decisions) and many more. The band, the "Marching Band of Gold" regularly competes on the state band circuit, regularly bringing home honors. A Showchoir and Concert Choir are also offered.
[edit] Overcrowding
The school is overcrowded with 1,000 + students in a facility designed to hold 900. There is no place to expand in the area without evicting local residents which was the case with the new Multi-Purpose facility. In addition parking is a problem. The school is not in an area easily accessible by foot and Pell City lacks a public transportation system. In addition many students live up to 10 or 20 miles away, making for school bus rides that can last for hours. All this means that when students turn 16 they almost universally elect to drive to school. This has created a major parking problem forcing many students to park in the "gravel pit." Finally there are many criticisms of the new multi-purpose building. It was built at great expense with no student or parent input. The building, despite looking enormous, is actually too small for the entire student body to gather in as was originally intended. This is due to the use of open space, wide hallways, and a massive lobby with vaulted ceilings. In addition, the lack of class room space in the main building means that many of the rooms that were intended to be offices for athletic and administration officials are likely to be converted to small classrooms creating more problems of cramped teaching spaces and very long walks to class across a public street. A large advanced theater is also in the building despite Pell City High not having a drama or theater department at this time.
