Challenger Early College High School

Challenger High School
Address
2550 Highway 70 SE Hickory, North Carolina 28602 United States
Coordinates	35°41′57″N 81°17′15″W
Information
School type	Public
Motto	Building College-Ready Lifelong Learners
Established	2005 (20 years ago) (2005)
Status	Open
School district	Catawba County Schools
CEEB code	340612
NCES School ID	370069002753[2]
Principal	Dr. Rene Spry
Staff	28.28 (FTE)[1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	394 (2019-20)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	28.28[1]
Color(s)	Purple and silver
Athletics conference	Western Piedmont Athletic Conference
Mascot	Phoenix
Nickname	Firebirds
Accreditation	AdvancED
USNWR ranking	4,273
College Liaison	Meredith Lerm
Website	challenger.catawbaschools.net

Challenger Early College High School is a public secondary school in Hickory, North Carolina, United States on the campus of Catawba Valley Community College. Challenger Early College High School is ranked the top high school in Catawba County Schools.^[3]

History

Challenger Early College High School was established in August 2005 as a joint project of the Catawba Valley Education Consortium, including Catawba County Schools, Alexander County Schools, Hickory City Schools, Newton-Conover City Schools, and Catawba Valley Community College.^[4]

Applying to Challenger

At the end of 8th grade, about 300 students from Catawba County apply to Challenger Early College High School. From the pool of students that apply, one-hundred students are accepted with consideration to level of education attained by their parents, family socio-economic status, ethnicity population at national and state universities, single-parent home status, teacher recommendations for success in an accelerated program.^[4]

Learning programs

In an effort to fulfill the vision of Challenger Early College High School, multiple programs are incarnated into the learning environment to ensure that students are prepared for college, careers, and life in the 21st century.

Habits of Mind

As of August 2012, Challenger Early College High School adopted the Habits of Mind Program. The Habits of Mind include sixteen habits that students are expected to regularly be working on.

NCNSP Common Instructional Framework

Challenger Early College High School follows the NCNSP Common Instructional Framework, which uses skills such as collaborative group work, classroom talk, scaffolding, questioning, literacy groups, and the process of writing to learn.^[5]

Extracurricular activities

Performing arts

Challenger Early College High School offers multiple performing arts programs.

• Concert Band
• Chorus
• Honors Chorus
• Drama Club
• Modern Raza
• Traditional Raza
• Kpop Dance
• Hmong Dance

Sports

Multiple sports are carried out at Challenger Early College High School throughout the school year.^[6]

Fall sports

• Men's Varsity Soccer
• Varsity Volleyball
• Jr. Varsity Volleyball

Winter sports

• Varsity Men's Basketball
• Varsity Women's Basketball
• Varsity Cheerleading

Spring sports

• Varsity Baseball
• Varsity Softball
• Women's Varsity Soccer

Clubs

• Drama Club
• Debate Club
• Anime Club
• Chick-fil-A Leadership Academy
• STEM Club
• Interact Club
• Beta Club
• TV Production
• Yearbook Committee
• Student Government Association (SGA)
• Journalism Club
• Chess Club
• Fellowship of Christian Students (FCS)
• Art Club
• True Crime Club
• Korean Club
• SkillsUSA
• The Black Experience
• Poetry and Flowers
• Prom Committee
• Gay Straight Alliance (GSA)
• Battle of the Books
• Esports
• Juntos (4-H)

Graduation requirements

Besides the normal class requirements, Challenger Early College High School students are also expected to do fifty hours of community service. They are also expected to present an ePortfolio that showcases their high-school learning career and the skills they developed to a panel of community evaluators. As a parent-involvement program, parents are required to attend at least five meetings and volunteer four hours every year.^[4]

References

1. "Challenger Early College High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
2. "Search for Public Schools - Challenger Early College High School (370069002753)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
3. "School US News Profile, Challenger Early College High School". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
4. "School Profile, Challenger Early College High School" (PDF). Catawba County Schools. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
5. "NCNSP Common Instructional Framework". North Carolina New Schools. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
6. "Athletics, Challenger Early College High School". Catawba County Schools. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2012.