Kirby High School (Tennessee)

Kirby High School is a public high school in Memphis, Tennessee and is part of the Shelby County Schools. Kirby High School first opened in 1980, hosting students from grades 7 to 10, subtracting and adding grades until the first senior class graduated in 1983. The school is operated by Shelby County Schools.

Academics

Kirby offers two basic academic programs: the Standard Program and the Honors Program. To take courses in the latter program, students must achieve certain scores on standardized tests, maintain certain grades, and meet certain course requirements. Kirby is known for its high scores and achievements in the city and the state. Kirby is considered to be one of the top schools in the school system. Kirby is one of the few schools in the school system to constantly pass all required levels by the No Child Left Behind Act. Kirby High School achieved Adequate Yearly Progress, a United States metric defined by the federal No Child Left Behind Act, for the second year in a row.

Kirby High School also prides itself on having smaller learning communities. There are four communities or academies at the "New" Kirby High School: 9th Grade, SEA (Science Engineering and Agriculture), BHS (Business and Human Services), and AIM (Arts Information and Multimedia). All students start off in the 9th Grade Academy, but join the other academies based on their own personal interest and remain in them until they graduate. In 2014 they had the highest EOC Math Scores In Memphis.

Athletics

Kirby High School offers a variety of sports: baseball, basketball, bowling, football, cheerleading, softball, track and field, soccer, volleyball, wrestling, and dance.

• The 1984 Kirby boys basketball team won the TSSAA state championship and featured Dwight Boyd, future member of the 1985 Memphis State NCAA Final Four squad .
• The 1984 Kirby football team won the City/County Football Championship. The Cougars finishing undefeated in the regular season (10-0) and won the District 15AA and Regional 8AA title en route to the state quarterfinals. The Kirby football team also played in local postseason bowl games in 1982, 1983 and 1985.
• The 1988 Kirby baseball team won the District 14AAA title.
• The 1993 Kirby wrestling squad, led by state champion Michael Spencer and future two-time state champ Markese Nelson, came in third in the Class L state dual team tournament. The program also finished in the top eight in the state in 1992 (sixth), 1995 (eighth) and 1996 (fourth). Scott Nailen won a state title in 1990 at 125 pounds, and Nelson later placed sixth at the NHSCA Senior Nationals.
• Kymia Love won back-to-back 400-meter dash title from 1997–98 and later starred at the University of Notre Dame.
• The 1998 Kirby football team reached the Class 5A quarterfinals and finished 9-4.
• Andrea Fitzgerald (2000) and Jalesha Jarmon (2007) each won state championships in the triple jump. The school also claimed a title in the girls 400-meter relay in 2005.

Notable alumni

• Tim Van Horn, meteorologist for WMC-TV in Memphis
• Dwight Boyd, basketball player, member of the Memphis State Tigers' 1985 NCAA Final Four team and the 66th overall pick (third round) in the 1988 NBA Draft
• Matt Ryan, baseball player, University of Mississippi. Selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 25th round of the 1993 Major League Draft.
• Cary Hiles, baseball player. University of Memphis. Selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 23rd round of the 1998 Major League Draft.
• Reggie Howard, football player. Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins. Recovered from a broken neck suffered while at the University of Memphis to play seven seasons in the NFL.
• Wanda Halbert, Memphis City Councilwoman

External links

• Kirby High School
• Memphis City Schools
• Where are the '85 Tigers now?