Nashville High School (Arkansas)

Nashville High School is a comprehensive public high school located in Nashville, Arkansas, United States. The school provides secondary education in grades 10 through 12 for students in the Nashville and the surrounding unincorporated communities of Howard County, Arkansas. It is one of five public high schools in Howard County and the only senior high school administered by the Nashville School District, with Nashville Junior High School as its main feeder school.

Academics

Nashville High School is a Title I school that is accredited by the ADE, and has been accredited by AdvancED since 1961.^[4][5]

In 2012, Nashville High School was listed unranked in the Best High Schools Report developed by U.S. News & World Report.^[3]

Curriculum

The assumed course of study follows the Smart Core curriculum developed by the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), which requires students complete at least 22 units prior to graduation. Students complete regular coursework and exams and may take Advanced Placement (AP) courses and exam with the opportunity to receive college credit.

Extracurricular activities

The Nashville High School mascot is the Scrapper with orange and black serving as the school colors.

Athletics

The Nashville Scrappers compete in interscholastic activities within Class 4A administered by the Arkansas Activities Association. The Scrappers play within the 4A-7 Conference. Nashville fields varsity teams in football, basketball (boys/girls), cheer, baseball, fastpitch softball, track and field (boys/girls), tennis (boys/girls), golf (boys/girls), and soccer (boys/girls). ^[2]

Football

The Nashville Scrappers football team is one of the top 30 winningest high school football programs in the country (3rd winningest in Arkansas), winning over 750 games since the program's creation in 1910. The Scrappers have won 5 state championships as recognized by the Arkansas Activities Association (1996, 2005-07, 2015), and claim 4 others as distinguished by statewide newspaper rankings in the pre-playoff era (1941-42, 1955, 1967). The Scrappers won three consecutive state championships (2005, 2006, 2007) and carried a 33-game winning streak from 2004-07. The record-setting 1996 championship football squad went 15-0, scored 97 touchdowns, 77 extra points, and gained 7,052 in total yards that season; receiver Greg Washington amassed a state-record 27 touchdowns and 2,321 yards. In 2015, first-year head coach Mike Volarvich led the Scrappers to another state title, equaling the 1996 team by amassing a perfect 15-0 record, and breaking numerous school records. ^[6]

Baseball and softball

The Scrappers baseball teams are one of the state's most successful with 26 state tournament appearances and one state championship in 2007. The fastpitch softball team has won three state titles (2010, 2012-13), while the 1999 slowpitch softball team holds the state-record with 34 wins in a season; slowpitch is no longer played.^[6]

Track and field

The Scrappers girls track and field teams have distinguished themselves with 10 state championships (tied for the state's most successful team), including six consecutive titles (1999–2001, 2003, 2007–12), while the boys track teams have won 6 state titles between 1982 and 2010, including consecutive titles from 1999-2001.^[6]

Other sports

The Scrappers have experienced success in other sports as well. The boys golf team won a state title in 2004. The girls tennis team won a state title in 2012. The cheer squad won a state title in 2013. In 2016, Nashville adopted soccer for boys and girls as a varsity sport.

Clubs and traditions

Students may also engage in a variety of clubs and organizations such as: Beta Club, Future Farmers of America (FFA), FCCLA, Student Council, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Student Council and Quiz Bowl.^[2]

History

In 1883, Nashville became a town and continued to grow due to the Nashville expansion of a branch of the A & L Railroad in 1884. With such growth, the first public school system in Nashville was formed in the 1880s and a frame schoolhouse was built. The original schoolhouse remained in use until a fire destroyed the structure in 1931. A new school building was constructed in 1932.^[7] By the 1940s, Nashville High School needed a gymnasium to hold local sporting and entertainment events.

Garrett Whiteside Hall

Garrett Whiteside Hall
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Show map of Arkansas Show map of the US
Location	junction of North Third Ave., and Lockesburg St., SW corner, Nashville, Arkansas
Coordinates	33°57′1″N 93°50′59″W / 33.95028°N 93.84972°W / 33.95028; -93.84972
Area	less than one acre
Built	1940 (1940)
Architect	Unknown
Architectural style	20th-Century Plain
NRHP Reference #	94001340[8]
Added to NRHP	21 November 1994

In 1940, the Garrett Whiteside Hall gymnasium was built by the National Youth Administration (NYA) and remains as the last school building of this period to survive in Nashville. The gymnasium is a representative example of the restrained, functional architectural style preferred by public works agencies during the Great Depression. Constructed using locally-available building material and exhibiting symmetrical massing and composition, the inclusion of a unique rounded roof makes the structure distinctive. The structure is so named for Nashville-native Garrett Whiteside, who served as secretary for multiple congressman and senators from Arkansas.

When completed in the fall for the 1940–41 school year, the Garrett Whiteside Hall gymnasium had a seating capacity of 800 for basketball games and over 2,000 people could attend school plays and graduations using floor seating. Since the construction of the new high school and gymnasium, Garrett Whiteside Hall continues to serve as a practice gym for the school district.

Notable people

The following are notable people associated with Nashville High School. If the person was an Nashville High School student, the number in parentheses indicates the year of graduation; if the person was a faculty or staff member, that person's title and years of association are included:

• Bobby Harwell (1949)—American actor and producer.
• Neil Reeves (1996)—World Renowned Magic: The Gathering player, Professional Poker Player.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Howard County, Arkansas

References

External links

• Official website
• Scrapper Star - Student newspaper for Nashville High School