Pioneer High School (Ann Arbor, Michigan) Explained

Pioneer High School
Motto:Home of Purple Pride
Coordinates:42.2625°N -83.755°W
Established:October 5, 1856
Grades:9–12
Streetaddress:601 West Stadium Boulevard
Zipcode:48103
Country:United States
Principal:Desmond G. Smith
Students:1,700 (2022-23)[1]
Teaching Staff:103.90 (FTE)
Ratio:16.36
Colors:Purple & white
Mascot:Woody the Pioneer
Year:2021–22
M-Step Advanced:28.3 / 32.4
M-Step Proficient:22.4 / 39.2
M-Step Pr Proficient:14.3 / 23.9
M-Step Not Proficient:35.0 / 4.5
Sat Total:1153.4
Sat Total Change:-45.5
Ref:[2]

Pioneer High School is a public high school in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1856, the school was previously called the Union School and Ann Arbor High School. In 2010, Pioneer was listed as a "Silver Medal School" by the U.S. News & World Report.[3]

For years, Pioneer and cross-town Huron High School were among the largest high schools in the state of Michigan due to overcrowding that was eased with the construction and opening of Skyline High School in 2008.[4]

History

Founded in 1857, Pioneer High School has held several names and occupied various buildings. First known as the Union School, the institution opened on October 5, 1856. The school was later renamed Ann Arbor High School, and its yearbook, The Omega, was first published in 1884. In 1904, Ann Arbor High School burned down, and the rebuilt high school opened in 1906 at the corner of Huron and State Streets in Ann Arbor. This structure was later known as the Frieze Building after it was sold to the University of Michigan in 1956; it was demolished by the university in early 2007 to make way for the new North Quad residence hall.[5] Through a local essay contest run by The Ann Arbor News, the mascot nickname, the Pioneers, was chosen in 1936.

Land for a new, larger building was purchased from the University of Michigan in 1950. The new site, on West Stadium Blvd west of South Main Street, is directly southwest of the University of Michigan Football Stadium and had been used for game day parking, a tradition that continues under school district ownership. Construction of the new Ann Arbor High School building started in 1953 and was completed in time for all classes to move the new location for the fall of 1956.[6] [7] By the 1960s, the new building had already reached capacity, and thus the school board established Huron High School on the city's east side as the city's second comprehensive high school. The old school was renamed to Pioneer High School starting in 1968.[8] Huron began operating as a separate school during the 1968–69 school year, before Huron's building was completed, so students from the old and new schools shared the Pioneer building that year on a split schedule with Pioneer students attending classes in the morning and Huron students in the afternoon.

In 1971, Pioneer II, an experimental offshoot of Pioneer High School, was established. The school utilized a small, self-selected group of Pioneer faculty and students working under "free-school" principles, and eventually became Earthworks High School before merging with Community High School in 1978.[9]

Pioneer High School was the first high school in the US to have a planetarium, which was donated to the school in 1956 by the Argus Camera Company.[10], it held the record for being the longest continuously run planetarium in a school in the western hemisphere.[11]

As of July 2023, the principal is Desmond G. Smith.[12]

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Highlights

21 state championships, including five straight from 2005 to 2009.[14]

Football

Pioneer has won two MHSAA State Championships (in 1984 and 1987) and 43 league titles; they currently compete in the Southeastern Conference Red Division. Historically, the Pioneers are one of top high school football programs in the state with 737 victories, second all-time behind Muskegon (as of the 2019 season).[15] [16]

Theater

The Pioneer Theatre Guild won Class A State Championships in 1986 when they performed William Saroyan's Hello Out There, and again in 1988 when they performed Sam Shephard's Fool For Love. In the fall of 2006, the Pioneer Theatre Guild was the first high school theater company to do a stage production of Disney's High School Musical, Willy Wonka, and Miss Saigon. Pioneer Theatre Guild was chosen to perform several "musical pilots" by Musical Theatre International, including The Little Mermaid (2015), Rock of Ages (2016), and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (2016). Pioneer Theatre Guild has put on several popular productions including Les Misérables, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors, Romeo and Juliet, Hair, The Wizard of Oz, Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Urinetown. In both 2009 and 2010 Pioneer Theatre Guild placed second in the Michigan Interscholastic Forensic Association's theater competition.[17]

Music

Pioneer has three separate music departments: band, choir, and orchestra. Pioneer's band is split into four different classes, of increasing difficulty. It has a varsity band, two concert bands(concert band white and concert band purple, the latter being higher level), and symphony band. Any students wishing to do band can be accepted to varsity band without an audition. Students wishing to move to a higher level band must audition. Pioneer also offers a jazz band.[18]

Pioneer's orchestra program's hierarchy is similar to that of the band program. The hierarchy is philharmonic orchestra, two concert orchestras (concert white and concert purple, the latter being the step above), and symphony orchestra. Philharmonic orchestra is offered to anyone wishing to join orchestra. Students audition to get seats in the higher level orchestras.[19]

Pioneer's robust choral program include introductory-level choruses, Cantando (for Soprano and Alto voices) and Cantare (for Tenor, Baritone, and Bass voices). Beyond the introductory level, there is Bel Canto (for intermediate level treble voices) and A Cappella (for advanced students of all voice parts).[20]

Pioneer's music program won its eighth Grammy Award from the Grammy Foundation in 2015,[21] an award which goes to the best High School music programs in the United States each year.

Notable alumni

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Pioneer High School. National Center for Education Statistics. July 15, 2024.
  2. Web site: MI School Data Annual Education Report. MI School Data. 2023-01-10.
  3. Web site: Pioneer High School in ANN ARBOR, MI - Best High Schools - US News. rankingsandreviews.com. July 3, 2015.
  4. http://www.mhsaa.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=lxpD75plRn0%3D&tabid=571
  5. Web site: Regents approve request for site preparation for North Quad. umich.edu. September 22, 2006. July 3, 2015.
  6. Web site: The History of Ann Arbor Pioneer High School . October 7, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201007050931/https://www.a2schools.org/Page/1206 . October 7, 2020 .
  7. Web site: Ann Arbor Pioneer High School: history . aaps.k12.mi.us . July 3, 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235352/http://pioneer2.aaps.k12.mi.us/admin/history.html . March 3, 2016 .
  8. Web site: Students: School History . April 8, 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100207185633/http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/pioneer.students/school_history . February 7, 2010 . dead .
  9. Sharon Woodson, "'Free school' stresses 'learning' rather than 'teaching'", Ann Arbor News, September 19, 1971; Sharon Woodson, "Pioneer II: a close-up look at what goes on", Ann Arbor News, January 17, 1972.
  10. News: Pioneer's Argus Planetarium needs donor for $80,000 in critical upgrades . Miller . Janet . December 2, 2011 . The Ann Arbor News . March 8, 2014.
  11. News: $100,000 donor steps forward to save Ann Arbor Pioneer's Argus Planetarium . Arndt . Danielle . October 24, 2012 . The Ann Arbor News . March 8, 2014.
  12. Web site: July 18, 2023 - New Principal of Pioneer High School . 2023-10-02 . www.a2schools.org . en.
  13. Web site: More than just a coach: The story of Pioneer High School's Bryan Westfield. USA Today High School Sports. July 24, 2015. 2015-10-20.
  14. Web site: Ann Arbor Pioneer defeats Ann Arbor Huron 2-0 for fifth consecutive field hockey state title. mlive.com. July 3, 2015.
  15. Web site: Team Records. mhsaa.com. July 3, 2015.
  16. Web site: Ann Arbor Pioneer Pioneers Historical Michigan High School Football Scores Since 1950. michigan-football.com. July 3, 2015.
  17. Web site: Pioneer High School Theatre Guild. aaps.k12.mi.us. July 3, 2015.
  18. Web site: Home. www.aapioneerbands.org. 2020-05-04.
  19. Web site: Pioneer High School Orchestras. Pioneer High School Orchestras. en-US. 2020-05-04.
  20. Web site: PioneerChoirs. sites.google.com. 2020-05-04.
  21. Web site: AAPS: Pioneer High School: Performing Arts . April 1, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060407225928/http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/pioneer.home/performing_arts . April 7, 2006 . dead .
  22. Web site: Ron Asheton. nndb.com. July 3, 2015.
  23. Web site: Death claims drummer Scott Asheton, influential punk rock pioneer and former Ann Arborite. MLive.com. March 17, 2014. July 3, 2015.
  24. Web site: Scott Asheton. nndb.com. July 3, 2015.
  25. News: Ann Arbor native wins Nobel Prize for developing new high-powered microscope.
  26. Web site: Keith Bostic . December 27, 2007 . databaseSports.com . databaseFootball.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070209023846/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BOSTIKEI01 . February 9, 2007 .
  27. Book: Ann Arbor Film Festival. 2007. 4.
  28. Web site: Home » Steeplechase Films . Ricburns.com . June 29, 2013.
  29. '99 . The Michigan Alumnus . 1914 . 230 . 20 July 2024 . Alumni Association of the University of Michigan. . en.
  30. Web site: Ian Cole Bio :: Notre Dame Ice Hockey :: UND.COM :: The Official Site of Notre Dame Athletics. June 19, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20180707010534/http://www.und.com/sports/m-hockey/mtt/cole_ian00.html. July 7, 2018. dead.
  31. Web site: Ken Dyer . Pro Football Encyclopedia . November 1, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141129024735/http://www.profootballarchives.com/dyer00400.html . November 29, 2014 . mdy-all .
  32. Web site: Records: Bob Elliott . Ann Arbor Pioneer Athletics . . February 21, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120206222202/http://www.aaps.k12.mi.us/pioneer.ath_records/bob_elliott . February 6, 2012 .
  33. Web site: LI juniors part of Team USA's world championship.
  34. Web site: Ann Arbor's 'The Good Wife' star Zach Grenier leads all-star cast in local 'Ajax' and 'Philoctetes' reading. AnnArbor.com. July 3, 2015.
  35. Book: A history of Ann Arbor. Jonathan Marwil. University of Michigan Press. 1987. 34.
  36. News: Battista. Judy. The Harbaughs' Sibling Rivalry. January 11, 2012. New York Times. November 23, 2011.
  37. News: 'Genius' Grant For Founder Of Magazine . The New York Times . Anise C. . Wallace . July 24, 1989.
  38. Web site: PTSO Newsletter . Ann Arbor Pioneer High School . January 2004 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080116182445/http://pioneer.aaps.k12.mi.us/ptso/jan04.html . January 16, 2008 .
  39. Web site: Pioneer grad Kara Lynn Joyce is 50 meters from 1st individual Olympic medal. AnnArbor.com. July 3, 2015.
  40. Web site: Penguins win Stanley Cup, defeat Sharks in Game 6 . . June 12, 2016 . June 13, 2016 . Gilmore, Eric.
  41. Web site: Bruce Kimball Drove to Fame but Dove to Tragedy : People.com.
  42. http://annarboralumni.org/?sitePage=custom&pageURL=school_files/annarboralumni/pages/notable_alumni.html Ann Arbor Public Schools Alumni
  43. Web site: Jack Robert Lousma . NASA . February 1999 .
  44. http://music.msu.edu/faculty/profile/randy1 Michigan State University bio
  45. Web site: Louis Smith gets a well-deserved tribute from jazz students.
  46. Web site: Pioneer High and U-M grad Ashley Park will have a key role in Broadway revival of 'The King and I'. February 10, 2015. MLive. May 5, 2020.
  47. Web site: Ann Arbor's Zack Pearlman to appear on 'Workaholics' and 'Community' . AnnArbor.com . October 12, 2019.
  48. Book: Iggy Pop: Open Up and Bleed. Paul Trynka. Random House Digital. December 7, 2011. 37.
  49. Web site: Zach Putnam. baseball-reference.com.
  50. Web site: 2014 U.S. Olympic Team Media Guide. July 14, 2014.
  51. Web site: Ann Arbor Public Schools Alumni . Alumni Channel . August 1, 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161013073950/http://annarboralumni.org/?sitePage=custom&pageURL=school_files%2Fannarboralumni%2Fpages%2Fnotable_alumni.html . October 13, 2016 . dead .
  52. Web site: Bob Seger reflects on growing up in Ann Arbor, looks forward to concert at EMU. AnnArbor.com. July 3, 2015.
  53. Web site: Brian Michael on Breaking Barriers For Trans Male Actors and His "Queen Sugar" Role. October 7, 2014.
  54. Web site: STAEBLER, Neil Oliver - Biographical Information. bioguide.congress.gov.
  55. Web site: Frank Vatrano. teamusa.usahockey.com. February 11, 2018.
  56. Book: Weller, Thomas Huckle . Growing Pathogens in Tissue Cultures: Fifty Years in Academic Tropical Medicine, Pediatrics, and Virology . Boston Medical Library . 2004 . 15. 9780881353808 .
  57. Web site: Jason Zucker - Denver Pioneers Official Athletics Site. https://web.archive.org/web/20120326131109/http://www.denverpioneers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=18600&ATCLID=204969571. March 26, 2012. March 26, 2012.

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