| Thomas Jefferson High School | |
| Address: | 4001 West 102nd Street |
| Zipcode: | 55437 |
| Coordinates: | 44.8179°N -93.3313°W |
| Established: | 1970 |
| Head Name: | Principal |
| Head: | Mark Paulsen |
| Students: | 1,676 (2021-22)[1] |
| Teaching Staff: | 51.09 (FTE) |
| Ratio: | 32.80 |
| Nickname: | Jaguars |
| Colors: | Columbia Blue Silver White |
Thomas Jefferson High School, or simply Jefferson High School, is one of the two high schools in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States Independent School District No. 271. It is located at 102nd Street and France Avenue on the suburb's southwest side, and is part of the Bloomington Public Schools district.[2] About 1,600 students attend in grades 9 through 12. The mascot is a Jaguar.
Jefferson was named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the US Department of Education in 2009.[3]
Bloomington Jefferson is a member of the Metro West Conference in the Minnesota State High School League. The school had been a member of the Lake Conference from its opening until it left to become as a founding member of the new South Suburban Conference in 2010. The school then left the South Suburban Conference in 2014 to become as a founding member of the new Metro West Conference.
The 2000–2001 boys hockey team is the subject of the 2003 book Blades of Glory by John Rosengren.[4]
| Minnesota State High School League State Championships | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Sport | Number of Championships | Year |
| Fall | Competition Cheerleading, Girls | 4 | 2006, 2013, 2015, 2016 |
| Cross-Country Running, Girls | 1 | 1999 | |
| Soccer, Boys | 1 | 2004 | |
| Soccer, Girls | 3 | 1980, 1982, 1984 | |
| Tennis, Girls | 3 | 19 | |
| Basketball, Boys | 4 | 1976, 1982, 1986, 1987 | |
| 1 | 1994 | ||
| Hockey, Boys | 5 | 1981, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994 | |
| Hockey, Girls | 1 | 2001 | |
| Nordic Skiing, Boys | 2 | 1985, 1986 | |
| Swimming and Diving, Boys | 2 | 1980, 1994 | |
| Spring | Tennis, Boys | 3 | 1994, 1996, 1999 |
| Minnesota Boys Scholastic Lacrosse Association State Championships | |||
| Spring | Lacrosse, Boys | 2 | 2000, 2003 |
| Total | 39 | ||
Jefferson has three curricular choirs including concert choir, bel canto, and chorale with two extra curricular student led acapella groups. Jefferson has two competitive show choirs, the mixed varsity "Connection" and the prep junior varsity "Jive".[5] Along with choirs, the school has multiple band programs, including concert bands, marching bands, jazz ensembles, and orchestras.
The school has a band program consisting of four Concert Bands, two Jazz Bands, Pep Band, Show Bands, Drumline Club, and the Jaguar Marching Band. The Marching Band is nicknamed "The Original Pride of Minnesota," and has a rich history of success. With membership Peaking at 254 students in 1975, the Jefferson Marching Band has been the largest student organization in Bloomington Public Schools since 1982. The Jefferson Concert Bands have toured Canada, Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Mexico, England, Scotland, Japan, the Dominican Republic, Norway, Ireland, Costa Rica, Italy, Austria, Germany, Lichtenstein, Puerto Rico, and Greece.
Thomas Jefferson High School in Bloomington was constructed to support a new curriculum offering. This curriculum used a Modular Scheduling approach to scheduling, based loosely on a lecture attendance and test attendance policy. Students were required to attend a certain number of class lectures a week, as well as test-times.
This approach called for a number of large 'lecture hall' type rooms, which could be subdivided if necessary.
The 'mod' approach was cancelled, beginning with the 1979–1980 school year, leaving a school ill-constructed for a more traditional subject-based classroom. In response, many of the large rooms were repartitioned into smaller class-rooms with thin, somewhat flexible walls. These walls did not block noise well, but created a perception of smaller classrooms, and were in use at least until the late 1990s.
Many of the teachers who came to Jefferson on its inception to be part of the new curriculum stayed on as it transitioned to a more traditional approach.
In 2011–2012 Jefferson switched from a traditional block schedule to a new 6 period schedule on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and 3 periods on Wednesday, and Thursday. This new schedule offers students the opportunity to take early bird classes that commence before school starts, 6:50–7:41.[17]
In the 2014–2015 school year, the school inserted five weeks of a modified block schedule called "Superblock." On Mondays and Tuesdays, students have 3 periods a day, each being two hours long. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, students still have 3 periods, but they are only an hour-and-a-half long and students are released early on these days. Friday follows the normal 6 period day. This schedule is used to accommodate state-mandated testing, such as the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) and MAP exams.[18] [19]