Tupelo High School Explained

Tupelo High School
Location:	4125 Golden Wave Drive Tupelo, Mississippi 38801
District:	Tupelo Public School District
Country:	United States
Coordinates:	34.232°N -88.764°W
Principal:	Melissa Thomas
Faculty:	131.15 (on FTE basis)^[1]
Ratio:	15.26
Type:	Public
Grades:	9 to 12
Gender:	Co-ed
Accreditation:	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools^[2]
Mascot:	Golden Wave
Yearbook:	The Album
Newspaper:	The Hi-Times^[3]
Established:	1914
Enrollment:	2,001
Enrollment As Of:	202223

Tupelo High School is the only public high school in Tupelo, Mississippi. The campus consists of fourteen buildings, including a Performing Arts Center, separate buildings for social studies, English, math, sciences, fine arts, and a self-contained grade-9 building.

The current student population of the school is around 2,000 students. As of 2014–2015, it is the largest enrolled public high school in the state of Mississippi. The class of 2015 consisted of 438 graduates. The school offers a curriculum containing 160 Carnegie units, 24 of which are Advanced Placement.

Tupelo High School is a two-time National Blue Ribbon School award winner, having won the award in 1983-1984 and another in 1999–2000.^[4]

The school's boundary includes the vast majority of Tupelo and a portion of Saltillo.^[5]

History

Until 1971 and desegregation, Black students in Tupelo attended Lee County Training School and then Carver High School. The segregated schools alternated nights using Robins Field for football games.^[6]

Demographics

In 2023, the student body was about 49 percent Black, 36 percent White, and 8 percent Hispanic. Of the student body, 100 percent are categorized as economically disadvantaged.^[7]

Student life

As of 2022- 2023, Tupelo High School offers extracurricular activities, including football, slowpitch and fastpitch softball, cross country, volleyball, swimming, basketball, soccer, bowling, archery, baseball, wrestling, golf, tennis, cheer, and track and field. In addition to athletics, the school offers other clubs, such as theatre, a school newspaper, arts, and mock trials.

Notable alumni

• Chad Bumphis, professional football player^[8]
• Alex Carrington, professional football player ^[9]
• Russell Copeland, professional football player ^[10]
• Frank Dowsing, first black football player at both THS and Mississippi State^[11]
• John Dye, actor^[12]
• Deandre' Eiland, professional football player ^[13]
• Mikky Ekko, singer-songwriter
• Adam Grace, musician
• Jarious Jackson, professional football player^[14]
• Jett Johnson, college football linebacker for the Mississippi State Bulldogs^[15]
• Todd Jordan, professional football player and Tupelo mayor
• Ken Kirk, professional football player ^[16]
• Rae Sremmurd, hip-hop duo
• Chris Stratton, professional baseball player
• Tan White, professional basketball player^[17]
• Tamika Whitmore, retired professional basketball player^[18]

External links

• Tupelo High School home page. Tupelo High School on 2008–02–06.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Tupelo High School . . April 21, 2024.
2. Web site: SACS CASI Accredited Schools . . January 15, 2008 . 2008-02-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080127074055/http://www.sacscasi.org/schools/Proceedings_Accredited_SACS_CASI_MS.html . 2008-01-27.
3. Web site: About – THS Current . 22 June 2019.
4. Web site: Blue Ribbon Schools. PDF. United States Department of Education Program- Schools Recognized 1982-1983 through 199-2002 .
5. Web site: 2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Lee County, MS. U.S. Census Bureau. 2022-07-31. - Text list
6. News: Dozens celeberate [sic] George Washington Carver school reunion ]. 4 November 2018 . 7 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180813140337/https://www.wtva.com/content/news/dozens-celeberate-george-washington-carver-school-reunion-487579241.html. August 13, 2018.
7. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/mississippi/districts/tupelo-public-school-district/tupelo-high-school-11438
8. Web site: Chad Bumphis . 21 February 2014 . National Football League.
9. Web site: Alex Carrington . 21 February 2014 . National Football League.
10. Web site: Russell Copeland . 3 June 2023 . National Football League.
11. News: Maraniss . Andrew . Frank Dowsing, Mississippi State’s first black football player, is almost unknown today . 24 July 2018 . 31 August 2017.
12. News: Movies: Biography for John Dye . https://web.archive.org/web/20090526044004/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/20886/John-Dye/biography . dead . 2009-05-26 . Movies & TV Dept. . . . 2009 . 2010-05-26.
13. Web site: Deandre' Eiland . 3 June 2023 . National Football League.
14. Web site: Jarious Jackson . 3 June 2023 . National Football League.
15. Web site: Costabile . Annie . Family divided for Tupelo star linebacker Jett Johnson . The Clarion-Ledger . 22 March 2017 . 11 April 2024.
16. Web site: Ken Kirk . 3 June 2023 . National Football League.
17. Web site: Tan White. Women's National Basketball Association. 21 February 2014.
18. Web site: Tupelo… Birthplace of Elvis Presley and Home of Our Tamika Whitmore . 21 February 2014 . Women's National Basketball Association.