Type Public Faculty 45 Phone +1 205-432-3700 Number of students 996 | Established 1970 Principal Reginald Ware Grades 9-12 District Bessemer City Schools Founded 1970 | |
Address 4950 Premiere Pkwy, Bessemer, AL 35020, USA | ||
Bessemer City High School (BHCS) is a four-year public high school in the Birmingham, Alabama community of Bessemer. It is the only high school in the Bessemer City School System. School colors are purple and white, and the athletic teams are called the Tigers. BCHS competes in AHSAA Class 6A athletics.[better reference needed]
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BCHS was constructed in 2010 as a replacement for the aging Jess Lanier High School, which was founded in 1970 and named for the former Bessemer mayor of the same name. The name of the school was chosen by a poll of Bessemer students and residents. BCHS received 1,981 votes, compared to 671 for "Marvel City High School" and 665 for "Bessemer Millennium High School".
Campus
Completed in January 2010, the $50 million high school was funded largely by a bond fund supported by a 1¢ sales tax increase in Jefferson County pushed through by then Commission President Larry Langford.
BCHS is a 215,000 square foot facility perched on the high point of a 72-acre site. The main school building incorporates a curved steel roof and is clad with three shades of brick. Large expanses of glass wrap the L-shaped massive concourse connecting the three academic wings, arts, and athletics. The school accommodates 1,500 students with a 760-seat auditorium and a combination PE / competition gym which seats 1,500 for basketball games. The facility also has large choral, band, and jazz rehearsal spaces and a two-story career tech wing.
On site with the main school are a new synthetic turf football stadium seating 4,500, a nine-lane track, a new restroom / concessions building, and a spacious new field house at the end zone of the new field. Also on site are a new baseball field and press box as well as a new softball field and press box / concessions building.
Student Profile
Enrollment in grades 9-12 for the 2013-14 school year is 996 students. Approximately 94% of students are African-American, 4% are Hispanic, and 2% are white. Roughly 83% of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch.
BCHS has a graduation rate of 73%. Approximately 57% of its students meet or exceed state proficiency standards in mathematics, and 62% meet or exceed standards in reading. The average ACT score for BCHS students is 20.
Athletics
BCHS competes in AHSAA Class 6A athletics and fields teams in the following sports:
BCHS won the 1990 state championship in football as Jess Lanier High School.