Established 1923 Superintendent Matthew Miller Phone +1 440-974-5300 Mascot Cardinal | Status Open Principal Andy Fetchik Number of students 2,800 | |
 | ||
Type Public, Coeducational high school Faculty 175 certified staff members Address 6477 Center St, Mentor, OH 44060, USA District Mentor Exempted Village School District | ||
5am video mentor police officer pushes student at mentor high school during arrest
Mentor High School is a public high school located in Mentor, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Mentor Exempted Village School District (informally, "Mentor Schools"). In the 2008–2009 school year, it shifted from a three-year school (grades 10–12) to a four-year high school (grades 9–12), serving 3,200 students. It is the eighth largest high school by enrollment in the State of Ohio. Mentor High School educates students from Mentor, Mentor-on-the-Lake, and parts of Kirtland Hills and Concord Township in Lake County, Ohio. Mentor High is made up of mainly students from the three Mentor middle schools; Memorial, Shore, and Ridge.
Contents
Mentor high school winter choir concert
Band
There are four concert bands at the high school. Freshman Band, Grey Band, Scarlet Band, and Wind Ensemble, at increasing levels of skill. All four bands compete in the OMEA contest.
Orchestra
Mentor has four orchestras in its program, including Concert, Sinfonia, Symphony, and Mannheim. Concert Orchestra is entirely stringed instruments, and requires no audition to join. Sinfonia, created in 2016, is a string-only ensemble for younger students who are committed to practicing but not prepared for Symphony. Symphony Orchestra is the largest group, and consists of both string and wind instruments. Mannheim Chamber Orchestra is the smallest group (consisting of approximately 30 students), and consists entirely of stringed instruments. Mannheim and Symphony both require auditions, but Mannheim is much more selective.
Choir
There are four curricular, concert choirs that perform at concerts throughout the year festivals and at OMEA adjudicated events. There are two auditioned Vocal Chamber Ensemble and an auditioned show choir as well. Choristers have the opportunity to perform at an annual Cabaret show and in the OMEA Solo & Ensemble Adjudicated event.
Science Olympiad
In 2007, the Science Olympiad team saw one of its greatest successes in over a decade, finishing second in the state competition, overtaking Solon High School, a local rival, to get a bid to the national competition at Wichita State University. They finished fifth in the nation. In 2009, the Science Olympiad team went to nationals again, defeating Solon, and went to Augusta, Georgia and finished with 7th place in the nation with Centerville, the other team that went from Ohio, finishing 1st. In 2015, the Science Olympiad team went to nationals for the first time in 6 years. After defeating Solon High School and coming in 2nd in the state, behind Centerville, the team traveled to University of Nebraska-Lincoln, placing 16th.
Fighting Cardinal Marching Band
The Mentor High School Fighting Cardinal Marching Band, commonly called the FCMB, is a strong music program with a history of excellence. The band plays at most home and away football games as well as competing at several competitions. (They have skipped a few, the latest being Mentor vs. St. Xavier on September 11, 2015 in Cincinnati) The FCMB received its first "Superior Rating", the highest rating possible for competitions at state contest, in 2004 under the direction of Mr. Shawn Vondran and Mr. Byron Hunsicker. During the 2012-2013 school year, the band earned another Superior rating at state contest with their show "I Believe." They also performed live for Fox 8 News in front of The Rock and Roll hall of Fame, and performed for a rally when President Obama came to Mentor High School to campaign for the 2012 Presidential Elections. In the fall of 2013, the band once again competed at State Contest. The band qualified for States yet again in the fall of 2014, where they received their third Superior rating with their show entitled "The Divine Comedy." This was the highest scoring performance the band has ever had. In 2015 the band qualified for State Competition once again with their own show specifically written for the band, "The Pursuit of Happiness". Their 2015 performance received a "Excellent Rating" at Brunswick High School on November 7th, 2015. The bands 2016 performance, "Metal", is to be performed at OMEA competition November 4th, 2016.
Athletics
Mentor High is a Division I school in the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). Formerly of the Lake Erie League, Mentor now competes in the Northeast Ohio Conference (NOC). The Cardinals have won several state championship titles sponsored by the OHSAA.
Mentor (25-5) defeated Toledo Rogers (21-8), 76-67, to win the boys basketball Division I state championship in front of 9,566 in Value City Arena on the campus of Ohio State University located in Columbus, OH. In the semi-final game, Mentor defeated previously undefeated Columbus Northland (29-1), 80-69. Jeff Foreman was named OHSSA Division 1 State Championship Most Outstanding Player. Jeff Foreman, Conner Krizancic and Caleb Potter were selected to the State All-Tournament Team.
Coach Lee Tressel led the Mentor Cardinals football team to 34 consecutive victories in the 1950s.
Other activities
Student suicides
Four students committed suicide in an approximately four-year period ending in 2008, allegedly as a result of harassment or bullying from fellow students. On April 19, 2007 there were threats of a school shooting to avenge these deaths. The next day, April 20, fewer than 30% of students were in attendance. This prompted at least two of the families to file lawsuits against the school. The 2014 documentary Mentor depicts this.