Tucker High School

Academics

Tucker High School offers a challenging curriculum that addresses the needs of its students through self-contained classes, visually impaired classes, regular education, advanced placement classes (AP), and the International Baccalaureate program. Currently Tucker offers eighteen different AP courses. In 2004, Tucker began offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma, a two-year academic program for 11th and 12th grade students.

On December 17, 2012, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools announced that it had downgraded the DeKalb County Schools System's status from "on advisement" to "on probation" and warned the school system that the loss of their accreditation was "imminent." AdvancED/SACS upgraded the district's status to "Accredited Advisement" in February 2015.

Athletics

Tucker High School offers a variety in sports for girls and boys. They play in the AAAAAA region. The predominant teams in the school are football, baseball, basketball, soccer, track and field, golf, wrestling and swimming. They have won a number of state championships, most recently in football and men and women's basketball.

The football team is recognized as a state powerhouse, often a deep playoff contender. They have had three state championship visits since 2008, of which they won two. In 2008, the Tigers had a nearly perfect season, losing only to crosstown rival Marist, 38-0, on their way to their first state title. They avenged that early season loss by beating Marist 15-3 in the 2008 AAAA State Championship game. Until 2010, Marist has always been one of Tucker's biggest rivals, and in the 2010 football season Tucker beat Marist 31-24 in double overtime. It was Tucker's first regular season win over Marist since 2007, and the last time Marist has been close in any game against Tucker. In 2011 the Tucker football team went 15-0, a perfect season, and won the AAAA State Championship for the second time in three years. In 2013, Tucker again was undefeated going into the state championship against Creekside High School, when they lost in the finals. In 2015, Tucker was beaten by South Forsyth in a very close game, 42-35 in the playoffs.

Basketball, coached by James Hartry, has also succeeded, winning a state championship in 2007 and a semifinal in 2008. The Tigers play hard and often have an almost perfect season. In basketball Miller Grove High School is usually Tucker's biggest rival.

Boys' soccer has come a long way since its beginnings and is now a strong team in the region, making it to the first round of the playoffs a few times. Girls' soccer, once notable, is now in a building period.

In 2009 the girls' track team took home the state champion win.

Other sports at the school include baseball, fast-pitch softball, cross country, golf, girls' basketball, tennis, football cheerleading, basketball cheerleading, swimming, gymnastics, girls' volleyball, and wrestling.

Old building

The first community school in Tucker, a one-room schoolhouse, was founded in the late 1880s. A larger school was soon needed, and a three-room schoolhouse was constructed around 1900, providing education through the eighth grade. Tucker's population was growing rapidly, and this building was quickly outgrown as well, the school spilling over into the nearby Methodist and Congregationalist churches. A two-story antebellum style school building was soon built to house the growing student body. By 1928, more space was again required, and a building with twelve classrooms, an auditorium, offices, storage, and indoor restrooms was built. This was followed by a granite annex building in 1935, and an infill project joining the main building to the annex in 1937.

The 1950s saw a rapid growth in student enrollment, from 271 students in 1952 to 1,100 students by 1962. In 1963 a new building was dedicated, providing instructional space for 1,300 students.

New building

A new building was constructed in 2008 to replace the 1963 facility. The 228,500-square-foot (21,230 m²) structure features 81 classrooms and supporting spaces including a media center, speech, and computer science labs as well as rooms for vocational, art, and music instruction, a gymnasium, kitchen and cafeteria, commons, auditorium, guidance and administrative offices. Site work included replacement of all sports fields, new entrances and exits from surrounding roads, and a new bus loop. The project cost over $66 million.

Demolition of the 1963 building began in July 2008. By September 2008, the Venable Gymnasium, athletic locker rooms, band room, and chorus room located underneath it had been razed. A house at 5054 LaVista Road was also demolished. That property was incorporated into the campus. In January 2009, site work and placement of deep piles for the foundation system of the first phase of the new complex took place on the site of the former gym and the parking lot to the south of the existing building. By August 2009, the precast structure for the two-level parking garage, commons and administrative areas, and the Year 9 Academy building had been completed, and work on interiors began.

In January 2010, the new Year 9 Academy building, classroom building, and administrative offices were occupied. The remaining portions of the older building were demolished to make way for phase two construction. To compensate for instructional space lost to construction activities, an Educational Village was established on the baseball field at the beginning of the 2008-2009 academic year.

Awards and recognitions

Feeder schools

The following elementary schools feed into Tucker High School:

Elementary schools

Middle school

Notable alumni