Iowa City High School

Iowa City High School is a public high school in Iowa City, Iowa. The present high school was built as part of the Public Works Projects started by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to provide jobs. The first classes were held in the fall of 1939. The previous high school building, built in 1909, was converted to a junior high school after the new building opened. It was located where Mercy Medical Plaza now stands. The school motto is "The School that Leads."HistoryIowa City has had public education called "high school" at least as far back as 1858, when M.B. Beals was hired as principal; though Beals' records do not show where classes were held, there were 35 boys and 35 girls attending in 1860. Buildings that held "high school", which included junior high school, included the Grammar School, built in 1893 on the southwest corner of the Centre Market block; and the 1903 Iowa City High School on the northeast corner of the same block. A gymnasium in the northwest corner of the block was built in 1911, and included a swimming pool earlier than the university had its own pool. The 1903 building's last high school graduating class was 1939, and the building was renamed Central Junior High School when the new City High School opened in 1939.AcademicsAfter graduation, 70% of City High graduates continue their education. Sixty percent attend four-year colleges, 5% junior or community colleges, and 5% trade and technical schools. City High ranks in the top ten schools for academic performance in Iowa.AthleticsSports Illustrated named City High the top sports school in the state of Iowa, citing the school's dominant cross country, track, and football teams. The boys' and girls' cross country teams have won more than 20 state championships since 1990. State titles for Boys' Cross Country include titles from 1991-'94 and in '96, '97, '99, and 2000.