Community
Located approximately 40 miles north of Anchorage, Colony High School is one of three comprehensive large high schools (schools serving 900-1,300 students) in the Mat-Su Valley and is situated between the cities of Palmer and Wasilla, less than seven miles from each. It is the newest building of the three, having first opened its doors to students in 1991 with only 375 freshmen and sophomores in a school designed for a capacity of 1,200. The first graduating class was the Class of 1994.
Enrollment
In the fall of 2011, Colony High School opened its doors to approximately 1,250 students in grades 9-12 with 65 certified staff and 45 support staff. Students from Palmer and Wasilla as well as the surrounding areas of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough are enrolled at Colony High School, an open-enrollment school which allows students to apply for boundary exceptions to attend this school known for high academic standards.
Academics
Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered in every subject area including AP Literature, AP Language, AP US and World History, AP Government, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics, AP Calculus, AP Art, and AP Music Theory, in addition to several world languages.
Colony High School offers an advisory program, providing time for students to connect with teachers as well as make up missing work or exams.The Advisory Program meets approximately one hour per week.
Because of its high expectations and a rigorous but broad academic program, Colony High School has among the highest test scores (HSGQE/SAT/ACT) in the state of Alaska. The math department proudly boasts the 2008 Alaska Teacher of the Year, Mr. Bob Williams, whose students score among the very top of all AP Calculus classes in the state on the Advanced Placement tests. The English department proudly boasts the 2010 Alaska Teacher of the Year runner-up, Mr. Trevor Townsend. The school's focus on literacy has resulted in 90% of all students taking the Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Exam (HSGQE) scoring proficient or above-proficient in 2011.
A variety of courses in Career and Technical Education (CTE) are offered including vocational courses such as Small Engines and Technical Drafting. Colony High School houses a world class welding facility and serves as the site for the district-wide Welding Program. Business and computer courses are available for college credit including Accounting, Logistics, Business Law, IT, Desktop Publishing, Technology Applications, Web Design, Computer Science, and A+/N+ certification courses.
Activities
Colony High School offers all of the typical co-curricular programs one would expect to find in a high school of its size: football, basketball, hockey, wrestling, volleyball, cross country running and skiing, swim/dive, track/field, soccer, baseball, softball, Mock Trial, Student Government, Key Club, National Honor Society, Science Olympiad, Battle of the Books, drama, yearbook, and more. Colony High School has won numerous regional and state championship awards throughout the years including the state cheerleading championship for the past five consecutive years, state wrestling championship for the past three consecutive years, and first place in the state Science Olympiad in 2009.
Colony High School is also acclaimed for its exceptional music program offering numerous choir, band, and orchestra classes as well as being home to the only marching band in the State of Alaska, directed by 2008 Alaska BP Teacher of Excellence, Mr. Jamin Burton. The marching band represented our state at the last presidential inauguration parade. The school's fine arts program is polished off with a first-rate drama program which produces several plays per year including a major musical every spring.
Colony High School adopted the first JROTC program in the Mat-Su School District and to this day holds the distinction of having the only JROTC program in the Mat-Su Valley.
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