Message from the Principal

Dear Paramount High School Students and Families,

Welcome to the 2009-10 school-year at the home of the Pirates.  The 2008-09 school-year provided us with a number of successes to look back upon.  Early in the year we hosted the grand opening of our new stadium with all-weather track and field which was followed in March with the opening of our state-of-the-art baseball field.  We were recognized for the second year in a row by US News and World Report as one of America's Best High Schools.  Our athletics teams won more league championships than any other school in the league.  Our proficiency rates on the high-school exit exam continued to rise and we graduated 640 students at our commencement ceremony in June, the largest graduating class in the history of Paramount High School.

But, 2009-10 is a new school-year and while previous successes provide a strong foundation on which to build, we look to this year to be filled with achievements and successes of its own.  The ground-breaking for our new library building is imminent and we also hope to begin construction on a new field-house to add to our athletics complex before the end of the calendar year.  The Board of Trustees has adopted a new grading policy that will help reinforce standards-based education while improving communication between the school and students and their families.  We have also adopted a new bell schedule that will provide opportunities for teachers to conduct times of intervention and enrichment with targeted groups of students during the school-day.  We look to all of these refinements of our practice to enrich the learning experience that our students have at Paramount High School and to encourage even greater growth and learning.

I would like to encourage our students and families to explore ways to be engaged in the opportunities that are available here at Paramount High School.  Students should look for ways to challenge themselves academically, whether it be through taking an honors or advanced placement course or by enrolling in an elective course that will broaden their horizons like band, choir, drama, health careers, computer science or one of a host of other options.  Students should also look to engage themselves in the school through one of the many programs that are offered to students outside of the classroom.  We field 20 Varsity athletic teams in a variety of different sports and we offer numerous co-curricular programs through JROTC, performing arts, ASB Leadership, Journalism, Yearbook and campus clubs.

This promises to be another great year at Paramount High School.  I encourage all of our students to challenge themselves both inside and outside of the classroom.  Each student has much to gain from and also to contribute to the school.  I look forward to the excitement and rewards that the 2009-10 school-year is sure to hold.

Sincerely,

Greg Buckner, Ed.D

Principal

(en español)