Spanish Fort High School, home of the Toros, was established in August 2005. The campus includes the main building with library, cafeteria, choral room, band room, and is also home to a softball/baseball complex, track, football stadium and athletic building,

Whether you talk to a teacher, a student, or a faculty member, the love that everyone has for the school is apparent. Over 1,100 students attend Spanish Fort High School, with more coming in monthly.

“I think we have a really good mix of kids and kids who are involved,” said Melissa Murphy, library media specialist. “We also have a good parent involvement. We have Principal Williamson and three assistants, Mr. Duncan, Mrs. Wilson and Mr. Brown and they work well together and are very supportive.”

Murphy began the tour of Spanish Fort High. The hallways at the school are divided into subjects. Freshman through seniors go through an eight block day, rotating classes every other day. Classes are on an odd/even schedule. Mon / Wed are blocks 1, 3, 5, and 7. Tues / Thurs is blocks 2, 4, 6, and 8. Those classes are 90 minute blocks. The school also has “Toro Time” from 11:07 – 11:44 a.m. on those days. On Friday, the students see all eight teachers for 42 minutes per class and there is no Toro Time.

In The Classrooms

Art...

Angie Phillips' art class students are working on their contribution to the school play and are making paper mache tombstones.

“It's a good time to get them up and working in groups and making their own forms,” said Phillips.

The students are hard at work as Phillips observes, answers questions and assists in the project. The students are engaging with one another and helping each other complete the assignment.

“My favorite thing about the school kind of goes with the city of Spanish Fort, the City of Spirit, and we do have a lot of spirit here,” Phillips said. “I think it starts with the people who move to this community and families who are so invested in their kids. We have success in so many different levels, athletics and academics. When you have a school that has success over all of that, it's the whole village. It's not just the students or the parents. The best teachers want to be here and this is my dream job.”

Sports and Entertainment Marketing...

In Melody Bingham's classroom, the students in Sports and Entertainment Marketing are creating their own energy drinks. The kids are working in pairs on computers to complete a marketing project their teacher has assigned.

Bingham also teaches Graphic Design and Basic Computers.

“My classes are very different,” Bingham said. “We do a lot of hands on. In my beginner classes and business teach applications classes, they're working towards Microsoft Office Specialist certifications and Word, Power Point and Excel and that will give them a college credit. Right now, we're working on getting them prepared. I integrate career skills, personal finance and checking into those projects.”

Bingham's classes have guest speakers and field trips and sometimes she enters their work in contests for assignments.

“I've been here for almost 20 years,”Bingham said. “I have children at the middle school and high school. So this is more than a job to me.I love seeing from the inside out the achievement and the excellence that is achieved. That's a good feeling to know all about the school your kids go to. We moved here for the schools.”

Biology and Scholars Bowl

Beth Hodge's classroom is lined with posters and hands on props. The biology teacher also leads Scholars Bowl, an academic club.

“Scholars Bowl provides a nitch for truly academic kids,” Hodge said. “It's a club they're comfortable in because they're working with their peers. They have a good time and relate to one another and can show their intelligence without feeling like they’re standing out. They learn it's ok to be academically motivated and not everyone has to be a jock a musician or an artist.”

Interior Designing

In Stephanie Dillon's Interior Design classroom, the students are learning about the basics of construction by making their own Popsicle stick buildings.

“They just learned all about construction and learned the parts of a house from ceiling to floor,” Dillon said. “Things they have to know and it's going to be handy in the future.”

Dillon and her class just got finished with decorating and building for Homecoming, including a life sized Jenga game out of boxes. She is hoping to begin special event planning classes soon.

French...

Foreign languages such as French and Spanish are offered to students.

French teacher, Ashley Daniels, has been teaching French at Spanish Fort for 10 years.

“Learning another language really broadens horizons up and opens a whole new world to the students,” Daniels said. “It also gives them an opportunity to participate in exchange programs and see a different side of things.”

Athletics...

“I think athletics contributes to students being well-rounded,” said Coach John Turner. “I think there's a broader component to being a coming-of-age student. Academics are such a huge aspect, but I think there are other avenues in which kids can have a good time and develop and learn things they don't always learn in the classroom. As a coach, that's what I love about athletics. Kids having a chance to compete because not everyone can compete for straight A's.”

Each student must earn one full credit of PE Life for graduation.

Coach Turner and Coach Kercher lead the class and choose a variety of different sports for the studnets to learn.

“I work with the best of all time, Coach Kercher,” Turner said, “She had a yearly plan when the school year started. She does a great job at teaching and stressing the fundamentals of sports. Kids actually learn a lot of lifetime skills. We go bowling, we do golf and tennis. It is a well-rounded physical education program.”

Family Consumer Sciences...

The Family Consumer Sciences program at Spanish Fort is impressive. The classroom is divided into six kitchens where the students are separated into their cooking groups for a lab.

This particular lab consists of making a list of ingredients for under $10, explaining how they are preparing it, and completing the lab in 90 minutes.

The students are on laptops, hard at work on their ideas.

Joni Ojard, Food, Wellness and Dietics teacher, gives her students these labs every other week.

“We are also working on our ServeSafe food test, which is professional five year manager license, and that for these kids is money. They can get a raise and that puts them at the top the line for the job applications.”

From the Students:

We asked a few students the question,

“What is your favorite things about Spanish Fort High School?”

“I think Spanish Fort high school is a great place for everyone. There's a club for everyone whether you like academics or you're more athletic, I feel like everyone can find their place and obtain leadership positions that will prepare them for life after high school” - Kallie Brown

“The teachers are all fantastic.”- Davis Lee and Connor Fahy

“I love the atmosphere. Everyone gets into the pep rallies and there's always different activities and clubs we can do to get involved and have a good time.” - Sophie Oreno, Senior

“I'm on the National Staff of High School Democrats of America and I realize from starting the chapter here and working my way to the national level that it's so rewarding to be a part of something that's bigger than just you. When you engage in something you are passionate about, it makes you feel very fulfilled and I've never felt happier than when I'm doing things for the community or for the government . I think everyone should be part of things like that.” – Julia Coccaro, Senior

The favorite club for students seems to be Project Outreach.

“Project Outreach is a huge club where they bridge special needs students regular ed population,” Murphy said. “It's the biggest club on campus. Spanish Fort is a unique school because of Project Outreach.”

“I'm part of Project Outreach and that's a club where special needs kids connect with the non-disabled kids in the school. Everyday, I go in that room 3-4 times a day and the students always make my day and make me feel welcome. It's one of those rooms you can walk into and no one is judging. You're friends with those students and they're happy to see you. It's a place you can go and escape everything else that happens in high school.” - Charles Hernly

“This is my fourth year in Project Outreach. It's a great club because it's a great experience being exposed with people with disabilities and a lot of people don't get that exposure. I'm glad I go to a high school where I can build friendships with kids with disabilities. I enjoy being a leader and getting to form events that people get to go to and raise awareness for kids with disabilities. I also like football games and cheering at them!” – Molly Quinn , Senior