Rock Hill Local School District

The Rock Hill Local School District is a local school district in Ohio. The central location for its offices and school campuses is just outside Ironton, Ohio. It currently operates four schools; the Rock Hill Child Development Center (Pre-K), the Rock Hill Elementary School (K-5), the Rock Hill Middle School (6-8), and the Rock Hill Senior High School (9-12).

The district is one of the largest (by geographical square milage) in the state, and it serves several communities including portions of the townships of Aid, Decatur, Elizabeth, Hamilton, Lawrence, Perry, Symmes, Washington and Upper, along with the village of Hanging Rock and the unincorporated communities of Kitts Hill and Pedro as well as certain areas of the city of Ironton. The district also accepts open enrollment students from adjacent school districts. It is the largest (by population) school district in Lawrence County, Ohio, with 1,845,followed closely by the South Point Local School District in South Point, Ohio with 1,824 students based on their average daily membership. The district is currently rated as "No Improvement Needed" on the Ohio Department of Education State Report Card.

As of 2013, the enrollment, or 'average daily membership' of the district was 1,481; the current attendance rate was 97.6%, which is also the state average; and the graduation rate was 96.4%, which is well above the percentage the state wants a district to achieve.

The official colors for the district are red and white. The official nickname for the school's activities is the Redmen, and their mascot is an Indian chief.

Brief history

The Rock Hill Local School District formerly consisted of four separate school districts, which were located in the towns of Decatur, Hanging Rock, Kitts Hill, and Pedro. Hanging Rock, Kitts Hill, and Pedro consolidated in 1949. Consolidation went somewhat smoothly, with the new school taking something from each of the old. 'Rock' from Hanging Rock, 'Hill' from Kitt's Hill, the 'Redmen' from Pedro, as well as the location in Pedro. Decatur Township schools joined in 1965. New Elementary and High School buildings were recently built and opened in 2002.

Administration

Wes Hairston is the superintendent of the Rock Hill Local School District, along with Assistant Superintendents Kathy Bowling, and Eric Floyd. The Rock Hill Local School District Board of Education members include President Dennis Hankins; Wanda Jenkins; Paul Knipp; Tim Mootz and Keith Roth. The treasurer is Thomas C. Robinson. Fred L. Evans is the principal of the elementary school, Darrell Humphreys is the principal of the middle school, and David Hopper is the principal of the high school.

Current and former buildings

Rock Hill Elementary School

The current buildings in the district include the Rock Hill Child Development Center (Pre-K), Rock Hill Elementary School (K-5), Rock Hill Middle School (6-8), and Rock Hill Senior High School (9-12). The Child Development Center is open to the public; however, you must pay to attend.

The former buildings include Rock Hill Elementary No. 1 - It was located in Decatur Township. It was consolidated in 2002 to form one Rock Hill Elementary School. The school served students in the Decatur and Washington Townships.

Rock Hill Elementary No. 2 - It was located in Kitts Hill. It was consolidated in 2002 to form one Rock Hill Elementary School. It served students in Kitts Hill and parts of Aid, Lawrence, Perry, and Symmes Townships. The building was sold to Sugar Creek Missionary Baptist Church in Kitts Hill, and it has since been turned into a Bible College and K-8 Christian school.

Rock Hill Elementary No. 3 - It was located just outside Ironton. It was consolidated in 2002 to form one Rock Hill Elementary School. It provided for students living in the areas of Pedro and Elizabeth and Upper Townships, as well as portions of the city of Ironton. The new Rock Hill campus was based around this site, and the current renovated building houses the Child Development Center and the Board of Education administrative offices.

Rock Hill Elementary No. 4 - It was located in Hanging Rock. Similar to the other buildings, it was consolidated in 2002 to form one Rock Hill Elementary School. Before consolidation, this served as both the district's site for elementary handicapped children as well as regular education for the students of Hanging Rock, portions of the city of Ironton, and Hamilton Township area. It was purchased by Ohio University Southern Campus (Ironton), and is serving as their child development center.

Rock Hill Junior High School - It served grades 7-9 before becoming Rock Hill Middle School and also incorporating the sixth grade from the elementary schools and giving the senior high school the ninth grade. It provided education for all 7-9 students in the district.The building was purchased by Mended Reeds in 2006 and served as a juvenile correction facility. The building was then purchased by the Lawrence County (OH) Dennis J. Boll Group Home in 2009, and will serve the county's juvenile detention needs.

District Sports

Rock Hill's Athletic Director is Barry Litteral.

-Boy Activities- The school has many extra curricular activities including the following: Rock Hill Little League Baseball, Rock Hill High School Junior Varsity and Varsity baseball. Rock Hill Youth Football league which includes 2-6 grade levels. The Rock Hill Hill School Varsity and Junior Varsity Football. Cross Country for grades 7-12. Track and Field for middle school grades 7 and 8 and high school 9-12. The High school has junior varsity and varsity basketball teams. They also have youth basketball for the 2-6 grade levels and middle school basketball grades 7 and 8.

-Girl Activities- The School has Youth Softball leagues the leads up to Junior Varsity and Varsity softball. And Rock Hill has High School and Middle School Junior Varsity and Varsity Volleyball. The School has Basketball teams for girls in middle school and in high school. Cross Country for grades 7-12. Rock Hill has a girls track team for high school and middle school. The School also has a cheerleading team that cheer at the football and basketball games.

Rock Hill is a part of the (OVC) Ohio Valley Conference.

Notes and references

• Rock Hill Board of Education member list
• Rock Hill Local Similar District Comparison
• ODE - List of Open-Enrollment Status for Ohio School Districts

External links

• District Website

Coordinates: 38°31′51″N 82°40′42″W / 38.53083°N 82.67833°W / 38.53083; -82.67833