Rocky Mountain High School was founded in 1973. Its student body was made up of sophomores and juniors originally from Fort Collins High School and Poudre High School. The campus was made of three separate buildings. In 1994 to 1995, the school's campus was redesigned to make one large building from the original three separate ones. A new media center, theatre, a vocal music room, a larger commons area, and a large fitness center were added during this remodel. In 2005, an auxiliary gym and multipurpose room were added. Rocky started as a three-year high school, but as part of a grade reconfiguration in Poudre School District, it became a four-year high school. The class of 2009 had 692 seniors, the largest senior class the school has ever had.
Academics
Rocky Mountain High School runs on a 4 by 4 block schedule with four classes a day. At the semester, courses that would typically last an entire year such as math or science end and are replaced with a new class. Advanced Placement classes are available. The school also participates in the CU Succeed program, which allows high schoolers to take classes for college credit. Juniors and seniors can also take college level courses at the local Front Range Community College. During the 201516 school year, the Alternative Cooperative Education program at Rocky Mountain constructed a GeoDome, a geodesic growing dome that allows students with barriers to employment to practice career skills. They learn not only practical skills in gardening, construction and business management, but valuable soft skills like communication and collaboration. The school has a film program.
Notable accomplishments
Since its opening in 1973, Rocky Mountain High School has been involved in many sports and academic competitions. The baseball team, coached by Scott Bullock, won the CHSAA State Championship in four consecutive years, from 2007 through 2010. In 2009, as part of the High Plains Hockey League, Rocky Mountain Varsity Hockey took home the state championship. The Rocky Mountain Highlighter, the school's prestigious newspaper, is regarded as one of the top student newspapers in the nation due to having won numerous Pacemaker awards. The paper is advised by Stephen Wahlfeldt.
School culture
Rocky Mountain High School is known for fostering a positive, inclusive school culture. In the fall of 2015 a student with a disability helped collect the equivalent of 8,900 meals for a food bank in Virginia. In November, students created a March-Madness style fundraiser to raise $1500 for charity. For the last twenty years, the school has also hosted Adopt a Family. A Rocky student started the service project in 1996. Homerooms and school groups each adopt a family, trying to meet as many needs as possible on their wishlist. In 2015, the school adopted about 80 families. In 2011, the school raised $90,000 for charity. In 2012, they collected 2,000 pairs of shoes for families around the world as part of the Kindness Challenge.
