Solon High School


Solon High School, founded in 1898, is a public high school located in Solon, Ohio, a southeastern suburb of Cleveland in the Northeast Ohio Region, the 15th largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States.
It comprises grades 9 through 12, and is the only high school in the Solon City School District, which also includes Solon and Orchard Middle Schools, and four elementary schools: Arthur Road, Lewis, Parkside and Roxbury. Solon High School's student body is approximately 1,700 students while the faculty roster includes approximately 200 teachers, administrators, and staff. Erin Short currently serves as principal.

Academics

Solon High School and the entire Solon City School District consistently rank among the best schools in Ohio. In 2013, Solon High School was listed as #107 on Newsweek's annual list of America's Best High Schools. The school was given a Gold Ranking and listed #264 by US News and World Report, #11 in Ohio, and #100 nationally in STEM.
Solon High School is one of few schools to have received Blue Ribbon awards twice, both in 1991 and 2009.
In 2013, Solon High School was awarded the prestigious Red Quill Award from the ACT organization for the sixth consecutive year, and the Red Quill Legacy Award for the second consecutive year, for excellent overall student scores on the ACT. Solon was the only Ohio school to receive the award and one of 21 in the Midwest.
Solon High School students are perennially recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Program. In 2013, 30 Solon High School students were named National Merit Semifinalists, a new record for the State of Ohio. Solon High School has also had 6 Presidential Scholars and many more Presidential Scholar candidates in its history.
Students are also often recognized for their performance on Advanced Placement Exams. Solon has over a 90% pass rate, and currently offers 27 AP courses. The school has had many students recognized for number of exams taken and high average scores as AP Scholars and others for being members of the less than 0.005% that have received perfect scores on their exams.

Athletics

The Solon Comets' athletic programs compete in the Northeast Ohio Conference against other local area high schools. Solon's high school sports rivals include Twinsburg High School, Hudson High School, Mentor High School, and Mayfield High School.
Solon's mascot is the comet and colors are blue and white. The school's fight song is Ohio State's "Fight the Team Across the Field."

Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships

Solon High School has many academic teams, including Science Olympiad, Academic Challenge, Mock Trial, Speech and Debate, Model United Nations, and Future Problem Solvers. Many of these teams have previously placed in tournaments at the state and national level.

Academic Challenge

The Solon High School Academic Challenge team has competed in the National Academic Quiz Tournaments High School National Championship for eight straight years, earning a fifth-place finish in 2015. The team won the 2010 Ohio Academic Competition state championship as well as a 17th finish at the NAQT High School National Championship.

Science Olympiad

In 1998, Solon Science Olympiad earned its first National Championship, and has consistently placed in the regional, state, and national level. Solon Science Olympiad placed second in both 2003 and 2008, and then placed first at the 2011, 2012, and 2013 National Tournaments, tying them with Troy High School from Fullerton, California for the most consecutive wins. They attended the White House Science Fair two times and received commendations from the Ohio State Legislature as a result of these accomplishments. At the 2019 National Tournament, Solon High School placed second at the National Tournament behind Troy High School.

Speech and Debate

The Solon High School Speech and Debate team is one of the largest and most successful programs of its kind in the state of Ohio. The team placed second at the Ohio Speech and Debate Association State Tournament in 2014, 2016, and 2017 and has produced 6 individual state champions since the team's inception. The team has also qualified numerous members to the National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament, including a national finalist in 2017.

Musical groups

Bands

Solon High School has wind ensemble, orchestral, and choral programs. Some of the funds that these programs receive come from the school-associated non-profit organization the Solon Music Parents.
The school maintains a large band program with over 300 students.
During the summer and fall, all students enrolled in the school's band course perform with the full marching band. The group hosts a "Band Bash" every year, during which local marching bands perform. The band has performed during halftime shows for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Browns, as well as performed the National Anthem for the Cleveland Indians pregame. There is a voluntary pep band that plays at school rallies and athletic events.
In the winter and spring, the band transitions to three concert bands, Wind Ensemble, Blue Symphonic Band, and White Symphonic Band. All students must audition individually with the directors of the band. The Wind Ensemble is made up of the top players and then the rest of the students are evenly split by talent between the Blue and the White Symphonic bands. It is mandatory for all members to participate in Marching and Concert Band.
Solon currently has two jazz bands for students to perform in, Jazz I and Jazz II, available by audition only. The Jazz band has traveled to New Orleans twice to learn about Jazz and the history of Jazz, and performed with jazz stars including Wayne Bergeron and Eddie Daniels.
The orchestra has approximately 180 students and is split into two orchestras. Sinfonia and concert orchestra. Students interested in playing in Sinfonia must audition. Often, a handful of band members will play with the chamber orchestra at concerts. Concert Orchestra is the larger orchestra.

Choirs

There are five main choruses that comprise the Choral Program including: 9th Grade Women's, 9th grade Men's Chorus, Concert Choir, A cappella Choir, and Music in Motion. There are extra-curricular ensembles such as "The Madrigals," and various female and male barbershop quartets formed by students.
Music in Motion is the Solon High School show choir. The group has won numerous Grand Championships in several Midwest competitions, and had an undefeated season in 2012. Solon transitioned in recent years from hosting a non-competition Festival to a full Show Choir Invitational.

Media

The Solon Courier is the school newspaper which is written and edited by students.
Solon Education Television is a local public access television station that is broadcast from the school. The Solon High School Club, Comet Productions, staffs all the events aired. The station currently airs original programming such as SHS graduation, sports, Solon Board meetings, band, choir, and orchestra concerts, the annual Honor Society talent show, and drama club productions.
Comet Productions is open to all students with an interest in video production, for sports, concerts, and musicals.
Solon Community Television was a local public-access television station that aired original programming and was broadcast from Solon High School SCTV Studio 1. Now, SCTV Studio 1 has been converted into a classroom for a communications course; the last broadcast from Studio 1 was in 2009.

Notable alumni