Misplaced Pages

Thomas Jefferson High School, or simply Jefferson High School, is one of the two high schools in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States Independent School District No. 271. It is located at 102nd Street and France Avenue on the suburb's southwest side, and is part of the Bloomington Public Schools district. About 1,600 students attend in grades 9 through 12. The mascot is a Jaguar.

Jefferson was named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the US Department of Education in 2009.

Activities and athletics

Bloomington Jefferson is a member of the Metro West Conference in the Minnesota State High School League. The school had been a member of the Lake Conference from its opening until it left to become as a founding member of the new South Suburban Conference in 2010. The school then left the South Suburban Conference in 2014 to become as a founding member of the new Metro West Conference.

The 2000–2001 boys hockey team is the subject of the 2003 book Blades of Glory by John Rosengren.

Performing arts

Jefferson has three curricular choirs including concert choir, bel canto, and chorale with two extra curricular student led acapella groups. Jefferson has two competitive show choirs, the mixed varsity "Connection" and the prep junior varsity "Jive". Along with choirs, the school has multiple band programs, including concert bands, marching bands, jazz ensembles, and orchestras.

The school has a band program consisting of four Concert Bands, two Jazz Bands, Pep Band, Show Bands, Drumline Club, and the Jaguar Marching Band. The Marching Band is nicknamed "The Original Pride of Minnesota," and has a rich history of success. With membership peaking at 254 students in 1975, the Jefferson Marching Band has been the largest student organization in Bloomington Public Schools since 1982. The Jefferson Concert Bands have toured Canada, Spain, Algeria, Morocco, Mexico, England, Scotland, Japan, the Dominican Republic, Norway, Ireland, Costa Rica, Italy, Austria, Germany, Lichtenstein, Puerto Rico, and Greece.

Principals

• Robert H. Smith 1970–1985
• Kent Stever 1985–1996
• John Bianchi 1996–1998
• Lyle Odland 1998–2002
• Steven Hill 2002–2013
• Kevin Groebner 2013–2016
• Jaysen Anderson 2016–2024
• Mark Paulsen 2024–Present

Notable alumni

This article's list of alumni may not follow Misplaced Pages's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (October 2021)

• Cole Aldrich – Former NBA Center, Minnesota Timberwolves
• Thomas E. Burnett Jr. – one of the passengers aboard United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001
• Ben Clymer – retired NHL left wing
• Brian Connelly – defenseman, Rockford IceHogs
• Mike Crowley – retired NHL defenseman
• Brian Dutcher - Head Coach, San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball
• Steve Edlefsen – former MLB pitcher, San Francisco Giants
• Tom Gilbert – 11 year NHL defenseman
• Julia Hart - Professional wrestler
• Ben Hendrickson – former MLB pitcher
• Christine Jax – former Commissioner of Education for the state of Minnesota
• Lane Kiffin – Head Coach, Ole Miss Rebels football
• Tom Kurvers – retired NHL defenseman, 1984 Hobey Baker Memorial Award Winner
• Lloyd Lee – former NFL coach
• Nik Lentz – Minnesota State Champion wrestler; professional Mixed Martial Artist, currently for the UFC
• Kevin Lynch – retired NBA and European leagues forward
• Frank Moe - Minnesota state legislator and educator
• Mark Parrish – retired NHL forward, KFAN initial's game star; high school hockey coach
• Tom Pederson – retired NHL defenseman
• Toby Petersen – right wing, Dallas Stars
• Mod Sun – singer, rapper, and songwriter; birth name Derek Smith
• Nazanin Rafsanjani - television and radio producer
• Tom Ruud – former NFL linebacker, 19th pick in 1975 NFL draft
• Dan Trebil – retired NHL defenseman
• Joe Stansberry – Professional Golfer, PGA Tour, Senior PGA Tour and European Senior Tour.

Construction and original curriculum

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Jefferson High School" Bloomington, Minnesota – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Thomas Jefferson High School in Bloomington was constructed to support a new curriculum offering. This curriculum used a Modular Scheduling approach to scheduling, based loosely on a lecture attendance and test attendance policy. Students were required to attend a certain number of class lectures a week, as well as test-times.

This approach called for a number of large 'lecture hall' type rooms, which could be subdivided if necessary.

The 'mod' approach was cancelled, beginning with the 1979–1980 school year, leaving a school ill-constructed for a more traditional subject-based classroom. In response, many of the large rooms were repartitioned into smaller class-rooms with thin, somewhat flexible walls. These walls did not block noise well, but created a perception of smaller classrooms, and were in use at least until the late 1990s.

Many of the teachers who came to Jefferson on its inception to be part of the new curriculum stayed on as it transitioned to a more traditional approach.

In 2011–2012 Jefferson switched from a traditional block schedule to a new 6 period schedule on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and 3 periods on Wednesday, and Thursday. This new schedule offers students the opportunity to take early bird classes that commence before school starts, 6:50–7:41.

In the 2014–2015 school year, the school inserted five weeks of a modified block schedule called "Superblock." On Mondays and Tuesdays, students have 3 periods a day, each being two hours long. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, students still have 3 periods, but they are only an hour-and-a-half long and students are released early on these days. Friday follows the normal 6 period day. This schedule is used to accommodate state-mandated testing, such as the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs) and MAP exams.

Class sizes

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• 1978 – 898
• 1990 – 432
• 1994 – 402
• 2011 – 401
• 2015 – 420
• 2016 – 360

References

1. ^ "JEFFERSON SENIOR HIGH". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved April 27, 2023.
2. "Jefferson High School Homepage | Bloomington Public Schools". www.bloomington.k12.mn.us. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
3. "NBRS Previous Awardees". U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
4. Rosengren, John (November 1, 2004). Blades of Glory: The True Story of a Young Team Bred to Win. ISBN 1402200471.
5. "SCC: Viewing School - Jefferson Senior High School". Show Choir Community. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
6. "New principal, assistant principals joining BPS | Bloomington Public Schools". www.bloomington.k12.mn.us. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
7. "Cole Aldrich: 'I've been a Timberwolves fan my whole life.'". USA TODAY. Retrieved September 3, 2023.
8. "Passenger: Thomas E. Burnett Jr". old.post-gazette.com.
9. "Reference for Crowley". Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved September 6, 2007.
10. Richards, Alex (May 19, 2021). "Julia Hart is AEW's Latest Great Discovery".
11. "Major Leaguers - The Baseball Cube". www.thebaseballcube.com.
12. "Hobey Baker Memorial Award". Archived from the original on May 27, 2007. Retrieved January 24, 2007.
13. "Nik Lentz UFC Bio". Retrieved January 1, 2014.
14. "Reference for Clymer, Kurvers, Parrish, and Petersen".
15. @MODSUN (August 15, 2011). "YES!!! Born n raised in Blooming! #JHS RT @daashittbitch: question @MODSUN , did you go to Jefferson high school?" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
16. "Reference for Trebil". Archived from the original on May 31, 2002. Retrieved September 6, 2007.
17. "Daily Schedule". Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
18. "Superblock Schedule Reference". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
19. "Superblock Schedule".

External links

• Jefferson High School Website
• Bloomington Public Schools Official Website

• Buildings and structures in Bloomington, Minnesota
• Educational institutions established in 1970
• 1970 establishments in Minnesota
• High schools in Bloomington, Minnesota
• Public high schools in Minnesota