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Nebo School District
Location
350 S. Main Spanish Fork, Utah Utah County United States
District information
Superintendent	Rick Nielsen
Other information
Website	Nebo School District

Nebo School District is a public school district in Utah County, Utah serving the southern part of the county south of Utah Lake. Provo City School District and Alpine School District cover the central and northern parts of the county, respectively. Motto "Your partner in education"

With 28,548 students, Nebo is the 7th largest school district in Utah and among the fastest-growing. The district operates 5 high schools, 6 junior high schools, 27 elementary schools, and 2 alternative schools. The district is named for nearby Mount Nebo, the tallest peak in the Wasatch Range.

High schools

There are currently five high schools in the Nebo School District.

Maple Mountain High School

Maple Mountain High School is a new high school within the borders of Spanish Fork. The school's enrollment area covers eastern Spanish Fork and all of Mapleton.

Although their football team has had a rough start, their girls tennis team took first in region with JV being undefeated, their girls & boys cross country, & boys track & field teams were Region Champs this year.

• School Colors: Maroon and Gold and Green
• School Mascot: Golden Eagles
• School Motto: "An Attitude of Excellence"
• Principal: John Penrod
• Address: 51 North 2550 East Spanish Fork, UT 84660
• Website: mmhs.nebo.edu

Music

The Winter Drumline won Outstanding Tenor and Bass Drums at state in 2010 in the 2A division. The Winter Color Guard won first place in the SRAAA division the first half of the season and finished the season winning third place at state in the SRAA division. The marching band is led by Chris Wilson, Director of Bands; Dallin Hatch, Percussion instructor; and Sarah Nasson, Color Guard.

Payson High School

Payson High School is the only high school in Payson. Enrollment is 1,100.

• School Colors: Green, silver, and white
• School Mascot: Lion
• School Motto: "A lion pride, together we conquer."
• Principal: Ben Ford
• Jazz Band: Received many honors and came out first in the District Jazz Competition in 2010
• Chamber Singers: Received Two 1's at State
• Marching Band: Received color guard, visual, music, and first place at the Nebo Tournament of Bands in 2011
• Bagpipe Band: Won numerous awards, including the 2010 WUSPBA Great Basin Branch Grade 5 Championship.
• Journalism: won awards for best layout and individual awards for articles at the journalism conference at UVU
• Biggest Rivals: Spanish Fork, and a growing rivalry with Salem
• Address: 1050 S Main Payson, UT 84651
• Website: www.nebo.edu/phs/

The current Payson High was built in 1967 as a highschool and community bomb shelter during the cold war and has a current student enrollment of just over 1000 students in grades 10 through 12. Payson High School was also a site for the filming of the 1984 film Footloose, as is much of the surrounding Payson area.

Payson won state wrestling in 2009 and 2010. The first back-to-back state championship in the history of Payson High.

Payson High School used to cover one of the largest geographical areas for one high school. It drew students from Payson, Santaquin, Goshen, Genola, and the rural communities of Elberta and Mosida. However, when Salem Hills High School was built in 2008, the areas of Elk Ridge, West Mountain, and portions of Payson no longer attended Payson High School.

Spanish Fork High School

Spanish Fork High School (SFHS) is one of three high schools currently in Spanish Fork. Spanish Fork High School was built in 1962 and was the first high school in the District. Both Spanish Fork Junior High and Diamond Fork Junior High feed into SFHS. Enrollment at SFHS is 990 and includes grades 10-12. Geographic boundaries include the cities of Spanish Fork, and the communities Palmyra, Benjamin, Lake Shore, and Leland.

• Mascot: The Mighty Don
• School Motto: "Here We Learn For Life"
• School Colors: Red and Gray
• Principal: David McKee
• Address: 99 North 300 West Spanish Fork, UT 84660
• Website: http://www.nebo.edu/sfhs/
• "Biggest Rivals:" Maple Mountain, Salem Hills, Springville, Payson.
• Boys Athletics: Utah State Champion - Wrestling Basketball Baseball Golf Track & Field Cross Country Recently Boys Baseball won The Sunshine tournament and State back to back and Boys Tennis won the Duel in The Desert as well as Region.
• Girls Athletics: Utah State Champion - Track & Field Softball Volleyball

The Spanish Fork High School Gymnasium, built in 1935, is a historic building listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Music

• Marching Band: The Marching Band's 2011 show is "Band", in which all three elements of a musical ensemble: brass, woodwinds, and percussion, are represented by separate movements. They will take this show to the State Marching Band Festival in St. George in October.
• Jazz Band: SFHS jazz band focuses on performing as a combo, learning how, in a small group, to listen and respond musically with each other. They will be touring in the 2011/2012 year with the Springville HS jazz band to the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival in Moscow, ID.
• Concert Band: The award winning concert band plays standard works for band and is a pre-requisite for Marching Band. Timing, Tuning, and playing with a correct Tone are the main objectives of this group. They have played such pieces as Clair De Lune, Sleigh Ride, and Great Gates of Kiev. All Bands directed by Ellen Fudge.
• Orchestra: There are two orchestras at Spanish Fork. An auditioned chamber orchestra consisting of a double quartet, and a non-auditioned full orchestra. In the spring 2011 concert the orchestra teamed up with the concert band to become a symphony and played Star Wars excerpts as well as Finlandia by Sibelius. The orchestra and band are planning a large tour in the 2012/2013 school year. All orchestras directed by Ellen Fudge.
• Guitar: There are two levels of guitar taught at SFHS. Beginning Guitar: where you learn basic chords, strumming patterns, how to read notes on a staff, and basic song composition. Advanced Guitar: which focuses more on genre playing through the classical, bluegrass, jazz, and rock styles. Beginning Guitar (or the equivalent) is a pre-requisite for Advanced Guitar.
• Choir: Concert choir received two 1's and a 1+ at 2009 State.

Springville High School

Springville High School is the only high school serves and is located in Springville, Utah. Enrollment is 1,256.

Mascot

Springville High School's mascot is the Red Devil. The origin of the mascot name dates back to the original construction of the school, when the Red Devil Cement Company assisted significantly in the building. This has became a focal point for controversy several times over the years, most recently in 2002. The opposing arguments vary slightly each time, but have the same baisis. The most recent opposition occurred when some local citizens organized a committee called "Parents for Mascot Review". They argued that the Devil was an unsavory mascot for teens and interpreted school literature bearing the character "pro devil" paraphernalia. Some claimed that good Latter-day Saints should not support the mascot for its Satanic allusion. Other Latter-day Saints disagreed, saying that the church had no official stance on the matter, that the mascot was not satanic, but rather a mythical creature, and that the groups were promoting their own agenda.

Alumni of the school countered that the mascot was not Satanic, and had been the official mascot since 1967 when students voted it in. Further they claimed it was historically significant. The name and image came from Red Devil Cement Co., a historically important employer in Springville. An actual cement bag with the Red Devil Cement logo on it can be found in one of the display cases in the high school.

The debate continued on all fronts. Even a popular local band "The Fifth Normal" wrote a song called "Band for Mascot Review", the lyrics of which sarcastically accused the group "Parents for Mascot Review" of being hypocrites, and of ignoring the real problems facing Springville High School, like drugs and teen pregnancy.

Controversy about the mascot drew national attention when the a spokesman for the Navajo Nation commented against it, claiming that "red devil" is a slur against Native Americans and should be removed from the school.

Nonetheless, traditionalists carried popular support in a non-binding poll, and the school board voted to retain the mascot in May 2002. In spite of promises by critics to seek school board offices on the issue, the Red Devil remains the school's mascot as of 2012.

Athletics

Former principal, Rick Robins hired Scott Mitchell as Head Football Coach in 2008. The hire came about after the firing of two-season coach Dan Hansen. With Hansen in 2007, the Red Devils posted 2 wins and 8 losses. Scott Mitchell, a former SHS quarterback who led the Red Devils to their only state title in the 80's, was also a former QB for the University of Utah and a 12 year quarterback in the National Football League before leaving behind a real estate job in Florida to come coach the Red Devils. While the hire was seen by some as just a high-profile, visual hire, the community was hopeful that Scott Mitchell would prove to do something positive for the SHS football program and its students. Unfortunately, Coach Mitchell resigned following the 2011 season due to marital issues. However, Scott Mitchell did lead the Red Devils to two showings in the Utah State playoffs with the Red Devils taking 2nd place in 2009 and 3rd place in 2010. The Red Devils have also enjoyed great success in athletics in recent years. Under girls basketball coach Nancy Warner and former BYU Cougar, the lady Red Devils finished the 2008-09 campaign as the state 4A tournament runner-up. The Red Devil swim team has continued its dominance by winning back to back boys 4A state championships in 2008 and 2009 under coach Amyee Hargett. The Red Devils have also posted region championships recently in girls soccer, boys golf, volleyball, boys swimming, and girls basketball.

• School Colors: Red and Blue
• Motto:Dedicated to Excellence – United in Service – Educated for Success
• Website: shs.nebo.edu/

Salem Hills High School

Pursuing Victory With Honor

Salem Hills High School (hereafter referred to as "Salem Hills") opened in autumn of 2008 under the direction of Principal Ann Anderson. Salem Hills is the first new high school constructed by Nebo School District since the 1970s. The structure was completed in the summer of 2008. The student body comes from areas of Payson, Salem, Elk Ridge, Woodland Hills, and Spanish Fork. Salem Hills High School is serviced mainly by two Junior High Schools, Salem Junior High School & Mt. Nebo Junior High School. The addition of Salem Hills, along with that of Maple Mountain High School in 2009, will cut Spanish Fork High School's student body population to the 4A level.

In December 2008, Salem Hills was awarded the "2008 Best K-12 Education Project Design" by the Intermountain Contractors for the State of Utah.

• Mascot: Skyhawk
• School Colors: Light Blue, Navy Blue and Gold
• Date Established: August 20, 2008
• Administration: Bart Perry-Principal, Troy Bohling-Assistant Principal, Brenda Burr-Assistant Principal.
• Choir: Director: Justin Bills. On a recent tour to Anaheim, Concert Choir received 1 Gold(1st place) & 1 Silver (2nd Place) and Singers received 1 silver when they competed in the Heritage Festival in Anaheim.
• Band: Director: Mike Larsen. The Skyhawk Marching Band under drum majors Kayla Snell and Nate Adams recently placed 3rd overall in their class, and took the caption for outstanding percussion at the Bridgerland Band Competition hosted at USU on October 31, 2009.

• Address: 150 North Skyhawk Boulevard, Salem UT 84653
• Website: www.nebo.edu/shhs/

Junior High School

Elementary schools

There are 26 elementary schools in the Nebo School District. The district is scheduled to build 5 new elementary schools in the next ten years.

References

1. Nebo District News Blog, December 2008

Salem Junior High School Wesbite: http://sajhs.nebo.edu/

External links

• Nebo School District Online
• Mapleton Mountain High School Online
• Spanish Fork High School Online
• Salem Hills Online
• Springville High School Online
• Payson High School Online

• School districts in Utah
• Education in Utah County, Utah
• Spanish Fork, Utah