Parkview High School

The early 1970s saw Gwinnett County lead the nation in growth. This phenomenal growth rate produced overcrowding in the school system, leaving South Gwinnett and Berkmar too crowded to accommodate the area’s high school students. So, in 1975, construction began on a new school. With a clear view of Stone Mountain, which is a state park, the school was appropriately named Parkview. Today, new neighborhoods, businesses, and trees have obstructed the once uninterrupted view. The school opened its doors to students in 1976 with Principal Bartow Jenkins at the helm.

Between 1979 and 1981, this area of the county grew and so did the school’s population. During these years, Parkview held double sessions to accommodate the large number of students. The physical plant of Parkview consisted of a main building and one other which housed the gym and cafeteria. In 1981, Brookwood High opened to relieve the overcrowding. It is ironic that the Brookwood district was carved out of Parkview as this school was to become the Panthers’ most fierce rival.

Academics and high student achievement have been hallmarks of the school throughout its history. This is due in large part to the wide range of academic and service opportunities available to students, dating back to the school’s Beta Club which was chartered in 1976. Examples of clubs and other opportunities for students have included: Beta, Chess, Creative Writing, Dance, DECA, Drama, Equality Through Change, FBLA, FCA, French National Honor Society, Future Educators, German Honor Society, Intercultural, International Thespians, Jazz Ensemble, JROTC, Junior Classical League, Literary Magazine, Math Team, Mu Alpha Theta, National Art Honor Society, National Honor Society, Odyssey of the Mind, SADD/SAVE, SAGE, Scholars Bowl, Science Bowl, Science National Honor Society, Science Olympiad, Spanish Club, Spanish National Honor Society, Student Council, TSA, Volunteer Parkview, and WorldQuest. School leaders continue to assess programs and ways to engage students, adding to its many offerings. For example, in 2018 Parkview launched its 3DE program as a partnership with Junior Achievement.

This focus on academics and student success has resulted in a large number of student, team, and school awards, including the school’s selection as a National School of Excellence in 1985. Other key honors include Odyssey of the Mind World Champion in 1995 and long winning streaks for the Academic Decathlon team, Destination Imagination teams, and Science Bowl and Science Olympiad teams. In addition, the school’s Junior ROTC program is recognized as one of the most highly decorated programs in the nation. Parkview’s tradition of academic success continues to earn it recognition throughout the state and nation as an outstanding American high school, including recognition from U.S. News & World Report, The Washington Post, and College Board.

In addition to racking up academic-related achievements, Parkview High School is known as a powerhouse in athletics. Throughout its history, its teams have collected a number of state accolades and championships, with many of its teams holding multiple state titles. State championship teams from Parkview include: Baseball, Boys Cross Country, Girls Cross Country, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Boys Swimming, Girls Swimming, Wrestling, Football, and Competitive Cheerleading,

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Parkview’s football team earned national attention along with a few state championships. The team went on a winning streak, winning more than 45 games in a row. It also was featured nationally on a series of Cheerios cereal boxes.

The success of Parkview’s athletic programs led to the school being presented with the Georgia Athletic Directors Association) Dodge Cup in 2002–03 for the best overall athletic program at the AAAAA level. In 2004–05, Sports Illustrated identified Parkview High as having the 7th best athletic program in the nation out of 38,000 schools.

Over time, growth in its student population and the success of its athletic programs led to the need for additional classrooms and facility improvements. In 1982, a six-classroom addition was completed. Five years later 15 more classrooms and a new theater were built. Another 15-classroom addition opened in 1994, as did an addition to the field house. Growth continued and the school used portable classrooms (trailers) to serve students. In the early 2000s, the school’s campus was dotted with more than 40. In 2001, a new gym came online to better serve students. This was followed by a new press box in 2003. In 2006 there were a number of changes to the high school campus as Trickum Middle School, which had been adjacent to Parkview, moved to a new location. This allowed Parkview to acquire additional space and expand into what had been Trickum Middle School. In 2008, miscellaneous upgrades were made to athletic facilities, including improvements to stadium restrooms and visitor lockerrooms. And, most recently, a new field house was completed in 2015.

Throughout Parkview’s rich history, the school has benefitted from stability in two primary areas— its outstanding staff and its committed community. In fact, numerous SACS accreditation committees over the years commended Parkview on its quality and enthusiastic staff and noted the active involvement of the community, parents, and students in school activities. It is no surprise that Parkview students excelled, given the standard of excellence set and demonstrated by the school’s teachers. Just as its students were highly touted, so were Parkview’s faculty members who earned numerous state and even national awards during the school’s history, including having two county-level Teacher of the Year winners.

Today, as it has for more than four decades, community support for Parkview abounds. In the 2000s, the school and the Parkview Cluster sought to harness that support through the development of the Parkview Cluster Foundation (PCF). The mission of the Foundation is to support, enhance, and enrich the academic and arts programs for students attending schools in the Parkview Cluster by providing funding to extend and supplement opportunities for students, teachers and administrators. The Parkview Cluster Foundation’s grants are made possible by a partnership between the cluster schools and the parents, businesses, and residents of the Parkview community. The grant awards work to promote areas reflective of this school community— academic enrichment, growth, and excellence for the Parkview Cluster’s students and schools.

DID YOU KNOW? When Parkview High School opened in 1976 it housed the Gwinnett Vocational Education Center at Parkview which offered a variety of technical education programs to students. In its first years, its offerings included auto body, transportation, construction, cosmetology, drafting, electronics, and metals. Four new programs— child care; hotel, restaurant, and tourism; health occupations; and marketing were added in the 1980s. In the 1990s, Gwinnett County Public Schools consolidated its two vocational programs into what is today called Maxwell High School of Technology, freeing up muchneeded classroom space for Parkview’s growing student population.