Shiloh High School

Shiloh High School serves approximately 2,300 students in grades 9-12. The school has undergone four classroom additions, plus the addition of a new theater and field house, gym, and athletic facilities since it opened with 450 students in the fall of 1984. The original rural surroundings have given way to an ethnically diverse and culturally enriched setting. Today, Shiloh draws from the dynamic communities of Lilburn, Snellville, Stone Mountain, and Lithonia, thus presenting the school with a unique situation. The lack of any one city or suburb to call home has allowed Shiloh, itself, to become the community.

Shiloh High School has become known for its penchant for undertaking new initiatives. Over the years, Shiloh has had a string of firsts in the county system, including moving to the 4x4 block schedule, instituting the first at-risk program for incoming ninth grade students (called the STAR program), developing a parentstudent alcohol and drug awareness class, providing funding for tenth graders who participate in the PSAT, designing a model for teacher support and professional development that has earned a national reputation, and instituting rigorous attendance policies such as the Tardy Lockout Policy for students as a means to support academic achievement by having students on time to class. More recent initiatives include the school’s move to offer an International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum and the creation of college and career academies.

Shiloh has made a strong commitment to professional staff development, providing an extensive local school staff development program to improve teacher performance. This includes small group discussions at faculty meetings, speakers (including local faculty) discussing topics requested by the teachers, a faculty study group which discusses pertinent educational issues once a month, the TALENT program (Teachers as Leaders: Encouraging New Thought) which encourages leadership growth in classroom teachers, a voluntary peer-coaching program that has been the subject of national presentations and a mentoring program for teachers new to the profession (Brand New Crew) as well as those new to SHS (New Crew) that utilize teachers to assist newcomers with issues such as local school copying procedures, timelines for required paperwork, and instructional strategies and procedures.

Due to Shiloh’s willingness to stand on the cutting edge of educational practices and continually prepare and develop its teachers, students are offered incredible opportunities to grow as individuals: academically, athletically, artistically and socially. Since its inception at the school in the 1990’s, the school’s Air Force Junior ROTC program has gained national recognition. Shiloh athletic teams have won state championships in baseball, swimming, track and field, wrestling, soccer, and competition cheerleading, and are perennial powers to contend with in all other sports. Shiloh offers artistic opportunities to participate in over four choirs, four bands, and three orchestras, as well as in the alwaysentertaining drama department, Shiloh Onstage. Additionally, there are over 40 social and academic clubs and honors organization to choose from, ranging from traditionals such as Student Council and National Honor Society to alternative groups such as Young Men of Values and Principles (YMVP), and Young Women of Values and Principles (YWVP).

Community support has been a hallmark at Shiloh. Local businesses consistently team up with Shiloh’s parent groups, teachers, coaches, and administrators to complete many projects. Those projects range from stadium and field house construction, to creating TEAM Shiloh. TEAM (Together Everyone Achieves More) Shiloh was created to help bridge the gap among the diverse population Shiloh serves. TEAM Shiloh is made up of school personnel, Shiloh parents, and members of the community. TEAM Shiloh brings together members of the Shiloh cluster and symbolizes better than anything, the sense of community that has been so integral in Shiloh’s success.