Mountain View High School

In August of 2009, Mountain View High School opened its doors to students. The year was a banner year in Gwinnett County Public Schools as the district opened three new elementary schools, four middle, two new high schools, one replacement facility, and several additions to existing schools, for a total of 743 new classrooms.

Mountain View High opened as the anchor high school for the newly formed Mountain View Cluster. At that time it included feeder schools Twin Rivers Middle and Woodward Mill Elementary School (which both also opened that year), along with two other Gwinnett elementary schools— Dyer and Freeman’s Mill. The high school, located at 2351 Sunny Hill Road in Lawrenceville, had 100 classrooms and a student capacity of 2, 350 students. It cost $47,572,000 to construct.

The school was officially dedicated on September 20, 2009, at a special ceremony that brought the community together to celebrate its new school. Members of the Crest Committee provided the inspiration, sharing details about the new school’s crest. Student Council President Brittney Blakeley spoke to those in attendance about establishing the Mountain View community. PTA Co-Presidents Tracey Kuhn and Marilyn Como presented the ParentTeacher-Student Association charter. And, Dr. Carol Jordan, choral director, led the Mountain View High School Choral Ensemble in the singing of the school’s alma mater.

Praise to our great alma mater, Mountain View we hail! Standing high above all others always to prevail.
Pride and honor virtuous ever, excellence we share,
Look to Mountain View forever, and the mighty bears! Excellentisam in omne sperate, our motto true,
We are bound in life together through love of Mountain View!

The school’s motto “Expect Excellence in Everything” certainly held true in virtually all areas of school life. In its first year, Mountain View offered more collegelevel Advanced Placement (AP) classes than any other Gwinnett high school had offered in its inaugural year. The school administered 203 AP tests, with nearly 80% of AP students electing to take the optional AP test. Of AP tests taken by Mountain View students, 62% of AP tests taken earned a score of 3 or higher (on a 5-point scale). Many colleges and universities offer college credit or exemptions for scores of 3, 4, or 5 on AP exams.

Other academic “high notes” included the band, chorus, and orchestra earning superior ratings and three students making All-State Chorus. In addition, the school’s Stock Market Game team won 2nd place in the state.

MVHS students in the Class of 2010 were offered close to $1 million in scholarships. Honors included a Gates Millennium Scholar, a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist, a Questbridge College Prep Scholarship winner, and a Questbridge semifinalist.

In addition, all Varsity teams collected their first wins during year one, including wins in football, softball, basketball, soccer, and baseball. The girls soccer team finished 2nd in the region and the boys team finished 4th. Both teams made the state playoffs.

In addition to their dedication in the classroom, MVHS students exhibited dedication to community service with students performing 4,169 community service hours during that first year.

Without a doubt, Mountain View’s first year set the bar very high and since then students and staff have proven they are up to the challenge. The school is a multi-year honoree as an Advanced Placement (AP) Honor School, earning recognition in multiple categories. In 2015–16, the school administered 1,156 AP exams and 649 students attempted at least one AP exam. That same year, Mountain View recognized 95 AP Scholars, 32 AP Scholars with Honors, 36 AP Scholars with Distinction, and five National AP Scholars.

Other recent accomplishments include:

• Mountain View’s Class of 2019 was offered $11,517,079 in college scholarships.
• Mountain View’s Student Council earned honors from the Georgia Association of Student Councils, including recognition for Council of Excellence, Advisor of the Year, and GASC Advisor of the Year.
• Athletic accolades for teams and students, including teams in baseball, basketball and volleyball advancing to the Sweet 16 in state tournament play. The football team finished the 2016–17 season as region 6-AAAAAAA runnerup and made the state playoffs for the first time in school history. And the school’s wrestling team earned the 2017 Area Champions title.
• The “Grizzly Gazette” newspaper earned AllGeorgia 1st place for large school newspapers, 1st place in news writing and 2nd place in design at Georgia Scholastic Press Association (GSPA) state competition.
• Mountain View High School was named a National Beta School of Distinction.
• The school’s Latin students won the state championship in Junior Classical League competition.

In addition to its focus on offering students educational opportunities through AP classes and traditional career and technical education courses found at Maxwell HS of Technology and Grayson Technical Education Programs, Mountain View offers students innovative opportunities in the area of dual enrollment. Through Dual Enrollment, students earn college credit for free while simultaneously being a student at MVHS. Students may choose to take dual enrollment classes off campus at colleges such as Georgia Gwinnett College. The school also offers dual enrollment opportunities through a distance learning partnership with Georgia Tech. And MVHS was the first school in Gwinnett County to offer dual enrollment classes on campus and taught by MVHS teachers!

The opening of Mountain View High School was much more than just the construction of a new school... it was the coming together and creation of a new school community. A school community that is focused on its children, providing them a quality, well-rounded education that prepares them for the next level and their next steps in life. The Mountain View Cluster holds true to the high school’s motto... expecting excellence in everything. And as far as its stakeholders are concerned their schools are delivering on that promise!