Heritage High School (Conyers, Georgia)

Heritage High School is one of three public secondary schools in Rockdale County in Conyers, Georgia, United States (the others being Rockdale County High School and Salem High School), under the Rockdale County School District. Heritage High School is home of the Patriots. It has twice been named a School of Excellence. In December 2009, U.S. News & World Report gave Heritage High School a silver medal ranking in the top 500 high schools in the nation.^{[citation needed]} In 2014 Heritage High School became an Academy for Performing and Visual Arts.

Heritage High School
Address
2400 Granade Road Southwest Conyers , Rockdale , Georgia 30094-6299 United States
Coordinates	33.627728°N 84.049045°W / 33.627728; -84.049045[1]
Information
Motto	"Setting the Stage for Excellence"
Established	1976
School district	Rockdale County School District
NCES District ID	130441001591
Principal	LaTonya Richards
Teaching staff	99.70 FTE[2]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,803 (2023–2024)[2]
Student to teacher ratio	18.08[2]
Color(s)	Red and blue
Athletics conference	8-AAAAA[3]
Mascot	Patriot
Nickname	HHS
Team name	Patriots
Accreditation	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Newspaper	The Sentinel
Yearbook	L'Espirit
Website	hhs.rockdaleschools.org

Shooting

On May 20, 1999, a month to the day after the Columbine High School massacre, 15-year-old student Anthony "T.J." Solomon opened fire with a .22-caliber rifle on the Heritage campus, wounding six students. A 15-year-old girl was hospitalized in critical condition, and the other victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Solomon attempted suicide with a revolver but was talked into surrendering by an assistant principal. At the time of the shooting, the PBS series Frontline was in Conyers filming a documentary about an STD outbreak that occurred among Conyers teenagers in 1996. Solomon initially faced up to 351 years of prison if convicted of aggravated assault and other charges,^[4] but in 2000 he was found guilty but mentally ill, and was sentenced to 40 years in prison and 65 years of probation.^[5][6] A judge later reduced his sentence from 40 to 20 years. He was released to his mother's house on parole on July 26, 2016.^[7][8]

Performing Arts

In July 2014, Heritage High School became an Academy for Performing and Visual Arts, also referred to as the Fine Arts Program. Students accepted into the program are enrolled in one of the following majors:

• Vocal Music
• Instrumental Music
• Dance
• Theatre
• Technical Theatre
• Visual Arts

Theater

Heritage High School's drama department won the Georgia High School Association one act play competition at the 6A level in 2017 and 2018.^[9] Also in 2017, they won the Georgia High School Theater Award for Overall Production, for their production of Les Misérables'.^[10]

Notable alumni

• Tyler Austin, Yokohama DeNA Baystars, first baseman and outfielder^[11]
• Clint Mathis, World Cup soccer player
• Jack McBrayer, actor, singer, and comedian
• Jamie Newton, founder of Golf Turf Management; appeared on one season of Survivor
• Richard T. Scott, artist, writer, and coin designer for the United States Mint.
• Marcus Printup, Jazz Trumpeter and member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra under the leadership of Wynton Marsalis.