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Forest Hills Northern High School

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Coordinates: 42°59′07″N 85°34′35″W / 42.98514°N 85.57626°W / 42.98514; -85.57626
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Forest Hills Northern High School
Address
Map
3801 Leonard NE

Grand Rapids
,
Kent County
,
Michigan
49525

United States
Coordinates42°59′07″N 85°34′35″W / 42.98514°N 85.57626°W / 42.98514; -85.57626
Information
TypePublic
Established1972
School districtForest Hills Public Schools
NCES School ID2614610[1]
PrincipalHeather McKinney-Rewa[2]
Teaching staff69.2 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Grades9–12[1]
Enrollment1109 (2023–24)[1]
Student to teacher ratio16.03[1]
Color(s)Columbia blue, black and white[2]    
Athletics conferenceOttawa-Kent Conference[2]
NicknameHuskies[2]
Websitewww.fhps.net/northernhs
Last updated: January 24, 2025

Forest Hills Northern High School is a public high school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. It is one of three high schools in the Forest Hills Public Schools district, the other two being Forest Hills Central High School and Forest Hills Eastern High School.

Academics

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Curriculum

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To graduate, students must receive twenty-two and one half (22.5) credits. The minimum graduation requirements for Forest Hills Northern include four credits of English; four credits of mathematics; three credits of science; three credits of social science; one credit of physical education and health; one credit of visual, performing, applied arts; and two credits of a foreign language.[3]

The school offers several Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Each semester, students who take an AP course will have 0.021 added to their cumulative grade point average.[3] The school also offers a project-based learning program called Project Next, which involves students identifying and solving real-world problems.[4][5] Forest Hills Northern has language immersion programs for Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.[6]

Recognition

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The 2024 U.S. News & World Report high school rankings listed Forest Hills Northern as #612 in its National Rankings and #14 in its Michigan High School Rankings.[7]

In 2023, Forest Hills Northern was among the 20 Michigan schools with the highest SAT scores.[8]

Extracurriculars

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Athletics

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In athletics, the school competes as a member of the Ottawa-Kent Conference. Forest Hills Northern offers the following varsity Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) sports:[2]

  • Baseball (boys)
  • Basketball (girls and boys)
  • Bowling (girls and boys)
  • Cross country (girls and boys)
  • Football (boys)
  • Golf (girls and boys)
  • Gymnastics (girls)
  • Ice Hockey (boys)
  • Lacrosse (girls and boys)
  • Skiing (girls and boys)
  • Soccer (girls and boys)
  • Softball (girls)
  • Swimming and diving (girls and boys)
  • Tennis (girls and boys)
  • Track and field (girls and boys)
  • Volleyball (girls)
  • Wrestling (boys)

Additionally, the school offers a co-ed rowing club with varsity status in the spring athletic season.[9][10]

Clubs

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Forest Hills Northern has several clubs, including National Honor Society, Rotary Interact, Model United Nations, DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America), and HOSA – Future Health Professionals.[11][12]

Additionally, the school offers multiple clubs based on cultural identity, including the Black Student Union (BSU) and Asian Student Association (ASA).[13][14]

The Michael Sadler Foundation launched a new program called GameChang3rs at Forest Hills Northern in 2019. The program involves high-school volunteers, called "ambassadors", teaching younger students about leadership, academics, service, character, teamwork and resilience. The GameChang3rs initiative is dedicated to Michael Sadler, a Michigan State football player who died in a car crash in 2016.[15][16]

Demographics

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The demographic breakdown of the 1,134 students enrolled in 2023-2024 was:

  • Male - 50.8%
  • Female - 49.2%
  • Asian - 9.6%
  • Black - 6.3%
  • Hispanic - 7.7%
  • White - 70.9%
  • Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander - 0.2%
  • Multiracial - 5.2%

18.9% of the students were eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch.[1]

Notable alumni

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Forest Hills Northern High School is prominently featured in the Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie A Smile as Big as the Moon.[25] The movie is based on the 2002 memoir of the same name, which was written by a special-education teacher and football coach at Forest Hills Northern, Mike Kersjes.[26] Both the memoir and the movie recount Kersjes's experiences as he works to take his special-education class to Space Camp.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Northern High School". nces.ed.gov. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e "MHSAA > Schools". www.mhsaa.com. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Final High School Course Description Guide 2023-24". Forest Hills Public Schools. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  4. ^ Jarema, Morgan (February 11, 2020). "School News Network: Forest Hills Northern H.S. Project NEXT". WGVU News. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  5. ^ French, Ron (May 13, 2024). "A Michigan school devoted to innovation. Here's why others won't follow". Bridge Michigan. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  6. ^ Moroney, Kyle (December 9, 2014). "Dual language immersion program gives students a 'rich world lens'". mlive. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  7. ^ "Northern High School – U.S. News Rankings". US News. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  8. ^ Frick, Melissa; Levin, Scott (November 27, 2023). "Here are the top 10 Grand Rapids area high schools with the highest SAT scores". mlive. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  9. ^ "Program Overview". FHN Rowing Club. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  10. ^ Judson, Jen (June 20, 2014). "Forest Hills Northern crew team growing by leaps and bounds". mlive. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  11. ^ "Participating Schools". HOSA. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  12. ^ "FHN Co-Curricular Activities". Forest Hills Public Schools. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  13. ^ Bunchman, Meghan (February 17, 2023). "Forest Hills parents concerned about 'Black History Month Spirit Week'". WOODTV. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  14. ^ CHI-PAC (July 24, 2023). "Asian Student Association (ASA) Spicy Noodle Challenge | Forest Hills Chinese Immersion". Forest Hills Chinese Program. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  15. ^ Weakley, Teresa (August 31, 2023). "Gamechang3rs turns students to teachers at Forest Hills H.S." WOODTV. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  16. ^ Hoffman, Lindsay (March 5, 2019). "Michael Sadler Foundation launches "GameChang3rs" initiative to empower young leaders". WXMI. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  17. ^ "About Chris - Chris Afendoulis CPA for State Representative". June 24, 2016. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  18. ^ "Chris Afendoulis, District 73 - Michigan House Republicans". August 6, 2018. Archived from the original on August 6, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  19. ^ Kaminski, Steve (August 18, 2009). "Still recovering and lacking a ride, Grand Rapids' Johnny Benson won't race again this season". mlive. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  20. ^ Greg, Chrapek (February 10, 2017). "Basketball a family tradition for Kozal family at Forest Hills Northern". mlive. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
  21. ^ "Mitch Lyons Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards - databaseFootball.com". May 28, 2011. Archived from the original on May 28, 2011. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  22. ^ Van Gilder, Rachel; Doles, Jack (December 28, 2023). "Forest Hills Northern grad drafted to Major League Soccer". WOOD-TV.
  23. ^ Gr, Steve Vedder | The; Press, Rapids (March 24, 2011). "Ex-local stars Steve Scheffler, David Kool to speak at Fellowship of Christian Athletes breakfast". mlive. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  24. ^ Kaminski, Steve (July 11, 2019). "Retired NFL lineman Jared Veldheer back in Grand Rapids to host youth camp". mlive. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  25. ^ "'A Smile as Big as the Moon' starring John Corbett airs at 9 tonight on ABC (video)". mlive. January 29, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  26. ^ "One giant step for disabled children". Christian Science Monitor. April 16, 2002. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
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