Misplaced Pages

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. In 2014 Heritage High School became an Academy for Performing and Visual Arts.

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, but in 2000 he was found guilty but mentally ill, and was sentenced to 40 years in prison and 65 years of probation. 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.

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. Also in 2017, they won the Georgia High School Theater Award for Overall Production, for their production of Les Misérables'.

Notable alumni

This article's list of alumni may not follow Misplaced Pages's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (March 2019)

• Tyler Austin, Yokohama DeNA Baystars, first baseman and outfielder
• 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.

References

1. "Free US Geocoder". Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
2. ^ "Heritage High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
3. "2018-2019 Region Alignments | GHSA.net". Archived from the original on April 26, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
4. Pilcher, James (August 12, 1999). "15-year-old gunman's case sent to adult court". Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 6, 2000. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
5. "6 hurt in Georgia high school shooting". CNN. May 20, 1999. Archived from the original on August 21, 2000. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
6. "Ga. Shooter Gets 40 Years". ABC News. November 10, 2000. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
7. Schramm, Rebekka (July 26, 2016). "Notorious 1999 Heritage High School shooter released from prison". CBS46. Archived from the original on July 27, 2016.
8. Richards, Doug (November 10, 2000). "Tentative parole set for Heritage High School gunman". 11Alive. Archived from the original on August 6, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2013.
9. "Lambert, Heritage, Buford High Win 2018 GHSA One-Act Play Competition". Atlanta Theater. November 14, 2018. Retrieved November 23, 2018.
10. "Congrats to Heritage High School on their Shuler Awards!". April 21, 2017.
11. "Tyler Austin Stats, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved October 10, 2023.

External links

• Heritage High School website
• Rockdale County Public Schools website

This school-related article concerning the U.S. state of Georgia is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

• Schools in Rockdale County, Georgia
• Public high schools in Georgia (U.S. state)
• Educational institutions established in 1976
• 1976 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)
• Georgia (U.S. state) school stubs