The Colony High School
The Colony High School (TCHS) is a public high school located in the city of The Colony, Texas, USA and classified as a 5A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Lewisville Independent School District located in southeastern Denton County. In 2015, the school was rated "Met Standard" by the Texas Education Agency. History. The Colony High School, located in The Colony, which opened in 1986 is part of Lewisville ISD. Seniors of the 1987 class attended Lewisville High School as TCHS initially had only grades 9–11. Academics. The Colony High School offers  a standard Texas high school curriculum as defined by the Texas State graduation requirements. In addition to those minimum requirements, The Colony High School also offers numerous College Board Advanced Placement (AP) courses that gives students the opportunity to qualify for college credit. Also a new addition to The Colony High School's academic help for the students is a program nationally known as AVID; Advancement Via Individual Determination which is a class for students who want to get into college. The class teaches them ways to take college level notes, self-discipline necessary for getting work done in college  while giving them the opportunity to meet professionals in the field and allowing the students to go on field trips to college campuses. TCHS was the first high school in LISD to have the AVID program under the initial instruction of Jennifer Adams, Coach Dietzman, and this year's AVID teacher for the juniors and seniors; Reesa Wilkins. Recently, all LISD schools, including The Colony High School, entered into a partnership with local community colleges to offer students dual-credit summer courses that, if passed, qualifies as credit for both high school graduation and college. In 2008/09 a new band  hall, drum room, color guard room, and practice rooms were added. Athletics. The Colony Cougars compete in these sports: Volleyball, Cross Country, Football, Basketball, Powerlifting, Wrestling, Swimming, Soccer, Golf, Tennis, Track, Cheerleading, Dance, Baseball & Softball Extracurricular activities. The Colony High School has since become one of the premier high schools in the district. Its fine arts program has received numerous awards on a national level. The Colony is home to the renowned 350 piece TCHS Marching Band that participated in the 1997 Tournament of Roses Parade and directed by Dick Clardy. The Colony Marching Band has additionally been a finalist  in the Texas State UIL Marching Contest in 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, and 2000. The Colony High School Wind Symphony was named the TMEA Class 5A Honor Band in 1997 and performed at the Midwest International Band Clinic in Chicago in 1994 and 1998, the American Bandmasters Association Convention in 2000, and at Carnegie Hall in 2001. The Colony Band has placed over 100 wind and percussion students in the TMEA All-State Band and Orchestra since 1986. Former band directors at The Colony include, but are not limited to: Dick Clardy, Mark Harman, Duane Minnick, ruck Villarreal , Bryan Edwards, James McNair, Phil LaRocque, Jeff Prosperie, Kevin Brubaker, Amanda Drinkwater, Gavin Vitter, Mikel Burress, Lance Flisowski, Mary Ann French, John Peterson, Jason Brents, Luis Saldana, and Courtney Melton. The current directors are Michael Larkin, Jeff Bridges, James Hopkins, and Ian Pilley. Recently, The Colony Marching Band has just made a reappearance at the State UIL Marching Contest in 2017, a first for the school in a few years. The students in the band all perform in two fall concerts: the first premiering their marching show music to the general public in August and the second held right before  winter break in December to showcase what the students have been working on since the end of marching season in early November. After winter break, the students come back to start working on their UIL programs and Solo and Ensemble Music. The students participate in the LISD Solo and Ensemble Contest with the option to also play in the UIL Region Solo and Ensemble Contest. The Solo and Ensemble Contests are the only time in the year where the students are free to collaborate on their own to shape their music. During the spring semester, the students play in three  more concerts, the Mid-Winter Concert, placed right before the TMEA Convention to showcase the band music that the students' have been working on since winter break; the Pre-UIL Concert, placed before UIL to give the students a taste of how the contest will work and the parents a hearing of the music the students will play at the contest; and the Spring Concert, placed near the end of the school year to give the students one last time to showcase their skills before the summer. The Colony is also home to only Full Orchestra program in LISD. The  varsity Full Orchestra at The Colony has consistently earned 1's at the Texas State UIL Concert and Sight-Reading Contests. The members in the orchestra program typically participate in the LISD Solo and Ensemble contest while also hosting their own Small Ensemble Showcase once each spring. Towards the end of the school year, the orchestra usually takes a trip to either participate in a music festival or play at a different location. Currently, the orchestra has only one faculty position, while the school employing private lesson teachers to assist with one-on-one lessons. The JROTC has received numerous  rewards. Even the cheerleaders and drill team, known as the Topcats, have won national titles, even though they are recognized as activity groups instead of sports teams. As far as the evolution of the students, they are far beyond their years. They have Topdogs who help the Topcats with their equipment and even male cheerleaders, which is typically not seen until the college years. Physically, the school continues to evolve as well. A new gym was added in 2004, which combined with the two existing gyms to provide the students with state-of-the-art recreational environments. Additionally, a college  level weight room dubbed the "Powerhouse" was built and furnished with a black-and-gold weight set and steel bars (matching the school colors). The Colony continues to send students into THSPA state finals each year led by strength coach Kevin Kallus, and is arguably has the hardest working group of athletes in the state of Texas. Head Coach and Athletic Coordinator Rudy Rangel is a good coach who has led the team 2:1 ratio this 2010 year. In 2009 led by 3 future Division-I college basketball players in Jordan Williams, Austin Chatman, and A.J. Price. The Colony Boys  Basketball team went all the way to the Texas 4A State final four. many of the players got various individual awards for 5-4A district. Jordan Williams was named Co-MVP, Austin Chatman was named Co-Offensive Player Of The Year, Brent Okpoh was named Newcomer of the Year, A.J. Price was named to all-district first team, Antoine Burrell was named to all-district second team, Troy Webster was named to all-district defensive team, and Coach Cleve Ryan was named Co-Coach of the Year. The Colony's basketball program has had numerous players play division 1 college  basketball including Deron Williams and Bracey Wright. Up and coming talented players for The Colony High School include seniors Sanio Dizdarevic and Vincent Nguyen. The 2009 cross country teams varsity girls got 1st place in district. The track and cross country team are now led by Coach Benton. Every year, sans 2008/2009, the wrestling team sends at least 2 or 3 competitors to the state tournament. Latest being, champion: Blake Mouser, and sou-champion: Ulises Saldivar, who went on to wrestle in NCWA for Texas State University. The Colony High School also has a very prestigious baseball association. The head  coach of the baseball team is Martain Dean, along with his son Matt Dean, who was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2011. The colony high school has had many achievements with the sports teams it has, but the boys/girls soccer program is one that has stood out in recent years. In the 2007/2008 school year both boys and girls varsity soccer went far into their playoffs run. The boys team led by Jason Guehler, Alex Akwari, Gerardo Espinoza, and Danny Hines and coached by Bailey and Platt Went to their 4A state semi-finals, losing to Brenham  2–0, but regardless of the loss the boys came home welcomed and congratulated by their school for setting a record in their high school, reaching the farthest in playoffs it's reached to date. In 2007 the girls varsity team Coached by Ms. Jund, made it all the way to the state final and won, beating Friendswood 1–0, claiming and bringing home the State 4A title. Since then, every year the girls varsity has managed to make it to playoffs, but, hasn't reached the success it did in the 07 school year. Although the boys soccer had taken a  toll in its varsity program, not winning any trophies or even making playoffs in the last five years, broke the streak in the 11/12 school season. The boys team led by seniors Jordan Doak, Kevin Lopez, David Salazar, Kevin Decoud, Alberto Gutierrez, goalkeeper Joshua Guerra and coached by Lee Weddall managed to break the streak by winning three games and tying one resulting in their Berkner ice bowl XXI tournament championship. The cougar football team has been outdone in all the years prior to their 2013 season. This season they've become able to be 8–0 and undefeated unlike last  which only had half the wins as this year. Feeder patterns. Elementary schools that feed into The Colony include Middle schools that feed into The Colony include: