Ballard High School is a high school in the eastern suburbs of Louisville, Kentucky. The school opened in the fall of 1968. The first students were in grades 7-9, and a grade was added each year as the building was expanded. This kept the school system from having to transfer upper class students from other high schools. The first class graduated in 1972. From its founding until the mid-1980s the principal was Patrick Crawford. Sandy Allen served from the mid-1980s to the 2003–2004 school year. The principal from 2004 through 2013 was Jim Jury. The school offers grades 9-12. Ballard offers the JCPS Advanced Program, a program designed to provide accelerated instruction for academically gifted and talented students. The school also offers over 20 Advanced Placement) courses. Ballard consistently scores above the national average on the ACT and SAT exams, and boasts the highest KCCT test scores in Jefferson County of non-selective schools. Ballard offers a variety of foreign languages including French, Japanese and Spanish as well as a world travel program, which allows students the opportunity to travel to Europe each year. Ballard continues to rank 2nd in the district and top 10 in the state for National Merit Scholars. Ballard High School was the first Jefferson County public high school recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as an exemplary school. Ballard was the first Jefferson County public high school recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. The quiz bowl team also won the Panasonic Academic Challenge in 1990. In 1984 Sherleen S. Sisney, a teacher of History, Economics, and Political Science, won the National Teacher of the Year award.
Campus
The campus at Ballard High School consists of the main school building as well as the fine arts building. The main building is referred to by students and faculty as four separate buildings, although all four sections are connected to each other by overhead walkways. The South and North buildings house the majority of the classrooms at Ballard High School as well as the North and South offices. The West building's first floor is the home of Ballard's famed art department and the 2nd floor houses the Library. The East building's 1st floor contains the three cafeterias, the Ballard Bank, and the Ballard Student Guidance Center The East building second floor is the home of Ballard's award-winning Music department as well as both the large and small gymnasiums. The Sandy Allen Fine Arts Center is a performing arts facility on the Ballard High School campus. The. facility, which opened in 1998, seats 900. The fine arts center is used for musical and theatrical productions put on by the school's fine arts department. In Kentucky, care must be taken not to confuse this school with Ballard Memorial High School, the public high school that serves Ballard County in the far-western Jackson Purchase.
Demographics (2013–14)
Choir, band, orchestra and speech
The Ballard choral program is one of the largest in the state of Kentucky and is the only fully graded-sequential program in Jefferson County. Each year a large number of students are accepted into the KMEA All-State Choirs and many go on to participate in university choral programs. The choir has received distinguished ratings at the regional KMEA Assessment every year since 1995 and has received national and international awards in the past. The strength of this tradition dates back to the 1980s. Ballard's wind ensemble consistently receives distinguished ratings at regional and statewide concert band and solo/ensemble events. In 2006 the Marching Bruins won the prestigious Grand Champion Award at the Mid-States Band Association's championships. The Ballard High School marching band also was in state marching finals three times in a row, the only marching band in Louisville to make it three consecutive years. The marching band has proven themselves to be one of the top marching bands in Louisville. The Ballard Orchestra received distinguished ratings at the 2005 regional KMEA Large Ensemble Assessment. The Ballard Chamber Orchestra was invited to the KMEA Conference in 2012 for an improvisation session.
