Enrollment in grades 9-12 for the 2014–15 school year is 1,425 students. Approximately 75% of students are white, 20% are African-American, 2% are Asian-American, 1% are Hispanic, and 1% are multiracial. Roughly 12% of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch. HTHS has a graduation rate of 97%, and 75% of students attend a four-year college or university upon graduation. Approximately 95% of students meet or exceed proficiency standards in both reading and mathematics. The average ACT score for HTHS students is 27 and the average SAT composite is 1280.
Curriculum
Approximately 52% of students take one or more of the following Advanced Placement courses: Students can also take advantage of six different career-focused academies:
Academy of Business & Finance, which includes dual enrollment in UAB courses and a paid internship
Biomedical Sciences Academy, based on the nationally recognized Project Lead the Way curriculum
Electrical Construction Academy, leading to both NCCER and OSHA certifications
Originally called R.G. Hewitt High School, HTHS was established in 1925 on Chalkville Road and graduated its first students in 1927. By 1938 the student population had outgrown the facility, leading Jefferson County Schools to request that a community center under construction in the Cahaba Homestead Village be used as a high school instead. This building, located at 301 Parkway Drive, would serve as Trussville's high school until a new high school campus was constructed on Trussville Clay Road. Classes moved to the new campus in January 1984, at which point the facility was renovated to house Hewitt-Trussville Middle School. The new HTHS campus was designed by Adams/Peacher/Keeton/Cosby, Inc. with Moore Engineering & Construction serving as the general contractor. In 1996 the large, illuminated signage visible from I-59 was added to the southern facade. The front wing contained the gymnasium, auditorium, cafeteria, band room and administrative offices. The rear wing contained academic classrooms with the five hallways being distinguished by color. The interior featured a pair of outdoor courtyards. During the late 1980s and 1990s, HTHS struggled to accommodate a rapidly growing student population from the Trussville, Clay, and Chalkville areas. By 1995, HTHS enrolled over 1,500 students in only three grades and was the sixth largest high school in the state of Alabama. The Jefferson County Board of Education agreed to construct a new high school that would serve students from Clay and Chalkville, reducing the HTHS student population by about 40%. Although overcrowding was temporary resolved with the construction of Clay-Chalkville High School in 1996, the continued rapid growth within Trussville resulted in the need for a new building, which opened in October 2008. The existing school was then converted into Hewitt-Trussville Middle School, which now occupies the building. The current HTHS building is located on a 127-acre site on Husky Parkway between Trussville-Clay Road and Deerfoot Parkway, across I-59 from the previous campus. The school is able to accommodate about 1,600 students with room to grow to 2,400 students in the future. The school also includes a fine arts center, auditorium, field house and multiple athletic fields. The final design for the school was approved by the Trussville Board of Education in September 2006. On Tuesday, November 14, 2006, the Trussville City Council rezoned the parcels at 5601 and 5555 Trussville-Clay Road from agricultural to institutional use to allow for the construction of the new building. The school was designed by Davis Architects and encompasses 360,000-square feet. Its design includes white columns and a clock tower, and at a final cost of $70 million, the school was the most expensive high school ever built in Alabama upon its opening in October 2008. However, more funding was required after a failed attempt to build an indoor swimming pool on the 2nd floor B-Wing.
Athletics
List of competitive athletic teams
HTHS competes in AHSAA Class 7A athletics and fields teams in the following sports:
Jack Wood Stadium, adjacent to the building at 301 Parkway Drive, was used until 2013 for football games and track and field events, as well as annual commencement exercises. In 2014 a new stadium was opened on Husky Parkway, and Jack Wood stadium was demolished as part of the construction of Cahaba Elementary School. Current facilities include the HTHS gymnasium, baseball stadium, softball field, soccer field and Hewitt-Trussville stadium.
Championships
HTHS has won eight AHSAA state championships:
Softball
Baseball
Girls' Golf
Girls' Indoor Track
Girls' Outdoor Track & Field
Wrestling
HTHS football has won six regional championships. It has competed in the state football playoffs twenty-five times, reaching the semifinals three times and finals once. 2016 marked the first undefeated regular season.
Student activities
HTHS sponsors a variety of student activities, including many nationally affiliated clubs and organizations. The following is a list of many of these:
