Public grades 9–12 school
Mt. Juliet High School (MJHS) is a public high school located in Wilson County, Tennessee. It is not within Mt. Juliet city limits, but it serves parts of southern and eastern Mt. Juliet.[2][3] Ryan Hill, a 2005 MJHS graduate, became the principal July 1, 2023.[4]
In 2008, MJHS moved from its previous building on N Mt. Juliet Road to a new building located at 1800 Curd Road.[5] The old building became Mt. Juliet Middle School. The address changed to 1875 Golden Bear Gateway in 2017.[6]
The school's slogan is "Bear Pride Mt. Juliet High."
Academics
Mt. Juliet High School offers a variety of core and elective classes. These include over 25 Advanced Placement courses, 9 career and technical education programs, 16 fine arts programs, and 27 dual enrollment classes through 3 different colleges and universities.[1]
Athletics
Mt. Juliet offers 21 separate athletic programs.[1] Mt. Juliet competes in Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Division 1, District 9-AAA in all sports except football. In football, Mt. Juliet participates in the TSSAA Division 1, 6A Region 4.
Mt. Juliet fielded its first football team in 1923–24 and was coached by Jack Gifford. The high school has fielded a team every year since 1936. The team is coached by Trey Perry.
Mt. Juliet has appeared in the TSSAA playoffs 17 times and has appeared every year since 2006. In 2012, Mt. Juliet went to the 6A state semifinals, losing to eventual state champion Memphis Whitehaven 41–35.
Baseball
2001–2018: Mark Purvis (516–194). Under Purvis, Mt. Juliet went to eight TSSAA sectional games and won the District 9-AAA championship nine times (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016 & 2018). Over 100 of Purvis' players played collegiately, including nine in the SEC—eight to Vanderbilt University and one to the University of Tennessee.[7]
2019: Mark Decker (349–181) replaced Mark Purvis.
Girls Basketball
TSSAA Girls Basketball AAA State Champs 1977, 1983, and 2005
Rivalries
Wilson Central, MJHS's rival school, opened in 2001. When Wilson Central opened, the area was re-zoned, moving some Mt. Juliet students to Wilson Central.
Similarly, Green Hill High School (GHHS) was completed in 2020, rezoning hundreds of students from MJHS. On October 29, 2021, GHHS defeated MJHS in their first-ever football game at Elzie D. Patton stadium.[8] However, just under a year later, on October 28, 2022, MJHS won the TSSAA Region 5-5A football championship and was presented the Mayor's Cup, after their 26-19 victory over GHHS.[9][10]
Mt. Juliet High School has 42 student-led clubs. Clubs are faculty-sponsored and meet regularly throughout the year.[1]
History and notable events
Tornado recovery
As a result of the deadly March 2020 tornado, MJHS was temporarily converted to a grade 7-12 school to house displaced students from West Wilson Middle School (WWMS). WWMS students were relocated to the west wing of MJHS, while MJHS students were relocated to the east wing. All students shared the common areas.
