Pizitz Middle School
| Pizitz Middle School | |
| |
| Established | 1967 |
|---|---|
| School type | Public |
| District | Vestavia Hills City Schools |
| Grades | 6-8 |
| Principal | Alicia Hunsberger |
| Enrollment | 1,025 (2010) |
| Colors | Red, white & blue |
| Mascot | Pirates |
| Location | 2826 Columbiana Road Vestavia Hills |
| Website | vestavia.k12.al.us |
Louis Pizitz Middle School, built in 1967 as Vestavia Hills Junior High School, is a public middle school in the Vestavia Hills City Schools system, serving the southwestern area of Vestavia Hills. It is named for Louis Pizitz, founder of the Pizitz department store chain, whose family members Isadore and Hortense Pizitz, donated the land for the new high school.
The junior high school was constructed by Jefferson County Schools as a feeder for Berry High School. The "Pirates" name was chosen to reflect the school's connection to the Berry Buccaneers. It became a middle school in the newly-created Vestavia City Schools system in 1970 and was re-dedicated as Pizitz Middle School on May 21, 1972.
Pizitz was recognized by the U. S. Department of Education in 1995 and 1996 as a "Blue Ribbon School". In 2003 the school was recognized for having the highest scores on the Stanford Achievement Test in Alabama.
Before the construction of Liberty Park Middle School in 2008, Pizitz served all 6th through 8th grade students in Vestavia Hills. That year a $3.7 million contract was awarded to Duncan & Thompson Construction Services to renovate the school's administrative offices, lobby, stairwells and bathrooms as well as to replace floor tiles and lockers in hallways and classrooms. Additional renovations planned for a later phase include updating the cafeteria and replacing windows.
In 2018 the school board approved a plan to transfer the Pizitz name to the former Berry High School, which it purchased in 2016, and to convert the existing campus into a 9th grade center feeding into Vestavia Hills High School.
Principals
- John Edwards, 1968-1969
- Jack Hazelrig, 1969
- Richard Lovelady, 1970-1971
- Rafael McDaniel, 1971-1975
- Richard Ward III, 1975-1976
- Billy Anderson, 1976-1989
- Henry Clark, 1989-1991
- David Miles, 1991-2014
- Tyler Burgess, 2014-2015
- Meredith Hanson, 2015-
- Chris Pennington, -2021
- Alicia Hunsberger, 2021-
References
- Whiting, Marvin Yeomans (2000) Vestavia Hills, Alabama: A Place Apart Birmingham: Vestavia Hills Historical Society
- Singleton, William C. III (July 9, 2008) "Two Vestavia Hills schools undergo renovations." The Birmingham News
- Staff (April 26, 2021) "New Principal named for Louis Piztiz Middle School" VHCS website