Irmo High School
Irmo High School is a four-grade public high school in Irmo, a suburb of Columbia, South Carolina. More than 2,000 students are enrolled in any single year.
Irmo High School falls under the administrative jurisdiction of District 5 of Lexington and Richland Counties, which encompasses Columbia, Irmo, South Carolina, and Chapin, South Carolina.
Irmo High School has received a number of national accolades, including the National Blue Ribbon Award.
Irmo student awards include the National Academic Championship in 1986, 2001, and 2002 (at Loyola University New Orleans and Pepperdine University), the ASCN Tournament of Champions in Chicago, Illinois in 2002, and the National Science Olympiad in 1987, 1989, and 1990. Irmo placed second at the National Academic Quiz Tournaments national tournament in Austin, Texas in 2002.
Irmo is also known for its boys' soccer team, which has been ranked #1 in the country several times, and whose coach has the singular honor of leading his teams to the most state championships of any coach at any high school in the United States.
Irmo High School has produced graduates who have achieved successful careers in teaching, business, science, engineering, and music. The Bands of Irmo have been awarded the Sudler Flag, an award recognizing the band as an elite music program among secondary music programs in the United States, Canada, and Japan. In addition, the Bands of Irmo won 10 consecutive 5A state marching band championships from 1994 to 2003.
Irmo students are frequently contenders in the national essay contest sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace. Irmo students are also regular contenders in the VICA national skills competitions.
In 2004, Irmo High School implemented the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, an internationally recognized program of strenuous college courses. The first IB class in the history of Irmo, due to graduate in May 2006, contains 25 candidates.
Irmo High School has produced numerous National Merit Scholars and National AP Scholars, and many Irmo graduates have attended fine institutions of higher learning.
Famous Irmo High School alumni
- Leeza Gibbons (1975), television personality
- Donna Rice (1979), whose alleged romantic involvement with Gary Hart helped lead to the demise of his campaign for the office of President of the United States in 1988
- Dalia Garcia (1982), 1983 Miss South Carolina
- Lilian Garcia (1984), who as of 2006 is a ring announcer for WWE Pro Wrestling
- Erica Schmidt, an accomplished theater director in New York City and wife of actor Peter Dinklage
- BJ McKie, who led the University of South Carolina basketball team to the 1997 Southeastern Conference men's basketball championship.
Therese Knecht Dozier
In 1985, Irmo history teacher Therese Knecht Dozier was honored as National Teacher of the Year by the National Teacher of the Year Program. Ms. Dozier was later appointed special advisor to former South Carolina governor Richard W. Riley while he served as President Bill Clinton's Secretary of Education.
"Brewmasters" scandal
In the early 1980's a group of Irmo athletes informally known as "The Brewmasters" allegedly used homemade bombs to explode private mailboxes, drawing local media attention. One of these "Brewmasters" denied their involvement at a pep rally in 1981, and was answered with an anonymous expletive from the students' Junior section. "The Brewmasters" were never heard from again and the vandalism incidents decreased significantly.