Mountain Heritage High School

Mountain Heritage High School is a public high school in Burnsville, North Carolina, United States. It is the sole public high school serving Yancey County Schools district. Both YCS public middle schools, East Yancey and Cane River, feed into Mountain Heritage. It is classified by NCHSAA as a 1A institution, meaning its enrollment is in the lowest quartile of North Carolina High Schools, having been reclassified from 2A in 2021.^[2]

Mountain Heritage High School
Location
333 Mountain Heritage High School Rd Burnsville, North Carolina United States
Coordinates	35°54′31″N 82°20′00″W
Information
Type	Public
Motto	Learning for Life
Established	1976 (49 years ago) (1976)
School district	Yancey County Schools
CEEB code	340525
Principal	Daron Williams
Teaching staff	46.52 (FTE)[1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	633 (2023-2024)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	13.61[1]
Color(s)	Green, black, and white
Athletics	Conference 42
Nickname	Cougars
Rival	Mitchell High School
Newspaper	Heritage Highlight
Yearbook	The Trillium
Feeder schools	East Yancey Middle School, Cane River Middle School
Website	mhhs.yanceync.net

History

Mountain Heritage was established in 1976 when East Yancey High School merged with Cane River High School to form a single high school for the district.^[3]

Academics

Mountain Heritage offers college prep, career and technical education, and special education courses. Eight Advanced Placement courses are offered, and students are permitted to register for courses at Mayland Community College as part of their dual enrollment program. Mountain Heritage received a B rating for academics in the 2013–2014 school year from Public Schools of North Carolina.^[4]

Athletics

The Mountain Heritage Cougars participate in the 1A/2A Western Highlands Conference. In the fall, the school offers cheerleading, cross country, football, men's soccer, women's tennis, volleyball, and women's golf. In the winter, the school offers cheerleading, men's basketball, women's basketball, and wrestling. In the spring, the school offers men's golf, women's soccer, softball, men's tennis, track, and baseball.^[5]

In 2009, the Mountain Heritage football team traveled to the first state championship game in the team's history, but was defeated by Tarboro High School 28–3.

In 2019, the girls' basketball team completed a 29–0 undefeated season and earned the school's first ever team state championship under coach Susie Shelton, beating Farmville Central 63–53 at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh.^[6]