James Clemens High School

James Clemens High School operates on a four-block semesterial schedule and offers options such as dual enrollment and cooperative education (co-op) programs for those who qualify. School hours run from 8:12 a.m. to 3:28 p.m., Monday through Friday. Each class is 96 minutes long, with a four-minute class change period.

James Clemens offers a 1-hour "refuel block" during lunch where students may eat, socialize, convene with teachers or attend club meetings.[3]

James Clemens offers over 70 clubs and organizations, many of them service based, such as Interact Club and Junior Civitan, providing funds and services for the surrounding community.[4]

James Clemens High School maintains an active music program including a marching band, two concert bands, jazz band, and a choir. The marching band consists of over 150 students and competes in 2 or more marching band competitions annually, both in state and out of state, and has received superior ratings in every competition since its creation, winning best in class and grand champion awards on several occasions. The marching band performed in the New Years Day Parade in London, England on January 1, 2017. The school's single choir, dubbed the "JC Jet Choir" is made up of approximately 80 students and hosts a Christmas concert and Spring concert annually. The group competes biennially in Festival Disney at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The music program as a whole has boasted relative success since the school's establishment. The choir has received numerous awards for their performances in competition including an invitation to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City, New York in the spring of 2018. The concert bands consistently receive awards for their performances as well.

James Clemens High School is home to the JROTC Jet Battalion, with over 100 cadets enrolled. The program instructors are/were Colonel Courtney Taylor (2012-2016) and Sergeant Major Samuel McCray (2013–present). The Jet Battalion's Color Guard presents The Colors at every home football game, basketball game, and soccer game. The Jet Battalion also cleans the Madison City Schools Stadium after every home game. As of 2015, the Battalion is rebuilding a Grumman F-9 Cougar to display on campus. The Jet Battalion's Color Guard, PT, and Drill Team compete in local meets, and have won several awards, one of which being the "HOOAH Award", received at the annual JROTC Day hosted by Redstone Arsenal.[5]

On December 14, 2022, videos were released of James Clemens assistant principal James Watts engaging in a physical altercation with a female student on a bus while it was loading other students. Two students had allegedly gotten into a physical altercation with each other on the bus, at which point Watts and other administrative members of the school staff were called to help defuse the situation. Watts started arguing with one of the students, and the student allegedly bit his arm. Watts then grabbed the student by the neck and hit her. Several other students started confronting Watts after this. Following the incident, both of the students who engaged in a physical altercation with each other were suspended.[6]

Madison City Schools superintendent Ed Nichols spoke on the incident the next day, where he defended Watts' actions, stating, "I’m never going to tell someone if they are being assaulted, that they can’t defend themselves from further harm."[6]

On March 21, 2023, the family of the student involved in the incident filed a lawsuit against Watts, as well as the Madison City Schools Board of Education and former James Clemens principal Brian Clayton. The lawsuit claimed that the student was in special education.[7]

On April 20, Madison City Schools announced the new principal for James Clemens as Dr. Donaldson (also called Dr. D. He would become the official principal ever since the previous principal, Dr. Clayton left in December 2022. He is known for his announcements on Fridays where he sings along to songs requested by students at James Clemens.[8]

James Clemens provides students with the opportunity to compete in many of the major high school sports.[9]

• Monty Rice, linebacker for the Tennessee Titans
• Logan Stenberg, offensive guard for the Detroit Lions.

• Official school homepage
• Student website