Highland School of Technology is a magnet public high school located in Gastonia, NC. It is the first magnet school available to students in the Gaston County Schools public school district and draws students from each of the other nine high schools in the district. The percentage of students at Highland from a particular feeder high school is equal to the overall percentage of that school's students in the district. Students are selected through a lottery among qualified 8th-grade applicants.The school opened to freshmen and sophomores in the 2000 school year. The first graduating class was in 2003.Highland School of Technology has had three principals: David Baldaia, who was the school's inaugural principal. He left HST to start Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system.Lee Dedmon, formerly the principal of Cherryville High School and East Gaston High School, is known for his height, 6 foot 11 ¾ inches (he played center for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels basketball team) and for his reminder at the end of every Friday "Be safe, and don't drink and drive, but if you do choose to drink please don't drive" along with a cautionary warning of slippery leaves on rainy autumn days. Mr. Dedmon was also known to pass out dollars to those that can guess his height exactly.On July 1, 2013 Lee Dedmon was succeeded by Denise McLean as principal of Highland. Josh Allen serves as assistant principal and Butch Blalock serves as athletic director.
