Harry S. Truman High School (Independence)

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Truman High School A 9-12 public high school in Independence, Missouri. It is named after hometown resident, U.S. President Harry S. Truman and his wife, Bess Truman. The mascot of Truman High is a patriot, and the school colors are red, white, and blue. Truman students are competitive, especially with students from William Chrisman High, their cross-town rivals. Ironically, both Harry S. Truman and his wife graduated from Chrisman.

1 Student/Building Information
2 Sports
3 Other Extracurriculars
4 Links

[edit] Student/Building Information

Truman is smaller than Chrisman. Nevertheless, their student population is comparable to Chrisman's. Larger class sizes have become a concern for students and teachers, and the Independence School District currently has plans to build a third high school near R.D. Mize road that will filter some students from both the Chrisman and Truman districts.

[edit] Sports

Truman typically does well in all sports areas, however they have lost the "Wagon Wheel", the prize of a traditional annual football game, to William Chrisman High for the past two years. Both schools were anticipating a win this year (2006-2007) however, Truman's football team was not up to par.

Their female basketball team became frustrated with the school's broadcasting department in early 2006. They accused them for being biased toward male sports, to which the broadcasting teacher responded with something that basically meant people liked boys games better. In return, a student that admires the girls' coach, did a story about the issue for a broadcasting assignment since she had it. Her story was harshly critiqued, on the air, for its lighting being "too dark" though many either didn't notice or thought it was fine.

[edit] Other Extracurriculars

There are many other activities that Truman offers its students; from respected choir ensembles, to creative writing clubs, to a small, but active, theatre program.

Truman's Debate and Competitive Drama department is highly accomplished. It high been ranked among the top high schools in the National Forensics League for the last ten years, consistently sending large numbers of teams to State and National competition. In 2006, senior Daniel Johnson won first in State, and fourth place in National Competition for Humorous Interpretation. He is one of several accomplished Truman NFL alumni.

Truman High School also features a chess team with students from William Chrisman and the Independence Middle Schools. They due well in tournaments but due to the fact that Ken Fees Jr., owner of The Chess Club on Vivion RD, decided to raise the cost of students' tournaments, the team has practically defunct. John Sutton, coach and main money source, runs his own tournaments in hope to take his students to the Chess Nationals in Kansas City at the end of the year.