Eagan High School

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Eagan High School
Motto Technology Enhanced Education With A Human Touch
Established 1989
Type Public high school
Principal Dr. Polly Reikowski
Faculty 134
Students approx. 2,355
Grades 9-12
Location 4185 Braddock Trail
Eagan, Minnesota, USA
Colors Royal Blue, Kelly Green, Silver
Mascot Wildcat
Yearbook Epilogue
Newspaper The Eagan Independent
Website www.eagan.k12.mn.us

Eagan High School (EHS) is a public high school in east-central Eagan, Minnesota. The school opened in fall of 1989 for ninth grade students and for grades nine through twelve the following year. It is particularly noted for its fine arts programs and use of technology. As of 2006, it has over 2300 students.

The school is a member of Minnesota Independent School District 196 (Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District), and is affiliated with the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL). The school is a member of the Lake Conference.

Contents

[edit] History

In the late 1980's, Eagan began to grow rapidly. At that time, Eagan students in District 196 were bussed to nearby Apple Valley High School or Rosemount High School, which had become greatly overcrowded.[1] Dr. Thomas F. Wilson was appointed as "principal-at-large" in charge of planning a new high school and middle school in east-central Eagan. The $40 million building was designed by Hammel, Green and Abrahamson (HGA). HGA had designed nearly every school in the District, but the School Board later dropped them after myriad problems with the EHS/DHMS construction project. The building greatly exceeded cost and time estimates and spawned a lawsuit.[2] Before it opened, students met and chose the Wildcats as the school mascot and decided the schools should be Royal Blue, Kelly Green, and Silver.[3] The high school was opened in the fall of 1989 for ninth grade students, and for grades 10-12 a year later. The first class to graduate from Eagan High School was the class of 1991. The first principal was Dr. Thomas F. Wilson. Dr. Wilson held the position for over the first ten years of the high schools existence. Upon his retirement in 2002, a controversial replacement, Dr. Jane Stewart, was appointed. Citing her "paucity of qualifications" and upset at her quick appointment, almost the entire faculty walked out of their first meeting with her.[4] Dr. Stewart nonetheless began as principal, but was involuntarily transferred to a position in the district office--spawning a lawsuit for employment discrimination.[5] Assistant Principal of Fine Arts Polly Reikowski was promoted to Principal.[6] Dr. Reikowski had worked at the school since in opened in 1989, and as of the 2006-2007 school year remains principal.

[edit] School facilities

An aerial view of the Eagan High School building (including the attached middle school) and some of the surrounding athletic fields, taken shortly after the school opened. The right half of the building is the high school. Since this picture was taken, the building has been expanded twice and an additional parking lot has been added.
An aerial view of the Eagan High School building (including the attached middle school) and some of the surrounding athletic fields, taken shortly after the school opened. The right half of the building is the high school. Since this picture was taken, the building has been expanded twice and an additional parking lot has been added.

The high school is attached to Dakota Hills Middle School and shares access to an auditorium, a stadium, series of athletic fields, and a municipal park. Although the two school share a common building, there is little interaction between the middle school and high school students during school hours.

During much of its history, the school was overcrowded. When the high school opened, it was designed for 1200 students but designed to be expanded to handle an additional 800 students. This expansion was necessary almost immediately and was completed within a few years of the opening.[7] Another much-needed expansion was completed in 2005.

Eagan High School stresses technology in education, a standard laid down by former principal Dr. Wilson and shown in the school's motto: "Technology-enhanced education with a human touch." When the school opened, it became the first fully networked high school in the nation. Six hundred computers were sold at a discount by Apple Computer, which publicized EHS worldwide as a "demonstration school."[8] Every room was equipped with a television, which received satellite broadcasts as well as programs from the school's fully-functional television studio. Today, the building has wireless WiFi internet access throughout the school for faculty and student use. Teachers use laptops to wirelessly transmit attendance and grades to a central server. This information can be accessed through the school's website. The school has ten computer labs, most using Mac OS X. In 2002, EHS became one of the first high schools in the nation to require students to register for classes online. [9] The school also helped test fingerprint scans when checking out books in the library.[10] In 2005, teachers began hosting online class review sessions using Adobe software. [11]

Departmental fundraising allowed for the construction of a fully operational television studio within the school. The main purpose of the studio was the ability to rent out the equipment for student or community projects, but the construction of the studio also allowed the school to create a weekly closed circuit television series called "Eagan AM.", aired every Thursday morning during PAWS, a homeroom-like activity that takes place between 2nd and 3rd periods every school day.

[edit] Academics

The school has been very successful academically. The class of 2005 had an average SAT score of 1258 and an average ACT score of 23.8. Academics are organized into a trimester system. The school day is comprised of seven periods. A variety of options are offered for high-achieving students, including Advanced Placement courses. Additionally, seniors may earn credit at the University of Minnesota through its "College-In-the-Schools" (CIS) program or take classes at local community colleges through the state-sponsored "Post-Secondary Enrollment Options" (PSEO) program.

[edit] Link program

In an effort to promote and increase school spirit and soften the transition from middle school to high school, EHS began facilitating the Link Program in the 06-07 school year. At the end of the 05-06 school year, around 300 sophomores and juniors were nominated by staff to serve on the Link Crew the following year. About 150 were selected to be Link Crew Leaders and participated in several dozen hours of training in August 2006.

All incoming freshmen to EHS are assigned to a Link Leader, with approximately one dozen students per leader. The Link Crew Leaders are mentors and a source of assistance to freshmen. On the first day of school, freshmen participate with their leader in a welcoming program, consisting of various team-building activities.

As part of the Link program, a new period was inserted into the schedule. Termed PAWS (People Achieving Wildcat Spirit), it is a 15 minute homeroom between the second and third periods of the day. Ideally composed of 5 students of each class, freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior, PAWS is a time for announcements to be read and forms handed out. Like Link, PAWS groups also engage in a variety of activities to promote school spirit and connectivity with other classes. PAWS groups are permanent throughout a student's high school career, with the same teacher and students for all four years.

Eagan High School is the first school in District 196 to attempt a program like Link.

[edit] Extracurricular activities

The school has a very strong program of extracurricular activities. Over seventy percent of its faculty coaches or advises some sort of after-school program. It has had great success in Athletics, Fine Arts, and other Activities.

[edit] Athletics

The school's athletic teams compete as the "Wildcats," a mascot chosen by the first student body.
The school's athletic teams compete as the "Wildcats," a mascot chosen by the first student body.

Eagan High School currently offers twenty-seven interscholastic athletic activities and a variety of intramural sports programs. Adaptive soccer, floor hockey, and softball are available for special needs students.

The school competes under the Minnesota State High School League and is a member of the competitive Lake Conference. Some notable interscholastic athletic successes include:

  • Girls' Soccer qualified for the State Tournament in 1996, 1998, and 2001. They finished 2nd in 1996 and 4th in 1998.
  • Girls' Hockey qualified for the State Tournament in 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2004. They were State Runner Up in 1997 and Consolation Champions in 1998 and 2000.
  • Girls' Volleyball has qualified for almost every state tournament in the last decade, and has won four State Championships.
  • Trent Peterson and Ryan Peterson (no relation) led the Eagan boys golf team in 2005 to the school's first ever boys state championship. They also tied individually for state title honors.


[edit] Forensics

Eagan High School has been most noted for its forensics programs. Through its speech and debate teams, it has won numerous awards including state and national titles for extemporaneous speaking.

For the last decade, the National Forensics League (NFL) has recognized EHS as one of the top 1% of schools in forensics nationwide. The NFL has also given its "School of Excellence" Award to Eagan every year since 1999 and named it one of the top five schools in the nation. In 2005, the school was given the Bruno E. Jacob National Team Award.

[edit] Music

The EHS Drumline won the World Class State Championship in 2003, 2004, and 2005 and were the State Large School Champions for nine consecutive years starting in 1993.

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences recognized Eagan for its vocal and instrumental music programs by naming it a GRAMMY Signature School in 2001. Through the school's history, more than 115 of its musicians have qualified for All-State Choir, Band, Jazz Band, and Orchestra. It's Wind Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble have both performed for the MN. Music Ed. Assn. Mid-Winter Convention.

[edit] Drama

The school has regular plays and musicals. The schools' One-Act Play team has won the state's highest rating nearly every year since the school's inception.

[edit] Other activities

The school has a number of other notable activities, including:

  • The Risk Society, a club dedicated to the popular board game Risk.
  • French, Spanish, and German clubs.
  • MUSE, EHS's literary arts magazine.
  • Eagan AM, the school's student-run news program.
  • Student Ambassadors, a group that helps new students.
  • Peer Mediation, a club that helps and encourages students to solve their problems peacefully.
  • Mock Trial, a club where students present a law case in court, filling the roles of lawyers and witnesses.
  • Supermileage, a a group of students who build an airplane throughout the school year, and later enter it into a competition.
  • Science Olympiad, in which students compete in various competitions that involve the application of science.
  • A chess team: its most notable alum is John Bartholomew, who won the National High School Chess championship in 2002 as a ninth grader. [2]

[edit] Eagan fight song

To the tune of the Notre Dame Victory March

We are from Eagan; stand up and cheer.
Wildcats are roaring year after year.
Send a victory shout on high.
Shake down the thunder from the sky.
Yes, we're the Wildcats and we are great.
Onward to glory; fame is our fate.
Blue and Green and Silver waving
Onward to victory!

[edit] Awards

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Cook, Michele. "Board Seeks Bond Vote to Relieve Crowding", St. Paul Pioneer Press, 1988-09-14, p. 1DW. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.
  2. ^ The comedy of errors with HGA were documented in a number of contemporary news articles:
  3. ^ Blass, Tony. "Eagan High Students Shape School's Identity", St. Paul Pioneer Press, 1989-01-23, p. 5A. Retrieved on 2006-11-20. and Blass, Tony. "Eagan High Students Wild Over Wildcats", St. Paul Pioneer Press, 1989-01-25, p. 1c. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.
  4. ^ Welbes, John. "Turmoil over new principal roils school", St. Paul Pioneer Press, 2002-05-28, p. B1.
  5. ^ A Federal District Court dismissed most of Dr. Stewart's claims as being without legal merit. The case has been appealed and argued, and a decision is pending. Court documents are available from the U.S. Courts system.
  6. ^ Oseid, Tammy. "Teachers get principal they wanted all along", St. Paul Pioneer Press, 2002-11-14, p. B4.
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ Draper, Norman. "The symbiotic relationship of schools and businesses", Minneapolis Star Tribune, 1996-05-28, p. 1A. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.
  9. ^ Guerard, Elizabeth. "Minnesota high school pilots online registration", eSchool News, 2002-03-01. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.
  10. ^ "This Minnesota high school gives fingerprint scanning a whorl", eSchool News, 2002-09-01. Retrieved on 2006-11-20.
  11. ^ "Breeze Live makes review sessions easy", Adobe, 2006-06-21. Retrieved on 2006-11-21.

[edit] References

Lake Conference Teams

· Apple Valley High School · Bloomington Jefferson High School · Bloomington Kennedy High School · Burnsville High School · Chaska High School · Eagan High School · Eastview High School · Eden Prairie High School · Lakeville North High School · Lakeville South High School · Rosemount High School
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