Parkersburg High School

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Parkersburg High School

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Motto	School of Champions
Established	1867
Type	Public coeducational
Principal	Ralph Board
Faculty	73 teachers
Location	Parkersburg, W. Va., USA
Colors	Red and White
Nickname	Big Reds
Mascot	The Big Red Indian
Website	[1]

Parkersburg High School (PHS) is a secondary school located in Parkersburg, West Virginia, that serves grades ten through twelve and is part of the Wood County School District. Its partner in education is DuPont.

Like Parkersburg South High School, it is one of the largest schools in the state of West Virginia. The feeder schools that contribute to this student population are Hamilton Junior High, VanDevender Junior High, and Jackson Junior High.

1 History
2 Music
3 Athletics
4 Schools
5 External Links

[edit] History

Parkersburg High School was one of the very first high schools in the state of West Virginia. Initially founded in 1867, the original location of Parkersburg High School was in downtown Parkersburg. The current building housing PHS is Tudor-style building with three stories. It was built in 1917, making it one of the oldest school buildings in West Virginia and it remains one of the largest high school campuses in the state. Later additions included Stadium Field and a multi-story gymnasium. [2]

PHS continued to serve as the only high school in Parkersburg, at one point holding a population of around three thousand students. It was only after graduating a class of one thousand that Parkersburg South High School was founded in 1967, using the then-campus of Franklin Junior High School. This in turn started a rivalry between the two schools that continues to be one of the largest and most famous in the state of West Virginia. The rivalry between the two sides of Parkersburg originates, though, from much earlier in the town's history and the rivalry between the schools is the latest manifestation of this.

[edit] Music

PHS is home to musical ensembles that are regarded as one of the most successful ones in the state. The two most recognizable ensembles are the Big Red Band and the A Cappella Choir. In addition to these two, PHS has a percussion ensemble, jazz band (which now is horrible due to the uncaring new director Dan White), and a chamber choir.

[edit] Athletics

Parkersburg High is well known for its athletic achievements. The school is known as "The School of Champions" and holds twice as many state titles in athletics as any other high school in West Virginia. The football team has the 8th most victories in the United States with 737 (as of 1/1/2007) and is only 3 victories from 7th place. The football team is also the reigning 2006 AAA State Champions with a 14-0 record. The boys and girls soccer teams are also 2006 state champions with the boys' team having successfully won two in a row, making for a state record four state championship wins for one high school. The boys' team is also currently ranked 24th in the nation. Parkersburg High School is also famous for the achievements of its wrestling team including a 2006-07 AAA State Championship of their own. Making the Wrestling team now have 20 State Titles. Just one behind the PHS Boys Tennis Team having 21 Titles which is out of all the Sports of all the Schools in the State of WV, PHS boys Tennis has the most.