Southridge High School (Beaverton)

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Southridge High School

Established	1999
Type	Public Secondary
Principal	Amy Gordon
Faculty	92
Students	1854 (2006)
Grades	9–12
Location	Beaverton, Oregon USA
Oversight	Beaverton School District
Campus	Suburban
Colors	Cardinal Red, Black, and Vegas Gold
Mascot	Skyhawks
Website	www.beavton.k12.or.us/southridge/

Southridge High School is a suburban high school in Beaverton, Oregon. It is one of eight high schools in the Beaverton School District. The school currently offers the International Baccalaureate program, and some Advanced Placement courses. It belongs to the Metro League for interscholastic athletics and activities.

1 Students
2 Faculty
3 Recognition
4 Other notes
5 External links

[edit] Students

Of the 1850 students, 79% are Caucasian, 7.0% are Asian and 3.5% are Hispanic. 7% of the student body applied for lunch assistance, 4.6% receive ESL education and 12.6% are eligible for special education. In the 2001-2002 school year, the drop out rate for 2002 was 3.2%, 92% of graduates intended on receiving post-secondary education and 17 students received the International Baccalaureate diploma [1]

The average SAT score was 521 verbal and 542 math.[2]

[edit] Faculty

In the 2003-2004 school year, there were 92 teachers, 20 instructional assistants, 4 administrators and 32 other staff members. Teachers had on average 7.6 years of experience, and 74.2% had at least a masters degree.[3]

[edit] Recognition

Southridge was named an Exemplary Smaller Learning Communities site in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Education and has been recognized throughout Oregon for its accomplishments.

[edit] Other notes

President George W. Bush spoke at Southridge High School on August 13th, 2004, while on the campaign trail, and addressed supporters at an invitation-only event in the main gym. On the same day, presidential candidate John Kerry held a rally at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Downtown Portland.
The school administration, particularly Principal Amy Gordon, has come under nationally-covered attention regarding the decision to disallow The Laramie Project to be produced by the drama department. Additionally, the school was picketed by members of Fred Phelps's Westboro Baptist Church on September 30, 2005, in response to the potential production of the play. After finally receiving permission by a committee to perform the play, the show ran from May 26th to May 27th to a packed house each night. News coverage about the production was seen from Salt Lake City to Manhattan. In response to the school administration's very poor handling of the situation, theatre director Wade Willis chose to resign. An article in The Oregonian cited one reason for his resignation- he is "an instructor who wants to open doors and minds the school would rather keep closed".
Unlike most public high schools, Southridge operates on twelve-week trimesters rather than two eighteen-week semesters. School administrators say this allows for a greater depth and breadth of learning.