William Chrisman High School

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William Chrisman High School
School Crest
School type	Public
Established	1888
Principal	Mr. Jason Dial
Students	1,700+
Colors	Blue and Gold
Mascot	Bears
Location	1223 North Noland Road Independence, MO 64050
Information	(816) 521-2720
Website	http://www.indep.k12.mo.us/chrisman

William Chrisman High School is a High School located in Independence, Missouri.

William Chrisman High School has a long tradition of school spirit and community involvement. The school was founded in 1888 and was originally known as Independence High School. The first building was located at the intersection of Pleasant and Truman Road, the current location of the Palmer/Central Office Building. It is from this location that President Harry S. Truman, First Lady Bess Truman, and Truman White House Press Secretary and Pulitzer Prize winner Charles Griffith Ross graduated from in 1901.

In 1917 the Independence School District passed a levy and bond to build a new high school building. Margaret Chrisman Swope offered to sell the district land for the new school at the southeast corner of Union and Maple for $1 in exchange for naming the school after her father - William Chrisman. Chrisman had served as a member of the first school board in 1866 and was also a prominent lawyer and banker in the community. The new building opened in 1918 as William Chrisman High School.

The high school moved to its current site in 1956 when a major addition was added to Ott Elementary School and the building was converted into the high school. Since that time the building has undergone numerous additions and currently is one of the largest high school buildings in the state of Missouri.

1 Present Day
2 Sports
3 Other Extracurriculars
4 School Song
5 Notable Alumni

[edit] Present Day

William Chrisman is currently home to approximately 1,700 students.

[edit] Sports

Recently, the Independence School District invested money into covering the football field with artificial turf.

On October 27, 2006 WCHS's football team again defeated cross-town rival Truman to retain the Wagon Wheel trophy.

In November, 2006 WCHS's varsity cheerleading squad won first place honors in the 5A Large Division of the Missouri State Cheerleading Championships. The squad, under the direction of Debbie O'Renick has placed in the top five in the state competition fifteen times since the late 1980s, including a state championship 1995. The 2006-2007 squad has also qualified for the UCA National Cheerleading competition, which will be held in Orlando, Florida in February 2007.

[edit] Other Extracurriculars

Chrisman's Debate and Competitive Drama is highly accomplished. It has been ranked among the top high schools in the National Forensics League for years.

Chrisman has, in an equal partnership with Truman High School, also produced a notable robotics team mentored by Dr. Clothier and Math teacher Libby Sparks. The team took Rookie of the Year at Regionals in St. Louis at the FIRST Robotics competition in 2006, and went to nationals in Atlanta, Georgia. Two notables that impressed the judges with creative designs for the group and great use of publicity and technology were Katherine Hernandez and Seth LaBean. Both helped in the decision for the receiving of the Rookie of the Year award.