Southwest High School (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

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Southwest High School
Motto Inspiring Excellence in Arts and Academics
Established 1940
Type Public secondary (formerly 7-12)
Principal Dr. William Smith
Faculty 75
Students 1,600
Grades 9–12
Location Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
District Minneapolis Public Schools
Campus Urban
Colors Purple and White
Mascot Lakers (formerly the Indians)
Newspaper The Anchor (formerly The Southwesterner, The Channel and The Arrow)
Distinctions Ranked 138th Best High School in the Nation by Newsweek
Website http://southwest.mpls.k12.mn.us/
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Southwest High School is a public high school in the Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA). Newsweek ranked the school #138 in their "List of the 1,300 Top High Schools in America."[1] The school is a member of the International Baccalaureate Organization and is ranked among the Top 100 IB schools in both North America and the world.[citation needed] The current principal is Bill Smith. The mascot is the Laker (formerly the Indians) and the official colors are purple and white.

Contents

[edit] History

Ground was broken for Southwest High School on November 12, 1938 at West 47th Street and Chowen Avenue South. The school was a project commissioned by the Public Works Administration and the Minneapolis Board of Education. The original building was built for a cost of $500,000. Southwest opened on September 3, 1940 with Casper C. Minty as its first principal, and a teaching staff of 25. There were three grades that first year, 9-11, with students coming from Washburn, Edina and Richfield. Enrollment for the first year was 841 students, 141 more than expected. Two additions were made to the original structure, the first opening in 1956, and the second (Southwest Junior High School, to the east) in 1968.

The first graduating class, of about 183 students, graduated in 1942. In 1956, with the completion of the first addition, Southwest became a six-year high school, grades 7-12, with an enrollment of 1400. In 1968, after the second addition, the school was divided into senior and junior high schools with a total enrollment of 2,114, the highest ever.

In 1974, Southwest Senior High and Junior High Schools were merged into Southwest Secondary School. With the reorganization of Minneapolis schools in the fall of 1982, Southwest again taught students in grades 9-12, with 7th and 8th graders going to Anwatin or Anthony. Most of the students who attended West High School merged into Southwest when West was closed in 1982.

Currently Southwest offers most students a choice between two Small Learning Communities (SLC's), Arts and Humanities and the International Baccalaureate program, as they work to achieve a diploma. Although in 2006, a new program for deaf and hard of hearing was added. In 2007 a new Sports and Fitness SLC will be offered, while the Arts and Humanities program will offer only AP and pre-AP courses.

[edit] Mascot Change

In 1988, Southwest High School was at the forefront of a debate among academic institutions on whether nicknames, mascots and logos from Native Americans were appropriate. Phil St. John, a Sioux social worker, led a movement to change Minneapolis school mascots away from Native American images after attending a Southwest High School Basketball game and seeing a student in Indian dress.

The Minneapolis Board of Education ruled that nicknames that perpetuate racial or ethnic stereotypes would no longer be allowed in the city's schools. Southwest voted to change the nickname of the school from the Indians to the Lakers.[2] The debate was prominently featured in Sports Illustrated, leading to similar debates at institutions across the country for the next 20 years.

[edit] Extracurricular

  • The school newspaper is The Anchor, and is a member of the High School National Ad Network.
  • Admission Possible, a Minneapolis group for juniors and seniors meets at Southwest
  • ALIANZA (Latin Leaders), a student led group that promotes diversity at Southwest
  • Amnesty International
  • Bellydance Club
  • Chess Club, which won City, State, and Nationals in 2006 and 2007
  • Choirs
  • Close Up, a national group that leads student trips to D.C.
  • Debate
  • Fencing Club
  • Gay Straight Alliance
  • Intercambios, an informal language club
  • Jazz Band
  • Southwest Kubb Club --> Official Site
  • Math League
  • National Honor Society
  • Quiz Bowl/Knowledge Bowl
  • Repression of the Sand Gnomes (RSG Club)
  • Robotics
  • SPARE (Students Providing African Relief and Education)
  • Speech Team
  • Student Council
  • Ultimate Frisbee (MÜS)
  • Unhinged Theatre
  • Second Act Theatre
  • Yearbook

[edit] Arts

[edit] Music

Southwest currently has two major bands, Concert Band and Wind Ensemble, both under the direction of band director Keith Liuzzi. Concert Band consists of mostly freshmen and sophomores with a few upperclassmen. Wind Ensemble is the reverse with mostly upperclassmen and few underclassmen.

Southwest also has two smaller bands made up of all band students. Marching Band routinely plays in the yearly Holidazzle Parade as well as other parades. Pep Band performs at sporting events, school events and other such activities.

[edit] Sports

Southwest changed its mascot from the Indians to the Lakers in 1988.

Different sports have succeeded and reached the Minnesota State High School League postseason competitions in recent years.

[edit] Cross Country

For twenty-four consecutive years, the entire Southwest team made an appearance at the State Championship Meet and won team titles for eighteen of those years. Southwest has continued to send teams and individual athletes to the State Championships in both men's and women's competition. The team is currently led by head coach Ben Zhao, and assistant coach Carl Henderson, who is also an alumnus. In the 2007-2008 season, the team sent two runners to the State Meet.

[edit] Soccer

With one of the biggest rivalries in the city against South High School, the soccer program at Southwest High School has a reputation for being one of the most competitive teams in the state. fans gather each year for Soccer Saturday, an all day event culminating in the Boys Varsity game. Fans have been known to be rowdy, often wearing "South is Filth, Take a Shower" shirts to the game and to all South/Southwest matches. In 2006, the Southwest soccer team beat Edina in section finals to advance to State, where they took fourth place. Throughout the season, Southwest was consistently ranked among the top five teams in Minnesota as ranked by the Coaching Alliance.

[edit] Hockey

Hockey has been a staple among the Southside schools for many years and Southwest has always been one of the major contenders in this sport. Southwest won the High School Boys State Championship in hockey in 1970. In 2006, the Minneapolis Public Schools hockey program was reorganized and Southwest hockey players began playing on the West hockey team alongside students from Minneapolis North, Patrick Henry and Washburn High Schools. In the 2006 season, the team was called Minneapolis West. In the 2007/2008 season the team was renamed the West Mustangs. NHL alumni from Southwest include Tom Chorske, John Taft and Matt Smaby.

[edit] Swimming and Diving

While swimming at Southwest was at its peak in the 1970's, during the past six years swimming has begun to rise once again. In the 2001-2002 season, five men's swimming records were broken. In the 2005-2006 season, two women's records were broken, and the men's team took second place in true team sectionals, and captured the Twin City Championship for the first time in 45 years. Currently, in the 2007-2008 4 women's records and 4 men's records were broken, the men won the Twin City Championship once again, and 1 women and 3 men went on to compete at State.

[edit] Nordic Skiing

The Nordic team began in the 1976-1977 season as coached by Joan McNaughton. Before retiring from coaching after the 2001-02 season, she sent four girls teams, 25 individuals and one boys relay team to State competitions. Since 2003 the team has been coached by English teacher, and elite level skier, James Dundon, who has led the team to many city championships. Kate Ellis has been the teams assistant coach since 2003 as well. The team also consistently sends skiers to state. Southwest has produced a number of skiers who have gone on to compete nationally, including U.S. Biathlon Team Member Jacob Beste. In 2007 the Nordic team won their section and advanced on to get fourth at state. The 2007 Team was ranked 1st in the state for both the boys and girls teams. Both teams advanced to the state meet, the boys getting second and the girls getting fourth, and Libby Ellis getting second for the second year.

[edit] Alpine Skiing

Alpine Skiing has brought recent success to Southwest. In the 2005-2006 season, junior Patrick Conway took the state individual championship for Southwest. In the 2006-2007 season, junior Brad West took 4th place individually.

[edit] Ultimate Frisbee

Currently known as the MÜS (Moose Ultimate Southwest) the Southwest Frisbee team was founded by Kaj Thompson in 2002. The team came in second place in The Twin Cities Fall League. The team also took 5th place in the 2007 state tournament. Over the past two years the team has been led by the fierce defensive play of Canuck Toby Abramson. Fresh out of Germany, he is hoping to lead the team to a state championship this year.

[edit] Tennis

The Southwest Tennis team has been very successful in the past few years. South and Southwest are always the top contenders for the Minneapolis championship, Southwest winning that title in 2005,2006,and 2007. In the fall of 2007 the Varsity team won the Twin Cities championship for the first time since the 70's.

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Top of the Class. The complete list of the 1,300 top U.S. schools. MSNBC (2007). Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  2. ^ Neff, Craig. "Scorecard", Sports Illustrated, Time, Inc., 1988-02-01. Retrieved on 2008-05-16. 

[edit] External links

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Minneapolis City Conference