| Rufus King International Baccalaureate High School |
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| An I.B. World School
"Know the true value of time; snatch, seize, and enjoy every moment of it; no idleness, no laziness, no procrastination; never put off until tomorrow what you can do today."
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| Address | |
| 1801 W. Olive St. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53209-6898 USA |
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| Information | |
| School type | Public secondary (magnet) |
| Established | 1934 (IB introduced 1979) |
| School district | Milwaukee Public Schools |
| Superintendent | Gregory E. Thorton, Ed.D |
| Principal | Marie Newby-Randle |
| Teaching staff | 113[1] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 1,501[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 19:1[2] |
| Campus | Urban Area |
| School Colour(s) | Royal Blue/Gold |
| Athletics conference | City Conference |
| Mascot | The General |
| Nickname | The Generals |
| Publication | The Sphinx, literary magazine |
| Newspaper | 'The King's Page' |
| Yearbook | 'The King's Crown' |
| Website | www.rkhs.org |
Rufus King International School--High School Campus, or Rufus King, is a public magnet high school located on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, part of the Milwaukee Public Schools district. The school has been consecutively ranked the top public high school in the state of Wisconsin by Newsweek Magazine since 2005.[3] The goal of the school is to promote positive values in a culturally diverse setting while incorporating the International Baccalaureate curriculum.
The school was formerly named Rufus King International Baccalaureate High School. After the addition of a feeder middle years program in the 2010-2011 school year, the high school was renamed Rufus King International School - High School Campus.[4]
Rufus King is known for its racial and economic diversity.Sixty percent of the students are of African American descent (compared to the state average of 11%), twenty-five percent of students are Caucasian and seven percent of students are Hispanic and Asian. Fifty-one percent of students are eligible for free school lunch.[5]
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Rufus King's college preparatory curriculum is anchored by the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP), which was established at the school in 1979, the first such school in the state of Wisconsin and one of the first in North America.[6] The emphasis in the curriculum is on writing, speaking, critical thinking and independent application of knowledge. Full Diploma students are also required to write a 3,000-4,000 word original essay and volunteer at least 150 hours of service. All Rufus King students participate in pre-diploma and IB courses and more than half of the student population take at least one IB test with a success rate of 85.9% passing.[7] 95% of graduates matriculate to higher education.[8]
All students at Rufus King are required to complete four years of English, three years of Math, Science and Social Studies, as well as two years of the same World Language. The languages offered at King include Spanish, German, and Latin. The school offers many unique academic electives not found in schools in the area including sociology, anthropology, geography, aesthetics, philosophy, economics, business education and minority studies.[6]
Rufus King is considered the top high school in Milwaukee Public Schools district based on Newsweek Magazine's challenge index. In 2010, Rufus King was ranked the 324th top high school in the country, making it in the top 6% of all high schools in the nation.[9] The school has been the best ranking school in the state of Wisconsin in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010.[3]
It has also received a "silver medal" achievement rating from the U.S. News & World Report for high participation rates on International Baccalaureate exams and high college readiness index ratings[10], as well as high rates of students performing well on statewide proficiency tests.[11]
The school has twice been designated a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence (1982–1983, 1994–1996).[12] and has been named a New Wisconsin Promise School of Excellence for the fifth year in a row, one of only 15 schools in the State of Wisconsin achieving the title.[13]
On May 8, 2002, the school was visited by President George W. Bush, who delivered an educational policy address in which he recognized Rufus King as one of the top high schools in the country.[14]
In 2003-2004, King was selected as one of ten schools nationwide to participate in an ACT study, “On Course for Success,” on how schools prepare students for college coursework. According to ACT, Rufus King was selected because of its diverse student body and its students’ strong ACT scores in math and science.
On April 4, 2011, Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. visited the school to encourage juniors and seniors to participate in the April 5th municipal and statewide elections.[15] He also confronted stereotypes about urban youth and encouraged student empowerment.
The middle school is part of the 6-12 program of Rufus King High School. It is currently in the process of becoming authorized to offer the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. Upon authorization, Rufus King's 6-12 IB program will consist of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme for grades 6 through 10 and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme for grades 11 and 12. It was launched in September 2010 in the Ronald McNair building. The curriculum includes english, math, science, social studies, spanish and an engineering program.[16] Electives include physical education, music and art.[17]
Rufus King High School has over 55 extracurricular activities for students to participate in, including several unique activities not available in other schools in the region.[18]
Honorary Societies: King has a chapter of the National Honor Society, recognizing students for strong values of scholarship, leadership, service, and character. There are also other academic honorary programs including the Spanish Honor Society, French Honor Society, German Honor Society, Latin Honor Society, Math Honor Society, Science Honor Society, and Theatre Honor Society. All of these honor societies participate in community service projects around the city.
Forensics and Debate: Rufus King has notable policy debate, student congress and speech teams. The school participates in the Wisconsin Forensic Coaches Association, as well as national districts of the National Forensics League and National Catholic Forensics League. Students from the school have won two NFL national championships in Student Congress (as well as the Presiding Officer Award), NFL national championship in Extemporaneous Commentary, Harvard College National Congress championship, NFL School of Excellence in Debate award, and two consecutive sweeps of the Wisconsin State Congress.[19] In 2007, seniors Amjad and Asad Asad, won the NCFL debate tournament.[20] The school continues to places high at regional tournaments and qualify for national tournaments with the NFL and NCFL.
Chess: The chess team participates in the Milwaukee Metro Chess League and participates city and state chess meets. In 2001, the team competed at the U.S. Chess Nationals in Kentucky.[18]
Mathematics: The competition math track team has won at local, state and national levels.[21] Rufus King also has a Accounting Club that provides a link between students and business organizations in the Milwaukee area.
Science: Rufus King has entered a 15-member team in the Wisconsin Science Olympiad since its beginning in 1985. Rufus King won "valued participant" at the Wisconsin Science Olympiad in 1994, advancing to the regional competition, where it placed 13th in nation.[21] The National Science Bowl team finished fourth in the nation in 1994. Rufus King regularly enters a variety of local and national science and engineering competitions, earning accolades regularly.
Music: The school has a marching band, concert band, orchestra, jazz ensemble, chorus, and six-time (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010) city champion drumline. The drumline also competes at several national tournaments.
Art: King students have received honorable mentions in the Wisconsin Regional Scholastic Art Awards Competition, the Photographic Society of America Awards Competition[22] and the U.S. Congressional Art Competition.[23]
Theater: Rufus King’s theater program is a partner in education initiatives with several professional companies, including Milwaukee Shakespeare, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, NextAct Theatre, Milwaukee Rep and Spiral Theater. They hold several annual school-wide plays.
Academic Competitions: The school also participates in an annual Model UN regional competition, a national Quiz Bowl, the United States Academic Decathlon and LifeSmarts.
Robotics: Rufus King has a very strong robotics program, which includes participation in the FIRST Robotics Competition. The team won the Midwest Regional Championship 2009 and 2011.[24] The team will be traveling to the FIRST national tournament in 2011.[25]
Ethnic and Advocacy Organizations: Rufus King has a variety of ethnic student groups including Asian Club, Black Student Union, Bollywood Indian Dancing Club, Friends of Islam, Gay-Straight Alliance, Jew Crew,[26] Latinos Unidos and Students and recently founded a club called Students and Teachers Against Racism (STAR). Rufus King also has a chapter of Amnesty International, which promotes human rights issues, as well as a Key Club that participates in community service projects.
Rufus King High School has a distinguished athletic program. All of its teams participate in the Milwaukee City Conference and WIAA Division I.
The school is most widely recognized for its basketball team, which has won five Wisconsin state boys' basketball championships. The boys' basketball team achieved a #17 national ranking by USA Today.[27] The basketball team has received a 69.97 national power ranking by Sports Power.[28]
Rufus King's traditional rival is Riverside University High School. It is also part of a three-way rivalry with Washington High School and Vincent High School in boys' basketball. These schools have accounted for 14 of the last 23 Division 1 boys' basketball championships in Wisconsin.