Blue Valley Northwest High School

Blue Valley Northwest High School
Address
13260 Switzer Road [1]
Overland Park, Kansas, 66213
United States
Coordinates 38°53′18″N 94°42′10″W / 38.888343°N 94.702906°WCoordinates: 38°53′18″N 94°42′10″W / 38.888343°N 94.702906°W
Information
School type Public, High School
Established 1993
School district USD 229 [2]
CEEB Code 172296 [3]
Principal Dr. Amy Murphy
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 1,673
Campus Suburban
Color(s)

Purple, Black and White

              
Athletics conference Eastern Kansas League
Mascot Huskies
Rivals Blue Valley North
Blue Valley West
Blue Valley High School
Blue Valley Southwest
Newspaper The Express
Website School Website

Blue Valley Northwest High School (BVNW) is a high school in Overland Park, Kansas. It is part of the Blue Valley Unified School District. Blue Valley Northwest is one of several schools located within the city limits of Overland Park. In the 2009 Newsweek ranking of the top 1,500 high schools in the United States, Blue Valley Northwest was ranked #364, the highest in the district and the state.[4] The school has been ranked in the top 700 since 2005. In 2010, Blue Valley Northwest was selected as one of the six finalists for the first annual Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge, sponsored by the Department of Education under the Obama administration.[5]

Blue Valley Northwest is a member of the Kansas State High School Activities Association and offers a variety of sports programs. Athletic teams compete in the 6A division and are known as the "Huskies". Extracurricular activities are also offered in the form of performing arts, school publications, and clubs.

Academics

Ten courses, mainly for motivated freshmen and sophomores, are designated as "Honors" classes. In addition, nineteen Advanced Placement courses for college credit are offered.[6] Students taking Honors or Advanced Placement courses receive weighted GPAs.

In 2009, Blue Valley Northwest students achieved an average ACT score of 24.8 out of 36 and an average SAT score of 1772 out of 2400.[6] The class of 2009 also had seven National Merit Finalists and eleven National Advanced Placement Scholars, both by far the highest in the district.[7]

Extracurricular activities

The Huskies compete in the Eastern Kansas League and are classified as a 6A-5A school according to the KSHSAA. Throughout its history, Blue Valley Northwest has won several state championships in various sports. Many graduates have gone on to participate in Division I, Division II, and Division III athletics.

State championships

State Championships[8]
Season Sport Number of Championships Year
Fall Soccer, Boys 2 2006, 2013
Volleyball 3 1996, 1997, 2000
Cross Country, Girls 1 2007
Winter Swimming and Diving, Boys 2 1994, 1996
Swimming and Diving, Girls 4 1995, 1996, 1997, 2008
Basketball, Boys 2 2013, 2014
Spring Golf, Boys 1 2003
Tennis, Boys 1 2002
Tennis, Girls 2 2000, 2001
Soccer, Girls 3 2011, 2013, 2014
Total 21

Orchestra

BVNW's orchestra has received a 1 (the best) ranking every year the school has been open. Students in the orchestra also have auditioned and represented the BVNW in local, state, and national orchestras.

Yearbook and Newspaper

The school's yearbook is called Horizon, the newspaper is called "The Express", the school broadcast news program is called Husky Headlines and the school's literary magazine is called The Muse. The Horizon and Husky Headlines have been nominated for several Pacemaker awards, and in 2004, under editors Lauren Luhrs, Julia Wald, and Kaitlin Harrell, the "Horizon" won the Pacemaker Award, the only time a Blue Valley publication has received the honor.[9] The school newspaper, The Express is a member of the High School National Ad Network. At the April 2007 JEA conference in Denver, "The Express" was voted the number one newsmagazine. At the November 2007 JEA conference in Philadelphia, the newsmagazine was rated sixth.

Conferences

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blue Valley Northwest High School.
School
State
Maps