Classen School of Advanced Studies

Classen School of Advanced Studies (often referred to as Classen SAS, CSAS, or simply Classen, not to be confused with Northwest Classen High School) is a public magnet school serving students in grades 6-12 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City Public Schools program participates in the IB Diploma Programme^[2] and offers fine arts courses as well, offering art, drama, and music classes to any qualifying student.

Classen is known as one of the state's premier high schools in academics, and has been ranked among the top 100 public high schools in America by the Challenge Index, as measured by the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2007 divided by the number of graduating seniors. The index is published annually in the Washington Post and Newsweek. It was ranked 14^[3] in 2009.

As Classen High School, the basketball team won state championships in 1929, 1934, 1937, 1948, 1950, 1975, and in 1980.^[4] In 1995, Classen SAS won the Class B State Championship in Academic Quiz Bowl and in 1996, Classen SAS was the Class 3A State Runner-Up in Academic Quiz Bowl. It is currently a Division 3A school.

History

Classen Junior High School opened in 1919, immediately following the close of World War I, making it the oldest high school building in the city. The land was part of an area being developed by the early Oklahoma City real estate developer, Anton H. Classen. A total of 6.33 acres was purchased by the Oklahoma City Public Schools Board of Education for $55,100. The building was constructed at a cost of $420,500 by the Holmboe Construction Company. The two story brick building was enlarged in 1921, 1923, 1925, 1934 and 1957. In 1925, Classen opened its doors to high school students as well, and changed its name to Classen High School. Due to declining enrollment, Classen High School closed in 1985 and the building became a 5th-year center. In 1994, the Classen School of Advanced Studies opened with an enrollment size of 647, covering grades 6-10. Its first graduating class was graduated in May 1997. Josie Cao and Minh Truong were both the first valedictorians of Classen SAS and Jonathon Lunardi was selected as the student of the year in 1997.

Curriculum

Classen SAS is accredited by the North Central Association of Schools and adheres to a college preparatory curriculum. Students joining the school must choose a major; students wishing to earn an IB (International Baccalaureate) Diploma become IB majors, while students studying fine arts must choose a specific field of study for their major. The latter are usually simply referred to as VPA (visual and performing arts) majors. Students may choose to switch their majors at a later date, although this is not always encouraged due to the IB Program's stringent course requirements. Students may choose classes regardless of their major; for example, an IB major student may attend an introductory music class (or a higher-level music class if the teacher deems the student qualified), or a VPA major might attend an advanced math class, such as honors, AP, or even one from within the IB Program. However, certain classes are required for each major. In order to graduate, students must all meet the standard curriculum set down by the Oklahoma City Public School board, and satisfy the requirements for their particular major. In addition, even though a VPA major has the option to take IB courses, they cannot test for the IB Diploma in high school since they are not officially enrolled with the Program.

As the IB Program only covers grades 11-12, IB majors in grades 6-10 are considered "pre-IB" and attend honors and AP classes to prepare them for the IB Program. Each of Classen's VPA Programs have won several awards each year, such as the Theatre Department, which has won the Oklahoma State One-Act Play Contest for five years in a row. The Classen SAS Concert and Jazz band have both won OSSAA superior honors as well. The Debate program (a part of the drama department) has won many state and regional tournaments, sweeping 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in most of them.

Available majors

• International Baccalaureate
• Band
• Dance
• Dramatic Arts/Technical Theater
• Guitar
• Instrumental Music
• Piano
• Strings
• Visual Arts
• Vocal Music

Extracurricular activities

Classen SAS fields teams in OSSAA-sanctioned competition in basketball, cross country, soccer, tennis and volleyball. Football and track are offered cooperatively with U. S. Grant High School; baseball, with Northeast Academy for Health Sciences and Engineering. In 2011, the Classen Swim Team was added to its list of athletic teams.

Clubs and organizations at the school include Ambassador Corp, Asian Club, Builders Club, Black Student Union, Cheerleaders, Christian Club, Earth Club, Eastern Club, French Club, German American Partnership Program (GAPP), German Club, Key Club, Latino Club, Mediterranean Club, Mu Alpha Theta, National Art Honor Society, National Honor Society, Native American Club, Orchestra, Pep Band, POM, Math Counts, Science Club, Spanish Club, Student Council, Theatre, Visual Arts Club, Young Astronauts, UFO, Young Democrats, Latin Club, and Young Libertarians.

Notable alumni

Classen High School

• Wayne Coyne, guitarist, lead singer, and songwriter of rock band The Flaming Lips
• Admiral William J. Crowe, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1985–1989.
• Jimmy Edwards, Professional football player^[5]
• Edith Kinney Gaylord, Journalist, Founder of Inasmuch Foundation and Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation.
• David Hall, former Governor of Oklahoma
• Van Heflin, actor
• Henry Iba, prolific former basketball coach, and player at Classen High School and later at Oklahoma State University
• Patience Latting, first woman to serve as Mayor of Oklahoma City, first female mayor of a major American city.^[6]
• James H. Norick, former major of Oklahoma City^[7]
• Dale Robertson, movie and television actor
• Claude Weaver III, World War II ace^[8]

Classen School of Advanced Studies

• Thaddeus Johnson, Hollywood Hopeful on the 9th season of American Idol
• Zebulun Benbrook, noted Thunder fan and blogger ^[9][10]
• Destini Rodgers, Top Ten finalist, So You Think You Can Dance, Season One
• Whitney Cotten, noted Anthropologist
• Michael Brewer, Politician, Worked with US House of Representatives, National Black Justice Coalition, and Deputy Campaign Manager for Committee to Elect Alisha T.Morgan

References

External links

• Classen School of Advanced Studies Official Website
• Classen School of Advanced Studies Theatre Department
• Classen High School Alumni Association