Kamiakin High School

Kamiakin High School

Main entrance in 2008
Motto: Be the best you can be!
Location
600 N Arthur St
Kennewick, Washington
U.S.
Coordinates 46°12′58″N 119°11′17″W / 46.216°N 119.188°WCoordinates: 46°12′58″N 119°11′17″W / 46.216°N 119.188°W
Information
Type Public, four-year
Established 1970
School district Kennewick S.D. (#17)
Principal Chris Chelin [1]
Assistant principals Darrylin Osborn
Mary Isley
Casey Gant
Faculty 88 [2]
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 1,627 [2] (May 2014)
Campus Suburban
Campus size 30 acres (12 ha)
Color(s) Scarlet & Gold           
Athletics WIAA Class 3A,
Yakima Valley District Five
Athletics conference Mid Columbia
Mascot Braves
Nickname KaHS
Rivals Southridge Suns
Kennewick Lions
Newspaper The Tomatalk
Yearbook Totem
Feeder schools Highlands Middle School
Desert Hills Middle School
Information 509-222-7000
Website ksd.org/kamiakin
Kamiakin's sports teams are called the Braves.

Kamiakin High School is a public high school in Kennewick, Washington, the second of three comprehensive high schools in the Kennewick School District. Kamiakin opened in the fall of 1970 and serves the district's northwest portion. The school colors are scarlet and gold and the mascot is the Braves. The school is overseen by Dean Bond.

Overview

The school is named after Kamiakin, a chief of the Yakama Tribe in the 19th century and a leader of the American Indian side in the Yakama War.

Kamiakin went through a remodel from 2002-04 that added 15 new classrooms, a new gymnasium and converted the existing lecture hall into an auditorium capable of seating 600 people as well as updating safety to meet standards throughout the campus.[3]

Academics

Kamiakin High is generally considered to be one of the highest ranked public high schools in all of southeastern Washington of size 3A or 4A (along with Hanford High School in nearby Richland) and is ranked among the top 1,500 best high schools in the nation by Newsweek.[4] The school's HSPE (High School Proficiency Exam) scores annually rank higher than district and state averages.[5] In 2007, 505 AP Exams were given. (Kamiakin does not pay for or subsidize AP tests except for highly underprivileged students, but some teachers do require an AP test as a portion of the class. Each student may choose whether or not to take the test and must pay full price should he or she decide to take it, unless that student qualifies for a free or reduced-cost lunch.) Kamiakin's four year graduation rate is 89.4% and 92.4% after 5 years, around 13% higher than the state average.[5]

Kamiakin's DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) program sends more students to the state competition than any of the other area schools, despite the disparity in student population with several other regional high schools. The school's Knowledge Bowl and Math Competition teams are also frequent winners at state competitions.

Activities

In addition to the various academic classes, Kamiakin High School has numerous school activities that include ASB, Buddy Club, dance team, DECA, drama, foreign exchange, Key Club, Link Crew, photography club, swing club, tech club, the Tomatalk newspaper and yearbook.

Kamiakin's cheer team and dance team frequently competes and places at Washington state and national competitions.

Kamiakin's music program (Jazz Band, Choir, Pep Band, Marching Band, Orchestra). The percussion ensemble took second place at the state solo and ensemble contest in 2005. Soloists have attended the solo portion of the contest and in 2008 one soloist took first place in the snare drum category. The marching band has done well competitively also competing at the Cavalcade of Bands competition. The "Scarlet Tide" marching band received second place in the AAA small category and the "Best Percussion" award in 2007.

Athletics

With 19 varsity teams, 12 junior varsity teams and nine "C" teams, the athletic program provides opportunities for hundreds to compete. Kamiakin's football and soccer teams play their home games at Neil F. Lampson Stadium, while a majority of the other varsity sports compete on campus.

Classification

Kamiakin competes in WIAA Class 3A, with the state's second largest group of schools.

Kamiakin is one of 8 schools in the hybrid 3A/4A Mid-Columbia Conference, along with Chiawana, Hanford, Kennewick, Pasco, Richland, Southridge, and Walla Walla High School. Kamiakin is one of only seven schools with the 3A classification in the state's Yakima Valley District Five, which includes Benton, Kittitas, Klickitat and Yakima counties.

Rivalries

Kamiakin's biggest rivals in most sports are Southridge High School in southwest Kennewick and Kennewick High School in east Kennewick. In football, the annual game with the much larger 4A Pasco High School ranks as one of the fiercest among high school rivalries in the state.

Ronnie Griffith Award

The Ronnie Griffith award is an honor bestowed on a senior who best demonstrates the Ronnie Griffith spirit and will. Ronnie Griffith, an African-American, came to Kamiakin from Louisiana for his senior year. Within six months, Ronnie’s personality and fortitude captivated the Tri-Cities, as well as the KaHS student body, with his courageous battle with cancer. Afflicted with a malignant brain tumor, Ronnie Griffith’s fight and positive mental attitude transcended all races, age, and religions as he made us all feel more spiritual and whole. Ronnie Griffith exemplified the school's motto, “Be the best You Can Be,” and lived with a contagious spirit.

Traditions

At the start of each school year the freshman class is assigned their own color that will be used for various "Color War" activities throughout the school year. This color rotates with the graduating class color being assigned to incoming freshman. The colors are pink, orange, green and blue. Current class color assignments are Seniors (2015) = pink, Juniors (2016) = orange, Sophomores (2017) = green and Freshman (2018) = blue. The class of 2019 will be assigned the color pink during their freshman year with the class of 2020 being assigned the color orange, 2021 will be assigned green and 2022 will be given the color blue.

Pop Culture

In February 2009, Kanye West appeared on BET wearing a Kamiakin letterman jacket from the class of 1990.[6]

Alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Washington State Report Card: Kamiakin HS". Kennewick S.D. 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Administration". State of Washington, Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 2012. Retrieved 2014-12-09.
  3. ↑ "Washington State Top Public Projects". Daily Journal of Commerce. 2003. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Newsweek names Kamiakin a top school". Tri-city Herald. 2010. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Washington State Report Card". Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. 2014. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Kanye West Sports Kamiakin High School Letterman Jacket". KAPPTV. 2009. Retrieved December 10, 2014.

External links