Ponderosa High School (Parker, Colorado)

Ponderosa High School (commonly Pondo or PHS) is a public high school in Parker, Colorado. It is part of Douglas County School District RE-1.

The school earned an "Excellent" rating on the Colorado Student Assessment Program in 2004, and a "High" score in 2005.^[1]

Athletics

Ponderosa has won ten 5A state wrestling titles since 1997, including 8 consecutive between 2003 and 2010. The seventh consecutive win broke a 60-year-old record set in 1944–1949 by Denver North.^[2] In addition, Ponderosa has a perfect 167–0 conference dual record from 1994 to the present.^[3] NFHS Coaches Association National Wrestling coach of the year^[4] Tim Ottmann retired after 2008 and the team is now coached by Corey McNellis.

Ponderosa's football team won the 2003 5A State Championship.

Band program

The Ponderosa High School Bands have a history in the Parker community. The Marching Band has been state champions nine times. The Winter Percussion Ensemble came in second place in 2008 and has won numerous awards throughout its history. In 2011 the school hired a new band director named Bill Phalen.^[5]

Teacher-student relationship controversy

In 2005, Ponderosa teacher Nicole Andrea Barnhart became a registered sex offender after it was discovered that she was having an intimate relationship with one of her sophomore students.^[6]

Student death

In October 2007, Ponderosa student Jake McCarty guided his Nissan Maxima into a traffic signal pole. The police found him dead at the crash site, where the car was completely flipped. After McCarty's death, his friends and family felt angry that the principal did not address the issue in a respectful manner by holding a school-wide moment of silence for him. Additionally, the principal addressed that getting the whole school involved would perhaps be overkill, seeing as out of a student body of over 1,200, all did not actually know Jake personally, and bringing the grief to those who were not affiliated with him was deemed unnecessary.^[7] Additionally, the school administration did not feel that holding a moment of silence was the best way to remember McCarty. Controversy also stemmed from widespread rumors that school officials had prohibited teachers from acknowledging Jake's death in their classes. Students widely regarded the administration's "business as usual" approach as disrespectful to Jake and his family.^[8] After attention was brought to this issue by the school newspaper, The Mustang Express, as well as the McCarty family, local news agencies were involved and placed pressure on administration officials to rectify their misconduct (the paper also dispelled the administration's claim that all memorial services in all forms must be approved by the district, proving that this was entirely false).^[8] Following this, several school organizations, although the student council had no part in organizing a remembrance, initiated their own means of honoring McCarty, and they were not prevented from doing so by the administration in their efforts.

April 2007 bomb scare

On April 20, 2007, former Ponderosa student Caleb Pegues, as a prank, set off a 'stink bomb' in an area frequented by students that allegedly smoked marijuana in the area. The date (420) holds some significance to many people. The stink bomb consisted of a combination of various household chemicals. Reports indicated that either a toilet bowl cleaner or ammonia was put in a plastic bottle along with a piece of tin foil. The reaction creates a gas causing the plastic bottle to expand until it burst. The gas created by such a mixture reportedly smells like rotten eggs.

As a result of this prank, Pegues was arrested, charged as an adult under Colorado's Direct File Statute by District Attorney for Colorado's 18th Judicial District, Carol Chambers, for committing several felonies before any investigation.

District Attorney Carol Chambers was criticized harshly by the public for overreacting and filing excessive charges against the juvenile. Many newspaper stories were printed giving the opinion that it was not appropriate that Ms. Chambers charge the juvenile as an adult for what most consider nothing less than a childish 'prank.'^[9]

Notable alumni

• Jennifer Allison, Denver radio personality "Tracy Taylor" on 92.5 the Wolf
• Jessica Brody, bestselling author^[10]
• Scott Elrod, television and movie actor
• Trent Gamble, former Miami Dolphins safety
• Luke Haberorn, Desperate Housewives producer and fluffer
• Chris Martinez, former Colorado Rapids defender
• Tracy Lindsey Melchior, television actress
• Will Ohman, Florida Marlins Relief Pitcher^[11]
• Dana Perino, former White House Press Secretary^[12]

References

External links

• Ponderosa High School
• The Mustang Express, Student Newspaper