South Eugene High School

South Eugene High School
Address
400 East 19th Ave.
Eugene, Oregon, Lane County, 97401
United States
Coordinates 44°02′20″N 123°05′13″W / 44.0388°N 123.087°WCoordinates: 44°02′20″N 123°05′13″W / 44.0388°N 123.087°W
Information
Type Public
School district Eugene School District
Principal Stephanie Cannon[1][2]
Faculty 73 (2 P.h. D, 36 Masters, 35 Bachelors)
Grades 9-12
Number of students 1649[2]
Color(s) Purple and white          [1]
Athletics conference OSAA Southwest Conference 6A-6[1]
Mascot Axemen[1]
Newspaper The Axe
Website www.sehs.lane.edu

South Eugene High School is a public high school located in Eugene, Oregon, United States.

History

It was founded as Eugene High School around 1900, and was located at Willamette Street and West 11th Avenue in a brick building that later served as Eugene's city hall. The school Moved to a construction in 1924 on four acres at 650 West 12th Avenue near Jefferson Street built for the Eugene Public School System.[3]

By 1943, the Eugene School District had outgrown the cramped old high school, and voters had approved a bond measure to build a new facility. World War II and other factors delayed construction for a decade, but the current building at 400 E. 19th Ave. was completed and occupied in September 1953. The old high school served as Woodrow Wilson Junior High School until 1953. In 1953, the Wilson school was converted to an elementary school and renamed Lincoln Elementary School. Aspects of the building were altered to accommodate smaller students, such as lowered blackboards and bathroom fixtures. The original twenty classrooms were reduced to fourteen, creating larger interior spaces that included administrative offices. The library was made smaller, and a storeroom and kitchen were added. After the school was closed and vacated by the school district in 1987, the building was repurposed as the Lincoln School Condominiums.

In 1951, Senator Joseph McCarthy accused the then-named Eugene High School of harboring communists after local student Isaac Billings wrote a letter to the Senator expressing his disdain for him. Although the accusation was short lived due to the school district going into damage control almost immediately, the school's reputation suffered for many years until the Red Scare died down in 1954.

Further Communist accusations were brought against the school in 1967 when the Flower Power movement briefly flared up at the school. However, the movement lacked a centralized leadership and fell apart.

In the fall of 1957, Eugene High was renamed South Eugene High School, when rival North Eugene High School opened in the River Road area north of the city.

Academics

In 1983, South Eugene High School was honored in the Blue Ribbon Schools Program, the highest honor a school can receive in the United States.[3]

In 2008, 89% of the school's seniors received their high school diploma. Of 410 students, 363 graduated, 40 dropped out, and 7 are still in high school.[4][5]

The school has regularly received a silver ranking from U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best High Schools" survey.[6][7][8][9]

In 2010, a student at the school was honored as a Presidential Scholar, one of three from Oregon.[10] A student at the school won the Intel Science Talent Search in 2009 after another South Eugene student placed third in 2007; other students have been named finalists or semifinalists in recent years.[11][12]

Activities

The school is augmented with a competitive athletic program and rich activity offerings, in particular its Fine Arts department that includes band, choir, theater, orchestra and the visual arts. There is also an abundance of diverse student clubs and activities.[13]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 OSAA.org :: Schools
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Oregon School Directory 2008-09" (PDF). Oregon Department of Education. p. 139. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  3. ↑ Archived: Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)
  4. ↑ "State releases high school graduation rates". The Oregonian. June 30, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Oregon dropout rates for 2008". The Oregonian. June 30, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Best High Schools". U.S. News & World Report. December 9, 2009. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  7. ↑ Williams, Anne (January 30, 2008). "Small schools, big result". The Register-Guard. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  8. ↑ Graves, Bill (January 15, 2010). "Nine Oregon high schools ranked among best in nation". The Oregonian. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
  9. ↑ Williams, Anne (June 23, 2010). "Tardy South Eugene [temporarily] absent from ‘best schools’ list". The Register-Guard. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  10. ↑ Hammond, Betsy (May 3, 2010). "Presidential scholars: Oregon scores three". The Oregonian. Retrieved May 3, 2010.
  11. ↑ Brugger, Joe (March 10, 2009). "Eugene high school student wins $100,000, a laptop and a bright future". The Oregonian. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  12. ↑ Owen, Wendy (January 11, 2012). "Three Beaverton area students are among the Intel Science Talent Search semifinalists". The Oregonian. Retrieved January 26, 2012.
  13. ↑ http://sehs.4j.lane.edu/about/about.php
  14. ↑ May 2006 Oregon Voters' Pamphlet
  15. ↑ Tim Hardin
  16. ↑ "Rick Hawn MMA Bio". Retrieved 2014.
  17. ↑ Seattle Sounders FC: Roster: Player Bio
  18. ↑ Lamberson, Carolyn (October 27, 2005). "Hometown boy takes an unlikely path to Nashville". Eugene Register-Guard. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  19. ↑ 'Band on the Run'. The Register-Guard. February 19, 1996.
  20. ↑ Lininger, Tom (December 18, 2003). "The Sound of Silence". Eugene Weekly. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  21. ↑ "Jackson, Stepp make U.S. team". Register-Guard. July 26, 2003. Retrieved February 13, 2010.

External links