Wichita West High School

Wichita West High School
Address
820 South Osage Street [1]
Wichita, Kansas, 67213
United States
Coordinates 37°40′24″N 97°20′53″W / 37.673317°N 97.347942°WCoordinates: 37°40′24″N 97°20′53″W / 37.673317°N 97.347942°W
Information
School type Public, High School
Established 1953
School board boe.usd259.org
School district USD 259 [2]
Superintendent John Allison [2]
CEEB Code 173209 [3]
Principal Joel Hudson [4]
Athletic Director Phil Daignault [4]
Band Director Joanna Freed
Grades 9 to 12
Gender coed
Campus type Urban
Color(s)      Maroon
     Gold
Athletics Class 5A [5]
District 8 [6]
Athletics conference GWAL [4]
Mascot Pioneers
Rival Wichita South High School
Newspaper The West Word
Yearbook West High Trail
Communities served Wichita
Website west.usd259.org

Wichita West High School, known locally as West, is a fully accredited high school located in Wichita, Kansas, serving students in grades 9-12. The high school is located close to downtown Wichita, and is near U.S. Route 54. The current principal is Joel Hudson.

History

In September 1953, Wichita West High School opened. The West Wichita Community Council started campaigning for a high school west of the Arkansas River in 1925. Twenty years elapsed before plans for a vocational-technical school started. Development of these plans resulted in an academic school now classified as a comprehensive high school by the North Central Association.[7]

The school was designed by architects Glen H. Thomas and A.B. Harris, which served as the prototype for the later construction of Wichita High Schools South and Southeast. By the third year of operation, West added 25 classrooms and in 1971, the building was surrounded by 24 portable units. The enrollment totaled to nearly 2,000 students by 1959, which meant that the faculty had to be doubled. A new library media center was added in 1976 and the existing library was renovated. In 1979 Wichita High School Northwest opened which caused the enrollment at West to decrease.[7]

The first graduating class erected a memorial to the Pioneers of the West. In 1969, a group of art students and their instructor created a sculptured relief mural in fired clay, 20 feet long and 15 feet high, outside the school office. The cast bronze-effect mural illustrates mathematics, art, music, drama, social studies, science, industrial arts, language arts, home economics and business curricular areas.[7]

In 1988 and 1989, alterations were made to the cafeteria and several classrooms. In the fall of 1988, all ninth graders were moved to high schools. The enrollment has leveled to an average of 1,500 students.[7]

Extracurricular activities

State championships

State Championships[8]
Season Sport/Activity Number of Championships Year
Fall Cross Country, Boys 1 1971
Winter Wrestling 2 1994, 2001
Basketball, Boys 1 1982
Swimming and Diving, Boys 2 1956, 1957
Spring Golf, Boys 2 1967, 1972
Track and Field, Boys 1 1972
Baseball 3 1959, 1967, 1969
Total 12

See also

Wichita Public High Schools
Wichita Private High Schools

References

  1. ↑ GNIS entry for West High School; USGS; October 24, 2008.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 USD 259
  3. ↑ High School CEEB Code Search
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "School Search - Wichita-West HS". Kansas State High School Activities Association. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  5. ↑ KSHSAA School Classification List
  6. ↑ KSHSAA School District List
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 School history
  8. ↑ "State Records & State Champions" (English). Retrieved 2014-06-14.

External links

Historical
Map