Arapahoe High School (Colorado)

Arapahoe High School is a public high school in Centennial, Colorado, United States.^[1] Located in a suburb of Denver, it is the flagship of the Littleton Public Schools District as the largest of three high schools with an enrollment of 2,229 students. It has been designated a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education.

Arapahoe consistently places "Excellent" on Colorado's statewide school accountability report, the only Littleton Public Schools high school to do so.^[2]

The school is known for its affiliation with the Arapaho tribe of Wind River, Wyoming.

History

Arapahoe High School was built in 1964. Several additions have been made since then:

• 1965: A gymnasium, built by Morse, Dion & Champion, architects; and Hollister, general contractor
• 1967: An addition of a pool, classrooms and theater, built by Morse, Dion & Champion, architects; and Webco, general contractor.
• 1979: An addition of locker rooms, wrestling facilities and a gymnastics gym, built by Allred/Fisher, architects; and Frank Hall & Co., construction management.
• 1987: An addition of administration and counseling space, by Culbertson & Associates, who served as designer and general contractor.
• 1997: The school's aging interior library was replaced with classrooms, and a new library and media center were constructed on the north side of the building. Accessibility was improved with the construction of an elevator adjacent to second-floor classrooms and a student-designed east entrance with wheelchair ramps and automated doors, nicknamed "The Bubble."
• 2005: The school underwent significant remodeling. A new gymnasium was added, several classrooms were redesigned and walls were rebuilt to meet fire code standards.
• 2014: In the aftermath of a school shooting in 2013, in which parts of the library were burned, a remodeled library was constructed in the same space.

As of 2013 the school has 70 classrooms.^[3]

On December 13, 2013, a shooting occurred at the school. The gunman, an 18-year-old student,^[4][5] entered the school armed with a shotgun, a machete, three Molotov cocktails, and 125 rounds of ammunition.^[6][7] He requested to see school librarian,^[8] who was also the coach of the school debate team.^[8] The shooter's demotion on the team was a contributing motive to the shooting.^[9][10][11] One student was shot in the head and died 8 days later.^{[12][13][14][15][16]} The shooter attempted to start a fire with one of the devices he had carried with him and then shot himself in the head.^[17][18][19]

Facilities

The 254,756-square-foot (23,667.6 m²) high school has two gyms, a weight room, a library, kitchen, a 647-seat theater, 70 classrooms, a pool, tennis courts, baseball, football, and two soccer fields, as well as a track.

Native American relationship

The school has a unique relationship with the Arapaho tribe.

After complaints about the pejorative depiction of Native Americans, principal Ron Booth sought a direct relationship with the tribe by travelling to the tribe's location in Wyoming for a personal meeting with tribal elders. After an extensive process, the tribe and Chief Anthony Sitting Eagle approved a relationship between school and tribe, establishing relationship methodology through a specific declaration.^[20]

The original logo of Arapahoe High School more closely depicted a Pawnee Indian. On September 17, 1993 the Arapaho Nation and Arapahoe High School held the Arapahoe Warrior Assembly. This assembly dedicated the schools new, and current, Warrior mascot—created by Northern Arapaho Artist, Wilbur Antelope.

Since then, the Northern Arapaho tribe has endorsed the name of the high school (as spelled with an "e" at the end) and its use of the current warrior mascot, provided by the tribe. Additionally, the large gym was refinished and renamed the Sitting Eagle Gymnasium (this is now the second gym) on December 9, 1995.

According to the original agreement made by the school, the mascot is not to be put on the floor (where one could walk on it) or on any article of clothing,^[20] but whether through subsequent agreement or disregard on the part of the school the mascot can be found on a wide variety of clothing. However, it is not found on any football uniform (where it may be rubbed into the ground) and the school does not portray a Native American Warrior at any sporting event.

Tribal members visit the school for important events, speaking every year at graduation, and every two years a larger group will visit the school to perform various traditional dances and speak about Native American culture.

Athletics

Arapahoe is part of the 8-team Centennial League that also includes Cherry Creek, Grandview, Cherokee Trail, Smoky Hill, Eaglecrest, Mullen, and Overland.

Arapahoe athletics include baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, dance, football, golf, lacrosse, marching band, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball, winter guard, and wrestling. All athletics at Arapahoe are competed at the 5A / world level.

Girls golf won the Colorado State Championship in 2010.

The Arapahoe soccer program, known as ABK (Arapahoe Ball Kickers), holds 14 state championships; the girls' program has won nine state titles and the boys' program has five state titles. In 1997 and 1998, members of the ABK and friends formed the Jolly Green Men, supporters of the Colorado Rapids soccer club.

Publications

Arapahoe Herald

The monthly Arapahoe Herald newspaper is produced by journalism students. In 2005, Arapahoe Herald was named a National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker Finalist and went on to win a Pacemaker. The National Pacemaker Awards have been called “the high school equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.” In 2005, the Arapahoe Herald received the Pacemaker as well as a Silver Crown from Columbia Scholastic Press Association. It is only the sixth high school newspaper in Colorado to win a Pacemaker in the award’s 100+ year history.

In 2007 Arapahoe Herald received the National Scholastic Press Association's All-American rating, Columbia Scholastic Press Association's Gold Medalist Award, and in 2008 placed first in the American Scholastic Press Association's Newspaper Review and Contest. Arapahoe Herald is also included in the National Scholastic Press Association's Hall of Fame for ten consecutive All-American ratings. To date, the newspaper has earned 14 All American ratings since 1992. Arapahoe Herald won its second NSPA Pacemaker Award in November 2009. The Herald also received Gold Medal awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association in 2008 and in 2010.

In 2009, the February issue of the newspaper gained statewide attention for a controversy over articles depicting teenage boys using alcohol to engage in sexual actions with girls, and young women objectifying themselves for attention.^[21]

Calumet

Calumet, the Arapahoe yearbook is produced by journalism students. Calumet received All-American ratings in both 2005 and 2006 and was a Pacemaker Finalist in 2005.

Muse

Muse is Arapahoe's literary arts magazine. In 2007, the Muse placed eighth in the National Scholastic Press Association's Best-in-Show, during the Denver Convention.^[22]

Notable alumni

• Amy Barczuk – drafted in the 2013 National Women's Soccer League draft by the Western New York Flash^[23]
• Melissa Benoist – actress in Fox's Glee and CBS's Supergirl^[24]
• Tom Costello – NBC News Correspondent based in Washington, D.C.^[25]
• Tommie Hill – football defensive end who played college football at Colorado State
• Bradford Morrow – founding editor of the literary journal Conjunctions and author of several novels.
• Steven Moore – literary critic and former managing editor of Dalkey Archive Press/Review of Contemporary Fiction.
• AnnaSophia Robb – actress who has starred in films such as Soul Surfer, Bridge to Terabithia, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and in the CW's The Carrie Diaries^[26]

References

External links

• Official website
• School newspaper website