Patrick Henry High School (Minneapolis)

Patrick Henry High School, locally known as Patrick Henry, or just Henry, is a Minneapolis public high school located in the Camden area of North Minneapolis with about 1300 students. Its address has been 4320 Newton Avenue North since it was changed in the late 1990s to reflect renovations that moved the main entrance.

Like all Minneapolis high schools, Henry is composed of several "small learning communities" or SLCs. Henry's premier program is its International Baccalaureate program, which draws from parts of North, Northeast, Southeast, and some of South Minneapolis. The Class of 2007 featured twenty IB Diploma candidates.^[4] Henry also has an Engineering program, and a liberal arts program. The school is IB Certified for Diploma Programme (DP) and is also certified for IB's Middle Years Programme (MYP) as well.

Patrick Henry has been named one of the top high schools in the country for almost a decade, both by Newsweek Magazine and by US News and World Report. The streak continued with the school listed again by both magazines in 2009/2010. Among schools with equivalent levels of poverty, Patrick Henry is one of very few in the country showing significant academic success.

For many years, Henry struggled with low enrollment and poor academic quality. Since the 1990s, however, the school has benefited from the introduction of the IB program, corporate grants, a mentorship program for new teachers, and the strong leadership of former principals Cheryl Creecy, Michael Huerth (a recipient of the Milken Family Foundation's National Education Award), and Paul McMahan. The transition from being known as "Minneapolis Henry" to being called "Patrick Henry" occurred under Principal McMahan as part of the school's renaissance.

Recent Patrick Henry graduates have been accepted and have matriculated to various prestigious colleges and universities, including: Harvard University, Tuskegee University, Carleton College, Purdue University, Dartmouth College, Emory University, and Brown University (among others).

Athletics

Henry's most notable sports team in recent years has been its boys' basketball team, which won four straight state championships in the AAA division under coach Larry McKenzie from 2000 to 2003. The team had some success before then as well, reaching the state final in 1998, and often defeating its rival North High School, led at the time by Khalid El-Amin. The basketball team previously won state championships in 1944 and 1945. The alpine skiing team won the state championship in 1941, and the boys' track and field team won the state championship in the AA division in 1990, led by "Leapin'" Leonard Jones.

Beyond the sports, Henry has a vast array of other extracurriculars, the most notable of which being their math and robotics teams. Henry has one of the largest math teams in the city; coach John Heisel has managed to recruit a considerable number of students every year. Henry's robotics team, Herobotics, is known as one of the top teams in the state of Minnesota; they have won many awards, and advanced to the FIRST Championship seven times in their ten-year history.

Notable alumni

• Richard Toftness, 2012 Academy Award Winner (technical), class of 1968.^[5]
• Bee Vang, actor in Gran Torino (attended 9th grade at Patrick Henry)^[6]
• Michael Hegstrand, best known as Road Warrior Hawk in the World Wrestling Federation, class of 1976.
• Ade Olufeko, Technologist and entrepreneur.
• Rob Antony, General Manager and Executive Vice-President of the Minnesota Twins, class of 1984.
• Phil Williams, Regional southpaw professional boxer
• Ed Flanders, actor in St. Elsewhere, class of 1953.
• Toki Wright, Regionally known Rapper and Educator.
• Larry H. Smith, U.S. National hockey player.
• Tony Andreason, original member of The Trashmen (hit song Surfin' Bird), class of 1961.

References

External links

• School Website
• Google Maps