Mead Senior High School

Not to be confused with Meade Senior High School.

Mead High School
Location
Spokane, Washington United States
Information
Type	Public High School
School district	Mead School District
Principal	Ken Russell
Staff	140
Grades	9-12
Number of students	1551[1]
Color(s)	Navy Blue and Gold
Athletics	WIAA 4A
Athletics conference	Greater Spokane League
Mascot	Panther
Website	http://www.mead354.org/page.cfm?p=98

Mead Senior High School is a public secondary school in Spokane, Washington. MHS is part of the Mead School District#354. Mead Senior High has an enrollment of around 1,650 students. Mead was the recent recipient of the U.S. News & World Report's Silver Medal as one of the strongest high schools in America.^[2]

Academics

Beyond required classes in the core academic areas (math, science, social studies, and English), MHS offers a wide variety of elective courses including an honors and Advanced Placement (AP) program, world languages (French, German, and Spanish), physical education, professional/technical education, music, art, and theatre, and no longer has woodshop and metal shop.

Extracurricular activities and clubs

According to the school's website, the co-curricular programs (GHQ, drama, music, debate, DECA, leadership, journalism, and Model U.N.) garner the participation of over 700 students each year. The MHS band and choir have also won many awards and are lauded for their performances. The nationally known Mead High School Jazz Ensemble has participated and placed in competitions around the United States. They were selected as one of the top 15 high school jazz bands in the nation and were invited to perform at Lincoln Center as part of the 2004 and 2007 Essentially Ellington festivals. The theater department produces two full-stage productions a year and a musical production once every two years in addition to student-directed one-acts and occasionally hosting a major Northwest theater festival. The Model U.N. program was represented at the Washington conference at the University of Washington in 2008 by 12 students, and representation was tripled at the Washington conference in 2009. The Mead High School yearbook staff (The Pantera) was again set amongst the top 5% best yearbooks in the country by Walsworth Publishing Company. The staff has received this honor consecutively since 2000 and has been awarded and recognized by top journalism schools including Columbia University. The Dance Team is also a nationally awarded team, winning 1st place in the Championship Drill Category and 1st place in the Dance/Drill Category in 2008. 2010 they competed and won 1st in Drill, 1st in Dance, 2nd in Dance/Drill, 3rd in Character, and 4th in Hip Hop.

Athletics

The Mead Panthers compete in the AAAA classification and is part of the GSL (Greater Spokane League), a league of 14 teams from around Spokane and the larger Inland Northwest. MHS has won 19 state championships (in various sports) in the last 14 years, and has won the Washington All-State trophy six times in that same span, as well as three second place finishes. In addition to team championships, the school also has had a number of athletes win individual state championships in wrestling, golf, track & field, and cross-country which has won their 15th state championship this year (2008).

Mead's best-known athletic alums are former Gonzaga star and current Los Angeles Lakers player Adam Morrison and former Washington State University and current Detroit Lions kicker Jason Hanson who is currently the 10th all-time NFL leading scorer. Former tennis professional Jan-Michael Gambill also attended Mead High School. Gambill was ranked as high as No. 14 in the world in 2001 and won three ATP tournaments during his career.

Mead men's cross country team has competed in the Nike Team National cross country meet several times. Mead's volleyball team has won five-straight 4A state championships. During the 2010 season, the volleyball team won third place at the state tournament.

In 2010, the Mead Panther's Track teams (boys and girls) won GSL titles by going the entire season undefeated.

Facilities

MHS completed an extensive remodel; demolition and construction began in May 1999 and was completed in August 2001. Over 200,000 sq ft (19,000 m²). were renovated and more than 30,000 sq ft (2,800 m²). were added during this two and a-half year project. The result is a 237,000 sq ft (22,000 m²). facility. The new theatre at MHS seats 500 and includes an orchestra pit, excellent lighting, fine acoustics, and views from every seat.

The outdoor athletic facilities include over 30 acres (120,000 m²) of well maintained athletic fields for all outdoor sports, including a new track and ten tennis courts. Inside the school, the athletic teams enjoy a gymnasium that seats 2,500, a 10,000 sq ft (930 m²). field house, and a 3,000 sq ft (280 m²). weight room, equipped with a wide variety of quality weight training and fitness equipment.

Notable alumni

• Jeff Brown, professional basketball player
• Jan-Michael Gambill (Former ATP Tennis Pro)
• Jason Hanson (Detroit Lions)
• Jerry Holkins^[3] (Penny Arcade (webcomic))
• Myles Kennedy (Alter Bridge vocalist/guitarist)
• Mike Krahulik^[3] (Penny Arcade (webcomic))
• Craig Montoya (Everclear bassist)
• Adam Morrison (Washington Wizards)
• Selene Vigil-Wilk, lead singer of 7 Year Bitch
• Cory Withrow (San Diego Chargers)

References

1. ^ Mead Senior High School - Spokane, Washington - WA - School overview
2. ^ http://education.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-high-schools/listings/washington/mead-high-school
3. ^ ^{a b} http://www.spokesmanreview.com/blogs/txt/archive/?postID=5180

External links

• Mead High School Website