- Manhattan High School
-
Manhattan High School 
Manhattan High, West Campus Location 2031 Poyntz Avenue
Manhattan, Kansas, 66502
United StatesInformation School type Public secondary Established 1882 Principal Terry McCarty Grades 9 to 12 Enrollment 1,984 Color(s) Blue, White and Red (accent color) Mascot Indians Rival Junction City High School Newspaper 'The Mentor' Website School Website Manhattan High School is a fully accredited public high school in Manhattan, Kansas, serving students in grades 9-12. It is part of the Unified School District No. 383. For the 2010–2011 school year, Manhattan High had an enrollment of 1,984 students.[1]
The school is divided into two campuses. The main building is the West Campus, containing grades 10-12, while the East Campus is for ninth graders. The two campuses are approximately one mile apart.
Manhattan High School was listed by Newsweek in 2009 and 2010 as one of the top high schools in the U.S.[2] The school's athletic teams are referred to as the "Indians," and have won more than 40 state championships. Notable alumni of the school include Fred Andrew Seaton, former U.S. Senator and Secretary of the Interior.
Contents
History
The first dedicated secondary school in Manhattan opened in 1882 at the current site of the Manhattan High School "East Campus."[3] The East Campus of the school consists of two limestone buildings that are connected by a glass walkway (built in 1978). The first building (on the far right side in the accompanying photo) was opened in 1914 to replace the town's original secondary school. The second building (on the left side of the accompanying photo) was constructed in 1918 as a separate building for junior high school students (grades 7,8, and 9).
Manhattan High, East Campus
The West Campus is a red brick building that was constructed in 1956 to be the new high school. Both of the older buildings (the current East Campus) were then utilized for junior high school students. Over the next 40 years, the new high school faced recurring overcrowding issues and was significantly expanded, but the new school simply proved unable to keep up with the town's population growth. After considering and rejecting the idea of building a second high school in Manhattan, in 1996 the town instead built two new middle schools, and moved the ninth grade to the East Campus.
Campus layout
The West Campus is laid out in five parallel hallways, with an open space between each and a central "commons area." Each hallway is lettered from south to north. Classes in the industrial arts are held in a detached building behind the West Campus. A large greenhouse and a new fitness center are also detached from the main building. The West Campus houses two gymnasiums; one is used as a general purpose facility and the other is primarily for basketball and volleyball games.
The East Campus is composed of two three-story limestone buildings, connected with a glass walkway and an annex in the rear (not visible in the above photo), built in 1928. The campus also has a detached gymnasium built behind the main stone buildings.
Academics
Manhattan High School was listed by Newsweek in 2009 as one of the top high schools in the U.S.[2] Only six schools in Kansas made the list. The school district was also awarded a Blue Ribbon in the 2007 Education Quotient Study, ranking it in the top third nationwide.
There are a wide range of learning opportunities offered at MHS, from tutoring for learning-impaired students to dual credit classes at Kansas State University, and a wide range of elective classes. Currently the school offers electives from performing arts to language arts to physical arts. Manhattan High is also the hub of a state-wide virtual education academy called the iQ Academy Kansas.[4] The online classes give students the opportunity to study and learn at their own personal pace. 240 students were enrolled in the program as of 2007.[5]
In the 2008-2009 school year there were five National Merit Finalists from Manhattan High.
Extracurricular activities
Athletics
Manhattan High has teams competing in baseball, basketball (boys and girls), bowling (boys and girls), cross country (boys and girls), football, golf (boys and girls), soccer (boys and girls), softball, swimming & diving (boys and girls), tennis (boys and girls), track & field (boys and girls), volleyball (girls), and wrestling. The school competes at the 6A level (largest schools) in the Centennial League. Manhattan High has its own football stadium, Bishop Stadium, which seats 4,000 spectators.
Manhattan High's football stadiumThe athletics program has received some national recognition. On June 19, 2007, Sports Illustrated published a list of the top high school athletic programs in each state, and Manhattan High School was declared the top high school athletics program in Kansas for 2007.[6] Also, Manhattan High's football team was nationally ranked in the USA Today poll during the 1987 and 1988 seasons.[7]
Mascot controversy
Main article: Native American mascot controversyManhattan High's sports teams are called the "Indians." In light of debate over the use of Native American mascots in athletics, the use of the name "Indians" by the high school has been questioned since it was adopted. The mascot name was intended, in part, to honor Frank Prentup, a former football coach of the high school who claimed Indian ancestry. In 2001, the Unified School District 383 Board of Education voted to retain the mascot name but would restrict how the Indian could be portrayed.[8]
State championships
State Championships[9][10] Season Sport Championships Year(s) Fall Football 4 1943^, 1961+, 1974, 1988 Volleyball 4 1986, 1987, 2003, 2010 Cross Country, Boys 2 1983, 1984 Cross Country, Girls 2 1977, 1979 Golf, Girls 11 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2000, 2003,
2004, 2006, 2008Winter Wrestling 2 2004, 2007 Swimming and Diving, Boys 2 1993, 1995 Indoor Track & Field, Boys 1 1977 Spring Golf, Boys 8 1948 (2-Man), 1966 (2-Man), 1971, 1978 (2-Man),
1991, 1994, 2004, 2006Baseball 2 1992, 1998 Track and Field, Boys 1 2009 Track and Field, Girls 2 1989, 2002 Total 41 Non-athletic programs
Debate/Forensics
The Manhattan High Debate and Forensics team is ranked among the top schools in the nation by number of degrees by the National Forensics League. Manhattan High has competed at the state in all the NFL events and at the national level in many of the events. It is one of the largest teams by members in the state. The team is coached by Shawn Rafferty.
- The debate team won KSHSAA state championships in 1972, 1973, 1984, 1987, 1988 and 2004 (two-speaker).[12]
- The forensics team won KSHSAA state championships in 1984 and 2008.[12]
Journalism
Manhattan High School's newspaper, the Mentor, was founded in 1919. It is one of only a few weekly student newspapers in Kansas. The paper is printed every Friday that school is in session by the Manhattan Mercury. More than 1,600 copies are distributed for free to students, staff and community members. In 2011, the Mentor switched from a tabloid newspaper to a broadsheet. The staff launched their own website, www.thementor.com
The school's journalism students have won a number of state-wide awards in competitions administered by the Kansas Scholastic Press Association.[citation needed]
Music
Manhattan High School's marching band, The "Big Blue" Marching Band performs at every home football game, in parades, and in band festivals. The concert band performs during the spring season. There is also an orchestra, choir, jazz ensemble, symphonic band, and wind ensemble. An ensemble of volunteer players is used as the pit orchestra for the school musical.
Performing arts
Manhattan High has a drama and stagecraft program. A four performance musical is put on annually in mid-November, showcasing the talent of MHS thespians. Performances take place in the Rezac Auditorium at the West Campus. It has an active performance calendar that includes a fall Broadway musical with full pit orchestra, a Winter Gala featuring large performing groups, a winter play, a spring play, student directed one-act plays, showcase concerts for show choirs and jazz band, as well as the traditional large-group concerts each quarter. Every other year, MHS choirs partake in a music festival at Disney World over spring break. Pops and Sugar and Spice show choir are auditioned ensembles who perform in the community throughout the course of the school year. Each require a combo band, made up of MHS students.
Manhattan High also has dance and a competition teams. The dance team performs at home football games, basketball games, and wrestling events, performing halftime routines as well as sidelines (at football games). The competition team, the elite division of dance team, holds tryouts every year. Competition then takes several routines to various regional competitions, including pom, hip-hop, jazz, novelty, solos, and duets. The competition team also performs halftime routines on its own at basketball games. The dance team also attends Universal Dance Association (UDA) camp over the summer, where they perform various routines.
Notable alumni
- 19th century: Samuel Wendell Williston, paleontologist (pre-1882)
- 19th century: Philip Fox, astronomer
- 1916: Clementine Paddleford, food critic
- 1918: Dewey Huston, 3-time all-conference football player at Kansas State
- 1923: Frank B. Morrison, 34th Governor of Nebraska
- 1926: Solon Toothaker Kimball, anthropologist
- 1927: Fred Andrew Seaton, U.S. Senator, Secretary of the Interior
- 1930: Kenneth S. Davis, historian, winner of Francis Parkman Prize
- 1930: Joan Finney, 42nd Governor of Kansas
- 1948: Harold Robinson, broke "color barrier" in Big Seven Conference, all-conference football player at Kansas State
- 1949: Earl Woods, late father of Tiger Woods
- 1951: Del Close, actor, comedian, one of the premier influences on modern improvisational theater
- 1952: David Dary, journalist, author
- 1952: Inger Stevens, actress
- 1954: Tom Oberheim, inventor of Oberheim synthesizer and DMX drum machine, which defined early hip-hop production
- 1964: Bill Buzenberg, journalist, executive director of Center for Public Integrity, former vice-president of news at NPR
- 1966: Thomas Romig, Army's top-ranking Judge Advocate General, Dean of Washburn University School of Law
- 1972: Dawayne Bailey, musician
- 1974: Gary Spani, member of College Football Hall of Fame and Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame
- 1977: Tim Jankovich, head basketball coach at Illinois State University
- 1981: Deb Richard, former professional golfer
- 1983: Craig Colbert, professional baseball player
- 1982: Anna Seaton Huntington, won bronze medal at 1992 Summer Olympics, member of America's Cup crew on the America3
- 1989: Thomas Randolph, All-American football player at Kansas State
- 1992: Will Tiao, actor
- 1993: Steve Balderson, filmmaker
- 1997: Jared Hess, filmmaker
References
- ^ "Enrollment by Grade, Race, and Gender" (English). Kansas State Department of Education. http://svapp15586.ksde.org/k12/building.aspx?org_no=D0383&bldg_no=5136. Retrieved 5 August 2011.
- ^ a b "Manhattan High School Earns Award" (English). http://www.usd383.org/view/article.aspx?articleId=3914af5124444e279d69cc578ad40d4a. Retrieved 2011-01-29.
- ^ "150 Years of Education in Manhattan". Manhattan Free Press. July 14, 2005.
- ^ "iQ Academy Kansas Homepage" (English). http://www.iqacademykansas.com/. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
- ^ "Competition Increasing in Online Education Options". Lawrence Journal-World. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/sep/23/competition_increasing_online_education_options/. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
- ^ "CNNSI: Top High School Programs" (English). 2007-06-19. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/highschool/06/19/top.state/index.html. Retrieved 2007-06-26.
- ^ "1987 football ranking" (English). http://www2.ljworld.com/news/1987/nov/29/lawrence_shocks_manhattan/. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
- ^ Albright, Andrea (5 October 2001). "Manhattan rejects mascot shift". The Topeka Capital-Journal. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_20011005/ai_n11771721/. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
- ^ "KSHSAA Athletics" (English). Archived from the original on August 18, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060818194013/http://www.kshsaa.org/activities.html. Retrieved 2006-09-26.
- ^ "State Records & State Champions" (English). http://catchitkansas.com/Global/category.asp?C=112444. Retrieved 2010-02-05.
- ^ "Kansas High School Football Champions" (English). http://community-2.webtv.net/SEKSPORTS/HIGHSCHOOLCOMM/page10.html. Retrieved 2009-06-02.
- ^ a b "KSHSAA Non-Athletics Championships" (English). Archived from the original on March 24, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080324214619/http://www.kshsaa.org/activities1.html. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
External links
- Manhattan High School official homepage
- Manhattan High School Alumni Association
- "Big Blue" Marching Band
- MHS Orchestra
- MHS Choir
- MHS Cross Country
39°10′46″N 96°35′31.5″W / 39.17944°N 96.592083°WCoordinates: 39°10′46″N 96°35′31.5″W / 39.17944°N 96.592083°W — West Campus
39°10′42″N 96°34′15″W / 39.17833°N 96.57083°W — East CampusCategories:- Educational institutions established in 1882
- High schools in Kansas
- Schools in Riley County, Kansas
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