Valparaiso High School

Infobox School
location = 2727 N. Campbell St.
name = Valparaiso High School


motto =
grades = 9-12
free_label = Colors
free = Green color box|GREEN & White color box|WHITE
established =1874
type =Public high school
head_name = Principal
head = James Doane
head_name2 =
head2 =
information = [phone]
city =Valparaiso
state =Indiana
country =USA
students =2054 ^{[http://mustang.doe.state.in.us/TRENDS/schlprofile.cfm?schl=6881]}
faculty =97 ^{[http://mustang.doe.state.in.us/TRENDS/schlprofile.cfm?schl=6881]}
athletics =Football, Cross Country, Soccer, Golf, Basketball, Swimming and Diving, Wrestling, Baseball, Track and Field, Volleyball, Tennis, Gymnastics and Softball ^{[http://www.valpo.k12.in.us/vhsathletics/]}
mascot =Viking
website = [http://www.valpo.k12.in.us/vhs/ Valparaiso High School]

Valparaiso High School is a public high school in Valparaiso, Indiana. This high school is currently a four star and accredited high school, cited by US News and World Report as a "Best High School 2008". [US News and World Report - http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/indiana/valparaiso_high_school] May 23, 2008] The current principal is Mr. James Doane.

History

In 1870, Valparaiso High School opened its doors for the first time, on the same land which Central Elementary School now stands. Ever since then, thousands of students, faculty, and community members have entered and left those doors.

Even before the first graduating class had left in 1874, the land on which the original high school was built upon had a long and rich history. A murderer was hanged nearby, just south of the future school site, in 1834. In 1853, the school's plot of land was purchased by a women named Nancy Borst, but she sold it to the Presbyterian Church of Valparaiso in 1860. The land that was sold included a tract of land between Washington Street and Franklin Street, as well as a small triangle of land across from Franklin Street. The church constructed a new school on the recently purchased land and on April 16, 1861, the Valparaiso Collegiate Institute opened. The school was a two-story brick building with only four rooms and a small office. The school slowly declined over the years due to the start of the Civil War, and in 1869, the City of Valparaiso bought it for $10,000.

A new building was constructed north of the original in 1871. The two buildings were physically connected together and constructed so well in appearance to each other that it looked like one building. The school had become a three-story building with a new name: Valparaiso City Public Graded School. This was Valparaiso's first public high school. In its first year, there were 400 students and 10 teachers. Three years later, Valparaiso High School conducted its first commencement ceremony.

In the next three decades, overcrowding in the school became common so that by 1903, it was condemned and torn down.

Less than one year later, construction began on the new Central Building which was opened in 1904. The new building cost around $80,000 and was designed by Charles Lembke, a local architect. It was constructed by Wilson Brothers Construction. The school faced towards the east and to allow for more attic space, was constructed with a Mansard roof. The new school build had large chimneys and a tiered fountain. Although some sources report that the school taught kindergarten through eighth grade as well as ninth through twelfth, it was most likely used as a high school solely.

Once again, overcrowding became a problem so that by the 1920s, a construction of a new school was necessary. The last class to graduate from the Central Building was the class of 1927. After that, a new high school was built at 605 North Campbell Street, which would soon become the future Benjamin Franklin Middle School. This new high school thrived until the early 1970s.

By 1972, overcrowding once again summoned for construction of a new high school. The current high school was then constructed at 2727 North Campbell Street. In 1988 a field house was added to the west of the original building. A major renovation came in 1993, with a $19 million project adding classrooms to the north section of the building, a new and expanded kitchen and student cafeteria, and renovated administrative and guidance areas. In 1997 a roof was added and in 2004 work began on renovating the football stadium. [VCS History Project - [http://www.valpo.k12.in.us/vcshistoryproject/vhshistory.php] May 23, 2008]

Academics

In 2004, Valparaiso High School was one of 30 schools chosen nationwide as a model school by an initiative of the Council of Chief State School Officers, the International Center for Leadership in Education and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The initiative recognizes schools that are successful at providing quality education to all students. The high school's history of continuous improvement on benchmarks, service learning initiative commitments, as well as having offered diverse extracurricular programs were all cited in its achievement. The school also promotes leadership, a model of civility, and a connection to the greater Valparaiso community. [NWI.com - [http://nwitimes.com/articles/2004/03/10/news/top_news/a09ecd3e652cce2086256e53000cc8c7.txt] , March 10, 2004]

Valparaiso High School has offered the IB Diploma Program since August 1995. Students at VHS usually take IB exams in May. In the last session, students completed the following exams: Biology, Chemistry, Economics, English, French, German, History, Information Technology in Global Society, Mathematics, Music, Physics, Spanish, Theory of Knowledge and Visual Arts. [International Baccalaureate Organization - [http://www.ibo.org/school/000851/] , May 23, 2008]

chool song

"Oh! Green and White arise to glory,"
"To summits of envied fame"
"Fight on ev’ry field and never yield"
"Exalting your honored name"
"Vikings marching on to vict’ry with"
"Courage and pluck and brawn."
"Fight! Fight! Green and White now win the day,"
"Then on to victory Valpo, On!"

tudent attack

On Wednesday, November 24, 2004, at approximately 7:50 A.M., five students were attacked in a classroom by 15-year-old student James Lewerke, who was armed with a machete and a tree saw. None of the students involved suffered major injuries, and all but one were treated and released from the hospital the same day. Rather than prosecuting and disciplining the aggresor, the school simply transferred him to a school district in another state. Before he was transferred to Valparaiso schools, he had already had a similar incident in the Aurora School District which the Valpo Schools overlooked. [Indiana Daily Student - [http://www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=26459&comview=1 5 students injured in Valparaiso slashing] , 29 November 2004] [The Northwest Indiana and Illinois Times - [http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2004/11/30/news/top_news/e0cd3b11375d7c9b86256f5c000f7e12.txt VHS teen: Victims were 'sinners'] , November 30, 2004]

Notable alumni

* Beulah Bondi, Oscar nominated and Emmy award winning actress; perhaps best known for playing the roles of Jimmy Stewart’s mother in both the films It’s a Wonderful Life and Mister Smith Goes to Washington
* Mark N. Brown, astronaut
* Maria Astrologes Combs, former LPGA player and tournament winner
* Bryce Drew, former NBA player
* Chris Funk, guitarist for The Decemberists
* Patricia Ireland, former president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) and prominent women's rights activist
* Heather Kuzmich, America's Next Top Model, Cycle 9
* Jeff Samardzija, former University of Notre Dame football and baseball player, currently a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs

References

External links

* [http://www.valpo.k12.in.us/vhs/ Valparaiso High School]