East Kentwood High School

Infobox Secondary school

name = East Kentwood High School
native_name =
motto = "Committed To Excellence"
established = 1969
type = Public High School
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principal = Joe Beel
asst principal = Rick Smith
Omar Bakri
Jayne Trombley
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enrollment = 2,967 Fact|date=April 2007
(incl. Freshman Campus)
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grades = 10th to 12th
address = 6230 Kalamazoo Ave
city = Kentwood
state = Michigan
province =
country = United States
district = Kentwood Public Schools
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colors = Red and Black
colours =
athletics =
mascot = Falcons
emblem =
yearbook =
newspaper = The Talon
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website = [http://kentwoodps.org/schools/EKHS/index.asp East Kentwood High School]
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East Kentwood High School (EKHS) is a public high school located just outside the city of Kentwood, Michigan, United States. It is part of the Kentwood Public Schools district, working together with the Crossroads High School, an alternative learning center. The school has achieved Blue Ribbon Exemplary School status, for many years running.

East Kentwood is the largest high school in Michigan with an enrollment of 2,967 for 2007.Fact|date=August 2008

History

East Kentwood High School was built in 1969. Since then it has undergone numerous renovations, including the addition of the West Wing in 1975 and the construction of the Freshman Campus in 1994. Further construction was done in 1983, 1986, and 1994. The 1994 project included a renovation of the fieldhouse and expansion of the West Wing, which involved adding several new science classrooms. In the mid-1980s a south corridor was completed to shelter students crossing each wing. East Kentwood is the only public school in the state of Michigan to have its own ice arena on campus; East Kentwood also has its own competitive and community swimming pools, and a 1,600-seat Fine Arts Auditorium.

The original Kentwood high school, which is now Crestwood Middle School, opened in 1960. When the new site was built in 1969, the new school was named East Kentwood because there were plans to eventually build a second high school, which would have been known as West Kentwood a few years later. West Kentwood would have built on the same physical campus as East Kentwood. When the first vote for a second high school was turned down in the early 1970s it lead to the construction of East Kentwood's first swimming pool as well as what was referred to as the Freshman wing. To this day, talks of building a second high school periodcially resurface but have so far been turned down in favor of the economic advantages of running one large high school. Thus, East Kentwood continues to grow while West Kentwood remains the answer to a trivia question.

Renovation

In 2003 a $85.5 million bond was passed that allowed new construction at the High School Campus. A new athletic stadium was built with a capacity of over 7,500 along with a new 38 meter pool and a 75 foot community pool. Further work was done at the Freshman Campus to build it out to the supportable core of 1,450 students with the moving of office and support staff to a new highly visible wing, and renovation of the previous office space with 6 classrooms and adding onto the existing classroom wings with 10 rooms. Additional work was done at the 10-12 main campus with the addition of more performing arts space including new practice rooms along with work at the auditorium with more dressing rooms, staging areas, and a new lighting and sound system. Furthermore the seating was also refurnished.

Another major project was the expansion of the east wing cafeteria and renovation of classrooms in that wing. The circle drive that has been a mainstay of the school was removed with a new corridor built to link the west and east wings. The new corridor also puts a large commons area in front of the school with the pools, field house, and auditorium on each side. This hallway added 6 entrances, which is twice as many as before, along with creating two courtyards. Beyond the front of the school work the art department was given a remodel which includes a new art gallery. Along with all of this new carpeting has been placed through the school. Furthermore, a south side road was placed between the school and the practice fields along with a possible storage facility was added between the new south road and the field house. A renovation of the softball and baseball diamonds was also done then which included new home plate structures, scoreboards, and permanent bleachers.

Diversity

East Kentwood High School has a student population of over 2,900 students. Over 900 of them are in the Freshman Campus while sophomores, juniors, and seniors are in the 10-12 building.

Within the student body, 50.0% of students are Caucasian, 38.4% African American, 7.6 Asian American, 4.4% Hispanic, 0.4% Native American and 0.3% Multi-racial. [ [http://www.schoolmatters.com/app/location/q/stid=23/llid=118/stllid=206/locid=4647/catid=-1/secid=-1/compid=-1/site=pes East Kentwood High School, Michigan Schools | Schoolmatters.com ] ] 92% of Kentwood Public Schools parents, 96% of staff, and 85% of students believe it is important to attend a school in a culturally diverse community, such as Kentwood.http://www.kentwoodps.org/high_school/about_us.htm]

East Kentwood students represent over 23 different countries and 18 languages.

Security

Due to the number of students in the main building, safety is an issue. Private security officers patrol the halls, and classes are dismissed on a staggered basis during lunches to prevent the overcrowding of the halls. Starting in January 2007, students and teachers were required to wear lanyards with IDs to provide better security throughout the campus. Lanyards are different colors based on which the building the student mostly uses. The Freshman Campus students are required to wear a white lanyard, the High School students wear a red lanyard, and all teachers wear black lanyards.

Curriculum

East Kentwood offers 11 Advanced Placement courses; more than any other school district in the area. Those courses include AP Biology, AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP Economics, AP English, AP Government, AP Latin, AP Psychology, AP Spanish, AP Statistics, and AP U.S. History.

The AP Government class offers students the opportunity to compete in , a program in which teams of students debate issues related to the United States Constitution by delivering prepared statements on constitutional issues and citing case law to support their assertions. The EK team has won several regional and state competitions in Michigan.

Performance overview of the school system

Students are exposed to a variety of coursework through requirements in life skills, science, math, English, and technology. Unique classes, such as aviation technology and A+ Certification, provide real-world experience and application.

The recent Michigan graduation requirements passed by Lansing will require an updated class requirements for the 2011 class and then additional requirement for the 2016 class, although it appears they may be moving towards those goals sooner. From the 05-06 course catalog little change in requirements has occurred. English went from 3.5 years to 3 years, Math, History/Government/Economics (Social Science), and Science are still 2 years, Humanties (Art, Foreign Language, World History, Vocal and Instrumental Music, Acting, Public Speaking) and Life Skills (Business, Technology, and Life Management) are still 1 year. Physical Education, however, went from 2 years to just 1 year. Elective amounts have gone up and down as the school went from a straight 6 hours back in 1999, to the block scheduling in 2005. In 2006, the school went to trimester scheduling, allowing students to take more electives than ever.

Extra-curricular activities

EKHS has one of Michigan's largest high school marching bands. In 2004, EK had the largest high school marching band in the state, with over 350 members. EK has one of the top jazz programs in the state, frequently posting top results in area and state jazz competitions, including taking first at states last year. In addition, Kentwood has a Summer Stock Theatre Program that involves children in grades kindergarten to 12. 147 students were represented in the most recent production.

The dual enrollment program allows students to augment their curriculum by taking classes through local colleges and universities. In 2006, in partnership with Grand Valley State University, an introduction to nursing course has been brought on campus.

Clubs

East Kentwood offers these clubs: Animation Club, ESL Support Group, EK-4-Christ, DECA Club, Equestrian Club, French Club, German Club, G.S.A (Gay Straight Alliance), International/Multicultural Club, Latin Club, Literary/Poetry Club, National Honor Society, Quiz Bowl, SADD, Science Olympiad, Shakespeare Club, Ski Club, Spanish Club, STAR, Teen Institute, Y.E.S., Young Democrats, Young Republicans, Model United Nations.

Competition Teams

School colors are red and black and school mascot is the falcon. East Kentwood High School competes in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Red Division. In the 1998-1999 school year, the AP Government class won the state Championship in the "We the People" state competition, and went to the National competition in Washington D.C. where the team placed in the top 10 in the country. The athletic teams have routinely won Conference titles and most sports have been in the MHSAA Playoffs.

Championships

Note: The [http://www.mitca.org/ MITCA] is the majority of the Track and Field coaches and Cross Country coaches in the State of Michigan for High and Middle Schools. Each year since 1998 they have hosted meets for a team track and field championship. The teams represented are the regional winners and given the option of attending. Where the MHSAA State Meet only has the best individuals of each region attending, the full team attends for the MITCA meet and competes against other teams.

Notable Alumni

*Mike Knuble, NHL hockey player
*Loy Vaught, NBA basketball player
*Joe Warren, Wrestler, 2006 Greco Roman World Champion
*Curt Anes, NFL football player (retired)
*Mark "Andrew" Baculy, Professional Rally driver in the WRC(World Rally Championship), podium finish at The 2006 24 Hours Nürburgring in the Zakspeed Racing Saleen S7-R. Has also won or podium-finished several events piloting a Zakspeed Racing Dodge Viper GTS-R/T and podiumed both ALMS races. He drove for Alex Job Racing in the Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.
* Erik Mirandette author of The Only Road North

References

External links

* [http://kentwoodps.org/schools/EKHS/index.asp EKHS Homepage]
* [http://www.kentwoodps.org Kentwood Public Schools District Website]
* [http://www.ekfootball.org East Kentwood Football Website]
* [http://www.freewebs.com/rednavy East Kentwood Swimming and Diving Website]
* [http://www.michigan-football.com/f/kentwood.htm East Kentwood Football History Website]
* [http://www.eastkentwoodcheer.com East Kentwood Cheer Team Website]
* [http://maps.google.com/?t=k&om=1&ll=42.850705,-85.619287&spn=0.007834,0.015492 Google Maps Image of the Campus]