Western High School (Parma, Michigan)

Infobox School
name = Western High School


established = 1959
district = Western School District
grades = 9-12
principal = none
enrollment = 842
campus type = Rural
athletics = Football, track & field, volleyball, cross-country, golf, tennis, soccer, wrestling, basketball, gymnastics, bowling, competitive cheer, baseball, softball
colors = Maroon and white with gold accent
mascot = Panthers
information = [phone]
location = 1400 S. Dearing Rd. Parma, MI 49269
country = USA
website = [http://www.westernschools.org http://www.westernschools.org]

Western High School is a public senior high school located east of Parma, Michigan, USA. It has classes for grades 9 through 12. Western is located on Dearing Rd, just inside the border of Spring Arbor Township. The Parma, Michigan Post Office serves the school. This is indicative of the community balance the school maintains--it serves the northern half of Spring Arbor Township, a college community, and Parma, a mostly rural farming community. Other communities served are Woodville and Westwood, both of which are in Blackman, plus much of Sandstone, most of the area around Minard Mills, which is located in the southern portion of Tompkins, and the northeast portion of Concord Township

History

In the year 1923, Parma decided it needed to build a middle school. The Parma Union School District served the village and surrounding rural areas until 1957 when it consolidated with other school districts to form the Western School District. Most high school students from Parma therefore currently attend Western High School. Other school districts that consolidated included "Bean School District", "Warner School District", "Woodville School District" and others.

The high school was built in 1959 and has been modified several times--the most recent and one of the largest being in 2004 with the addition of a new hallway/wing with a new art room, science lab, 2 classrooms, a state-of-the-art (at the time) computer lab and a suite of administrative offices. Additions to the phys-ed facility were also made with a new weight room and new varsity locker rooms. The cafeteria was also doubled to accommodate the growing population of the school.

The high school, along with the middle school and district administration, are located three miles east of the village of Parma but just inside Spring Arbor. One of the district's three elementaries, Parma Elementary School, is located on the south side of the village, near the site of the demolished Parma High School. The other two elementary schools, Bean off King Rd. and Warner off M-60/Spring Arbor Rd./Main St., are in the Spring Arbor area. Western High School will celebrate its 50th Anniversary in 2009.

pecial programs

Choirs Program

Band Program

Art/digital art program led by Michigan Art teacher of the year

General Shop, Web Design

AP courses in the English department

PE program led by Michigan PE teacher of the year

Drama--2 plays and a talent show per year

Yearbook and Journalism

Quiz Bowl, NHS, Key Club, Destination Imagination.

Various sports programs (state qualifiers in track, wrestling, and tennis)

Foreign Languages in French and Spanish

Online courses from Michigan Virtual High School, particularly in Chinese and AP courses not already offered.