Ponderosa High School (Parker, Colorado)

Infobox_School
name =Ponderosa High School


motto =
established =1983
type =
district =Douglas County School District RE-1
grades =9-12
principal =Chuck Puga
faculty =
staff =180 [http://reportcard.cde.state.co.us/reportcard/pdf/2005_0900_7118_H.pdf Ponderosa High School 2004-2005 School Accountability Report] . Compiled by the Colorado Department of Education.]
students =
enrollment =1958
athletics =5A
conference =Continental League
colors =cardinal and gold color box|redcolor box|gold
mascot =Mustangs
free_label =
free_text =
free_label2 =
free_text2 =
location =7007 East Bayou Gulch Road, Parker
information =303-387-4106
website =http://www.dcsdk12.org/secondary/phs/

Ponderosa High School (commonly Pondo or PHS) is a public high school in Parker, Colorado. It is part of Douglas County School District RE-1.

The school earned an "Excellent" rating on the Colorado Student Assessment Program in 2004, and a "High" score in 2005.

Athletics

Ponderosa has won eight 5A state wrestling titles since 1997, including 6 consecutive between 2003-2008. In addition, Ponderosa has a perfect 110-0 conference dual record from 1994-present [" [http://www.chsaa.org/sports/wrestling/pdf/wrrec.pdf Colorado High School Wrestling Records] ", published by the Colorado High School Activities Association. Updated 9 February 2006, accessed 30 November 2006.] . Tim Ottmann retired after 2008 and the team is now coached by Corey McNellis.

Teacher-student relationship controversy

In 2005, Ponderosa teacher Nicole Andrea Barnhart became a registered sex offender after it was discovered that she was having an intimate relationship with one of her sophomore students. [" [http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2006/jan/04/teacher-pleads-guilty-to-sex-assault/ Teacher pleads guilty to sexassault] ", published by Rocky Mountain News ] .

tudent Death Scandal

In October, 2007, Ponderosa student Jake McCarty guided his Nissan Maxima into a traffic signal pole. The police found him dead at the crash site, where the car was completely flipped. The police stated initially that drugs were most likely a factor [" [http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_7249681 Teen killed in Douglas County crash ID'd] ", published by The Denver Post.] . After McCarty's death, his friends and family felt angry that the principal did not involve the entire school into it by holding a school-wide moment of silence for him, even though moments of silence and in some cases much more elaborate ceremonies were held for nearly every other student death in the school's history, including the school's private tour bus publicly named after a deceased student. Additionally, the principal addressed that getting the whole school involved would perhaps be overkill, seeing as out of a student body of over 1,200, all did not actually know Jake personally [" [http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/news-article.aspx?storyid=96535 Family Feels School Disrespected Their Dead Son] ", published by First Coast News.] . Additionally, the school administration did not feel that holding a moment of silence was the best way to remember McCarty. Controversy also stemmed from wide spread rumors that school officials had prohibitted teachers from acknowledging Jake's death in their classes. Students widely regarded the administration's "business as usual" approach as disrespectful to Jake and his family.Fact|date=July 2008 After attention was brought to this issue by the school newspaper, The Mustang Express, as well as the McCarty family, local news agencies were involved and placed pressure on administration officials to rectify their misconduct (the paper also dispelled the administration's claim that all memorial services in all forms must be approved by the district, proving that this was entirely false).Fact|date=July 2008 Following this, several school organizations, although the student council had no part in organizing a remembrance, initiated their own means of honoring McCarty, and they were fully backed by the administration in their efforts.

2007

On April 20, 2007, former Ponderosa student Caleb Pegues combined various chemicals to create a minor explosion near school grounds. As a result of this prank, Pegues was arrested and expelled from the school. This day was significant because it marked the 8th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre and all Colorado schools were on high alert. [ [http://www.dcnewspress.com/site/tab11.cfm?BRD=2713&dept_id=560321&newsid=19390178&PAG=461&rfi=9 Colorado Community Newspapers - Teen sentenced for '07 bomb hoax ] ]

Notable Alumni

*Dana Perino, White House Press Secretary [ [http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5455331,00.html Rocky Mountain News profile] ]
*Will Ohman, Atlanta Braves Relief PitcherFact|date=October 2008
*Trent Gamble, Former Miami Dolphins SafetyFact|date=October 2008

References

External links

* [http://www.dcsdk12.org/secondary/phs/ Ponderosa High School]