Wichita East High School
| Wichita High School East | |
|---|---|
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| Address | |
| 2301 East Douglas Avenue [1] Wichita, Kansas, 67211 United States |
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| Coordinates | 37°40′56″N 97°18′34″W / 37.682334°N 97.309466°WCoordinates: 37°40′56″N 97°18′34″W / 37.682334°N 97.309466°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Public, High School |
| Established | 1878 |
| School board | boe.usd259.org |
| School district | USD 259 [2] |
| Superintendent | John Allison [2] |
| CEEB Code | 173206 [3] |
| Principal | Ken Thiessen [4] |
| Athletic Director | Kevin Hartley [4] |
| Grades | 9 to 12 |
| Gender | coed |
| Campus type | Urban |
| Color(s) | Navy blue White Columbia Blue |
| Athletics | Class 6A [5] District 6 [6] |
| Athletics conference | GWAL [4] |
| Mascot | Blue Aces |
| Rival | Wichita High School Southeast |
| Newspaper | The Messenger |
| Yearbook | Echoes |
| Communities served | Wichita |
| Website | east.usd259.org |
Wichita High School East, known locally as East, is a public, co-educational secondary school located near the center of Wichita, Kansas. With a student population of 2,300, it is the largest high school in the state. Originally known as Wichita High School, East was the first of seven traditional public high schools to be built in USD 259, Wichita's Unified School District. In 1929, when Wichita North High School was completed, the school's name was changed to Wichita High School East. The school's 44-acre (180,000 m2) campus and the building's Collegiate Gothic styling make it an urban landmark.
Contents |
History [edit]
Wichita East traces its roots back to 1878, although the current building wasn't completed until 1923. Originally built on a campus shared with Roosevelt Junior High School, the high school's growing enrollment forced the conversion of the junior high school into a second wing of the high school. The junior high school and high school were joined by a third structure in 1989, a library and cafeteria that connects the second floor of the two buildings. In 2004, a construction project added a new gymnasium, additional science classrooms, and air conditioning to the building. In 2012, the school celebrated the opening of the new drama theater and fine arts wing. The campus is also home to the Wichita Area Technical College.
Academics [edit]
Wichita High School East is regionally recognized for both academic and athletic success. The school offers both the Wichita Public Schools diploma and the International Baccalaureate Diploma, a magnet diploma that attracts students from all around the Wichita metro area. East consistently leads Wichita-area schools in academic awards. The high school newspaper is The Messenger, a member of the High School National Ad Network.
East is known for its choral, band, orchestra, and drama programs. All of the music programs have won several awards for outstanding performance throughout the years. East has a large and successful debate and forensics squad and consistently qualifies students for the national tournament. In June 2007, East hosted the debate portion of NFL Nationals.[7]
Extracurricular activities [edit]
Athletics [edit]
Athletically, East is home to a consistently competitive basketball program that has 8 state championships and the 1925 national championship to its credit. In addition, the Blue Aces football team has been increasingly successful in recent years due to leadership changes as well as two highly acclaimed and heavily recruited brothers, Arthur (Class of 2008) and Bryce Brown (Class of 2009). East athletics compete in the Greater Wichita Athletic League against the city's seven largest public high schools and two Catholic high schools. East is a 6A school, the largest size recognized by the Kansas High School Athletics Association. Since 1928, East High teams have been known as the Blue Aces, and the school is represented by its mascot, Max, a World War I flying ace with an oversized head and a pronounced cleft chin. The schools colors are Navy Blue and White with Columbia Blue as a third color.
National Championship [edit]
The 1925 boys basketball team won the National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament in Chicago. The tournament was an attempt by Amos Alonzo Stagg to create a national high school champion which lasted from 1917 to 1930 before school administrators intervened to oppose the concept of a national tournament. Wichita defeated El Reno High School 27-6 in the final.[8] Two members of the team Barry Dunham and Ross McBurney would be the core of the Wichita-based Henry Clothiers team that won consecutive national Amateur Athletic Union titles in 1930, 1931 and 1932[9] at a time when corporate-sponsored teams and colleges competed in the same tournament.
State Championships [edit]
| State Championships[10] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Sport | Number of Championships | Year |
| Fall | Football | 4 | 1950, 1951, 1982, 1983 |
| Cross Country, Boys | 7 | 1948, 1949, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1964 | |
| Winter | Swimming and Diving, Boys | 14 | 1931, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 2013 |
| Basketball, Boys | 8 | 1915, 1925, 1951, 1962, 1972, 1992, 2002, 2005 | |
| Wrestling | 10 | 1931, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1950 | |
| Spring | Baseball | 6 | 1945, 1946, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1957 |
| Golf, Boys | 11 | 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1965 | |
| Outdoor Track and Field, Boys | 28 | 1913, 1914, 1917, 1926, 1929, 1930, 1939, 1940, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1974, 1996 | |
| Indoor Track and Field, Boys | 4 | 1957, 1965, 1966, 1967 | |
| Total | 89 | ||
Notable alumni [edit]
- Ross McBurney (1925) - All-American basketball player at Wichita State
- Daryl Spencer (1946) – former MLB player, played an additional eight years in Japan
- Clay Lacy (1951) – multiple world-record-holding air pilot and motion picture aerial coordinator
- Darryl Starbird (1951) – custom car and hot rod designer and builder
- Fritz Brickell (1954) - former MLB player New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers
- Jeffrey Farrell (1954) – champion swimmer who went on to participate in the 1960 Olympics
- Ron Walters (1955) - Ronald W Walters (1938-2010), leading scholar of politics of race, prolific writer, media commentator, educator, organized Wichita's successful Dockum Drug Store Sit-In in 1958, two years before the student sit-in in Greensboro, N.C. that is generally credited with being first successful sit-in in America.
- Philip Anschutz (1957) – billionaire
- Diane Bish (1959) – organist, composer, PBS television hostess
- George Tiller (1959) – physician
- Robert Gates (1961) – Secretary of Defense, former CIA director and president of Texas A&M University
- Jim Waskiewicz (1962) – All-American Football Player at Wichita State and former player for the New York Jets
- Jamie Thompson (1963) – All-American basketball player at Wichita State and amateur golf champion, professional basketball player for the Dallas Chaparrals
- Jim Ryun (1965) – former US Representative from Kansas and a world-record mile runner
- Charles "Chuck" Jones (1970) – American Astronaut, passenger on American Airlines Flight 11 that hit World Trade Center
- Kevin Kastning (1978) – composer and recording artist for Greydisc Records
- Kym Carter (1982) – received 10th place in the heptathlon at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona; won the bronze medal in the five-event pentathlon, at the 1997 IAAF World Indoor Championships
- Adrian Griffin (1992) – assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks
- Korleone Young (1997) – former NBA player for the Detroit Pistons
- Taj Gray (2002) – professional basketball player
- Arthur Brown (2008) – Kansas State Wildcats linebacker
- Bryce Brown (2009) – Philadelphia Eagles running back, 2009 Hall Trophy winner
- Oliver Bradwell (2010) – American sprinter, gold medalist at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics
- Joe Walsh, guitarist for The Eagles, also attended East before moving to Columbus, Ohio
See also [edit]
- Wichita School District - Kansas State Department of Education
- Greater Wichita Athletic League - Kansas State High School Activities Association
- Wichita Public High Schools
- Wichita Heights High School
- Wichita North High School
- Wichita Northeast Magnet High School
- Wichita Northwest High School
- Wichita South High School
- Wichita Southeast High School
- Wichita West High School
- Wichita Private High Schools
References [edit]
- ^ GNIS entry for East High School; USGS; October 13, 1978.
- ^ a b USD 259
- ^ High School CEEB Code Search
- ^ a b c "School Search - Wichita-East HS". Kansas State High School Activities Association. Retrieved 27 July 2011.
- ^ KSHSAA School Classification List
- ^ KSHSAA School District List
- ^ National Forensics League 2007
- ^ National Interscholastic Basketball Tournament - hoopedia.nba.com - Retrieved September 12, 2009
- ^ Henry Clothiers - hoopedia.nba.com - Retrieved September 12, 2009
- ^ "Winners & Records Of All KSHSAA-Sponsored State Events" (English). Retrieved 2012-12-07.
External links [edit]
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- Historical
- State
- Map
- Wichita School District - High School Boundary Map, valid starting fall 2012, USD 259
- Wichita School District - Boundary Map and Directory of Buildings, USD 259
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