Burlington High School (Iowa)

Burlington Community High School
Address
421 Terrace Drive Burlington , Iowa United States
Information
Type	Public secondary
Established	1914
School district	Burlington Community School District
Dean	Mack Turner
Principal	Tom Messinger
Athletics	Tom Plein
Faculty	139
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,413
Color(s)	Purple and Grey
Athletics	Mississippi Athletic Conference
Mascot	Homer the Hound (Grayhound)
Newspaper	Purple and Gray
Yearbook	Pathfinder
Website	[1]

Burlington High School is a four-year public high school located in Burlington, Iowa. The school is part of the Burlington Community School District, and it has an enrollment of 1413 students in grades 9 through 12. It is located at 421 Terrace Street and takes up the entire block on the west side of the street, from Terrace Drive, to Roosevelt Avenue, and north-south, from Division Street, to Johanssen Drive. The current building was completed in 1969, with the first graduating class in 1970, prior to that, the school was located in another two building campus two blocks west of Central Avenue, near the downtown business district. Until 1983, 9th grade students were enrolled in a separate building, the following school year, ninth grade was integrated into the high school.

The school sports teams are called the Grayhounds, and is only one of two high schools in the nation to use a purple and gray color scheme.

Campus

The campus consists of two buildings, the two story main building, and the single story Industrial Arts building, one outdoor classroom, a running track, a football practice field, a softball field, one baseball field, and an indoor swimming pool. The two story main building, which houses all of the classes but the standard shop classes, is build in a U-shape, with the cafeteria located in the center of the building, the gym, music rooms, band rooms, all sports facilities are located in the left wing, and the main classrooms are in the right wing. The current building is the third building the school has occupied since it opened, the first building stands as the current district maintenance shops, and the second building sits on a hill only two blocks from the original building. It has been unoccupied since 1996.

Sporting facilities

The locations for the sports teams are scattered throughout the city, the baseball team plays primarily at the baseball field located on the school campus, but, when a more formal setting is needed, they can utilize the nearby Community Field, the home of Burlington's minor league baseball team, the Burlington Bees. The football, and soccer teams utilize Bracewell Stadium, located inside of a ravine in the center of the city, surrounded by bluffs on all four sides and was the first football stadium west of the Mississippi River to install lights for night games. The basketball team primarily uses the gym at the school campus, but can also utilize Clark Field House, located directly to the north of Bracewell Stadium. The swimming team uses the pool on the grounds, they also have access to the indoor pool located at the local YMCA/YWCA, and the softball team uses the softball field located there as well as the track and tennis teams using facilities on the campus.

Notable alumni

• Jim Dunegan, former MLB player, (Chicago Cubs) Class of 1965.
• James M. Kelly, is a NASA Astronaut and a retired Colonel of the United States Air Force Class of 1982.
• Rick O'Daniels, a former baseball player with the Oakland A's, Class of 1969.
• Tony Baker (1945-1998), former NFL running back with the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams and San Diego Chargers, 1969 Pro Bowl selection as a starter, Class of 1963.
• Mitch King 2-time All-Big Ten defensive end at the University of Iowa, currently plays for the Houston Texans, Class of 2005.
• Jimmie E. Howard Served with the United States Marine Corps. in Vietnam where he was awarded the Medal of Honor, the Guided Missile Destroyer USS Howard (DDG-83) was named in his honor, Class of 1949.