Iowa City West High School
| Iowa City West High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
|
2901 Melrose Avenue Iowa City, Iowa USA | |
| Coordinates | 41°39′16″N 91°34′52″W / 41.65444°N 91.58111°WCoordinates: 41°39′16″N 91°34′52″W / 41.65444°N 91.58111°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1968 |
| Principal | Gregg Shoultz |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Number of students | approx. 1975 |
| Color(s) | Forest Green and Gold |
| Mascot | Trojans/Women of Troy |
| Newspaper | The West Side Story |
| Yearbook | The Trojan Epic |
| Affiliation | Mississippi Valley Conference |
| Website | West website |
Iowa City West High School is a public high school in Iowa City, Iowa. It has about 2000 students in grades 9-12. The school employs nearly 200 teachers and staff.[1] Boys' athletic teams are called "The Trojans" while girls' teams are called "The Women of Troy".
History
West High opened for the 1968-69 school year, constructed to relieve the stress on schools in a growing city. The principal, Edwin K. Barker, and vice principal, James Ferguson, allowed students to shape the schools identity and gave them a large role in student governance, including selection of school colors and mascots. They also introduced Domestic Affairs Week and International Week, where classes are suspended in favor of debate of current events. Guest speakers are often invited to these weeks as well.
In conjunction with City High, the "Boot" trophy was established. The trophy is awarded to the winner of the annual football game between the schools. A student, Bob Kodros, donated the first Boot. The Boot had a cleat torn out, which gave it character, and it was selected from several donated football shoes. Steve Holland chaired the committee to select and bronze the first boot. The summer before the first game the boot was dipped in bronze at Harry's Custom Trophy.
A student in the first graduating class of 1969 composed the new school's fight song, which is set to the tune of the University of Houston fight song. The school's newspaper was named the "West Side Story". The school's yearbook was named the "Epic". When the school opened, the high school handled grades 7 through 12, and the first two classes remained at West High through all six years of their secondary education. Eventually, when Northwest Junior High was completed, subsequent 7th and 8th grade students were all redirected to the local school district's junior high schools.
Present
West High School's enrollment is 1,956 students, as of November 2012. Of those students, 74.8% are white, 10.1% are black, 9.2% are Asian, 5.2% are Hispanic, and 0.5% are American Indian. The student-teacher ratio is about 17:1.
West High offers 15 AP courses and 51% of students participate in those classes. The school has an 89% pass rate for AP exams.
West High School provides many musical opportunities to its students. There are multiple classes for band, choir, and orchestra. Extracurricular musical activities include select choirs, show choir, jazz band, musicals, plays and others. It is ranked as the No. 1 High School in Iowa and No. 462 in the US by Newsweek magazine.
Sports
West High School, a 4A school, offers a variety of sports, including boys and girls basketball, volleyball, football, boys and girls soccer, baseball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls track and field, softball, boys and girls swimming, boys and girls tennis, and boys and girls golf, cheerleading and dance. There is an ultimate Frisbee club.
The Trojan wrestling team has won back-to-back team titles at the State Tournament in Des Moines. The West High boys soccer team won the 2009, 2010 and 2012 Iowa State Championship, three of their six championships. The 2012 boys basketball team ranked #1 in the state and beat Sioux City East in the finals for their fourth state title. The volleyball team won state in 2010 for the first time in West history and won again in 2011. The West High Women of Troy basketball team were ranked #1 in the state in 2012 and beat Ankeny in overtime for their first state title.
In the 2011-2012 school year, West High made Iowa history by winning six state championships (Volleyball, Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Boys Track and Field, Boys Tennis and Boys Soccer), the most any high school in Iowa has ever won. Ed Barker field, named for the school's first principal, opened for soccer in 2012.[2]
The Iowa City West Girls Track & Field teams have won 6 State Championship team titles, the 3rd most in state history. The Iowa City West girls cross country team has won 5 State Championship team titles.
On June 5, 2010, West High beat cross-town rival Iowa City High School in the Class 3-A State Boy's Soccer Championship by a score of 3-1. The Trojan Soccer team is the first team in the 16-year history of Iowa High School Soccer to win six state championships.
The Iowa City West boys tennis team capped the 2012 season with a 5-3 victory over Ames in the boys team state championship. They finished 18-0 for their fifth state title and first since 2008. With the win, the Trojans moved their match record to 35-1 in the last two years and avenged a loss to Ames in 2011. The team is tied with Cedar Rapids Washington High School for the most team tennis titles with five to their record (1995,2004,2005,2008,2012).
Notable alumni
- Ali Farokhmanesh (2006), professional basketball player in the Dutch Basketball League[3]
- Nate Kaeding, retired NFL placekicker for the San Diego Chargers, was selected to two Pro Bowl games[4]
- Laura Leighton (1986) starred on Fox's Melrose Place, a supporting character in ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars[5]
- Zach Wahls (2009), a LGBT activist, author[6]
References
- ↑ "Iowa City West High School" OVGuide. Accessed 10/30/2012
- ↑ "Festive feeling for West's field," Iowa City Press Citizen, May 12, 2012
- ↑ Hlas, Mike (March 23, 2010). "Ali Farokhmanesh: From no D-I offers to SI cover". The Gazette. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
- ↑ Harty, Pat (May 2, 2013). "Nate Kaeding to retire from NFL". Press-Citizen. (subscription required (help)).
- ↑ "Laura Leighton: Actress returns to Iowa". Star-News. Google News. December 25, 1993. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
- ↑ Hartman, Kim I. (February 3, 2011). "Zach Wahls' Iowa speech on family and gay marriage goes viral". Digital Journal. Retrieved April 21, 2014.