MANHATTAN HIGH SCHOOL

'Manhattan High School' is a public high school (grades 9-12) in Manhattan, Riley County, Kansas. It is part of Kansas Unified School District #383. The school is divided into two campuses. The main building is the West Campus, with grades 10-12, while the East Campus is for the ninth graders.
For the 2006-2007 school year Manhattan High had an enrollment of 1,742.

Contents

History

Campus layout

Academics

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Journalism

Music

Performing arts

Notable alumni

References

External links

History

The first secondary school in Manhattan opened in 1882 at the current site of the Manhattan High School "East Campus".

The East Campus of the school today consists of two three-story limestone buildings that are connected by a glass walkway (built in 1978). The first building (on the far right side in the accompanying photo) was opened in 1914 to replace the town's original secondary school. The second building (on the left side of the accompanying photo) was constructed in 1918 as a separate building for the middle school students (grades 7 and 8). The buildings were connected with an annex (not visible in the photo) in 1928.
The West Campus is a red brick building that was constructed in 1956 to be the new high school. Both of the older buildings (the current East Campus) were then taken over for middle school students. Over the next 40 years, the new high school faced recurring overcrowding issues and was significantly expanded, but the new school simply proved unable to keep up with the town's population growth. After considering and rejecting the idea of building a second high school in Manhattan, in 1996 the town instead built two new middle schools, and returned the ninth grade to the East Campus.

Campus layout

The West Campus is laid out in four parallel hallways, with an open space between each and a central "commons area." Each hallway is lettered from south to north. Classes in the industrial arts are held in a detached building behind the West Campus. A large greenhouse and a new fitness center are also detached from the main building. The West Campus houses two gymnasiums; one is used as a general purpose facility and the other is primarily for basketball and volleyball games. The East Campus also has a detached gymnasium built behind the main stone buildings.

Academics

Manhattan High was awarded a Gold Medal in the 2006 Education Quotient Study, ranking it in the highest level of schools nationwide.^[1] There are a wide range of learning opportunities offered at MHS, from tutoring for learning-impaired students to dual credit classes at Kansas State University, and a wide range of elective classes. Currently the school offers electives from performing arts to language arts to physical arts. Manhattan High is also the hub of a region-wide virtual school district.^[2] The online classes give students the opportunity to study and learn at their own personal pace.

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Manhattan High has teams competing in baseball, basketball (boys and girls), bowling (boys and girls), cross country (boys and girls), football, gymnastics (girls), golf (boys and girls), soccer (boys and girls), softball, swimming & diving (boys and girls), tennis (boys and girls), track & field (boys and girls), volleyball (girls), and wrestling. The school competes at the 6A level (largest schools) in the Centennial League. Manhattan High has its own football stadium, Bishop Stadium, which seats 4,000 spectators.

The athletic program has received some national recognition. On June 19, 2007, ''CNNSI'' published a list of the top high school athletic programs in each state, and Manhattan High School was declared the top High School athletic program in Kansas for 2007.^[3] Also, Manhattan High's football team was nationally-ranked in the USA Today poll during the 1987 and 1988 seasons.^[4]
Manhattan High School has won the following State Championships in athletics during the era of KSHSAA playoffs:^[5]

★ Baseball: 1998, 1992

★ Cross Country (boys): 1984, 1983

★ Cross Country (girls): 1979, 1977

★ Football: 1988, 1974, 1961⁺, 1943^

★ Golf (boys): 2006, 2004, 1994, 1991

★ Golf (girls): 2006, 2004, 2003, 2000, 1993, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1986, 1985

★ Swimming (boys): 1995, 1993

★ Track & Field (girls): 2002

★ Volleyball: 2003, 1987, 1986

★ Wrestling: 2007, 2004
:''⁺predates KSHSAA playoffs; ranked #1 in final AP poll''

:''^ predates KSHSAA playoffs and AP poll''
Manhattan High's sports teams are called the "Indians." In light of debate over the use of Native American mascots in athletics,^[6] the name has been questioned, but a majority have favored retaining it.

Journalism

Manhattan High School's newspaper, ''The Mentor'', was founded in 1919, and is the only weekly student-produced high school newspaper in Kansas. The school's journalism students have won a number of state-wide awards in competitions administered by the Kansas Scholastic Press Association. The Mentor's current advisor is Jill Cormode.

Music

Manhattan High School's marching band, The "Big Blue" Marching Band performs at every home football game, in parades, and in band festivals. The concert band preforms during the spring season. There is also an orchestra, choir, jazz ensemble, symphonic band, and wind ensemble. An ensemble of volunteer players is used as the pit orchestra for the school musical.

Performing arts

Manhattan High has a thriving drama and stagecraft program. A large, three performance musical is put on annually in mid-November, showcasing the talent of MHS thespians. Performances take place in the Rezac Auditorium at the West Campus. The Manhattan High School Performing Arts Department has several opportunities for MHS students. It has an active performance calendar that includes a fall Broadway musical with full pit orchestra, a Winter Gala featuring large performing groups, a winter play, a spring play, student directed one-act plays, Showcase Concerts for show choirs and jazz band, as well as the traditional large-group concerts each quarter. Every other year, MHS Choirs partake in a large music festival at Disney World over spring break. Pops and Sugar and Spice show choir are auditioned ensembles who perform all over town throughout the course of the school year. Each require a combo band, made up of MHS students.

Notable alumni

★ Francile Albright - Actress

★ Dawayne Bailey (1972) – Musician

★ Steve Balderson (1993) – Filmmaker

★ Michael Center (1982) – Head tennis coach at the University of Texas

★ Del Close (1952) – Actor, Comedian

★ David Dary (1952) – Author

★ Kenneth S. Davis (1930) – Historian, winner of Francis Parkman Prize

★ Joan Finney (1942) – 42nd Governor of Kansas

★ Philip Fox – Astronomer

★ Jared Hess – Filmmaker

★ Anna Seaton Huntington (1982) – Won bronze medal at 1992 Summer Olympics, member of America's Cup crew on the America³

★ Dewey Huston (1918) – Three-time All-Conference football player at Kansas State

★ Tim Jankovich (1977) – Head basketball coach at Illinois State University, Academic All-American basketball player at Kansas State

★ Solon Toothaker Kimball (1926) – Anthropologist

★ Frank B. Morrison (1923) – 34th Governor of Nebraska

★ Tom Oberheim (1954) – Inventor of the Oberheim synthesizer

★ Thomas Randolph (1989) – All-American football player at Kansas State

★ Deb Richard (1981) – Professional golfer

★ Harold Robinson (1948) – Broke "color barrier" in Big Seven Conference, All-Conference football player at Kansas State

★ Thomas Romig (1966) – Major General, Army's top-ranking Judge Advocate General (2001-2005), Dean of Washburn School of Law

★ Fred Andrew Seaton (1927) – U.S. Senator, Secretary of the Interior

★ Gary Spani (1974) – Member of College Football Hall of Fame and Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame

★ Inger Stevens (1952) – Actress

★ Will Tiao (1992) – Actor

★ Earl Woods (1949) – Father of Tiger Woods

References

★ ''Manhattan Free Press'', 150 Years of Education in Manhattan, July 14, 2005.
1. 2006 Eduaction Quotient Study
2. USD 383 Profile
3. CNNSI: Top High School Programs
4. 1987 football ranking
5. KSHSAA Athletics
6. Understanding the American Indian Mascot Issue

External links

★ Manhattan High School Alumni Association

★ Manhattan High School official homepage

★ "Big Blue" Marching Band

★ MHS Orchestra

★ MHS Choir

★ MHS Cross Country