Topeka High School

Topeka High School (THS) is a public secondary school in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It serves students in grades 9 to 12, and is one of five high schools operated by the Topeka USD 501 school district. In the 2010–2011 school year, there were 1,840 students enrolled.

Topeka High School was established in 1871, and moved to its current location in 1931. At the time, it was among the first million dollar high schools west of the Mississippi River. Topeka High offers a variety of sports and extracurricular activities, and notable alumni include Charles Curtis, 31st Vice President of the United States.

History

Early history

thumb|right|Topeka High School and Manual Training School at 8th and Harrison, c. 1905-1930

The Topeka Board of Education established Topeka High School in 1871, and the first classes were held on the 3rd floor of Lincoln College (now Washburn University) at the time located where the GAR Memorial Hall is currently. Over the next 10 years, the school was moved to various locations, including the Washburn Building at 10th and Jackson, and a room situated above the Topeka YMCA and Daily Capital newspaper. In 1882, the first black student graduated from Topeka High. Attendance continued to outgrow the capacity of the school facilities, and in 1894, a new school was completed on the northwest corner of 8th and Harrison, at a cost of $85,000.

Current location era

Overcrowding persisted at the new facility, made worse in 1924 when Topeka's fire marshal closed the school's 4th floor, calling it "the biggest fire trap in the city". Topeka High's 'Hoehner Auditorium' was selected as the site for the inauguration of Kansas Governor Payne Ratner, on January 9, 1939. In 1957, Time and Newsweek listed Topeka High among the 38 best schools in the nation. The US Dept of Education recognized Topeka High as a "School of Excellence" in 1989. The school celebrated its 75th anniversary at its current site on September 17, 2006. In 2007, Topeka High School was ordered to stop providing free condoms to students, as it was contrary to school district policy. The annual Martin Luther King event, sponsored by the state of Kansas, took place in Hoehner Auditorium in 2012. Topeka High is located near the Statehouse, and the governor's celebration at the new venue was well received.

Campus

The 1931 campus is a stunning, three-story Gothic building of almost 278,000 square feet designed by Thomas W. Williamson, a 1907 graduate of Topeka High School.

Notable architecture includes an ornate bell tower, which rises 165 feet over the main building entrance and contains an 18-note Deagan tubular tower chime. In 1974, the tower was rededicated in honor of Thomas Williamson.

The library was modeled after the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace. Much of the wood shelving is hand-carved, and the ceiling is hand-painted. The original chairs, now 75 years old, remain in the library and have been restored by the Topeka High School Historical Society.

The 1931 building was fitted with a water supply and drain for a pool, though rising costs and concerns about segregation delayed the pool's construction until 1957.

Academics

In 1988, Topeka High School was selected as a Blue Ribbon School. The Blue Ribbon Award recognizes public and private schools which perform at high levels or have made significant academic improvements.

Topeka High has eight classes on a traditional bell schedule Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. On Wednesday and Thursday, the schedule changes to a modified block schedule. Odd numbered classes are on Wednesday and even numbered classes are on Thursday. In 2017 it was decided that Trojan time would be every single day during the 4th class period. Before it was only on Thursdays. Trojan Time allows students to sign out to specific locations for further help from teachers, or just stay in their current class and study. Six percent of Topeka High's enrollment comes as transfer students. Students outside the attendance zone come to the school for its strong fine arts program, including a music program (jazz band, drum line, wind ensembles, orchestra, and concert choirs,) its forensic and debate teams, as well as its foreign language program, which offers Spanish, German, Mandarin, and French. Also, THS also supports a Marine Corps JROTC drill team (1999–present).

Journalism

The school newspaper, The World, is a member of the High School National Ad Network. The school yearbook is "The Sunflower". Both publications are members of JEA and NSPA. Topeka High, under the former direction of Richard Green, has also built up its broadcast journalism program. The Newsdesk a bi-monthly news broadcast showcasing student news and feature packages. Under the direction of Green, The Newsdesk has won multiple statewide broadcasting awards. "The Newsdesk" is filmed on campus in "The Tom Browne Memorial News Room".

Debate and Forensics

Topeka High maintains a strong tradition of debate and forensics throughout its prolific history. The school has qualified nearly 180 competitors to the National Tournament of the National Speech and Debate Association and before 2013, had qualified students for 33 consecutive years. The school has 6 national champions, more than any other school in the Flint Hills. The debate squad has won 4 state championships, finished second 6 times, and third place twice. The forensics squad boasts 12 state championships, with 7 consecutive championships (1995 to 2002). Topeka High forensics has 40+ individual 6A State Speech champions. The Debate and Forensics squad is coached by Aaron Dechant.

Students

Students arrive from USD 501 middle schools, including: Robinson, Jardine, Landon, Eisenhower and Chase. Six percent transfer into THS from outside the Topeka Public Schools district, such as other school districts or parochial schools. The senior class of 2011 had 370 students, and more than 80% enrolled in some kind of post secondary education. More than $1.2 million in scholarships were awarded to Topeka High seniors in 2005.

National merit scholars (1999–2005)

The National Merit Scholarship Program is a college scholarship competition that includes taking the PSAT/NMSQT. The school has had 19 Semi-finalists, 35 Commended Scholars, 7 National Achievement Scholars, 3 Corporate Sponsor Merit Scholars, and 3 Hispanic Scholars.

Foreign exchange programs

Ten to fifteen students per year attend THS from countries such as Belgium, Turkmenistan, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Germany, Thailand, Brazil, Switzerland. Students are sponsored by the following exchange programs: AFS, AIFS, ASSE, CHI, AYUSA, ERDT, WISE, ISE, and Share.

Traditions

Running of the halls: During first period of days that THS has a home football game, the students gather in the halls of Troy, cheerleaders and the drill team, flag team, and marching band march through the halls to promote school spirit.

Extracurricular activities

The school offers many extracurricular activities, including performing arts, school publications, and clubs.

Athletics

The school teams are known as the "Trojans", and are classified as a 6A school, the largest classification in Kansas according to the Kansas State High School Activities Association. Throughout its history, Topeka has won 30 state championships in various sports. Many graduates have gone on to participate in collegiate athletics.

Boys' Basketball

An important part of the school's men's basketball history was the 1949 separation of the basketball teams between black and white players. White basketball players were on the Trojan team, and black athletes were on the Rambler basketball team. There were two different cheer-leading teams. While classes were integrated, blacks didn't have equal representation on the student council and separate school parties were held for black couples and white couples.

The first black Topeka High basketball team, the Cardinals, started in 1929, and the Ramblers started in 1935. In 2009 the school looked back at the historic separation of the teams. Former UNC coach Dean Smith came back with a number of others that were associated with the Ramblers to discuss the team's history. In the 2009–10 basketball season they were shown to be a lot stronger than past seasons after beating cross-town rival, Highland Park High School, the defending state champions for the past three years.

State championships

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="4"|State Championships

Bill Bunten, mayor of Topeka from 2005 to 2013
NiJaree Canady, class of 2022, softball player
Charles Curtis, 31st Vice President of the United States (attended, but did not graduate)
Rich Davis, class of 1944, founder of KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce
Aaron Douglas, artist during the Harlem Renaissance
Jean Dubofsky, class of 1960, first woman to become a Colorado Supreme Court Justice, lead attorney in Romer v. Evans which overturned Colorado Amendment 2 in the US Supreme Court, resulting in a landmark ruling for LGBT rights in the United States
Clarence T. "Curly" Edwinson, decorated World War II fighter pilot, collegiate football star and world champion skeet shooter
Bree Elrod, actress, Red Rocket
Elizabeth Farnsworth, television news anchor
Allison Fluke-Ekren, who joined the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and headed an all-female ISIL battalion
Ruth Garver Gagliardo, advocate for library services for children
Aulsondro Hamilton (aka Emcee N.I.C.E.), class of 1990, musician, actor
Coleman Hawkins, prominent jazz tenor saxophonist
Jane Heap, significant figure in development and promotion of literary modernism; edited The Little Review with her partner Margaret Caroline Anderson
Jayne Houdyshell, class of 1974, stage, film and television actress
Teven Jenkins, offensive tackle for the Chicago Bears
Gordon Jump, actor, WKRP in Cincinnati
Ben Lerner, poet and author
Lutie Lytle, pioneering African-American lawyer and first woman in North America to teach at a chartered law school (Central Tennessee University School of Law, 1898–99)
Eric McHenry, poet
Kirke Mechem, class of 1943, composer of Tartuffe and other works
Karl and William C. Menninger, co-founders of Menninger Foundation
Scott Roeder, class of 1976, convicted of murder for shooting Dr. George Tiller in 2009
Travis Schuldt, actor on Scrubs and Passions
Brig Gen Howard S. Searle, responsible for rebuilding Kansas Army National Guard after World War II
Warren W. Shaw, judge; Eisenhower staff member during World War II; representative in Kansas House of Representatives; and 1956 Republican nominee for Kansas governor
John Brooks Slaughter, first African-American director of the National Science Foundation
Dean Smith, class of 1949, head basketball coach at University of North Carolina, 1961–1997; member of College Basketball Hall of Fame
Rex Stout, mystery novelist
Bradbury Thompson, graphic designer
Mike Torrez, retired Major League Baseball pitcher
Thomas Williamson, class of 1907, architect
Max Yoho, class of 1953, Kansas author

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Notable faculty

Marie L. French, received the National Teacher of the Year Award from President Kennedy in 1962
Margaret Hill McCarter, teacher and novelist; first woman to speak at a Republican National Convention
Marilyn L. Miller, president of the American Library Association
Duane Pomeroy, Kansas politician
Howie Shannon, professional basketball player and coach