Clackamas High School

Clackamas High School
Address
Map
14486 SE 122nd Avenue

,
United States
Coordinates45°25′06″N 122°32′07″W / 45.418333°N 122.535362°W / 45.418333; -122.535362
Information
TypePublic
Established1957
School districtNorth Clackamas School District
PrincipalAlyssa Engle
Teaching staff46.33 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12
Number of students1,278 (2023-2024)[1]
Student to teacher ratio27.58[1]
Color(s)Red and black     [2]
Athletics conferenceOSAA Mount Hood Conference, 6A-4
Team nameCavaliers[2]
RivalAdrienne C. Nelson High School
YearbookThe Lance
Feeder schoolsRock Creek Middle School
WebsiteClackamas High School

Clackamas High School (CHS) is a public high school located in Clackamas, Oregon. It is the second oldest of the four high schools in the North Clackamas School District.

History

Clackamas High School itself was established in 1957 at a building in South Milwaukie, Oregon. Though, with its ever-growing attendance area of Happy Valley, CHS outgrew its small building. In 2002, the larger, modernized building was opened[3] and the old building was converted into a middle school.[4] This building was also next to the (now closed) Sunrise Middle School, which was absorbed and became an extra building after its closure in 2011.

Starting in the early-mid 2010s, families began to make gripes about overcrowding at CHS. The inclusion of the east campus building helped, but with Happy Valley's rapid expansion, the school had well over 2,000 students, when the building only reasonably had the capacity for 1,800. In 2016, a bond was passed that provided the money needed for a new high school. In 2019, the construction of this school begun, converting a local middle school to a high school.[5]

In 2021, construction on Adrienne C. Nelson High School completed. Half of Clackamas High School's students were transferred to this school. The two schools became athletic rivals. Following this construction, the east campus building was converted back into a middle school.

Along with the construction of the new high school, renovations were made to Clackamas High School. This redid some life skills classrooms in the building, as well as security additions, some improvements to the football field, and the addition of a brand new health center. The Clackamas High School SBHC provides cost-free checkups, mental healthcare, and services like dentistry and therapy.[6][7][8]

On November 2, 2023 at 9:00am, a bomb threat was made to the school through an anonymous confession Instagram page. Both Clackamas High and Rock Creek Middle were evacuated following these threats. These threats were later proven to be jokes and classes resumed at around 10:30am.[9]

Clackamas Cavaliers logo

Building and campus

Clackamas High School campus lies on 69 acres (28 ha) with a small wetland nearby. The building itself has 269,354 square feet (25,023.8 m2) of floor space and is much larger than the older school. It has four classroom hallways on two floors, a commons area, an arts wing, and an athletic wing, centered on an administrative ring in the middle of the school.

The classroom hallways are mostly on the north end of the school with 100 and 200 halls on the east side, and 300 and 400 halls on the west. The commons area is on the north side of the administrative offices, at the entrance to 100 and 200 halls, and is primarily used for dining and some multi-purpose use.

The arts wing (or 600 hall) of the school is centered on the schools' auditorium and contains rooms for art classes, choir classes, and band classes, as well as a wood shop, a stage shop, and changing rooms for theatre performances.

The athletic wing contains a large gym, a smaller upper gym, locker rooms, a wrestling room, and a weight training room. The administrative ring, located in the center of the school, contains the main office, the bookkeeper's office, the attendance office, the student management office, the schools' career and vocation center, the athletic office, and the counseling office, all centered on a small courtyard.

To the east of the building is a Rock Creek Middle School, connected by a covered walkway. While the building was originally constructed in 1989 as a middle school, it was shut down in 2009 to be instead used for extra classroom space at CHS. But the previous building for RCMS was being converted to Adrienne C. Nelson High School and needed a new location, so it was an easy decision to turn the building back into a middle school.

This building has served as a model for other high schools and has been designated a green building. Clackamas High School was built in 2002 to a design by Portland's Boora Architects and was the first high school in the country to be certified LEED Silver.[10][11] Clackamas High became one of the first "solar schools" in Oregon with the installation of 2 kW solar panels on the roof in 2003.[12] The School was also a winner of the DesignShare Recognized Value Award in 2003.

Academics

In 1984, Clackamas High School was honored in the Blue Ribbon Schools Program, the highest honor a school can receive in the United States.[13]

As of 2005, 72.5% of 10th grade students at Clackamas High School met or exceeded overall state standards for learning, compared to 53.5% of the rest of the state.[14] In addition, 80% are ESL students and 90% are Latino.[15]

In 2008, 92% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma. Of 589 students, 502 graduated, 69 dropped out, four received a modified diploma, and 14 were still in high school the following year.[16][17]

Awards and honors

In October 2005, Clackamas High was named KATU's "Super School of the Month."[18]

In 1997, Clackamas High biology teacher Ford Morishita won the Oregon Teacher of the Year award, for his approach to teaching biology and the performance of his students.[19]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ a b c "Clackamas High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Clackamas High School". Oregon School Activities Association. Retrieved 2024-04-15.
  3. ^ Sack, Joetta L. (2002-11-06). "Building Harmony". Education Week. ISSN 0277-4232. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  4. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2009-05-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ "Rock Creek Middle School to be new high school in 2016 bond" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Student Based Health Services - Clackamas High School". chs.nclack.k12.or.us. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  7. ^ "Clackamas High School - North Clackamas School District". www.nclack.k12.or.us. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  8. ^ "Bond Summary" (PDF).
  9. ^ "Sheriff's Office Investigates Threat to Clackamas High School | Clackamas County". www.clackamas.us. Retrieved 2024-05-07.
  10. ^ DJC.COM: ‘I wish I could go to a school just like this’, provided by Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce Newspaper
  11. ^ The Oregonian: Oregon schools: It's not easy, or cheap, being green "The district already has an officially certified school. In 2002, North Clackamas High School was the first high school in the nation to achieve a LEED silver certification, according to the U.S. Green Building Council."
  12. ^ NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES (2006-09-18). "Schools could spark green building boom". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
  13. ^ Archived: Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982–1983 Through 1999–2002 (PDF) Archived March 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Detail Report For: – Oregon Department of Education Archived 2005-11-18 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.nclack.k12.or.us. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. ^ "State releases high school graduation rates". The Oregonian. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  17. ^ "Oregon dropout rates for 2008". The Oregonian. 2009-06-30. Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  18. ^ "Archived copy". easylink.playstream.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ^ LISA DANIELS (1997-10-06). "TEACHER'S LATEST HONOR: $25,000". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
  20. ^ "Alexandra Botez is taking the chess world by storm—live on Twitch". nypost.com. December 5, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  21. ^ "TRIPLE THREAT: Milwaukie's Cazzey Cereghino sings, acts, releases first major novel". Oregon Local News. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
  22. ^ Koskela, Gregg (30 April 2005). "1985 CHS Speech team". Retrieved 2011-04-26. Lisa Verch Fletcher '86
  23. ^ Koskela, Gregg (2007-12-01). "Weekly round up". Retrieved 2011-04-26. Here's proof that long ago, Lisa and I not only were good friends, but debate partners
  24. ^ "Oregon State Voters Guide". 2000-05-16. Archived from the original on 2018-11-16. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
  25. ^ "Cheryl Sorensen Bio Page". portlandpilots.com. April 23, 2014. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  26. ^ "Baseball: Clackamas' Ben Wetzler chosen 6A player of the year - OregonLive.com". Highschoolsports.oregonlive.com. June 15, 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2014.