Pocatello High School

Coordinates: 42°51′47″N 112°27′14″W / 42.863°N 112.454°W / 42.863; -112.454

Pocatello High School
Front entrance in 2008
Location
325 N. Arthur Ave.
Pocatello, Idaho
U.S. [1]
Information
Type Public [2]
Established 1892
School district Pocatello/Chubbuck S.D.
Principal Lisa Delonas[3]
Faculty 58 [2]
Grades 9–12 [2]
Enrollment 1,015[4] (2014-15)
Color(s) Red, blue, white[3]
              
Athletics IHSAA Class 4A
Athletics conference Great Basin (East)
Mascot Indian [3]
Rivals Highland, Century
Newspaper Chieftain
Yearbook Pocatellian
Information (208) 233-2056
Elevation 4,470 ft (1,360 m) AMSL
Website Pocatello High School

Pocatello High School is a four-year public high school in Pocatello, Idaho, locally known as "Poky." It is the oldest of the three traditional high schools of the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District, and serves the southwest portion. The school colors are red and blue and the mascot is an Indian;[3] the city's namesake, Chief Pocatello, was the leader of the Shoshone people.

History

The school was constructed in late spring and summer of 1892 at a cost of $18, 281. According to the Bannock County Historical Society, the school was originally called West Side School, holding all grades in the same school. Pocatello High School was the most impressive building in the area during the early 1900s and on many occasions the school served as a town square where concerts and athletic contests were held. Two presidents of the United States spoke on the grounds of Pocatello High School, President Theodore Roosevelt in 1902 and William Howard Taft in 1908.[5]

In 1914, a fire started in the boiler room and the high school burnt completely to the ground. The school was rebuilt in exactly the same location. In 1939, the old school was remodeled and additions were made including a new gymnasium currently known as "the pit." In 1996 major renovations were added to the school which took three years to complete. These renovations included new floors, lights, sidewalks, heating system, and windows.[6] A new gymnasium known as "the palace" was built between 2004 and 2006.

In September 2016, Monsanto awarded a grant of $15,000 for the development of a hydroponic greenhouse for the roof of the Museum of Clean to teach students about green energy and how plants grow. Wind turbines and solar panels will generate power, such as to provide electricity for lights during the nighttime. It is part of a project involving the partnership of the high school with the museum. The installation is targeted for completion in the fall of 2017.[7]

Achievements

In 1989, Pocatello High School received the Presidential Excellence award, one of only 165 awards given in the nation.[8]

Athletics

Pocatello competes in athletics in IHSAA Class 4A in the Great Basin (East) Conference with Century and Preston. PHS traditionally competed with the largest schools in the state in Class 5A (formerly A-1); a drop in enrollment caused a change to Class 4A.

  • In 2000, the boys basketball team successfully defended the A-1 (now 5A) state championship.[9]
  • The PHS football team won the state 4A title in November 2006.
    • Four A-1 (now 5A) state titles in football were won in six-season span (1989, 1990, 1992, 1994).[10]
  • The 2012 baseball team won the state 4A championship, its first.[11]

Rivalries

Pocatello High School has intra-city rivalries with and Highland (1963) and Century (1999). The annual football game between Pocatello and Highland is known as the "Black and Blue Bowl." A tradition of rivalry between the schools is to paint the large rock outside of the other schools.

State titles

Boys

  • Football (5): fall 1989, 1990, 1992, 1994: (4A) 2006 (official with introduction of playoffs, fall 1979)[12]
    • (unofficial poll titles - 0) (poll introduced in 1963, through 1978)
  • Cross Country (2): fall 1980; (4A) 2011[13] (introduced in 1964)
  • Basketball (9): 1927, 1929, 1936, 1942, 1957, 1962, 1969, 1999, 2000[9]
  • Wrestling (7): 1968, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1990, 1991, 1992[14] (introduced in 1958)
  • Baseball (1): (4A) 2012[11] (records not kept by IHSAA, state tourney introduced in 1971)
  • Track (2): 1958; (4A) 2009[15]
  • Golf (3): 1957, 1962, 1990, 2007, 2008 (introduced in 1956)

Girls

  • Cross Country (2): fall 1995, 1996[13] (introduced in 1974)
  • Volleyball (1): fall 1990[16] (introduced in 1976)
  • Track (5): 1975, 1982, 1994, 1995, 1996[17] (introduced in 1971)
  • Dance: All-State Champions 2012

Controversy

In October, 2013, a former girls' basketball coach, Laraine Cook was fired over a Facebook photo where her fiance, Tom Harrison, a football coach at Pocatello High School, holds her breast.[18] Cook told local Pocatello ABC affiliate that she was fired and not Harrison because she was the one who posted the photo.[19]

Until the 1970s, the Pocatello High School mascot was a Native American caricature named Osky Ow Wow, "a little Mohawk-looking guy with buck teeth, dark skin, big round eyes and a Mohawk haircut." [20] The school's dance team, the Indianettes, continue to perform a redface routine in which students dress up in stereotypical Native American outfits and perform a mock "indian" dance.[21][22]

The "mock" Native American outfits and dance are fully supported by the tribe. "Pocatello" was named after "Chief Pocatello", and "Pocatello High School" honors him. "Pocatello High School is not catching flak for its American Indian mascot because the school was "sensitized" in the 1970s, tribe officials say."(Deseret News, 1991) Osky Ow Wow was offensive to many of Pocatello's Native American population, and was removed. Clyde Hall, a magistrate judge for the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Fort Hall states that residents are proud that Pocatello High students are known as the Indians, "They have been sensitized," he said. "The Osky Ow Wow controversy did that." Hall also said some Indians see such portrayals in the same light as the old black-faced minstrel shows, Hall said. He noted Indians do not seem to be upset if an Indian dons non-authentic garb to be an Indian mascot. Other Idaho schools with Indian mascots include the Boise Braves, Buhl Indians, Nez Perce Indians, Preston Indians, Salmon Savages, Shoshone-Bannock Chiefs and Teton Redskins.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Welcome to Pocatello High School". Pocatello/Chubbuck School District. Archived from the original on 2008-06-21. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  2. 1 2 3 "Pocatello Senior High School". Public School Review. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Member School Information". Idaho High School Activities Association. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  4. ↑ "POCATELLO HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  5. ↑ John F. Kennedy visited in 1962 and spoke during a campaign trip.
  6. ↑ Pocatello High Reborn
  7. ↑ Coffin, Deanne (September 27, 2016). "Monsanto Awards Pocatello $15,000 Grant". EastIdahoNews. KPVI. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  8. ↑ History
  9. 1 2 idhsaa.org Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. - Basketball champions - through 2012
  10. ↑ IDHSAA 4A football bracket
  11. 1 2 "2011 4A State Baseball Bracket". IdahoSports.com. May 19, 2012. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  12. ↑ idhsaa.org Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. - Idaho high school football - state champions
  13. 1 2 idhsaa.org Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Cross Country champions through 2011
  14. ↑ idhsaa.org Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. - Wrestling champions - through 2012
  15. ↑ idhsaa.org Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. - Track champions - through 2012
  16. ↑ idhsaa.org Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. Soccer & Volleyball champions - through 2011
  17. ↑ idhsaa.org Archived 2012-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. - Girls Track champions - through 2012
  18. ↑ "Larraine Cook, High School Coach, Fired Over Facebook Photo". HuffingtonPost.com. November 7, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  19. ↑ "VIDEO: Former coach Laraine Cook talks to Local news 8". localnews8.com. November 4, 2013. Retrieved November 8, 2013.
  20. ↑ "POCATELLO MASCOT PASSES U.S. INDIAN MUSTER". 1991-12-30. Retrieved 2016-09-05.
  21. ↑ "Pocatello High School Indianettes - Timeline | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-09-05.
  22. ↑ Scott Smith (2015-08-26), PHS Traditionals 2015, retrieved 2016-09-05
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