Washburn High School

Minneapolis Washburn High School
Washburn from the air, 2007
Address
201 West 49th Street Minneapolis, Minnesota 55419 USA
Coordinates	44°54′47″N 93°16′59″W / 44.91306°N 93.28306°W / 44.91306; -93.28306Coordinates: 44°54′47″N 93°16′59″W / 44.91306°N 93.28306°W / 44.91306; -93.28306
Information
Type	Public secondary
Established	1925
School board	Minneapolis Board of Education
School district	Minneapolis Public Schools
CEEB code	241695[1]
Principal	Emily Lilja Palmer
Teaching staff	79.02 FTE
Grades	9–12
Gender	Coeducational
Enrollment	1,468 (2014-15)[2]
Language	English
Hours in school day	8:15 AM to 3:15 PM
Campus type	Urban
Color(s)	Blue and Orange
Slogan	Miller Pride since 1925
Fight song	Washburn Down the Field
Athletics conference	Minneapolis City Conference
Mascot	The Miller
Rival	Minneapolis Southwest High School
Newspaper	The Grist
Yearbook	WaHiAn
Communities served	Minneapolis and surrounding areas.
Feeder schools	All K–8 and middle schools in the Minneapolis Public School District are eligible to send eighth-grade graduates to Washburn; predominately students from Anthony, Field, and Page middle schools.
Website	http://washburn.mpls.k12.mn.us/

Minneapolis Washburn High School is a four-year public high school serving grades 9–12 in the Tangletown neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. By enrollment, Washburn is the third-largest high school in the Minneapolis Public School District and offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

Dr. Emily Lilja Palmer, formerly of Sanford Middle School, was named the principal on July 2, 2018. ^[3]

History

Washburn High School was built in 1925 to meet the demands of the growing South Minneapolis neighborhood. Construction for the new three-story building began in 1924 after the Minneapolis Board of Education purchased unused land in Washburn Park. Land next to the school was occupied by the Washburn Memorial Orphan Asylum, now torn down and replaced with what is now Justice Page Middle School (formerly Ramsey Middle School). Washburn is located in the Tangletown neighborhood of southern Minneapolis at 201 West 49th Street.^[4]

Washburn opened on September 8, 1925 to 1,031 students. When the school opened, it served 7–10 grades and added one year each year for the next two years. It served middle school and high school students until 1929.^[5] The school became very popular and by 1931, 2,370 students attended the school built for 1,500.^[6] The school has been expanded several times to meet the demands of high enrollment.^[5][7]

The school is conventionally named after Cadwallader C. Washburn. When the school was presented to the school board it was called "William D. Washburn High School", in reference to the brother of Cadwallader C. Washburn, however naming the school after William D. Washburn is thought to be an error.^[5] The school has been heavily influenced by Minneapolis' milling empire. The school's newspaper, The Grist, involves milling terminology,^[4] the school's colors, blue and orange, were those of Gold Medal Flour, a company partly run by the Washburn family and a predecessor to General Mills^[8] and the athletic teams' nickname are the "Millers".

Campus

Washburn is located on a 4½-city block parcel bordered by West 49th and 50th streets on the north and south side and Nicollet Ave. S. and Pleasant Ave. S on the east and west.^[9] In addition to Washburn, Justice Page Middle School shares this parcel of land, with Washburn taking 2/3 of the space. In between the schools is A. E. MacQuarrie Field which hosts football, soccer, lacrosse, and track and field competitions. In addition, the area between the school and field is a green space known as The Mall. Youth soccer teams, specifically the Fuller Soccer program from a neighboring park, use The Mall for games on weekends.

A tunnel connects the east side of Washburn and the west side of Page, running under MacQuarrie Field. The tunnel transports heating and air conditioning between the schools. During the winter, snow melts directly above the tunnel due to the steam pipes within showing the tunnel's location. Decades ago, students used the tunnel during the winter when overcrowding forced Washburn to hold classes in Ramsey.

Student body

In the 2006–2007 school year, Washburn enrolled 1,217^[10] students. The same year, the school reported a racial makeup of 50.7% Black, 26.0% White, 12.2% Hispanic, 7.7% Asian and 3.4% American Indian.^[10] In 2007, 60% of students qualified for Free or Reduced Price Lunch.^[10] 18% of students have limited English proficiency, and 13% of students qualify for special education.^[10] The school has an Adequate Yearly Progress graduation rate of 89.94%^[10] while district-wide 43.7% of students graduated during the 2003–2004 school year.^[11][12] 29%^[10] of students met or exceeded the standards in the 10th grade Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment Series II test, while 14%^[10] met or exceeded the standards for the 11th grade MCAS test in 2007.

During the 2016–2017 school year, 49 percent of the students were of African, Hispanic, Asian, or Native American descent.^[13]

Since 1991,^[14] Washburn has participated in St. Olaf College's Educational Talent Search TRIO program which provides students with skills necessary to complete high school and earn postsecondary education.^[15][16]

Staff

During the 2006–2007 school year, Washburn employed 95.12 staff FTE.^[10] 59.34 of those staff were teachers.^[10] 44.34% of the teachers held a bachelor's degree while 52.29% held a master's degree.^[10] During the 2005–2006 school year, the student to teacher ratio was 21:1.^[17] Both parents and students are involved in the decision-making process through our student council, school leadership team and Parent/Advisory Boards for each SLC.^[18]

Curriculum

Extracurricular activities

Fresh start

In March 2008, the Minneapolis Board of Education announced that Washburn would be one of two high schools participating in the Minneapolis Public Schools Fresh Start program. Along with Edison High School, Washburn hired new teachers and staff and examined their curriculum.^[24][25] These changes were part of a nine-point-plan by the Minneapolis school board to alleviate budget problems and prepare 4 out of 5 graduates to be ready for college.^[24][25] Principal Carol Markham-Cousins returned to lead the school with the rest of the teaching staff required to apply for rehire or as new to the building.

On May 14, 2008 Markham-Cousins sent letters to students and family members explaining the reasons for the Fresh Start. She cited graduation rates and college preparation as two reasons why the program had to go forward.^[26] The same day, students staged a walk-out in protest of the program.^[27] Student drew with chalk on the sidewalk in front of the school in support of the teachers.^[27]

Additional changes that came to Washburn during 2008-2009 included an increase in the number of art classes and the introduction of the International Baccalaureate program.^[24][25]

Notable alumni

• Arlene Dahl — Class of 1943, film and television actress, former MGM contract star who achieved notability during 1950s; mother of actor Lorenzo Lamas
• Russ Anderson — Class of 1973, hockey star at University of Minnesota and in NHL; married Miss America 1977 Dorothy Benham
• James Arness — film and television actor most famous for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon on long-running TV series Gunsmoke^[28]
• Patty Berg — golfer, founding member of LPGA, inductee in World Golf Hall of Fame^[29]
• Bob Cabana - Class of 1967, astronaut, 2008 Astronaut Hall of Fame inductee^[30]
• Richard Carlson - Class of 1929, film and television actor with star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
• Sean Daley — best known as Slug, member of hip-hop duo Atmosphere.^[31]
• Ryan Hoag – football player drafted by Oakland Raiders in 2003 (currently the Boys' Varsity Tennis coach at Washburn)
• Ralph Lemon — artist^[32]
• Dave Moore — newscaster^[33]
• Michele Norris — National Public Radio host^[34]
• R. L. Huggar — best known as R.L., frontman of Next^[35]
• Jimmy Jam — musician^[35]
• Kathryn Finney — best-selling author, NBC Today Show correspondent,^[36] social media pioneer.^{[37][38][39][40]}
• Jeanne Phillips — columnist, Dear Abby
• Ra'Shede Hageman - Class of 2009, NFL player, Atlanta Falcons
• Garrett Bender - Class of 2009, United States national rugby union team

References

External links

• Official website