De Pere High School (DPHS) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

located in

De Pere, Wisconsin De Pere ( ) is a city located in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,410 according to the 2020 Census. De Pere is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. History At the arrival of the first European, Je ...

. Founded in 1870, it serves students in grades 9 through 12. It is the only high school in the Unified School District of De Pere.

History

Until 1870, schooling for all grades in

was held in one building; starting in 1870, a high school was located in a stone building on the corner of James Street and Wisconsin Street. During the back half of the 1890s, plans were made for a new high school at the corner of Chicago Street and Broadway. A fire ravaged the stone school on February 20, 1900; it was demolished in 1906 after sitting dormant. After spending the rest of the term at the local German Benevolent Society Hall, the school located at Chicago and Broadway opened in fall 1900. It was quickly nicknamed the "Castle School" or "Castle on the Hill" due to its architecture and topographic situation. In 1978, the current

was built at 1700 Chicago Street. It underwent major expansion in 2001, with the addition of a gymnasium and several classrooms. In January 2007, more classrooms were added. In 2017, De Pere High School underwent another small expansion. De Pere High School's mascot is the

Redbird Redbird, Redbirds, Red Bird or Red Birds may refer to: Bird * Redbird, another name for the northern cardinal * Redbird, another name for the summer tanager * Red bird of paradise, a near threatened species Mythological * An East Asian variant ...

. In 2005, the school received a cease-and-desist order on the grounds that its mascot was copyrighted material of

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

. The school eventually redesigned the logo so as to not violate the copyright. In 2016, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' included DPHS on its list of best high schools for low-income students.

Demographics

The school is 90 percent white, three percent Hispanic, two percent black, two percent Asian, and one percent American Indian.

Extracurricular activities

FIRST Robotics

De Pere High school is home to

FIRST robotics For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (''FIRST'') is an international youth organization that operates the ''FIRST'' Robotics Competition, ''FIRST'' LEGO League Challenge, ''FIRST'' LEGO League Explore, ''FIRST'' LEGO Leagu ...

Team 1716. The team, which has been in existence since 2006, offers students the opportunity to gain hands-on knowledge in

STEM fields Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of ...

. During the 2006 season Team 1716 had a win-lose-tie record of 6-7-1. In the 2007–09 seasons, Team 1716 had records of 3-6-0, 1-6-1 and 1-7-0. In the 2010 season, Team 1716 had a 7-4-1 record in Breakaway. The team had a 7-5-1 record in the 2011 season. The 2012 Season (Rebound Rumble) was the best in Team 1716 history, with a record of 6-5-0. They finished as the #4 seed, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Team 1716 also received the Judge's Award. In the 2013 and 2014 seasons, Redbird Robotics did not make it to the elimination rounds. In 2014, the team participated in more than one regional for the first time since the team's inception.

Athletics

De Pere High School is a member of the

Fox River Classic Conference The Fox River Classic Conference (often shortened to FRCC) is a high school athletic conference made up of ten full members, omne affiliate member and three football-only members in Northeastern Wisconsin, centering primarily around schools in Br ...

, and its athletic teams are nicknamed the Redbirds. Redbird athletic teams had been a member of the

Bay Conference The Bay Conference is a high school athletics conference made up of eight teams in northeastern Wisconsin, centering primarily around the Green Bay and Fox Valley metropolitan areas. Conference schools are members of the Wisconsin Interscholast ...

. De Pere's last season in the Bay was 2006-2007. The girls swimming team absorbs swimmers from the smaller, crosstown

West De Pere High School West De Pere High School is one of two public high schools in De Pere, Wisconsin, USA. Built in 1960, it serves students in the 9th to the 12th grade. The school's mascot is the Phantom. The Phantoms compete in the Bay Conference. History In 20 ...

while still competing under the De Pere Redbirds banner. The school contributes to the ten-school cooperative Bay Area Ice Bears girls hockey team, which plays in the Eastern Shores Conference. In 2014, the school announced a new synthetic turf

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

field, a new

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

diamond and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

field, and upgrades to the existing

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

diamond. In late 2019, the school revealed plans for a $3 million renovation of its football stadium, which would add 600 seats to the home grandstand and establish a permanent 500-seat visitors grandstand.

Performing arts

The school fields two

show choir A show choir (originally known as a "swing choir") is a musical ensemble that combines choral singing with choreographed dance, often with an overarching theme. It is most relevant in the Midwestern United States and was popularized by the America ...

s, Chicago Street Singers and Jam Session. In 2020, the school hosted a show choir competition, "Destination De Pere: Let's Jam!", and while event organizers claimed it was the first one hosted at De Pere, the school hosted a competition named "Big Jam" from 1996 to 1999. The school also offers a musical and plays through its Drama Club.

Notable alumni

* Deb Baker, mystery author * Jerry Daanen, professional football player *

Terry Meeuwsen Terry Anne Meeuwsen Friedrich (born March 2, 1949) is an American television personality, co-host of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN)'s ''700 Club'', author and singer. Meeuwsen was the 1972 Miss Appleton, 1972 Miss Wisconsin and the w ...

, 1973

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

* Drew Nowak, professional football player * Elyse Bennett, professional soccer player * Brevin Pritzl, professional basketball player

References

External links

De Pere High School website"Crimson Aviator" newspaper"Redbird TV"
- De Pere High School TV news program {{authority control Educational institutions established in 1870 1870 establishments in Wisconsin Public high schools in Wisconsin Schools in Brown County, Wisconsin De Pere, Wisconsin