Manhattan High School is a public

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 ...

in Manhattan, Kansas, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. It is part of the

Manhattan–Ogden USD 383 Manhattan–Ogden USD 383 is a public unified school district headquartered in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. The district includes the communities of Manhattan, Ogden, Swamp Angel, and nearby rural areas. Schools The school district op ...

. For the 2013–2014 school year, Manhattan High had an enrollment of 1,920 students. The school is divided into two campuses. The main building is the West Campus, containing grades 10–12, while the East Campus is for ninth graders. The two campuses are approximately one mile apart. Students use buses to transport between campuses. As of the most recent ratings in 2017, MHS was listed on the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

s list of the nation's "Most Challenging High Schools" for each of the prior nine years. Only twelve high schools in Kansas made that list in 2017. The school's athletic teams are referred to as the "Indians," and have won more than 45 state championships. Notable alumni of the school include Fred Andrew Seaton, former

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

and

Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also

*Interior ministry ...

History

The first public schoolhouse in Manhattan was built in 1857, serving all grades. The first dedicated

secondary 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 '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

in the town opened in 1873 at the current site of the Manhattan High School "East Campus." The first recorded high school graduation ceremony was held in 1892. ManhattanHighEast

The current East Campus of the school consists of two

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

buildings that are connected by a glass walkway. The first building – on the far right side in the accompanying photo – was opened in 1914 to replace the earlier secondary school. (Many histories date the establishment of Manhattan High from the completion of this building in 1914.) The second building – on the left side of the accompanying photo – was built in 1918 as a separate building for

junior high school A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school ...

students (grades 7, 8, and 9). The West Campus is a red brick building that was constructed in 1956 to be the new high school. Both of the older buildings (the current East Campus) were then utilized for junior high school students. Over the next 40 years, the new high school faced recurring overcrowding issues and was significantly expanded, but the new school simply proved unable to keep up with the town's population growth. After considering and rejecting the idea of building a second high school in Manhattan, in 1996 the town instead built two new middle schools, and moved the ninth grade to the East Campus. Beginning in 2011, the West Campus underwent a $42.2 million renovation and expansion. The construction added 14 new classrooms, in addition to a number of other improvements, and supplied a new facade for much of the building.

Campus layout

The West Campus is laid out in five parallel hallways, with an open space between each and a central "commons area." Each hallway is lettered from south to north. Classes in the industrial arts are held in a detached building behind the West Campus. A large

greenhouse A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of Transparent ceramics, transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic condit ...

and a new fitness center are also detached from the main building. The West Campus houses two gymnasiums; one is used as a general purpose facility and the other is primarily for basketball and volleyball games. The East Campus is composed of two three-story limestone buildings, connected with a glass walkway and an annex in the rear (not visible in the above photo), built in 1928. The campus also has a detached gymnasium built behind the main stone buildings.

Academics

Manhattan High School has been listed on several recent compilations of the best high schools in the nation. MHS was listed on the ''Washington Posts list of "Most Challenging High Schools" for the past nine years. Only ten high schools in Kansas made the list in 2017. MHS was also listed by ''

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 ...

'' in 2009 and 2010 as one of the top high schools in the U.S. Only six schools in Kansas made the list in 2009, and five in 2010. Finally, the school district was awarded a Blue Ribbon in the 2007 Education Quotient Study, ranking it in the top third nationwide. There are a wide range of learning opportunities offered at MHS, from tutoring for learning-impaired students to dual credit classes at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

, and a wide range of elective classes. Currently the school offers electives from

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

to language arts to physical arts. Manhattan High is also the hub of a statewide virtual education academy called the iQ Academy Kansas. The online classes give students the opportunity to study and learn at their own personal pace. 240 students were enrolled in the program as of 2007. In the 2015–2016 school year there were four

National Merit Finalists The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and university scholarships administered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a privately funded, not-for-profit organizati ...

from Manhattan High.

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Manhattan High has teams competing in

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 ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

(boys and girls),

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

(boys and girls), cross country (boys and girls),

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 ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

(boys and girls),

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 ...

(boys and girls),

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 ...

, swimming & diving (boys and girls),

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

(boys and girls),

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

(boys and girls),

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

(girls), and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. The school competes at the 6A level (largest schools) in the

Centennial League {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

. Manhattan High has its own stadium, Bishop Stadium, which seats 4,000 spectators and hosts football games and track events. The football field was changed from grass to artificial turf in 2013. Bishop Stadium (MHS)

The school is a member of the Centennial League, which it joined in 2004. MHS was previously a member of the defunct I-70 League from 1978 to 2004, and before that the Central Kansas League (CKL). The athletics program has received some national recognition. On June 19, 2007, ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' published a list of the top high school athletic programs in each state, and Manhattan High School was declared the top high school athletics program in Kansas for 2007. Also, Manhattan High's football team was nationally ranked in the

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

poll during the 1987 and 1988 seasons.

Mascot controversy

Manhattan High's sports teams are called the "

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

." In light of debate over the use of Native American mascots in athletics, the use of the name "Indians" by the high school has been questioned since it was adopted. The mascot name was intended, in part, to honor Frank Prentup, a former football coach of the high school who claimed Indian ancestry. In 2001, the Unified School District 383 Board of Education voted to retain the mascot name but would restrict how the Indian could be portrayed. In 2015, there was a renewed push to remove the "Indians" name. The following year the Manhattan-Ogden school board voted 7–0 to keep the "Indians" nickname. In addition to honoring the former coach, the other reasons cited by the board for keeping the mascot involved an estimated cost of $300,000 to replace the mascot amidst state level budget cuts. However, the board voted to form a committee that would explore creating a new mascot, determining the associated costs, and finding methods to fund such a change. Additionally, a greater emphasis would now be placed on Native American education at the school and community levels. The committee would report on its findings to the school board by September 2017.

State championships

:''^ unofficial; predates KSHSAA playoffs and AP poll'' :''⁺predates KSHSAA playoffs; ranked #1 in final AP poll''

Non-athletic programs

Debate/Forensics

The Manhattan High Debate and Forensics team is ranked among the top schools in the nation by number of degrees by the National Forensics League. Manhattan High has competed at the state in all the NFL events and at the national level in many of the events. It is one of the largest teams by members in the state. The team is coached by Mac Phrommany. * The debate team won KSHSAA state championships in 1972, 1973, 1984, 1987, 1988, 2004 (2-speaker), 2015 (4-Speaker). * The forensics team won KSHSAA state championships in 1984, 2008, 2012, 2014, and 2015.

Journalism

Manhattan High School's newspaper, ''The Mentor'', was founded in 1919. It used to be one of the few weekly high school newspapers in Kansas. The paper is printed weekly when school is in session, except on weeks in which students are out one or more days, on the presses of '' The Manhattan Mercury''. More than 1,600 copies are distributed for free to students, staff and community members. In 2011, ''The Mentor'' switched from a tabloid newspaper to a broadsheet. The school's journalism students have won a number of statewide awards in competitions administered by the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, as well as national

Quill and Scroll Quill and Scroll is an international high school journalism honor society that recognizes and encourages both individual and group achievements in scholastic journalism. According to the Quill and Scroll website, over 14,104 high schools in all ...

awards. The first newspaper issued by the school was the ''Manhattan High School Monitor'', in 1873–1874. It was reported to be the first high school newspaper issued by students in Kansas.

Music

Manhattan High School's

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

, The "Big Blue" Marching Band performs at every home football game, in parades, and in band festivals. The concert band performs during the spring season. There is also a large choir program, which includes mixed choirs, men's and women's choirs, and two show choirs. In addition, there is a jazz ensemble, symphonic band, wind ensemble, and both chamber and symphonic orchestras. Many of these ensembles and their members regularly participate in regional and state solo and ensemble competitions. Ensembles also participate in national competitions such as the Festival of Gold, which the symphonic and chamber orchestras participated in in 2015. An ensemble of volunteer players is used as the

pit orchestra A pit orchestra is a type of orchestra that accompanies performers in musicals, operas, ballets, and other shows involving music. The terms was also used for orchestras accompanying silent movies when more than a piano was used. In performances ...

for the school musical.

Performing arts

Manhattan High has a

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

and stagecraft program. A four performance

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

is put on annually in mid-November, showcasing the talent of MHS thespians. Performances take place in the Rezac Auditorium at the West Campus. It has an active performance calendar that includes a fall Broadway musical with full pit

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

, a Winter Gala featuring large performing groups, a winter play, a spring play, student directed one-act plays, showcase concerts for show choirs and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

band, as well as the traditional large-group concerts each quarter. Every other year, MHS choirs partake in a music festival at Disney World over spring break. Pops and Varsity show choirs are auditioned ensembles who perform in the community throughout the course of the school year. Each require a combo band, made up of MHS students. Manhattan High also has dance and competition teams. The dance team performs at home football games, basketball games, and wrestling events, performing halftime routines as well as sidelines (at football games). The competition team, the elite division of dance team, holds tryouts every year. Competition then takes several routines to various regional competitions, including pom, hip-hop, jazz, novelty, solos, and duets. The competition team also performs halftime routines on its own at basketball games. Over the summer, the dance team attends Universal Dance Association (UDA) camp, where they perform various routines.

Notable alumni

* 19th century:

Samuel Williston Samuel Williston (September 24, 1861 – February 18, 1963) was an American lawyer and law professor who authored an influential treatise on contracts. Early life, education and family Williston was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to a ...

, paleontologist (''pre-1873'') * 19th century: Philip Fox, astronomer * 1916:

Clementine Paddleford Clementine Paddleford (September 27, 1898 – November 13, 1967) was an American food writer active from the 1920s through the 1960s, writing for several publications, including the New York ''Herald Tribune'', the ''New York Sun'', ''The New ...

, food critic and

Al Jolley Alvin Jay Jolley (September 29, 1899 – August 26, 1948) was a professional football player and coach. He played for the Cleveland Tigers, Akron Pros, Dayton Triangles, Oorang Indians, Buffalo Bisons, Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cleveland Indi ...

, NFL player * 1923: Frank Morrison, 34th

Governor of Nebraska The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential e ...

* 1924: Bert Pearson, NFL player * 1926:

Solon Kimball Solon Toothaker Kimball (August 12, 1909 – October 12, 1982) was a noted educator and anthropologist. Kimball was born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas. He graduated from Kansas State University in 1930, then received a master's degree and Ph.D ...

, anthropologist * 1927:

Fred Seaton Frederick Andrew Seaton (December 11, 1909 – January 16, 1974) was an American newspaperman and politician. He represented the U.S. state of Nebraska in the U.S. Senate and served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior during Dwight D. Eisenh ...

*Interior ministry ...

* 1930: Kenneth Davis, historian, winner of Francis Parkman Prize * 1930:

Joan Finney Joan Marie Finney (née McInroy; February 12, 1925 – July 28, 2001) was an American politician who served as the 42nd governor of Kansas from 1991 to 1995. Prior to her tenure as governor, Finney served four terms as the Kansas state treasurer ...

, 42nd

Governor of Kansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

* 1939: David Gates, physicist, ecologist, pioneering climatologist * 1939: Virginia Yapp Trotter, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education * 1949:

Earl Woods Earl Dennison Woods (March 5, 1932 – May 3, 2006) was the father of American professional golfer Tiger Woods. Woods started his son in golf at a very early age and coached him exclusively over his first years in the sport. He later published t ...

, father of

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...

* 1952:

Del Close Del Close (March 9, 1934 – March 4, 1999) was an American actor, writer, and teacher who coached many of the best-known comedians and comic actors of the late twentieth century. In addition to an acting career in television and film, he was ...

, actor, comedian, one of the premier influences on modern improvisational theater * 1952: Inger Stevens, actress * 1954: Tom Oberheim, inventor of Oberheim synthesizer and DMX drum machine, which defined early hip-hop production * 1961: Robert Woodruff, NASA physicist * 1961:

Samina Quraeshi Samina Quraeshi (1944-2013) was an award-winning educator, designer, artist and author. Life She was raised in Karachi, Pakistan and lived in Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html ...

, Pakistani-American artist, author and educator;

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

Design Director (1994-1997) * 1964:

Bill Buzenberg William "Bill" Buzenberg is a journalist and news executive. He is the former executive director of the Center for Public Integrity, a post from which he stepped down at the end of 2014. Education Buzenberg is a graduate of Kansas State Universit ...

, journalist, executive director of Center for Public Integrity, vice-president of news at NPR * 1972: Dawayne Bailey, musician * 1974:

Gary Spani Gary Spani (born January 9, 1956) is a former NFL linebacker who played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1978–1986. He has worked for the Chiefs' front office since 1989, and is currently the Director of Special Events for the Chiefs. Spani wa ...

, member of

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

and

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

Hall of Fame * 1977:

Tim Jankovich Timothy Robert Jankovich (born June 4, 1959) is a former American college basketball coach and former head coach at Southern Methodist University. During his first year (2007–08) at Illinois State, Jankovich led the Redbirds to a 13–5 second-p ...

, college basketball coach * 1981:

Deb Richard Deb Richard (born June 13, 1963) is an American former professional golfer who was a member of the LPGA Tour for twenty years during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Amateur career Richard was born in Abbeville, Louisiana in 1963, and raised in M ...

, former professional golfer * 1982: Michael Kremer (graduated early in 1981),

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...

MacArthur Fellows Program The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 ind ...

"genius grant" recipient * 1982: Anna Seaton, won bronze medal at

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

, member of

America's Cup The America's Cup, informally known as the Auld Mug, is a trophy awarded in the sport of sailing. It is the oldest international competition still operating in any sport. America's Cup match races are held between two sailing yachts: one f ...

crew on the America³ * 1983:

Craig Colbert Craig Charles Colbert (born February 13, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball catcher and former bench coach for the San Diego Padres. A 1983 graduate out of Manhattan High School, Colbert was selected in the 20th round of the 1986 Major Lea ...

, professional baseball player * 1988: Brett Wallerstedt, NFL player * 1989: Thomas Randolph, All-American former football player at Kansas State * 1989: Jim Smallwood, Colorado State Senator * 1990: Bridget Everett,

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

artist, comedian, actress * 1992:

Will Tiao Will Tiao (born October 31, 1973) is a Taiwanese-American actor, producer, and real estate broker and investor. Early life Tiao was born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas. Tiao graduated from Manhattan High School. Education Tiao majored in ...

, actor, realtor, and former

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

official * 1993: Steve Balderson, filmmaker * 2003:

Tracy Britt Cool Tracy Britt Cool (born September 7, 1984 in Manhattan, Kansas) is an American business executive and entrepreneur who was widely noted as a Warren Buffett protégé. She chaired four Berkshire Hathaway subsidiaries before co-founding Kanbrick, a ...

, financial advisor * 2008:

Jackie Carmichael Jackie Carmichael (born January 2, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for Igokea of the Adriatic League (ABA) and the Bosnian League. He was a standout college player at Illinois State University before playing professionally in ...

, basketball player * 2009: Charles Melton, actor * 2012: Deante Burton, NFL player *2017: Trevor Hudgins, NBA player

History

Campus layout

Academics

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Mascot controversy

State championships

Non-athletic programs

Debate/Forensics

Journalism

Music

Performing arts

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links