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 ...

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city and county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 c ...

, United States, serving students in grades 9-12. It is part of the Manhattan–Ogden USD 383. 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 na ...

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 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. Eise ...

, former U.S. Senator and Secretary of the Interior.

History

The first public schoolhouse in Manhattan was built in 1857, serving all grades. The first dedicated secondary school 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 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 Industrial arts is an educational program that features the fabrication of objects in wood or metal using a variety of hand, power, or machine tools. Industrial Arts are commonly referred to as Technology Education. It may include small engine re ...

are held in a detached building behind the West Campus. A large greenhouse 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 ''

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'' 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, and a wide range of elective classes. Currently the school offers electives from performing arts to language arts to physical arts. Manhattan High is also the hub of a statewide

virtual education Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it often refer ...

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 t ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

(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), thou ...

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

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 ...

(boys and girls), soccer (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 Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

& 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 eve ...

(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 Sum ...

(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. 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, ''

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'' 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, Virgi ...

poll during the 1987 and 1988 seasons.

Mascot controversy

Manhattan High's sports teams are called the " Indians." 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 The National Speech and Debate Association is an American student debating society. It was established in 1925 as the National Forensic League; the name was changed in 2014. It is one of four major national organizations that direct high school ...

. 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 The Manhattan Mercury is the local newspaper for Manhattan, Kansas. The ''Mercury'' is a daily newspaper published in the afternoon five days a week, and in the morning on Sunday. No Saturday edition is issued. The newspaper is physically printe ...

''. 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 musical instrument, instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass instrument, brass, woodwind instrument, woodwind, and percus ...

, 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 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 b ...

and stagecraft program. A four performance musical 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 m ...

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 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 ...

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, paleontologist (''pre-1873'') * 19th century: Philip Fox, astronomer * 1916: Clementine Paddleford, food critic and Al Jolley, 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, U.S. Senator, Secretary of the Interior * 1930: Kenneth Davis, historian, winner of

Francis Parkman Prize The Francis Parkman Prize, named after Francis Parkman, is awarded by the Society of American Historians for the best book in American history each year. Its purpose is to promote literary distinction in historical writing. The Society of American ...

* 1930: Joan Finney, 42nd Governor of Kansas * 1939: David Gates, physicist, ecologist, pioneering

climatologist Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , ''-logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of study ...

* 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 Inger Stevens (born Ingrid Stensland; October 18, 1934 – April 30, 1970) was a Swedish-American film, stage and Golden Globe-winning television actress. Early life Inger Stevens was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the eldest child of Per ...

, actress * 1954:

Tom Oberheim Thomas Elroy Oberheim (born July 7, 1936, Manhattan, Kansas), known as Tom Oberheim, is an American audio engineer and electronics engineer best known for designing effects processors, analog synthesizers, sequencers, and drum machines. He has ...

, inventor of

Oberheim Oberheim is an American synthesizer manufacturer founded in 1969 by Tom Oberheim. History and products Tom Oberheim founded the company in 1969, originally as a designer and contract manufacturer of electronic effects devices for Maestro (most ...

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, journalist, executive director of

Center for Public Integrity The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) is an American nonprofit investigative journalism organization whose stated mission is "to reveal abuses of power, corruption and dereliction of duty by powerful public and private institutions in order to ...

, vice-president of news at

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

* 1972:

Dawayne Bailey Dawayne Bailey is an American guitarist who has toured and recorded with Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, Véronique Sanson, and Chicago. Bailey was born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas. While still attending Manhattan High School in Kansas, ...

, 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 w ...

, member of College Football Hall of Fame 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 ...

Hall of Fame * 1977: Tim Jankovich, 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 ...

, former professional golfer * 1982:

Michael Kremer Michael Robert Kremer (born November 12, 1964) is an American development economist who is University Professor in Economics And Public Policy at the University of Chicago. He is the founding director of the Development Innovation Lab at the B ...

(graduated early in 1981), Nobel laureate, MacArthur Fellows Program "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 crew on the America³ * 1983: Craig Colbert, professional baseball player * 1988:

Brett Wallerstedt Brett Robert Wallerstedt (born November 24, 1970) is a former American football linebacker. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Phoenix Cardinals in 1993, the Cincinnati Bengals from 1994 to 1995 and for the St. Louis Rams ...

, NFL player * 1989: Thomas Randolph, All-American former football player at

Kansas State 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 ...

* 1989: Jim Smallwood, Colorado State Senator * 1990:

Bridget Everett Bridget Everett (born April 21, 1972) is an American comedian, actress, singer, writer, and cabaret performer. She has starred in the semi-autobiographical 2022 HBO series '' Somebody Somewhere'', the movie '' Fun Mom Dinner'', and in a one-hou ...

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 o ...

artist, comedian, actress * 1992: Will Tiao, actor, realtor, and former federal government official * 1993:

Steve Balderson Stephen Clark Balderson (born January 19, 1975) is an American film director. Early life Balderson was born in Manhattan, Kansas and raised in nearby Wamego, Kansas until the age of twelve, when his family moved to Manhattan. Balderson attended ...

, filmmaker * 2003: Tracy Britt Cool, financial advisor * 2008: Jackie Carmichael, basketball player * 2009: Charles Melton, actor * 2012: Deante Burton, NFL player *2017:

Trevor Hudgins Trevor Hudgins (born March 23, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League. He played colle ...

, 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