Mercer Island High School (MIHS) 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

Mercer Island, Washington Mercer Island is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located on an island of the same name in the southern portion of Lake Washington. Mercer Island is in the Seattle metropolitan area, with Seattle to its west and Bellevue to i ...

, United States, as part of the

Mercer Island School District The Mercer Island School District is a public U.S. school district in Washington. Located in an affluent bedroom community of Seattle, Mercer Island, it has a strong academic reputation. The six schools on Mercer Island provide approximately 4,00 ...

. As of the 2018–19 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,552 students and 77.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a

student–teacher ratio Student–teacher ratio or student–faculty ratio is the number of students who attend a school or university divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students ...

of 20.0:1. There were 44 students (2.8% of enrollment) eligible for

free lunch A free lunch is the providing of a meal at no cost, usually as a sales enticement to attract customers and increase revenues from other business. It was once a common tradition in saloons and taverns in many places in the United States, with th ...

and 13 (0.8% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.School data for Mercer Island High School

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...

. Accessed April 1, 2020.

Awards and recognition

During the 2006-07 school year, Mercer Island High School was recognized with the

Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

Award of Excellence by the

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

Music program

Mercer Island High school is renowned for its music program and marching band. The marching band's first foray into the national spotlight was in 1993 when it participated in the 104th

Rose Parade The Rose Parade, also known as the Tournament of Roses Parade (or simply the Tournament of Roses), is an annual parade held mostly along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, California, United States, on New Year's Day (or on Monday, January 2 if N ...

. In 2006, the marching band would return to Pasadena for the 117th Rose Parade. The parade was nearly cancelled due to record rain for the first time during a Rose Parade in 50 years. In 2011, the MIHS marching band traveled internationally to participate in the 2011 London, England New Year’s Day Parade & Festival upon royal invitation.http://www.kplunews.org/post/mercer-island-highs-marching-band-play-london 30 December 2010 The following year, the marching band performed in the 2012 Rose Parade. In the fall of the same year, the marching band performed along with Newport High School at halftime of the November 4 Seattle Seahawks football game versus the Minnesota Vikings. In the spring of 2014, the marching band would travel to

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. Th ...

to participate in the 116th

Victoria Day Victoria Day (french: Fête de la Reine, lit=Celebration of the Queen) is a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25. Initially in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday, it has since been celebrated as the offi ...

parade. In the fall of the same year, Mercer Island and Newport would return along with

Cedarcrest High School Cedarcrest High School is a four-year public secondary school located in Duvall, Washington. It opened its doors in 1993, and is the only traditional high school in Riverview School District #407. The boundary of its school district includes Car ...

for a halftime performance at the December 14 Seahawks game versus the San Francisco 49ers. In 2015, members of the marching and concert bands would travel to Australia as part of a tour including participation in the Australian National Band Championships. In 2017, the marching band returned to Victoria to participate in the 119th Victoria Day Parade. In 2019, the marching band would return to Pasadena to participate in the Rose Parade. The marching band would go on to perform a special halftime performance at the October 10, 2019 Seahawks game against the Los Angeles Rams, honoring longtime team owner and Mercer Island resident

Paul G. Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which h ...

. In 2020, the marching band was scheduled to perform at the 123rd Victoria Day parade but the event was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On September 19, 2021 the marching band would once again take to the field for the 2021 Seahawks home opener against the Tennessee Titans, performing during pregame and appearing at halftime alongside Macklemore and singer-guitarist Ayron Jones.

Athletics

Mercer Island High School was honored by the

Washington Interscholastic Activities Association The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) is the governing body of athletics and activities for secondary education schools in the state of Washington. As of February 2011, the private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization consists ...

as the 3A Wells Fargo Scholastic Cup Champion for the 2005-06 school year, based on State championship victories in boys'

track and 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'

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'

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 ...

and

diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

and boys'

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 ...

. The boys lacrosse team was WHSBLA Division II state champion in 1996 (defeating

Vashon High School Vashon High School is a high school of the St. Louis Public Schools in St. Louis, Missouri. When it opened in 1927, it was the second high school for black students in St. Louis. History Designed by Rockwell M. Milligan, the school opened on Sep ...

in the tournament final) and won the Division I title in 2001 (vs. Bainbridge High School), 2004 (vs. Bainbridge), 2005 (vs.

Issaquah High School Issaquah High School (also known as IHS or Issaquah) is a four-year public secondary school in Issaquah, Washington, United States, a suburb east of Seattle. It is one of three high schools in the Issaquah School District and serves students in ...

), 2006 (vs. Issaquah), 2011 (vs. Bainbridge) and 2015 (vs. Bellevue High School) Girls' Swim and Dive had an undefeated season in 2009 ending it by winning the State Championship. Boys' Swim and Dive also went undefeated in the 2009-2010 season, and went on to win their fifth consecutive State title. The girls' and boys' tennis teams have won a combined 41 State championships since 1972. The girls tennis team has won 25 state titles and has been inducted into the

Hall of Fame. The basketball team, formerly coached by all-time

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

state wins leader Ed Pepple, recorded its first losing season in 38 years in 2006. In 1981 Mercer Island Basketball Team lost the AAA State basketball final game to Shadle Park in a controversial decision. At 64-65 to Mercer Island, a last-second shot by Shadle Park "depending on who you are listening to, either clearly did or clearly didn’t beat the air horn." Boys' swimming was rated first in its class by the 2006-07 NISCA National Dual Meet Team Rankings. The “tropical warrior” Islander mascot of the ‘70’s was deemed to be offensive and has not been used since.

Notable alumni

Bill Anschell Bill Anschell is a jazz pianist and composer. He has recorded seven CDs as a leader, and performed or recorded with many jazz greats. His original compositions and piano work are prominently featured on Freelon's Grammy Award-nominated recording ...

('77), jazz pianist and composer. * Mark Bathum ('77), Paralympic alpine skier who has competed at two Winter Paralympics, two World Cups and two World Championships. *

Daniel Bonjour Daniel Bonjour (born September 28, 1981) is a South Africa–born actor, director and screenwriter best known for his roles in '' The Walking Dead'', ''Frequency'', and ''iZombie''. Early life Bonjour was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. His ...

('99), actor, director, writer. * Matt Boyd (born 1991), professional baseball pitcher for

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

. *

Steve Bunin Steve Bunin (born in Seattle, Washington) is a former ESPN Anchor, a five-time Emmy Award winner and a 16-time Emmy nominee. He is now an Executive Communications Coach for companies around the world. Career Bunin was a news anchor at KING-TV from ...

('92),

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

commentator *

Travis DeCuire Travis Lamont DeCuire (born November 21, 1970) is the men's basketball head coach for the University of Montana. Biography DeCuire went to Mercer Island High School, where he led the school to two conference titles. He began his collegiate career ...

(born 1970), basketball head coach,

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

. * Stanley Ann Dunham ('60), mother of former U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

* Jean Enersen (born 1944), journalist who worked for 48 years at

KING-TV KING-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside Everett-licensed independent station KONG (channel 16). Both stations share studios at the Home Plate ...

in Seattle. *

Josh Fisher Joseph A "Josh" Fisher is an American and Spanish computer scientist noted for his work on VLIW architectures, compiling, and instruction-level parallelism, and for the founding of Multiflow Computer. He is a Hewlett-Packard Senior Fellow ( ...

('00), former professional basketball player *

Caroline Fraser Caroline Fraser is an American writer. She won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, and the 2017 National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography, for '' Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder'', a biograph ...

('79), writer who won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography. * Pétur Guðmundsson (born 1958), Icelandic former professional basketball player and coach who was the first Icelander ever to play in the NBA. *

Alex Goyette Alex Goyette (born October 5, 1988) is an American film director, writer, producer, actor, and YouTube personality. He is the writer/director of '' Expelled'', a comedy which ranked #1 worldwide on iTunes during its December 2014 release. Goyette ...

('07), film writer, director. *

Adrian Hanauer Adrian Hanauer (born February 7, 1966) is an American businessman and majority owner of Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer. He is also one of the minority owners of the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League, and a former minority o ...

(born 1966), owner of Pacific Coast Feather Co., majority owner and general manager of

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

. * Bill Hanson (born c. 1940), retired professional basketball player who played for

Real Madrid Baloncesto Real Madrid Baloncesto (English: Real Madrid Basketball) is a Spanish professional basketball team that was founded in 1931, as a division of the Real Madrid CF multi sports club. They play domestically in the Liga ACB, and internationally i ...

. * Steve Hawes, played ten seasons (1974–84) in

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

for

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member team of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its ho ...

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

, and

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

David Kirtman David Kirtman (born February 12, 1983) is a former American football fullback. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at USC. Kirtman has also been a member of the San Diego Ch ...

('01), fullback for

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Aaron Levie Aaron Winsor Levie (born December 27, 1984) (pronounced ) is an American entrepreneur. He is the co-founder and CEO of the enterprise cloud company Box. Early life and education Aaron Levie was born to a Jewish family from Mercer Island, Washi ...

('03), co-founder of Box.net * Ben Mahdavi ('98), former NFL

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

and

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point attempt ...

. *

Joel McHale Joel Edward McHale (born November 20, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, and television host. He is best known for hosting ''The Soup'' (2004–2015) and his role as Jeff Winger on the NBC sitcom ''Community'' (2009–2015). He has performed i ...

('91), actor,

Jeff Winger Jeffrey Tobias "Jeff" Winger is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the American television sitcom ''Community''. He is portrayed by Joel McHale and first appeared in the pilot episode of ''Community''. Jeff was created by produc ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''

Community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

'', host of

E! Entertainment Television E! (an initialism for Entertainment Television) is an American basic cable channel which primarily focuses on pop culture, celebrity focused reality shows, and movies, owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of NBCUniversa ...

's ''

The Soup ''The Soup'' is an American television series that aired weekly on E! from July 1, 2004, until December 18, 2015 as a revamped version of ''Talk Soup'' that focused on recaps of various popular culture and television moments of the week. The ...

''. * Jordan Morris ('13), player for

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team ha ...

and

. *

Annie Parisse Anne Marie Cancelmi (born July 31, 1975), known professionally as Annie Parisse, is an American actress. She portrayed Alexandra Borgia on the drama series '' Law & Order''. Parisse has also starred as Julia Snyder on the soap opera ''As the W ...

('93), actress who has been featured on ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'' and ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

'' *

Steve Penny Stephen D. Penny Jr. (born 1964) is an American businessman and sports administrator. Penny was president and CEO of USA Gymnastics from April 4, 2005, to March 16, 2017, and is a key figure in the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal. Career Penny ...

(born 1964), businessman and sports administrator who was President and CEO of

USA Gymnastics United States of America Gymnastics (USA Gymnastics or USAG) is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Established in 1963 as the U.S. Gymnastics Federation (USGF), USA Gymnastics is responsible for selecting and traini ...

from 2005 to 2017. *

Owen Pochman Owen Pochman (born August 2, 1977) is a former American football placekicker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants (2001–2002) and San Francisco 49ers (2003). He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2001 N ...

('95), football player for

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

and

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

* Nancy Ramey (born 1940), competition swimmer who represented the United States at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, whi ...

in Melbourne, Australia, where she won a silver medal in the 100 meter butterfly. * Anne Rosellini, film producer *

Ethan Sandler Ethan Sandler (born December 3, 1972) is an American actor, film producer and writer known for his role of ADA Jeffrey Brandau on the television series ''Crossing Jordan''. Career Sandler's screen credits include '' The Chocolate War'', ''Flushe ...

('91), writer and actor. * Avi Schiffmann ('21), creator of the world's biggest COVID-19 tracker. * Dylan Smith ('03), co-founder of Box.netvia

Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidiar ...

"Penny-pinching entrepreneurs changing world of venture capital"
''

'', August 10, 2007. Accessed March 22, 2012. "Levie and Smith were 15-year-olds at Mercer Island High School near Seattle who teamed up on class projects and later made a film for fun." *

Quin Snyder Quin Price Snyder (born October 30, 1966) is an American basketball coach who most recently served as the head coach for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). After being named a McDonald's All American as a high school pla ...

('85), head coach of NBA's

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

Gordon Sondland Gordon David Sondland (born July 16, 1957) is an American businessman. He is the founder and chairman of Provenance Hotels. He also served as the United States Ambassador to the European Union from 2018 to 2020. In November 2019, Sondland test ...

('75),

U.S. Ambassador to the European Union This is a list of United States ambassadors to the European Union. The formal title of this position is Representative of the United States of America to the European Union, with the rank and status of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiar ...

Darby Stanchfield Darby Leigh Stanchfield (born April 29, 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Abby Whelan in the ABC political drama series ''Scandal'' (2012–2018). Stanchfield is also known for roles as April Green in the CBS post ...

, actress * Dave Wainhouse, ('85) former

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player (

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

) *

Mary Wayte Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, ('83) Olympic gold medalist in 200m freestyle in 1984. * Sean White ('99), MLB pitcher for

. *

Peter Daniel Young Peter Daniel Young is an American animal rights activist. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in 1998 on charges related to fur farm raids in Iowa, South Dakota, and Wisconsin in 1997. He was in hiding for seven years, before being arrested ...

('95),

animal rights activist The animal rights (AR) movement, sometimes called the animal liberation, animal personhood, or animal advocacy movement, is a social movement that seeks an end to the rigid moral and legal distinction drawn between human and non-human animals ...

Notable faculty

* Gillian d'Hondt (born 1982), women's basketball coach, professional European women's basketball player. *

Sheryl Swoopes Sheryl Denise Swoopes (born March 25, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player. She was the first player to be signed in the WNBA, is a three-time WNBA MVP, and was named one of the league's Top 15 Players of All Time at the 20 ...

(born 1971), former professional basketball player, who was the first player to be signed in the WNBA."Loyola names Sheryl Swoopes head women's basketball coach"

KCBD-TV KCBD (channel 11) is a television station licensed to Lubbock, Texas, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned Gray Television alongside Wolfforth-licensed CW+ affiliate KLCW-TV (channel 22) and four low-power stations—MyNetworkTV a ...

, April 12, 2013. Accessed December 16, 2020. "Swoopes was an assistant girls basketball coach at Mercer Island High School in 2010 and most recently served as a television analyst for Texas Tech women's basketball games during the 2012-13 season."

References

External links

Official site
{{authority control 1957 establishments in Washington (state) Educational institutions established in 1957 High schools in King County, Washington Public high schools in Washington (state)