Okemos 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 ...

Okemos, Michigan Okemos ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population of the CDP was 21,369 at the 2010 census. Okemos is located mostly within Meridian Charter Township, with a small portion extending sou ...

, United States. It is the only high school in the Okemos Public Schools district. It is located southeast of the main campus of Michigan State University, between Bennett and Jolly Roads on the North and South, and Hulett and Hagadorn Roads on the East and West. The current building was completed in 1994, replacing the now Chippewa Middle School building as the district's high school. Former students of Chippewa 7-8 School comprise the school's student body.

Attendance area

The school district (and therefore the high school's attendance boundary) includes approximately two-thirds of Meridian Township, Michigan and portions of Alaiedon and Williamstown townships. It includes most of Okemos, as well as portions of

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

Haslett Haslett is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly within Meridian Charter Township with a small portion extending east into Williamstown Township. The population was 19,220 at the 2 ...

, and

East Lansing East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County. At the 2020 Census the population was 47,741. Located directly east of the state capital ...

Academics

An extensive Advanced Placement (AP) curriculum is in place, in which 59% of students participate. To ensure high quality, admission to AP courses requires high achievement in prerequisite classes and a committee approval. Okemos High School was ranked 13th in the state of Michigan in '' U.S. News & World Report's'' 2021 list of "America's Best High Schools". The student to teacher ratio at Okemos High School is 19 students to 1 teacher. Okemos High School is recognized by NCA ( North Central Association of Colleges and Schools) as an accredited public high school.

Extracurriculars

The Okemos High School quiz bowl varsity team is consistently a top performer nationally; in 2016, 2017, and 2018, they qualified for NAQT nationals held in Dallas, TX (2016), in Atlanta, GA (2017 and 2018), and virtually (2021). Okemos High School finished 53rd nationally in Quiz Bowl in 2016 and 25th in 2017. Okemos High School offers band, choir and orchestra in the performing arts section. The top orchestra is Philharmonic, the top band is SWE (Symphonic Wind Ensemble), and the top choir is Someko (which is Okemos spelled backwards). Okemos has many performers qualify for the All-State orchestra. The Okemos High School theatre program is another popular extracurricular activity in the performing arts section. The school typically puts on three shows each year including a spring musical.

Notable alumni

Jason P. Miller Jason Peter Miller (born November 23, 1983) is an American mathematician, specializing in probability theory. After graduating from Okemos High School, Miller matriculated in 2002 at the University of Michigan, where he graduated in 2006 with a B.S ...

(2002), professor of mathematics at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

Rob Bell Robert Holmes Bell Jr. (born August 23, 1970) is an American author, speaker and former pastor. Bell founded Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Michigan, and pastored it until 2012. Under his leadership, Mars Hill was one of the fastest ...

(1988), founding pastor of

Mars Hill Bible Church Mars Hill Bible Church is an American non-denominational Christian megachurch located in Grandville, Michigan near Grand Rapids. The teaching pastor was Rob Bell until December, 2011 when Bell transitioned into another ministry and was succeede ...

and author of ''Velvet Elvis'' * Curtis John Cregan (born January 18, 1977), an American actor who appeared in the American version of the children's television show '' Hi-5'' * Paul Quantrill (1986), major league baseball pitcher * John Bennett Ramsey, father of JonBenét Ramsey * Kristen Rasmussen (1996), professional basketball player, WNBA * Peter Reckell (1973), actor, played Bo Brady on the TV soap opera '' Days of Our Lives'' * Tom Welling (1995), actor, played Clark Kent on the TV series '' Smallville'' *

Richa Gangopadhyay Richa Gangopadhyay Langella ( Gangopadhyay ; born 20 March 1986) is an Indian-born American former actress and model who predominantly appeared in Telugu language films. She resides at Portland, Oregon. She was cast along with the prominent ...

, (2004) model, popular lead actress in Indian Cinema, particularly in South India *

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(2007), YouTube personality and advocate for

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

youth *

Kim Chi (drag queen) Sang-Young Shin ( ko, 신상영; born August 8, 1987), known professionally as Kim Chi, is a Korean Americans, Korean-American drag queen, artist, entrepreneur, and television personality best known for competing on the RuPaul's Drag Race (season ...

(2006), South Korean-American drag queen, artist, and television personality best known as a contestant on season 8 of

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* Taylor Moton (2012), NFL player for the

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Donald Keck Donald B. Keck (born January 2, 1941) is an American research physicist and engineer most noted for his involvement in developing low-loss optical fiber. Keck grew up in Lansing, Michigan and attended Michigan State University, after which he j ...

(1941), American physicist *

Walter Willett Walter C. Willett (born June 20, 1945) is an American physician and nutrition researcher. Currently, Willett is the Fredrick John Stare Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health and was the chair of its depart ...

(1945), American, Harvard University School of Public Health * Tessa Kaneene (2003), Harvard Advisor and White House Council member

Athletics

The mascot has been a topic of debate since the mid-1990s. The school agreed in 2004 to phase out Chieftains in favor of Chiefs. In 2021, the school board voted unanimously to drop the Chiefs mascot entirely. "Wolves" was voted on and selected as the new mascot name, then approved by the school board. The main issue is funding the change, leading to an anticipated 2023 date for completing it. Okemos fields teams for both boys and girls in many sports. The Chiefs are a member of the Capital Area Activities Conference. State Championship winners are listed below. The following sports are offered: *

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 ...

(boys) *

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 ...

(girls & boys) **Girls State champions - 1981 **Boys state champions - 1981, 1982 *

Cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

(girls-sideline) * Cross Country (girls & boys) **Boys state champions - 1986 * Football (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 ...

(girls & boys) **Boys state champions - 1976 *

Hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

(boys) *

Lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensiv ...

(girls & boys) **Girls state champions - 2009, 2010 *

Skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

(girls & boys) **Boys state champions - 1977 * Soccer (girls & boys) **Girls state champions - 2006, 2012 **Boys state champions - 1984, 2004, 2021 *

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 ...

(girls) **State champions - 1999 *

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 ...

(girls & boys) **Girls state champions - 1980 *

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 ...

(girls & boys) **Girls state champions - 1983, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 **Boys state champions - 1986, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2017, 2020 (D1) * Track (girls & boys) **Boys state champions - 1928, 1930, 1937 *

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) *

Water Polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

(not MHSAA sanctioned) (girls & boys) **Girls state champions - 2010, 2011, 2014 **Boys state champions - 2018 *

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 ...

(boys) **State champions - 1965, 1966, 1967

References

External links

Okemos High SchoolOkemos Public Schools
{{authority control Public high schools in Michigan School buildings completed in 1994 Schools in Ingham County, Michigan 1994 establishments in Michigan