Harry A. Burke High School is a secondary school located in Omaha,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

, United States. The principal is Darren Rasmussen. The school's mascot is the Bulldog. Each year in May, the Nebraska State Track Meet is held at the school. Its stadium was renovated in 2008.

Name

Burke High School was dedicated to Harry A. Burke in November 1967. Burke, who was

Omaha Public Schools Omaha Public Schools (OPS) is the largest school district in the state of Nebraska, United States. This public school district serves a diverse community of about 52,000 students at over 80 elementary and secondary schools in Omaha. Its district ...

superintendent from 1946 to 1962, actively prevented black educators from having positions of authority during his tenure. Among Burke's racist statements was "I would never want black people in a position of power, where white children would be educated." A 2019 op-ed in school newspaper ''The Burke Beat'' and a June 2020 petition both called for the school to change its name. Alternative namesakes were suggested, including Lucinda Gamble, Omaha Public Schools' first African American teacher.

Extracurricular activities

Academic Decathlon

Burke has participated in the

Academic Decathlon The Academic Decathlon (also called AcDec, AcaDeca or AcaDec) is an annual high school academic competition organized by the non-profit United States Academic Decathlon (USAD). The competition consists of seven objective multiple choice tests, tw ...

competition for 14 years, and has been the Nebraska state champion seven times. Their chief rivals are

Creighton Preparatory School Creighton Preparatory School (simply referred to as Creighton Prep or Prep) is a private, Jesuit high school for boys in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It was established in 1878 under the name Creighton College and is located in the Roman Cat ...

and Pius X High School. Burke holds the record for the highest overall score by a Nebraska team (48,337), set in 2008. In 2009, the Burke Academic Decathlon team placed second in Division I and third overall at the national competition.

Athletics

Burke athletic teams have won 39 state championships.

Notable alumni

* George Andrews, professional football player for the old Los Angeles Rams and 19th overall pick in the 1979 NFL Draft *

Craig Anton Craig Ward Anton (born August 28, 1962) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles as Mr. Pettus in ''Lizzie McGuire'' and Lloyd Diffy in '' Phil of the Future''. Early life Anton was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, ...

, supporting character on ''

Phil of the Future ''Phil of the Future'' is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on Disney Channel from June 18, 2004, to August 19, 2006, for two seasons. The series was created by Douglas Tuber and Tim Maile and produced by 2121 Productions. ...

'' *

Joshua Becker Joshua Becker (born 1974) is an American author, writer, and philanthropist. Becker has written four books on minimalism and intentional living, which have collectively sold hundreds of thousands of copies and have been translated from English ...

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post– World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...

writer *

Barney Cotton Barney Thomas Cotton (born September 30, 1956) is an American football coach and former player. Biography Early life Cotton was born in Omaha, Nebraska and attended Omaha Burke High School. Playing career Cotton's college playing career began ...

, offensive line coach for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers football The Nebraska Cornhuskers football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the West Division of the Big Ten. Nebraska plays its home games at Memorial Stadium, ...

team *

Jason Dourisseau Jason Richard Dourisseau (born December 7, 1983) is an American-born naturalised Dutch professional basketball player. Dourisseau primarily plays the small forward position. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Dourisseau received a Dutch passport in 2015. H ...

, professional basketball player * Mike Freeman, jazz musician *

Alex Henery Alex Henery (born August 17, 1987) is a former American football kicker. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and set an NCAA record for field goal accuracy with an 89.5% success rate. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagl ...

, professional football player * Rich King, professional basketball player * Rod Kush, professional football player and founder of Rod Kush Furniture

References

External links

Burke website

Omaha Burke High School alumni website
{{authority control Omaha Public Schools High schools in Omaha, Nebraska Educational institutions established in 1965 Public high schools in Nebraska Magnet schools in Nebraska 1965 establishments in Nebraska