Port Angeles High School (PAHS) is a
public high school
State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...
in
Port Angeles, Washington
Port Angeles ( ) is a city and county seat of Clallam County, Washington, United States. With a population of 19,960 as of the 2020 census, it is the largest city in the county. The population was estimated at 20,134 in 2021.
The city's har ...
, United States, and is part of the
Port Angeles School District. It is the largest high school in the North Olympic Peninsula region.
Built in 1953, the facilities are located on 33 acres within a block of Olympic National Park borders. The school has views of the Olympic Mountain Range and the Salish Sea from the campus buildings. The school’s mascot is the Roughriders, depicting
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
on a horse in his role as commander of the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry. The school’s colors are green and white.
Academics
In addition to core courses, PAHS offers honors and
Advanced Placement
Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...
courses, a full range of traditional vocational courses, four choirs, five bands, four orchestras, and a full range of fine art courses. Junior and senior students have the option of taking courses at nearby
Peninsula College
Peninsula College is a public community college in Port Angeles, Washington, on the Olympic Peninsula. It is part of the Washington Community and Technical Colleges system and offers a Bachelor of Applied Science in Applied Management degree, tr ...
for both high school and college credit. Similarly, a program that allows sophomores(second semester only), juniors, and seniors to take classes for both high school and college credit without actually going to the college building itself. Classes include Astronomy, World history, Calculus, American Government, and more. It is the only high school in the U.S. that offers
Klallam language
Klallam, Clallam, Ns'Klallam or S'klallam (endonym: Nəxʷsƛ̓ay̓əmúcən), is a Straits Salishan language that was traditionally spoken by the Klallam peoples at Becher Bay on Vancouver Island in British Columbia and across the Strait of Juan ...
courses, due to its proximity to the
Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe
The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (or Nəxʷsƛ̓áy̓əm ("strong people") in Klallam ) is a Federally recognized tribes, federally recognized Native Americans in the United States, Native American nation in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. ...
reservation on the Elwha River delta and high number of tribal members who attend the school. The school also has a transition program for 18 year old students who are identified as ID, have completed all graduation requirements set by Washington state, and need more time to live in the adult world. Two classes similar to the transition program are also available for 16 year old students for business courses & skilled and technical sciences courses. Also included is a local funds program for graduating seniors who plan further education. The program typically receives $275,000 but over $900,000 in scholarships when combined with college-offered scholarships and other awards.
Athletics
Football, baseball and soccer games are played at Civic Field, a city-owned stadium about 1.5 miles from the school. PAHS also offers a variety of seasonal sports:
* Fall: Cross Country, Football, Girls Soccer, Girls Swimming/Diving, Volleyball, Boys Tennis
* Winter: Boys Basketball, Girls Basketball, Gymnastics, Boys Swimming/Diving, Wrestling
* Spring: Baseball, Boys Soccer, girls Softball, Track, Golf, Girls Tennis
NJROTC
Port Angeles High School's Navy
Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps
The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a Federal government of the United States, federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools acr ...
"Roughrider Company" is a highly decorated unit with approximately 120 cadets.
Under the leadership of Marine Maj. Leo Campbell, Ret., the unit achieved a 98 percent on-time graduation rate for cadets with four years in the unit, and has received the Distinguished Unit with Honors Award annually since 2006.
The unit won the state championship at the Northwest Drill and Rifle Championships in Tacoma, Washington, on March 14, 2015.
It is currently led by Navy Capt. Jonathan Picker, Ret., and Senior Chief Justin Beck, Ret.
PAHS Performing Arts Center
The school is home to the Port Angeles Performing Arts Center. The 1,150 seat auditorium was constructed in 1958 and significantly remodeled in 1978. In addition to school use, it is the venue for community arts organizations such as the Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra, PALOA Musical Theater, Olympic Barbershop, Peninsula Men's Gospel Singers, Arts Northwest, and Ballet Workshop. Some of the notable performances it has hosted include
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his father, Woody Guthrie. Gut ...
and the internationally-acclaimed men's choir
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Ladysmith Black Mambazo are a South African male choral group singing in the local vocal styles of ''isicathamiya'' and '' mbube''. They became known internationally after singing with Paul Simon on his 1986 album ''Graceland'', and have won m ...
.
Student media controversy
In 2012, the PAHS student newspaper, the ‘’Timberline’’, came to the center of controversy within the scholastic community when then PAHS Principal Garry Cameron nearly prevented distribution of the newspaper because of the appearance of the letters “G-A-Y” in a word search puzzle. Students claimed that the letters had been featured in the puzzle unintentionally and that Cameron did not have any legitimate basis for restricting distribution. A few pages later in the edition, students had written a story about President Barack Obama’s endorsement of same-sex marriage in which the word "gay" was used multiple times. Cameron did not object to the use of the word in that story.
References
External links
OSPI school report card 2012-13
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Port Angeles, Washington
Education in Clallam County, Washington
Public high schools in Washington (state)