West Albany High School 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 ...

Albany, Oregon Albany is the county seat of Linn County, Oregon, and is the eleventh largest city in that state. Albany is located in the Willamette Valley at the confluence of the Calapooia River and the Willamette River in both Linn and Benton counties, just ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. West Albany High School was formerly named Albany Union High School prior to the completion of

South Albany High School South Albany High School (SAHS) is a public high school located in Albany, Oregon, United States. Built in 1970, South Albany occupies the largest facility in the Greater Albany Public School District, encompassing more than of classrooms and ot ...

in 1972.

Academics

In 2008, 93% of the school's seniors received their

high school diploma A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to gra ...

. Of 325 students, 303 graduated, 13 dropped out, four received a modified diploma, and five stayed on for another year.

Activities

Several sports teams and activities at West Albany have won state championships: * Boys golf: 1974, 1997, 2008, 2009, 2013 * Girls softball: 2011 * Football: 2007, 2008, 2013 * Boys water polo: 2006, 2007,2010 * Girls water polo: 2007,2011, 2012, 2013, 2016 * Boys 4 × 100 m relay: 2008, 2013 * Varsity cheerleading: 1997, 1998, 2009, 2010, 2011 * Wind Ensemble: 2011, 2014, 2019 * Dance/drill team: 1987, 1993, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2007 Any championships won between 2015 and 2018 were under the 6A classification.

Attempted massacre

On May 27, 2013, a junior who was attending the school was found with an arsenal of explosives under the floorboards of his bedrooms. The explosives included a

Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flamma ...

, a napalm bomb, and Drano bombs. He supposedly wanted to make a more "successful version" of the

Columbine High School massacre On April 20, 1999, a school shooting and attempted bombing occurred at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, 12th grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and one teacher. ...

. He was charged with attempted aggravated murder and six counts each of unlawful possession and manufacture of a destructive device. He is held on $2 million

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...

Notable alumni

* Mike Barrett, sports announcer * Rick Haselton, judge *

Ardyth Kennelly Ardyth Matilda Kennelly (April 15, 1912 – January 19, 2005) was an American novelist, with five novels published between 1949 and 1956 and one published posthumously, in 2014. Kennelly was born in Glenada, Oregon, and briefly lived in Salt Lake ...

, writer *

Ron Saxton Ronald L. Saxton (born 1954) is an American lawyer, business person, and Republican politician in Oregon. He has run twice for Governor of Oregon, losing in the 2002 primary election, and winning the Republican nomination in 2006, but losing ...

, politician

References

High schools in Linn County, Oregon Buildings and structures in Albany, Oregon Educational institutions established in 1953 Public high schools in Oregon 1953 establishments in Oregon {{oregon-school-stub