West Salem High School (also referred to as West Salem High, West Salem HS, or WSHS) 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 ...

of the

Salem-Keizer School District Salem-Keizer School District (24J) is a school district in the U.S. state of Oregon that serves the cities of Salem and Keizer. It is the second-largest school district in the state with approximately 40,000 students and nearly 4,000 full-time e ...

located in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

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 ...

Academics

In 2008, 82% of the school's seniors received a

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 339 students, 279 graduated, 29 dropped out, five received a modified diploma, and 26 were still in high school the following year. As of 2017, 1,732 students were enrolled at West Salem High School. At that time, its graduation rate was 89%. The 2017 class of 414 had 37 dropouts, and 87% of the class were graduating on time.

The Titan Spectator

West Salem High School is home to the award winning Titan Spectator newspaper. Their mission statement is "to cover school and city happenings, from the serious to the comical ... ndto engage students in their school and community". They were previously cut as a class which caused public backlash They are also known for their mass social base of community members

Maps Credit Union Education Branch

West Salem High School is one of three high schools in

which are home to an education branch of

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

and

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places *Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missouri ...

Schools

Credit Union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including depo ...

. MAPS Credit Union education branches provide an opportunity for high school students to participate in the day-to-day operations of a real credit union. Students in certain business classes spend a small amount of time conducting real teller transactions for other students during lunch hours, under the supervision of a trained faculty member. The school's branch has been open since 2003.

Black football field

In 2012, West Salem installed a new black FieldTurf surface for its

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

field, believed to be the first of that color ever used for outdoor football (the

Nebraska Danger The Nebraska Danger was a professional indoor football team based in Grand Island, Nebraska, and a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The team was founded in 2011 by Charlie Bosselman as an expansion member of the IFL. The Danger played ...

of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams amon ...

also use this color). The decision to use a black surface came about when the school's original green FieldTurf surface, installed in 2002, needed replacing. FieldTurf offered the school a discount of nearly $140,000 from the regular $437,000 replacement cost if it used an "unusual" color; West Salem chose black since it was a school color and also had not previously been used by another school. The school changed its home uniform color from black to green in order to avoid possible complaints by visiting teams about the uniforms blending into the field. The field and uniforms were fully paid for through fundraisers, including four local business sponsors. However, as of 2015, the school has now started to use black uniforms with grey numbers. As of 2020, the field has reverted to green.

Notable students

* Ryan Allen - American football player *

Brett Smith Brett Smith (born June 8, 1992) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Wyoming. He attended Leslie Middle School in Salem, Oregon from 2004 to 07 and later graduated from West Salem High School in 2011. High ...

- American football player *Alec Palm - 75th Oregon Youth Governor

References