South 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 ...

in Willoughby,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. It is one of two high schools in the

Willoughby-Eastlake City School District Willoughby-Eastlake City School District is a public school district located in Lake County, Ohio. The district serves students from Eastlake, Ohio, Eastlake, Lakeline, Ohio, Lakeline, Timberlake, Ohio, Timberlake, Waite Hill, Ohio, Waite Hill, ...

. The school was created when the Willoughby Union High School was split into South High and North High School. Located approximately 10 miles east of

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, Willoughby South High School is located close to scenic and historical Downtown Willoughby. The total enrollment is approximately 1,200 students in grades 9-12. The principal is Brian Patrick and the two assistant principals are David Miller (11-12 grades) and Jennifer Neumeyer (9-10 grades). Tom Mckinnon is the athletic director. Willoughby South, along with its sister school (and rival), Eastlake North High School, have been awarded the

Blue Ribbon School The National Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a United States Department of Education award program that recognizes exemplary public and non-public schools on a yearly basis. Using standards of excellence evidenced by student achievement measures, ...

award by the US Department of Education (the highest award attainable by American Schools), and both schools have competed in the Ohio Academic Decathlon competition multiple times.

Athletics

Willoughby South is a member of the

Ohio High School Athletic Association The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) is the governing body of athletic programs for junior and senior high schools in the state of Ohio. The OHSAA governs eligibility of student athletes, resolves disputes, organizes levels of compe ...

and part of the 8-tea
Premier Athletic Conference
Sports include: :

Academic Decathlon

Willoughby South has won 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 ...

state competition 8 times and has attended several national competitions.

Notable alumni

* Gregory J. Harbaugh (1974) - former NASA astronaut. *

Kareem Hunt Kareem AJ Hunt (born August 6, 1995) is an American football running back for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Toledo and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the ...

(2013) -

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

running back. * Michael Hutter (2001) - professional wrestler under the name Ethan Carter III. *

Katie McGregor Katie McGregor (born September 2, 1977) is an American runner who participates in track, cross country and the marathon. High school Born in Cleveland, McGregor attended Willoughby South High School in Willoughby, Ohio. She was the state ch ...

(1995) -

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

, cross country and

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

runner. *

Betty Thomas Betty Thomas (born Betty Lucille Nienhauser; July 21, 1948) is an American actress, director, and producer. She is known for her Emmy Award-winning role as Sergeant Lucy Bates on the television series ''Hill Street Blues''. As of March 2018, Tho ...

(1965) - actress, film and television director. *

Dan Whalen Dan Whalen (born August 6, 1988) is a former American football quarterback from Willoughby, Ohio. High school career Dan played high school football at Willoughby South High School. He only started one year, leading the Rebels to a 10-0 regular ...

(2006) - professional football player

Flag controversy

For many years, the flag of South High was the

Confederate Battle Flag The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...

used in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. The school has since then adopted a new flag, which is simply a re-coloration of the Confederate Flag. The original decision to name the school the "South Rebels" stemmed from the original Union High, with "South Rebels" seeming to some to be the logical name for the school after the "Union" was split. However, opponents argued that the school's name and logo seemed to celebrate the Confederacy, whose reasons for seceding from the Union had strong ties to the institution of slavery, and that the school was named during the Civil Rights Era. In October 2010, a shirt depicting a re-coloration of the Confederate Flag was sold in the spirit shop. The principal decided to pull the shirts. The spirit shop offered to refund any money students paid for the shirt or to replace them with a less inflammatory version. However, many students chose to keep the Confederate flag shirt as an expression of historical remembrance.

Shooting incident

On September 2, 2008, a student brought a gun to school and fired two rounds within the school, one piercing the ceiling, another shattering a trophy case. The student then put the gun to his head, but was talked out of doing himself any harm by the Vice Principal of Willoughby South, Jeff Lyons.

Removal of Confederate Rebel Mascot

On August 17, 2017, days after the

Unite the Right rally The Unite the Right rally was a white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, ...

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

, Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools announced the decision to remove the Confederate soldier mascot while keeping the name "Rebels" and also the school colors of grey and blue.

References

External links

School Website

Willoughby South helmet images at ohiohelmetproject.com
{{authority control High schools in Lake County, Ohio Public high schools in Ohio Educational institutions in the United States with year of establishment missing