Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School, formerly known as Woodrow Wilson High School (and colloquially as Wells 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 ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

, United States.

History

Wells High School (originally Woodrow Wilson High School) was built in 1956, after a ballot measure was passed in 1945 providing $5 million to improve Portland's school system. Population was growing explosively, so emphasis was put on economy and ease of building, instead of on architectural style as was the norm in the earlier school buildings. Wells High School, which was designed by the firm Edmundson and Kochendoerfer, used the technique of lift-slab construction to speed up construction. Wells was the first building in the

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each s ...

to use that technique. In July 2020, Portland Public Schools pledged to rename the school in response to pressure from the community in light of the racial justice movement that followed the

murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's ...

. In January 2021, the name was changed to Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School, in honor of Ida B. Wells. The mascot was also changed from the Trojans to the Guardians (represented by an owl).

Notable alumni

* Kenji Bunch, violist and composer *

Ginny Burdick Virginia Burdick (born December 3, 1947) is an American politician from the U.S. state of Oregon, who served seven terms in the Oregon State Senate. She represented Tigard and Southwest Portland in Senate District 18.Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

* David Gilkey, Nationally recognized photojournalist and war correspondent. * Boaz Frankel, television personality * Peter Gassner, founder and CEO of

Veeva Systems Veeva Systems Inc. is an American cloud-computing company focused on pharmaceutical and life sciences industry applications. Headquartered in Pleasanton, California, it was founded in 2007 by Peter Gassner and Matt Wallach. It works with softw ...

. The company's primary focus is cloud-based software development and providing for randomization and trial supply management (RTSM). * Alicia Lagano, actress * Paul Linnman, television news reporter and anchor; radio personality *

Dale Murphy Dale Bryan Murphy (born March 12, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player. During an 18-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB) (–), he played as an outfielder, catcher, and first baseman for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphi ...

, professional baseball player, 7-time All-Star, twice

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

MVP * Damon Stoudamire, basketball player and coach, 1996 NBA Rookie of the Year * Wayne Twitchell, professional baseball player"Wayne Twitchell Stats"
''Baseball Reference''. Retrieved November 29, 2017.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1956 establishments in Oregon Educational institutions established in 1956 High schools in Portland, Oregon Hillsdale, Portland, Oregon Portland Public Schools (Oregon) Public high schools in Oregon