Northwest Classen High School is a public high school serving students in grades 9–12 in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

History

Northwest Classen High School was built in 1955 to accommodate the growing population in the northwest corridor of Oklahoma City. Along with

Classen School of Advanced Studies Classen School of Advanced Studies, often referred to as Classen SAS, CSAS or simply Classen, is a public speciality school serving students in grades 9–12 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City Public Schools program participates in th ...

, it was named for Anton H. Classen, an early Oklahoma City real estate developer and philanthropist. As the neighborhoods around Northwest Classen have changed, so has the cultural makeup of the campus. Initially an almost all-Caucasian school, the population has gradually become more multi-cultural. Today, the enrollment in the school is predominantly Hispanic with about 1/2 as many African-American and 1/4 Caucasian students with almost 100 different races and cultures represented.

Hudson Performance Hall

The original auditorium was, along with the rest of the school, targeted for upgrades and renovation as part of Oklahoma City's "MAPS for Kids" program in 2010. Alumni J. Clifford Hudson (a local businessman) and his wife Leslie, who had met in that auditorium, donated $500,000 in additional funds to install updated sound and lighting technology, improve the acoustics and update the audience area for the site. Now named the "Hudson Performance Hall", the venue has held concerts by notable acts such as Vince Gill (also an alumni), Al Yankovic, Arlo Guthrie, and Sinbad.

Extracurricular activities

Northwest fields teams in Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association-sanctioned competition in baseball, fast-pitch softball, football, cheerleading, cross country, volleyball, basketball, tennis, wrestling, golf, soccer, and track. Northwest is host to an active

JROTC 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 ...

(Army) program. Clubs include a chess club, multicultural club, history club, native-American student services club, Anime club, and a dance team.

Notable alumni

* William A. Martin (Class of 1956) – Computer Scientist, Artificial Intelligence Pioneer * Edward Ruscha (Class of 1956) – Artist * Mason Williams (Class of 1956) – Recording Artist * Susanna Talley Clark (Class of 1957) – Songwriter, artist and wife of Guy Clark * Henson Cargill (Class of 1959) – Recording Artist * Gary Nixon (Class of 1959) - Professional motorcycle racer, AMA Grand National Champion (1967 and 1968), member of

AMA Ama or AMA may refer to: Ama Languages * Ama language (New Guinea) * Ama language (Sudan) People * Ama (Ama Kōhei), former ring name for sumo wrestler Harumafuji Kōhei * Mary Ama, a New Zealand artist * Shola Ama, a British singer * Ām ...

Motorcycle Hall of Fame The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association, recognizing individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction Motorcycle components and systems for a motorcycle are en ...

and

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycle ...

. * Ron Norick (Class of 1959) – Former mayor of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

* Jerry C. Elliott High Eagle (Class of 1961) - Physicist and engineer. Recipient of

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...

* Ronald Fagin (Class of 1963) – Computer Scientist, Author of Fagin's theorem *

Steven T. Kuykendall Steven T. Kuykendall (January 27, 1947 – January 22, 2021) was an American politician and Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from from 1999 to 2001 in the 106th Congress. He defeated Democrat Janice Hahn in the 1998 elect ...

(Class of 1965) - Member, US House of Representatives,

California's 36th congressional district California's 36th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in California. Based in the eastern part of Riverside County, it covers most of the desert communities of Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Indio, Coachella, Rancho Mirage, ...

from 1991 to 2001. * Elizabeth (Herring) Warren (Class of 1966) – United States Senator from

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, Democratic Party presidential candidate. Special Advisor to

U.S. Treasury Secretary The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

Timothy Geithner Timothy Franz Geithner (; born August 18, 1961) is a former American central banker who served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. He was the President of the Federal Reserve Bank ...

while establishing the

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, payday lenders, mo ...

. Professor,

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

. *

Kirk Humphreys Kirk Humphreys (born September 13, 1950) is an American politician who served as Mayor of Oklahoma City from April 9, 1998, to November 3, 2004. He was considered a favorite candidate of the Republican party establishment for U.S. Senator in 2004, ...

(Class of 1968) – Former Mayor of

Skip Bayless Skip Bayless (born John Edward Bayless II) is an American sports columnist, commentator, and television personality. He is well-known for his work as a commentator on the ESPN2 show '' First Take'' with Stephen A. Smith, a show which he left i ...

(Class of 1970) – Sports Broadcaster * Rick Bayless (Class of 1971) -- Chef and restaurateur * J. Clifford Hudson (Class of 1973) –

Chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

and

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

of Sonic Corp. *

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

(Class of 1975) – Recording Artist * Sean O'Grady (Class of 1977) – World Boxing Association Lightweight * Walter Emery Fountain (Class of 1980) - Major General, United States Army * Kevin Thornton (Class of 1987) – Recording Artist (member of Color Me Badd) *

Bryan Abrams ''Color'' Me Badd is an American contemporary R&B group that was formed in 1985 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma by lead singer Bryan Abrams (born November 16, 1969), tenor Mark Calderon (born September 27, 1970), second tenor Sam Watters (born July 2 ...

(Class of 1988) – Recording Artist (member of Color Me Badd) * Mark Calderon (Class of 1988) – Recording Artist (member of Color Me Badd) *

Sam Watters Samuel Joshua Watters (born July 23, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and record executive. Watters was a member of the multi-platinum selling 1990s R&B group Color Me Badd and co-authored many of their hits including "I ...

(Class of 1988) – Recording Artist (member of Color Me Badd) * Jabee Williams (Class of 2001) - Recording Artist *

Darnell Jackson Darnell Edred Jackson (born November 7, 1985) is an American professional basketball player, who lastly played for BM Slam Ostrów Wielkopolski of the PLK. He played college basketball for the University of Kansas for four seasons, including th ...

(Class of 2003, transferred) – Former NBA Basketball Player

Order of the Round Table Hall of Fame

In 2018, the Friends of NWC High School Foundation instituted a Hall of Fame with annual inductions. * James R Daniel (class of 1958, inducted 2018) - Vice Chairman, BancFirst Corporation * Dayna Davis Savage (Class of 1957, inducted 2018) - Leader, The Gathering Place, a memory care ministry in Houston, Texas * Cliff Hudson (Class of 1973, inducted 2018) - Chairman, Sonic Corporation; Chairman, Oklahoma City School Board (2001-2008) * Ron Norick (Class of 1959, inducted 2018) - Mayor, Oklahoma City (1987-1998) *

(Class of 1975, inducted 2018) - Recording artist 2019 Inductees were: *

(Class of 1970) - Sports columnist and television personality * John D. (Denny) Carreker (Class of 1960) - Entrepreneur, Chairman and CEO of Carreker Corporation *

Jerry C. Elliott Jerry Chris Elliott High Eagle (born 1943) is a physicist and was one of the first Native Americans who worked at NASA. He is most known for his contributions as the lead retrofire officer during Apollo 13, where his actions saved the lives of ...

(Class of 1961) - Physicist and engineer. Recipient of

for his role in the recovery of the

Apollo 13 Apollo 13 (April 1117, 1970) was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon. The craft was launched from Kennedy Space Center on April 11, 1970, but the lunar landing was aborted aft ...

astronauts. * Lynne Hardin (Class of 1964) - Author of ''The Magic of Why'' and former Chair of the Oklahoma City Public School Board. * Mason Williams (Class of 1956) - Musician, composer, comedian, comedy writer. Winner of both Grammy and Emmy awards.

References

External links

Official website

District site

Facebook Page
(Created by Alumni) {{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1955 Public high schools in Oklahoma Schools in Oklahoma City Northwest Classen High School alumni 1955 establishments in Oklahoma