South Eugene High School is a public high school located in Eugene, Oregon, United States.

History

The school was founded as Eugene High School around 1900, and was located at Willamette Street and West 11th Avenue in a brick building that later served as Eugene's city hall. The Eugene school district in 1915 built a new high school on a one-block site on West 17th Avenue between Lincoln and Charnelton Streets. By 1943, the

Eugene School District Eugene School District (4J) is a public school district in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is one of two school districts that serve the city of Eugene. Demographics Eugene School District 4J spans in the southern Willamette Valley, including th ...

had outgrown the cramped old high school, and voters approved a

bond measure A municipal bond, commonly known as a muni, is a bond issued by state or local governments, or entities they create such as authorities and special districts. In the United States, interest income received by holders of municipal bonds is often, ...

to build a new facility.

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and other factors delayed construction for a decade, but the current building at 400 E. 19th Avenue was completed and occupied in September 1953. The old high school then served as Woodrow Wilson Junior High School until 1967 (the previous Wilson building was converted to Lincoln Elementary School in 1953). In the fall of 1957, Eugene High was renamed South Eugene High School, when

North Eugene High School North Eugene High School is a public high school in the River Road/Santa Clara neighborhoods of Eugene, Oregon, United States. History North Eugene High School was open to students on October 21, 1957. The opening was delayed nearly two months, ...

opened in the River Road area north of the city. In April 2018, after more than 90 years as the Axemen, the name of the school mascot was officially changed to The Axe.

Academics

In 1983, South Eugene High School was honored in the Blue Ribbon Schools Program, the highest honor a school can receive in the United States.Archived: Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Schools Recognized 1982-1983 Through 1999-2002 (PDF)
/ref> In 2008, 89% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma. Of 410 students, 363 graduated, 40 dropped out, and seven were still in high school the following year. The school has regularly received a silver ranking in '' U.S. News & World Report''s "America's Best High Schools" survey. In 2010, a student at the school was honored as a

Presidential Scholar The United States Presidential Scholars Program is a program of the United States Department of Education. It is described as "one of the Nation's highest honors for students" in the United States of America and the globe. The program was estab ...

, one of three from Oregon. A student at the school won the

Intel Science Talent Search The Regeneron Science Talent Search, known for its first 57 years as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, and then as the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) from 1998 through 2016, is a research-based science competition in the United Sta ...

in 2009 after another South Eugene student placed third in 2007; other students have been named finalists or semifinalists in recent years. South Eugene High School hosts a branch of the Eugene International High School, which offers

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...

courses as well as the

International Baccalaureate Diploma The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year Curriculum, educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification fo ...

. The main campus of South Eugene High School offers numerous Advanced Placement courses as well as honors courses.

Activities

The school has many athletic teams (men's and women's ultimate frisbee, volleyball, football, lacrosse, cheerleading, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's basketball, wrestling, men's and women's golf, men's and women's tennis, men’s and women’s swimming, softball, baseball, cross country and track and field) and other student activities, such as band, choir, theater, orchestra and visual arts, as well as various student clubs. South Eugene High School also offers a wide variety of clubs and programs. These include Speech and Debate, Alpine and Nordic Ski teams, National Honor Society, Rowing Club, Red Cross Club, Rotary Interact, Black Student Union, Feminist Union, Figure of Speech, Jewish Student Union, Habitat for Humanity, Key Club, Latino Student Union, Model United Nations, Mock Trial, Gender & Sexuality Alliance, Robotics Club, and the Yiddish Club.

State championships

*Boys soccer: 1998, 2002 *Girls basketball: 1987, 1999 *Baseball: 1961, 1962 *Boys track and field: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983 *Girls track and field: 1975, 2019

Notable alumni

* Sam Adams (Class of 1982), former mayor of Portland, Oregon *

Cecil Andrus Cecil Dale Andrus (August 25, 1931 – August 24, 2017) was an American politician who served 26th and 28th governor of Idaho, for total of fourteen years. A Democrat, he also served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1977 to 1981 during the ...

(Class of 1948), Governor of Idaho (1971–1977, 1987–1995) and U.S. Secretary of the Interior (1977–1981) *

Garner Ted Armstrong Garner Ted Armstrong (February 9, 1930 – September 15, 2003) was an American evangelist and the son of Herbert W. Armstrong, founder of the Worldwide Church of God, at the time a Sabbatarian organization that taught observance of seventh-day Sa ...

(Class of 1947), televangelist for the Worldwide Church of God *

Phil Barnhart Phil Barnhart (born 1946) is an American politician and psychologist from the state of Oregon. He was a Democratic member of the Oregon House of Representatives, representing District 11 from 2003 to 2019 and District 40 from 2001 to 2003. Ea ...

(Class of 1964), Oregon state representative * John Beckett (Class of 1912), member of the College Football Hall of Fame *

Tracy Bonham Tracy Bonham (born March 16, 1967) is an American alternative rock musician, best known for her 1996 single "Mother Mother". Raised in Eugene, Oregon, Bonham is a classically trained violinist and pianist, and is also a self-taught guitarist. S ...

(Class of 1984), musician * Richard Brautigan (Class of 1953), counterculture author and poet * Chris Carter (Class of 1991), record producer * Sean Flannery (Class of 1992), saxophonist for the Cherry Poppin' Daddies * E. Max Frye (Class of 1973), screenwriter and director *

Neil Goldschmidt Neil Edward Goldschmidt (born June 16, 1940) is an American businessman and Democratic politician from the state of Oregon who held local, state and federal offices over three decades. After serving as the United States Secretary of Transportat ...

(Class of 1958), mayor of Portland (1973–1979), Governor of Oregon (1987–1991), and United States Secretary of Transportation (1979–1981) *

Tim Hardin James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk and blues musician and composer. As well as releasing his own material, several of his songs, including " If I Were a Carpenter" and "Reason to Believe", beca ...

(Class of 1960), anti-war folk singer *

Rick Hawn Rick Hawn (born September 15, 1976) is a former Olympic judoka and professional mixed martial artist. A professional MMA fighter from 2009 - 2015, Hawn most notably competed for Bellator MMA, where he won the Bellator Season 6 Lightweight Tourn ...

(Class of 1994), mixed martial arts fighter * The Hunches (Class of 1999), rock band *

Jonh Ingham Jonh Ingham (born 1951) is an English entrepreneur who has worked in music journalism, pop band and nightclub management, advertising, internet application development and management consultancy. In the mid-1970s he worked for the British pop ...

(Class of 1968), pop music journalist *

Nate Jaqua Jonathan "Nate" Jaqua (born October 28, 1981 in Eugene, Oregon) is an American former soccer player. Career High school Jaqua is a graduate of South Eugene High School, where he led his team to two Midwestern League titles and one co-championsh ...

(Class of 2000), MLS soccer player * Gerald R. Johnson (Class of 1938),

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

pilot and the fourth ranking USAAF

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

in the Pacific during

* Ben Kaplan (Class of 1995), author *

Mat Kearney Mathew William Kearney (; born December 1, 1978) is an American musician born in Eugene, Oregon, and based in Nashville, Tennessee. So far, he has a total of five top 20 hits on the Adult Top 40 Chart. '' Just Kids'' was released on February 2 ...

(Class of 1997), singer and songwriter *

John Kitzhaber John Albert Kitzhaber (born March 5, 1947) is an American former politician who served as the 35th governor of Oregon from 1995 to 2003, and as the 37th governor of Oregon from 2011 until his resignation in 2015. A member of the Democratic Part ...

(Class of 1965), Governor of Oregon (1995–2003, 2011–2015) * Mike Lafferty (Class of 1966), World Cup alpine ski racer, 1972 Olympian * Dustin Lanker (Class of 1993), keyboardist for the Cherry Poppin' Daddies and the Mad Caddies * Boseko Lokombo, professional football player * Bill McChesney (Class of 1977), 1980 Olympian in track and field *

Miguel McKelvey Miguel McKelvey (born 1974) is an American businessman, and the co-founder and former chief culture officer of WeWork. Early life McKelvey grew up in a "five-mother collective" in Eugene, Oregon. His family started and ran a weekly newspaper call ...

(Class of 1992), co-founder of

WeWork WeWork Inc. is a provider of coworking spaces, including physical and virtual shared spaces, headquartered in New York City. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated of space, including in the United States and Canada, in 756 locatio ...

* Jason Moss (Class of 1986), guitarist for the Cherry Poppin' Daddies * Charlotte Plummer Owen, bandleader and clarinetist * Julie Payne (Class of 1964), actress *

Edwin J. Peterson Edwin J. Peterson (March 30, 1930 – December 2, 2023) was an American jurist in the state of Oregon. He was the 39th Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court, serving from 1983 to 1991, and was a Distinguished Jurist in Residence at Willamett ...

(Class of 1947), Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice *

Paul Pierson Paul Pierson (born 1959) is an American professor of political science specializing in comparative politics and holder of the John Gross Endowed Chair of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley. From 2007-2010 he served at UC ...

(Class of 1977), political scientist, author * Rock n Roll Soldiers (Class of 2001), rock band *

Brian Rowe Brian Michael Rowe (born November 16, 1988) is a former American soccer goalkeeper. Youth soccer Rowe went to South Eugene High School, where he was voted best defensive player in 2005 and MVP in 2006. He also was first team all-district in 20 ...

(Class of 2006), MLS goalkeeper * Heidi Schellman (Class of 1975), physicist, head of Department of Physics at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering c ...

* Dan Siegel (Class of 1972), pianist, composer and record producer * Paul Simon(Class of 1945 ), United States senator *

Blake Stepp Blake Roy Stepp (born February 4, 1982) is an American retired professional basketball player. After a standout prep career at South Eugene High School and college career at Gonzaga University, he was drafted in the second round of the 2004 NBA ...

(Class of 2000), professional basketball player *

Corin Tucker Corin Lisa Tucker (born November 9, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist best known for her work with rock band Sleater-Kinney. Tucker is also a member of the alternative rock supergroup Filthy Friends, and previously recorded ...

(Class of 1990), lead singer of Sleater-Kinney *

Theresa Wayman Theresa Becker Wayman (born June 23, 1980), also known by the stage name TT, is an American musician, singer-songwriter and occasional actress, best known as guitarist and vocalist of the indie rock band Warpaint. Early and personal life The ...

(Class of 1998), Calvin Klein model, movie actress, keyboardist and singer for Warpaint * Abraham Wickelgren (Class of 1987), law and economics professor, University of Texas at Austin *

Michelle Zauner Michelle Chongmi Zauner (born March 29, 1989) is a Korean-American musician and author, best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative pop band Japanese Breakfast. Her 2021 memoir, '' Crying in H Mart'', spent 60 weeks on ''The New York Times ...

(Class of 2007), musician and author

References

External links

1955 History of Eugene and University High Schools
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1953 High schools in Lane County, Oregon Education in Eugene, Oregon Public high schools in Oregon 1953 establishments in Oregon