Grant High School (GHS, formally Ulysses S. Grant High School) is a

public high school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

in the Grant Park neighborhood of

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, United States. Grant serves inner and central Northeast Portland and southeastern North Portland. It is the largest high school in the Portland Public School District.

History

Ulysses S. Grant High School opened in September 1924, with 1,191 students. Many of the schools in the Portland Public School district that were built between 1908 and 1932 were designed by architects Floyd Naramore and George Jones. During the early 1920s, so many schools were being built simultaneously in Portland, the district had to hire another architectural firm to design Grant High School, which is in the

Classical Revival Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassic ...

style by architects Knighton and Howell. In November 1923, the bricklayers working on Grant went on strike after the district tried to cut costs by using a maintenance worker to lay bricks. After the Vanport flood in May 1948, Grant was home to the Vanport Extension Center (now

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

) through the summer of that year. Three motion pictures have been filmed at Grant High School: The made-for-TV movie ''Reunion'' (1980), '' Mr. Holland's Opus'' (1995), and '' Nearing Grace'' (2005). Funded by a $482 million bond measure approved in 2012, a two-year modernization and expansion project of Grant High School began in June 2017 and was completed in the summer of 2019. The entire interior of the building was gutted and has been completely rebuilt. The project includes a new two-story common area, a new gymnasium, seismic retrofitting, and additional classroom space.

Student profile

In the 2022–2023 school year, Grant's student population was 67.9% White, 7.2% Hispanic, 5.5% Black, 3.2% Asian, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 14.2% mixed race.

Extracurricular activities

Grant's Constitution Team has been the state champion thirteen times (2002, 2004–2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2022), and has won the national competition four times (2013, 2015, 2018, 2024). In 2011, Grant's student newspaper, ''The Grantonian'', was replaced by the 36-page full-color monthly '' Grant Magazine.'' In its first year, the magazine won Best In Show at the Oregon Fall Press day. It has also won the

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Scholastic Press Association's Gold Crown award three years in a row, from 2014 through 2016.

Athletics

GHS's mascot is the Grant General, in honor of its namesake General and 18th US President,

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

State championships

* Men's football: 1943, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1963 (tie with North Salem) * Men's gymnastics: 1982 * Men's baseball: 1958 * Men's basketball: 1969, 1986, 1988, 2008, 2018 *Men's golf: 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949 * Men's soccer team: 2008 * Men's tennis: 1949, 2005 * Men's swimming: 2010 * Men's cross country: 1957, 1958, 1963, 1964 * Women’s soccer: 2021, 2023 * Women's swimming: 1949 * Women's tennis: 1949 * Men's track and field: 1930, 1931, 1939, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1970, 1988 * Women's cross country: 1974, 2012 *Jazz band: 2022, 2024, 2025

Notable alumni

* Kenneth Acker, pro football player * Gert Boyle, president and CEO of

Columbia Sportswear The Columbia Sportswear Company is an American company that manufactures and distributes outerwear, sportswear, and footwear, as well as headgear, camping equipment, ski apparel, and outerwear accessories. It was founded in 1938 by Paul Lamf ...

Terrell Brandon Thomas Terrell Brandon (born May 20, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. He played for three teams during his 11-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). A two-time All-Star, Brandon was a key starter on t ...

, former

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player * Matt Braunger, comedian, ''

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'', '' IKEA Heights'' *

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, children's author,

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and

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recipient * Charles Crookham, former

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Ian Doescher Ian Doescher (born 1977) is an American fiction writer, best known as the author of the plays in the ''William Shakespeare's Star Wars'' series, parodic retellings of George Lucas's ''Star Wars'' films (1977–2005) in blank verse and 16th-cent ...

, author of the ''

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'' series * Sarah Donaldson, pediatric radiation oncologist * Linda Douglas, actress and model *

C. Gordon Fullerton Charles Gordon Fullerton (October 11, 1936 – August 21, 2013) was a United States Air Force colonel, a USAF and NASA astronaut, and a research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California.

, astronaut * Tom Grant, musician * Marcus Harris, NFL cornerback for the

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* Donald P. Hodel, former

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and

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, former president of

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* Mike James, professional basketball player * June Jones, NFL player, college and pro football head coach * Thomas Lauderdale, pianist of band

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* Lorry I. Lokey, founder of

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, philanthropist * Riley Mattson, former NFL

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Connie McCready Constance McCready (born Constance Averill, August 20, 1921 – December 22, 2000), was an American journalist and politician from Portland, Oregon, in the United States. She held several elected offices in Oregon during her career, includ ...

, former mayor of Portland *

Jinkx Monsoon Hera Lilith Hoffer (born September 18, 1987), best known by the stage name Jinkx Monsoon, is an American drag queen, actress, singer and comedienne, originally from the Pacific Northwest, and perhaps best-known for winning the RuPaul's Drag Race ...

, actor and drag queen * Mike Moser, basketball player * Darryl Motley,

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

Kansas City Royals outfielder * Janee Munroe, violist *

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, lawyer, former

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* Donald Pearlman, lawyer and oil industry lobbyist * Philip Quinton,

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

defender * Pieter Quinton, Olympic Bronze Medalist in rowing * Mark Radford, former NBA player * Harry Wayland Randall, former member of International Brigades that fought in Spanish Civil War * George Shaw, NFL quarterback * Al Siebert, author and educator * Jefferson Smith, founder of Bus Project, former member of Oregon House of Representatives *

Sally Struthers Sally Anne Struthers (born July 28, 1947) is an American actress and activist. She played Gloria Stivic, the daughter of Archie Bunker, Archie and Edith Bunker in ''All in the Family'', for which she won two Emmy Awards, and Babette on ''Gilmor ...

, film and

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-winning actress of ''

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'' *

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, NFL player,

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* Robina Suwol, children's health advocateVolvo for life Awards: Robina Suwol
/ref> * Caroline Walker, set world record in marathon while attending GHS * Dominic Waters (born 1986), basketball player in the

Israel Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

* Edward Curtis Wells, businessman * Dan Wieden, CEO of Wieden+Kennedy

References

External links

* {{authority control 1924 establishments in Oregon Educational institutions established in 1924 Grant Park, Portland, Oregon High schools in Portland, Oregon Portland Public Schools (Oregon) Public high schools in Oregon Buildings and structures in Northeast Portland, Oregon