Homestead Senior High School, in

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...

, United States, is a public four-year high school. Part of Southwest Allen County Schools, the school receives accreditation from the Indiana Department of Education and the

North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It ...

Activities

Media program

Homestead Media is the school's student-run, not-for-profit and award-winning Digital Media Program. The school has Television, Radio and Sports Broadcasting programs that help make up the Homestead Media department. The TV/video department has a YouTube channel dedicated to its award-winning weekly school news program, HHS In Depth, which has released weekly episodes during the school year on its YouTube channel since 2013. In 2017, Intercollegiate Broadcasting System named ''HHS In Depth'' the nation's best school newscast. The 'live' video department broadcasts Homestead sports and performing arts events live on Homestead Live via the same YouTube channel. Homestead Live covers all home football and basketball (boys and girls) games, along with other sports and performing arts associated with the school. Homestead won “High School TV Station of the Year” at Indiana Association of School Broadcasters (IASB) in 2020, 2021 and 2022. WCYT is the school's student-run, not-for-profit radio station. It has been broadcasting in the city of Fort Wayne since 1995. It features

indie-rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent record labels, by th ...

music on a 24/7, 365 day basis, along with occasional talk shows. WCYT has won "High School Radio Station of the Year" in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023 at IASB.

Publications

''The Spartana'', Homestead's student newspaper, was awarded the NSPA Pacemaker award for its 2002-2003, 2004-2005 and 2008-2009 volumes.

Sports

Homestead has a variety of sports teams and clubs. Homestead's varsity teams compete in the largest class in the state of Indiana. The school belongs to the

Summit Athletic Conference The Summit Athletic Conference, or SAC, is a high school athletic conference consisting of ten high schools located in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Three of the schools are private; one being a Lutheran academy, and the other two being Catholic preparato ...

for Football and Boys and Girls Basketball but has no conference affiliate for all other sports teams. Their previous conference the Northeast Hoosier Conference disbanded in 2015. Homestead's biggest rival and fellow member of the SAC is the Chargers of

Carroll High School Carroll High School can refer to: In the United States *Carroll High School (Alabama), Ozark, Alabama *Carroll High School (Flora, Indiana), Flora, Indiana *Carroll High School (Fort Wayne, Indiana), Fort Wayne, Indiana *Carroll High School (Iowa) ...

. There are currently 23 Varsity-level sports team (11 boys' sports, 10 girls' sports and two Unified sports teams) at the high school. These sports are sanctioned by the

Indiana High School Athletic Association The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) is the arbiter of interscholastic competition among public and private high schools in the U.S. state of Indiana. Member schools are classified into four classes based on enrollment, ranging ...

and all teams are eligible to participate in the state of Indiana's championship tournaments.

State Championships

Taken from IHSAA State Championship History

Controversy

On February 8 of 2023, Homestead High School became embroiled in a controversy that sparked outrage from members of the community. A student from the school had posted a photo on social media of themselves wearing

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

, which sparked widespread criticism. Prior to this, there were reports of minority students being subjected to slurs and taunts, further igniting the controversy.

Reaction and aftermath

In response to the incident, students and community members organized protests calling for greater diversity and inclusion within the school. Additionally, there were calls for the administration to take steps to address and combat racism within the institution. Following the incident, a student was arrested for a lunchroom fight that occurred due to racial tensions associated with the incident. The school district issued a statement condemning the behavior of the student who posted the offensive photo. In August 2023, the school announced a partnership with the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism (FAIR) to address racial tensions within the school. However, some parents have protested the partnership, citing concerns about the organization's positions on

critical race theory Critical race theory (CRT) is an academic field focused on the relationships between Social constructionism, social conceptions of Race and ethnicity in the United States census, race and ethnicity, Law in the United States, social and political ...

and accusations of

transphobia Transphobia consists of negative attitudes, feelings, or actions towards transgender or transsexual people, or transness in general. Transphobia can include fear, aversion, hatred, violence or anger towards people who do not conform to socia ...

. FAIR has also faced criticism for opposing a debt relief program for black farmers.

Notable alumni

Rob Bowen Robert McClure Bowen (born February 24, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 2003 to 2008 for the Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs and the Oakland Athletics ...

, catcher, former

Major League Baseball 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 ...

player *

Susan Brooks Susan Lynn Brooks (née Wiant) (born August 25, 1960) is an American prosecutor and politician. She is a Republican and the former U.S. Representative for . She was elected in 2012. The district includes the northern fifth of Indianapolis, as w ...

, member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from Indiana's 5th district *

Ben Skowronek Bennett William Skowronek ( ; born June 27, 1997) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Northwestern Wildcats and Notre Dame Fight ...

, current NFL wide receiver, Super Bowl 56 Champion * Caleb Swanigan, former NBA basketball player

References

External links

* {{authority control Public high schools in Indiana Schools in Fort Wayne, Indiana Educational institutions established in 1970 1970 establishments in Indiana