Wichita High School East
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Located near the center of Wichita, Kansas, Wichita High School East has a population of 2,257 students and is the largest high school in Kansas. Originally known as Wichita High School, East was the first of eight traditional public high schools to be built in USD 259, Wichita's Unified School District. In 1929, when Wichita High School North was completed, the school's name was changed to Wichita High School East. The school's 44 acre campus and the building's Collegiate Gothic styling make it an urban landmark.
East traces its roots back to 1884, but the current building wasn't completed until 1924. Originally built on a campus shared with Roosevelt Middle School, the high school's growing enrollment forced the conversion of the middle school into a second wing of the high school. The middle school and high school were joined by a third structure in the 1970s, a library and cafeteria that connects the second floor of the two buildings. The most recent renovations were completed in 2004, in a construction project that added a new gymnasium, additional science classrooms, and air conditioning to the building. The campus is also home to the Wichita Area Technical College.
Wichita High School East is regionally recognized for both academic and athletic success. The school offers both the Wichita Public Schools diploma and the International Baccalaureate Diploma, a magnet diploma that attracts students from all around the Wichita metro area. East consistently leads Wichita-area schools in academic awards. Its high school newspaper is the Messenger, a member of the High School National Ad Network. Athletically, East is home to a consistently competitive basketball program that has many state championships and the 1931 national championship to its credit. East athletics compete in the Greater Wichita Athletic League against the city's seven largest public high schools and two Catholic high schools. East is a 6A school, the largest size recognized by the Kansas High School Athletics Association. Since 1928, East High teams have been known as the Blue Aces, and the school is represented by its mascot, Max, a World War I flying ace with an oversized head and a pronounced cleft chin. The schools colors are sky blue and white.
East High's current principal is Ken Thiessen.
Famous graduates
- Class of 1957: Philip Anschutz, the sixty-first wealthiest man in the world
- Class of 1961: Bob Gates, former CIA director and current president of Texas A&M University
- Class of 1965: Jim Ryun, a US Representative from Kansas and a world record mile runner
- Class of 1970: Charles "Chuck" Jones, an American Astronaut, was a passenger on American Airlines flight 11, the first plane that hit the World Trade Center
- Class of 1971: Clay Lacy, multiple world record holding air pilot and motion picture aeriel coordinator
- Class of 1975: Michael Riordan, founder of Gilead Pharmaceuticals
- Joe Walsh, rock musician and member of The Eagles
External link
- [Official website]
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