Western International High School

Last updated
Western International High School
Western International High School (Detroit) 2.jpg
Address
Western International High School
1500 Scotten Street

Detroit
,
Michigan
48209

United States
Coordinates 42°19′8″N83°5′31″W / 42.31889°N 83.09194°W / 42.31889; -83.09194
Information
Type Public high school
Established1898
StatusActive/open
School district Detroit Public Schools
SuperintendentNikolai Vitti
CEEB code 231235
NCES School ID261200004857 [1]
PrincipalAngel Garcia
Teaching staff72 [1]
Grades9-12
Gender Co-ed
Enrollment1,398 [1]
Language English, Spanish and French
Area Urban
Color(s)Red and white
Athletics conference DPSL
Nickname Cowboys
Website Western International

Western International High School is a public high school, located across from Clark Park, within southwest Detroit's Mexicantown. Western is operated by the Detroit Public Schools system.

Contents

As of 2012, it was the final remaining public high school in southwestern Detroit. [2] Western serves Mexicantown, Boynton–Oakwood Heights, Delray, and Springwells Village. [3]

History

The school opened in 1898 as "Western High School." [4] The Webster School held high school classes on a temporary basis until Western was built. [5]

On February 26, 1935, [6] Western High School's campus was destroyed by a fire. [7] No classes occurred during the incident. [8] Western received a new campus as part of the Public Works Administration projects. [9] $216,381 (around $4498474.03 when adjusted for inflation) in federal aid was used to rebuild the school. [10]

Western International previously had a rivalry with Southwestern High School. [2] In 2012 Southwestern closed, and part of its boundary was reassigned to Western International. [11] Students from both schools protested the closure of Southwestern, [12] the perceived quality of education, and DPS policies. As a result, over 100 students from Western received suspensions, with several also receiving tickets from police officers. In response several students started a "freedom school" so they could receive education during their suspensions. [13]

In 2015 DPS designated Western as part of the "Clark Park K-12 Educational Comunidad" ("Comunidad" means community in Spanish) along with Earhart and Maybury elementary schools. [14]

Academics

Curriculum

As of 2000 the school offered training programs in technical skills, including work and school cooperative programs, with business education, computer-assisted drafting, desktop publishing, office management, and office technology available. In 1999 there were six teachers that were a part of this program, and the number doubled by 2000. In 2000 the school did not offer skilled manufacturing and trade courses. [15] These courses were offered at five different technical centers in Detroit, and interested students would arrive to their regular school early and board buses bound for a technical center. That year the technical schools had limited numbers of recruitment information available in Spanish, the primary language of many students at Western. [16]

Student assessments
2021–22 school
year [17]
Change vs.
prior year [17]
M-STEP 11th grade proficiency rates
(Science / Social Studies)
Advanced %1.0 / 1.3
Proficient %– / 6.8
PR. Proficient %7.2 / 46.1
Not Proficient %83.8 / 45.8
Average test scores
SAT Total782.8
(Decrease2.svg −70.4)

Admission

WIHS holds no admission test; enrollment is open to all Detroiters of high school age. Western is the most culturally diverse public high school in Detroit; the student body is (approximate figures) 72.2% Hispanic/Latino, 20.6% African American, 5.3% Caucasian, and 1.9% listed as "other".

Notable alumni

Author and athlete Ken Doherty was a 1923 graduate of Western High School, and went on to athletic fame as an All-American track and field performer at Detroit City College. During much of the 1920s, he was the nation's best decathlon performer; he won a bronze medal in the decathlon at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. Doherty's Track and Field Omnibook (1971) is the world's most widely read publication on the sport of track and field. [18]

Screenwriter John Briley (class of 1943) is a writer best known for screenplays of biopics. He won the 1982Academy Award For Best Original Screenplay for Gandhi. He has also written for television and theatre, and published several novels. [19]

Swimmer John Dudeck (class of 1952) was a nationally renowned athlete; as a WHS senior, he competed at the 1952 US Olympic Trials. [20] On the collegiate scene, he swam for Michigan State University. A former Big Ten Conference record holder and two-time Big Ten titlist in the 100-yard breaststroke (1953, 54), Dudeck was a nine-time All-American for the Spartans (1953–55). [21] [22] [23]

King Cole is a former MLB player for the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the New York Yankees.

George Lerchen is a former MLB player for the Detroit Tigers and the Cincinnati Reds.

George Saldana was named to the 1963 National Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association (NISCA) All-America team, in the 400-yard freestyle event. [24]

Todd Cruz (1955–2008) was a 1973 Western graduate who played six seasons of Major League Baseball. In 1982, he hit 16 home runs and drove in 57 runs for the Seattle Mariners. One year later, as a member of the Baltimore Orioles, he took part in the 1983 World Series. [25]

Ron Simpkins was a 1976 graduate of Western High School. He then enrolled at the University of Michigan to play football for coach Bo Schembechler. While attending Michigan, Simpkins earned NCAA All-America recognition; he also won the school's John Maulbetsch Award in 1977, and team MVP honors in 1979. He would eventually become the university's all-time leading tackler. Upon graduation, Simpkins entered the National Football League draft; he was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 7th round (167th overall). He played in Super Bowl XVI at the Pontiac Silverdome, losing to Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers. Simpkins would play in six NFL seasons before taking 1988 off. He returned for one more year in 1989, with the Green Bay Packers. In the spring of 1990, Simpkins came home to coach football. During a career that spanned eighteen seasons, he was at the helm for the Cowboys of Western High School; he retired in 2007.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ann Arbor, Michigan</span> City in Michigan, United States

Ann Arbor is a city in and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States. The 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the fifth-largest city in Michigan. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Washtenaw County. Ann Arbor is also included in the Greater Detroit Combined Statistical Area and the Great Lakes megalopolis, the most populated and largest megalopolis in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexicantown, Detroit</span> Neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan, USA

Mexicantown is a neighborhood located in Detroit, Michigan.

Warrendale is a neighborhood located in Detroit, Michigan, bordered by Greenfield Road, Joy Road, and the Detroit city limits. Warrendale neighbors Dearborn on two sides and Dearborn Heights on another side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delray, Detroit</span> Neighborhood of Detroit in Wayne, Michigan, United States

Delray is a neighborhood in southwest Detroit in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its area extends south to the River Rouge, east to the Detroit River, west to Fort Street, and north to Clark Street. The two census tracts that cover the neighborhood had a population of 2,783 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Public Schools Community District</span> Public school system of Detroit, Michigan

Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that serves Detroit, Michigan and high school students in Highland Park, Michigan. The district, which replaced the original Detroit Public Schools (DPS) in 2016, provides services to approximately 50,000 students, making it the largest school district in the state. The district has its headquarters in the Fisher Building of the New Center area of Detroit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media in Detroit</span> Overview of mass media in Detroit, Michigan, United States

As the world's traditional automotive center, Detroit, Michigan, is an important source for business news. The Detroit media are active in the community through such efforts as the Detroit Free Press high school journalism program and the Old Newsboys' Goodfellow Fund of Detroit. Wayne State University offers a widely respected journalism program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southwestern High School (Michigan)</span> Public secondary school in Detroit, Michigan, United States

Southwestern High School was a high school in Southwest Detroit, Michigan. It was part of the Detroit Public Schools district. The school's area, Southwest Detroit, has the majority of Detroit's Latino population. The school was located in a three-story building. It closed in 2012.

Detroit Collegiate Preparatory Academy at Northwestern is a public high school in Detroit, part of Detroit Public Schools, the re-named successor to Northwestern High School. The most recent enrollment figures for Northwestern indicate a student population of approximately 2,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Michigan basketball scandal</span> Incident involving University of Michigan basketball team

The University of Michigan basketball scandal, or the Ed Martin scandal, concerned National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) rules violations resulting from the relationship between the University of Michigan, its men's basketball program, and booster Eddie L. "Ed" Martin. The violations principally involved payments booster Martin made to several players to launder money from an illegal gambling operation. It is one of the largest incidents involving payments to athletes in American collegiate history. An initial investigation by the school was joined by the NCAA, Big Ten Conference, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). As a result of this investigation, Michigan's basketball program was punished with sanctions.

Kettering High School was a four-year high school within the Detroit Public Schools system. The school, located in the low-income Gratiot Town/Kettering neighborhood, was around 1,200 students under capacity at its closure in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springwells, Detroit</span> Neighborhoods of Detroit in Wayne, United States

Springwells is a neighborhood located in Detroit, Michigan, near the Ford Motor Company River Rouge Plant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Brazil</span> American jazz saxophonist and educator

Joseph Brazil was an American jazz saxophonist and educator. Local musicians and touring acts performed in his basement. He taught jazz at Garfield High School, co-founded the Black Music curriculum at the University of Washington, and founded the Black Academy of Music in Seattle. He appeared on the albums Om by John Coltrane and Mystic Voyage by Roy Ayers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit Day School for the Deaf</span> Public school in Detroit, Michigan

Detroit Day School for the Deaf (DDSD) was a public school for deaf students in Detroit, Michigan for grades Pre-Kindergarten through 8. It was a part of Detroit Public Schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglass Academy for Young Men</span> High school in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan

Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men is a Detroit, Michigan grade 9-12 school exclusively for boys. It is a part of Detroit Public Schools (DPS), and it is the only all-male public school in the State of Michigan. It is named after Frederick Douglass and it is located in Woodbridge, in the former Murray–Wright High School.

Southwest Detroit is a neighborhood within Detroit. Clark Park is a popular park within the Hubbard Farms area of southwest Detroit. It is also well known for Mexicantown, Detroit's vibrant Mexican community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Michigan Detroit Center</span> Community outreach center

The University of Michigan Detroit Center is a community outreach center, meeting/events facility, and academic home base for University of Michigan units, located in Midtown Detroit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Detroit International Academy for Young Women</span>

Detroit International Academy for Young Women (DIA) is a PK-12 school in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's sole public girls' school, located in the former Northern High School.

The Rise and Fall of an Urban School System: Detroit, 1907-1981 is a 1993 nonfiction book by Jeffrey Mirel, published by the University of Michigan Press. It discusses the rise and decline of Detroit Public Schools (DPS) in the 20th century, with the book's discussion focusing on the 1920s, the zenith of DPS, through the 1980s. Mirel argued that the Great Depression, various trends related to racial tensions stemming from the Civil Rights Movement, the development of new suburbia, and other factors were primarily responsible for the decline of DPS; the conflicts between blacks and whites and between labor and management eroded the consensus reached during the Progressive Era that schools should receive ample financing. They were forces that a school superintendent or a school board would not be able to overcome.

University Prep Schools is a K-12 charter school system headquartered in the New Center area of Detroit. It has two districts within its system: University Preparatory Academy (UPA) and University Prep Science & Math (UPSM).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hubert Massey</span> American artist

Hubert Massey is an artist of a variety of mediums, and well known for his large-scale installations in the Buon Fresco style. Massey has 15 works of public art throughout the state of Michigan, and has been commissioned by various local organizations including universities, museums, hotels, and the Michigan Department of Transportation. He now resides in Detroit, Michigan with his wife Marquita.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Western International High School". nces.ed.gov. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 Foley, Aaron. "Closing southwest Detroit schools would be devastating, protesters say" (Archive). MLive . Saturday February 25, 2012. Retrieved on November 1, 2012.
  3. ↑ "High School Boundaries - 2012/13 School Year." (Archive) Detroit Public Schools. Retrieved on November 1, 2012.
  4. ↑ Bak, Richard. Detroit: A Postcard History. Arcadia Publishing, 1998. ISBN   0738545775, 9780738545776. p. 95.
  5. ↑ Delicato, Armando. Detroit's Corktown (Images of America). Arcadia Publishing, 2007. ISBN   1439618984, 9781439618981. p. 60.
  6. ↑ "Hell's Heat and Helicon's Ice Fail to Move Old Discobolus". Detroit Free Press . Detroit. 1935-02-28. p. 5. - Clip at Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Mirel, Jeffrey. The Rise and Fall of an Urban School System: Detroit, 1907-81 (Ann Arbor paperbacks). University of Michigan Press, 1999. ISBN   0472086499, 9780472086498. p. 188.
  8. ↑ "Western High School Fire". The Detroit Free Press . 1937-02-27. p. 6. - Clip at Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Mirel, Jeffrey. The Rise and Fall of an Urban School System: Detroit, 1907-81 (Ann Arbor paperbacks). University of Michigan Press, 1999. ISBN   0472086499, 9780472086498. p. 131.
  10. ↑ Mirel, Jeffrey. The Rise and Fall of an Urban School System: Detroit, 1907-81 (Ann Arbor paperbacks). University of Michigan Press, 1999. ISBN   0472086499, 9780472086498. p. 148. "Between 1935 and 1941, federal aid for school construction in Detroit from the Works Project Administration and the Public Works Administration amounted to $1,303,323, of which $216,381 went to rebuild Western High School[...]"
  11. ↑ Satyanarayana, Megha. "Contents of Southwestern High School go up for sale online today." Detroit Free Press . October 18, 2012. Retrieved on November 1, 2012.
  12. ↑ Sands, David. "Detroit High School Walkouts At Southwestern High, Western High Look To Stop School's Closure" (Archive). Huffington Post . April 25, 2012. Updated April 26, 2012. Retrieved on July 3, 2015.
  13. ↑ Cwiek, Sarah. "Detroit students suspended over walkout start "Freedom School"" (Archive). Michigan Radio . April 27, 2012. Retrieved on July 3, 2015.
  14. ↑ Lewis, Shawn D. "DPS to expand academics, other school programs" (Archive). The Detroit News . May 13, 2015. Retrieved on July 4, 2015.
  15. ↑ Brooks, Ann. Alternative Uses for Wolverine Tube and Beard/Chatfield Brownfield Sites (Archive). University of Michigan Urban and Regional Planning. April 26, 2000. p. 40. Also posted at Google Books (in snippet view form).
  16. ↑ Brooks, Ann. Alternative Uses for Wolverine Tube and Beard/Chatfield Brownfield Sites (Archive). University of Michigan Urban and Regional Planning. April 26, 2000. p. 41. Also posted at Google Books (in snippet view form). Also in: Brooks, Ann, Steve Gutterman, Christina Kelly, Megan Masson, Kathryn Whiteman, and Moira Zellner. Planning for brownfield redevelopment in southwest Detroit . University of Michigan. p. 41.
  17. 1 2 "MI School Data Annual Education Report". Mi School Data. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  18. ↑ John Kenneth Doherty (born 1905), University of Pennsylvania University Archives
  19. ↑ John Briley - Google Books. 1982. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  20. ↑ "Final Swimming Tryouts for Men" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2005. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  21. ↑ "School Sport Photos" (PDF). grfx.cstv.com.
  22. ↑ Seibold, Jack (2003). Spartan Sports Encyclopedia: A History of the Michigan State Men's Athletic Program. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN   978-1-58261-219-5.
  23. ↑ "BIG TEN CONFERENCE Official Athletic Site – Big Ten Conference". bigten.org.
  24. ↑ "NISCA All American" (PDF). woodswimming.org.
  25. ↑ "Todd Cruz Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-02-05.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.