- Clarkston High School (Michigan)
-
Clarkston High School 
Location 6093 Flemings Lake Rd
Clarkston, Michigan 48346
United StatesInformation Type Public Established 1999 (Current Site) Principal Gary Kaul Faculty 109 Enrollment ~3000 Rival Lake Orion High School, Rochester Adams, Cass City Colors
MascotBlue and Gold
WolvesWebsite Official CHS Site Clarkston High School is a high school located in Independence Township, Michigan. It is the only high school in both the township and the Clarkston Community Schools district. The school's colors are blue and gold. Its team mascot and nickname is the Wolves. The four most recent incarnations of Clarkston High School, including the current building on Flemings Lake and Clarkston roads, are still standing.
The school is 384,000 square feet (35,700 m2) in size and cost $56,569,952.00 upon total completion in 1999. Clarkston High School is situated on a 110-acre (0.45 km2) campus that encompasses a 10,000 seat football stadium, two baseball and softball fields, eight tennis courts and an eight lane outdoor track. The inside of the school features a 1000-seat auditorium complete with stage, orchestra pit, balcony and set design center, a gymnasium capable of seating 3500 and an eight lane competition pool with seating for 500 spectators in the natatorium.
A leader in integrating technology into curriculum and student life, the school houses nine computer labs. Each lab consists of at least twenty networked PCs. The building also features three networked computers in many instructional classrooms. One of the computers is designated for the teacher and two are utilized by students. The total number of computers at the school is over 700. Each classroom is also equipped with a large television/monitor that can be used to display the screen of the teacher's computer or in-school television broadcasts. Classrooms are also equipped with digital projectors that can be connected to an intructor's computer. A full-featured television broadcast studio and video editing suite is located in the center of the school building. Each morning, the studio is used to broadcast daily announcements (produced, directed and read by students) to each of the classrooms. The media center (library) in Clarkston High School is also equipped with a computer lab, networked computer workstations and multiple lookup computers to assist in finding library resources. Other technology points of interest include a large group instruction room that is equipped with digital projection equipment and high-tech video surveillance cameras that can zoom-in on the license plate of a vehicle that is over 100 yards away from the school building.
Clarkston High School has the largest enrollment (2,575) of any school in Oakland County, and is the fifth largest in the state of Michigan. If only grades 10-12 are counted, the enrollment is closer to 1,850.
Contents
History
Clarkston High School used to be in the village of Clarkston, Michigan itself starting midway through the 19th century. The third Clarkston School was built in 1910 on Main Street (M-15); it is now the Independence Township hall.
By the time the fourth Clarkston School was completed in 1930 in Independence Township, the area's population had started to decline. After World War II, Independence Township's population began to boom. In 1952, Clarkston Community Schools was formed and Clarkston and Andersonville Elementary Schools were completed, leaving the 6th-to-12th graders as sole occupants at the newly renamed Clarkston High School. Expansions were made in the mid-1950s. By the end of the decade the building could not be expanded anymore, and in 1960, the fifth Clarkston High School was built across the street (although its official address was 6595 Middle Lake Road). The 1930 building became Clarkston Junior High.
The 1960 building remained unchanged until major renovations were made in 1993 when freshmen were allowed to attend the school for the first time since 1969. Unfortunately the renovations were not enough to handle nearly 2,000 students, and in 1998 the current building was opened. The 1960 building is now the current Clarkston Junior High, and in recent years freshmen have moved back to that building. In 2005 the old Sashabaw Middle School was renovated and now holds only grades six and seven. The old Clarkston Middle School was also renovated and made into the new Clarkston Junior High School, which holds grades eight and nine. The High School now holds sophomores through seniors. Starting in the 2005 school year, Clarkston High School has been home to the OSMTech program (renamed in 2008 to CSMTech - Clarkston's Science, Mathematics, and Technology Academy). The largest class to ever graduate from Clarkston High School was in 2008, with 625 graduates.
More recently, Clarkston High School has sought and received certification as an International Baccalaureate World School, and offers the IB Diploma Programme.[1] CHS offers the Programme in English. Students graduating in the classes of 2011 and beyond will be eligible to complete the Diploma Programme.
Clarkston High School's commencement ceremony is held annually at DTE Energy Music Theater.
Notable alumni
- Tim Birtsas, former professional baseball player
- Dan Fife, Former MLB player and current Athletic Director and Head Basketball Coach for Clarkston High School[2]
- Dane Fife, Indiana University basketball player, in 2011 became Assistant Basketball Coach at Michigan State University, former head coach at IPFW.
- Steve Howe, Former MLB pitcher
- Tim McCormick, Former NBA player
- Geoff Johns, Comic book and television writer
- Courtney Perna, former host, Inside Poker, current contributing reporter for E!
- Eric Knake, General Manager - Sprint Center - Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City, MO
- Robert Scott, Artist, 2009 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award winner.
- Daniel Travis, Actor, "Open Water"
- Tracy L. Kretz, TE/DE for the Keystone Assault, a semi-professional full-contact women's football team.
Attended:
- Tony Lucca, singer/actor
- Courtney Johns, victim of flight TWA 800
References
- ^ "Clarkston High School". International Baccalaureate Organization. http://www.ibo.org/school/003326/. Retrieved 2009-06-07..
- ^ "Danny Fife Statistics - The Baseball Cube". http://thebaseballcube.com/players/F/Danny-Fife.shtml. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
External links
Football Member High Schools in the Oakland Activities Association Blue Division Avondale • Berkley • Birmingham Groves • Birmingham Seaholm • Bloomfield Hills Andover • Bloomfield Hills Lahser • Ferndale • Hazel Park • North FarmingtonRed Division White Division
Categories:- High schools in Michigan
- Schools in Oakland County, Michigan
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
