School type Public high school Grades 9-12 Campus type Rural Phone +1 906-482-0450 Colors Black, Orange | Principal Patrick Aldrich Enrollment 438 (2013) Mascot Gremlin Number of students 438 (2013) | |
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School district Houghton-Portage Township School District Address 1603 Gundlach Rd, Houghton, MI 49931, USA District Houghton-Portage Township Schools | ||
Houghton High School is a high school located in Houghton, Michigan, in the Upper Peninsula. It shares the same building as Houghton Middle School. 2012 enrollment was 407 students in Grades 9 through 12, with a 17/1 student to teacher ratio. In 2002, it was the 12th best public high school in the state of Michigan. As of 2010-2011, it was ranked 4th best in Michigan. A variety of courses are offered, including three foreign languages, a dual enrollment program with Michigan Technological University, and five AP classes.
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The school mascot is the Gremlin, and the school colors are orange and black. There is a small controversy on what the mascot should be represented by as the word represents multiple symbols and can be seen in different forms on different parts of the school.
Houghton high school
History
Three high schools predate the current building, all located on the same site in downtown Houghton. The Houghton School, also called the Rock School for its external appearance, was built before 1881. The Portage Lake High School was built to replace the undersized Rock School, but was gutted by fire in 1921. A replacement Portage Lake High School was completed in 1924.
The current building was constructed in 1989 up the hill from the previous site. The Portage Lake High School was demolished in 1999. An addition was approved in 2008 and completed by 2010 that included a second gym, band room, and various energy efficiency upgrades.
Academics
The school has been slowly implementing a new system of academic standards. It has included changes in required classes for the classes of 2010 and on, which were changed a second time for the incoming class of 2013 and following years. In 2010 extra credits were added in math and science, giving the students two more years, 4 semesters, of math and one more year, two semesters, of science classes. This took away 3 years, 6 semesters, of elective classes to make up for the change.
For the class of 2013, the school has removed the requirement for having a year of computer education and has instead implemented another year in social science classes, requiring two years of world history.
Sports
As of 2012, Houghton's sports are Class C in the Michigan High School Athletic Association. Basketball, volleyball, swimming, diving, Alpine skiing, cross country, track and field, softball, ice hockey, golf, and football are the competitive sports programs.
The Varsity Girls' Basketball team won the 2005 state championship. Boys' basketball won the State Championship in 1955.
The girl's ski team has seen success in recent years, winning the 2010 State Championship.
The Varsity girls' swimming and diving team were the Upper Peninsula State Champions in 1985, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2001. The Varsity boys' swimming and diving team was Upper Peninsula State Champions in 2011 and 2012.
The Varsity hockey team were the State Champions in 1982.
The Boys Varsity Cross-Country team won the Division 1 U.P finals in 2007 and 2011.
Extracurricular activities
Houghton High offers a variety of extracurricular activities including:
School events
There are two major sporting events at Houghton High School: Copper Bowl, which celebrates the school's football and cross country teams and takes place in the fall, and Wing-Ding, celebrating the basketball, skiing, swimming & diving, and ice hockey teams, taking place in the winter. Both include a week of dress-up days and other activities, and an assembly that takes place on the last day of the week, meant to pep up the school's student body for the night's game(s). The weeks culminate with a sporting event between the Houghton Gremlins and their rivals, the Hancock Bulldogs.