Hutchinson High School (Minnesota)

Updated on Oct 28, 2023

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Type Public High School Superintendent Daron Vander Heiden Grades 9–12 Phone +1 320-587-2854		Established 1877 Principal Patrick Walsh Enrollment 920 (9-12) Founded 1877
Address 1365 S Grade Rd SW, Hutchinson, MN 55350, USA

Hutchinson Senior High School was founded in the fall of 1877 in the city of Hutchinson, Minnesota. The school boasts over 15,000 graduates since its inception. The first graduating class included Agnes and H. H. Bonniwell, and W. E. and Martha Harrington.

Today, HHS graduates anywhere from 200-240 graduates per year. This rate has held fairly steady for the past 50 years. The first class over 100 was in 1942 (110) and the first class of 200 students occurred 23 years later in 1965. The last graduating class under 200 was in 1992. Over that time, Hutchinson HS has had a remarkably stable population of between 800-1100 students. Currently, the enrollment of Hutchinson HS is above 900 and expects to be there through the near future. A new remodeled high school will debut during the 2017-2018 school year.

A current view of the construction progress camera on-site.

A virtual reality YouTube video fly-through of the new building.

History

The first HHS graduates were in 1878. High school education generally was exclusive to private tutoring prior to this.

In 1881, the Hutchinson school district became one of the first to receive state money to provide high school study.

In 1890, the Hutchinson school district had 529 pupils, while only graduating 4 students. High school education did not gain popularity until the turn of the century.

In 1913, a Normal School was started. The normal school took place in the summer after graduation and allowed many people to become certified teachers in a six-week program. 50% of the graduating class went to the Normal school in 1915-17. The Normal School continued to operate until 1947. During this period, the teacher training school graduated 10-15 students yearly.

The first documented valedictorian was E. R. Dennis in the Class of 1912. The practice of naming a valedictorian and salutatorian was ended by Principal Scot Douglas in 2000.

Demographics

http://hutchinsonmn.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm Hutchinson Demographics 2000

http://www.city-data.com/city/Hutchinson-Minnesota.html Hutchinson City Data Current

Academics

Hutchinson HS is a comprehensive high school that boasts excellence in a number of areas. Our identity is formed by a number of different academic programs listed below. We offer 12 different Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Our ratio of elective courses to required courses is as high as any public high school in the Midwest. We have award-winning music programs. Our REACH Intervention program is widely recognized in throughout Minnesota. Our FFA program has been recognized as a State and National Chapter of the Year recently. We have had the State Champion Real-World Design Team almost yearly.

TigerPath Academies TigerPath Academies are the pillar of the academic program at Hutchinson HS. There are four academies:

STREAM -- Representing our Science Technology, Robotics, Renewable Energy, Art, Automotive, Agriculture, Architecture, Engineering/Design, Construction, Welding, Mechatronics and Manufacturing Areas

Sci HI -- Representing the high sciences and global healthcare occupations.

Business -- Representing Business, Finance, Retail, Corporate and Entrepreneurship

Human -- Representing education, law enforcement, legal professions, public services, volunteerism

REACH Program

Tiger Band Program

Tiger Choir Program

Advanced Placement

Wall of Fame Members

Hutchinson High School has a rich tradition of student achievement in Academics, Arts and Athletics. The HHS Wall of Fame recognizes those people and their achievements through the Wall of Fame program. Every two years, another group of people are nominated and voted on to represent the Tigers' finest!

Athletic history

One of the biggest prides of Hutchinson HS is their football tradition, sporting 5 state titles in 1983, 1984, 1999, 2012 and 2013.

Notable alumni

Harlow "Bonnie" Bonniwell, Minnesota Legislator (1915-1935). Part of the first graduating class in 1878.

Carlos Avery (1868-1930), first Commissioner of the Minnesota Game and Fish Commission. Namesake of the Carlos Avery State Wildlife Management Area. Class of 1887.

Anthony Zeleny Class of 1888, Instructor/Professor Physics, University of Minnesota 1897-1938

John Zeleny, Class of 1888, BS Cambridge, University of MN Physicist 1906-1951, invented Zeleny Electroscope, President, American Physical Society, 1940

Harold Popp, Minnesota Legislator (1958-1969). Pharmacist. Married popular teacher Winnifred Ruth in 1941. Both were killed in a car accident in 1969. Class of 1921

Les Kouba, 1957–58 and 1967-68 Federal Duck Stamp winner and celebrated wildlife artist. Les was in the Class of 1935, but left school during his jr year to attend art school in Minneapolis. Les Kouba Art

Colleen Gray, (née Delores Jensen) big screen actress from the 1940s and 1950s. Class of 1939. Graduated #3 in her class of 82.

John Bernhagen, Minnesota Legislator, (1969-1992). Class of 1952. Graduated #12 in his class of 82.

Greg Murtha, Football player at the University of Minnesota, played in the NFL in 1982 NFL Page

Nate Swift, Record-setting receiver at Nebraska from 2005-2008, NFL Practice Squad player, Denver and Jacksonville (2009)

Lydon Murtha, Offensive Tackle at Nebraska from 2005-2008, NFL Player with the Miami Dolphins

Mitch Erickson, Offensive Guard at South Dakota State from 2004-2007, Pro football player from 2008-2012 in the NFL (Practice Squad) and CFL

Other Hutchinson resident legislators.

Feeder schools

Hutchinson Middle School

Park Elementary

West Elementary

References

Hutchinson High School (Minnesota) Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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