Topeka High School

Early history

The Topeka Board of Education established Topeka High School in 1871, and the first classes were held on the 3rd floor of Lincoln College (now Washburn University). Over the next 10 years, the school was moved to various locations, including the Washburn Building at 10th and Jackson, and a room situated above the Topeka YMCA and Daily Capital newspaper. In 1882, the first black student graduated from Topeka High. Attendance continued to outgrow the capacity of the school facilities, and in 1894 a new school was completed on the northwest corner of 8th and Harrison, at a cost of $85,000. Topeka High School's student population had reached 1,000 by 1903, and a decision was made to construct a Manual Training High School across the street on the southwest corner of 8th and Harrison, at a cost of $100,000. One third of the new building would be for manual training, and the remainder used for academic classes.

In 1915, an auditorium and cafeteria were added to the north school, and the old auditorium was converted to classes. Soon after, a portable frame building was constructed to serve as a study hall and library, and in 1923, an administration building known as 'The Annex' was added to the west side of the south building. In 1921, Topeka High's cafeteria cook Ida M. Moyer was declared "Champion Pie Baker of the World". It was calculated that over the previous 6 years, Moyer had baked 37,248 pies.

Current location era

Overcrowding persisted at the new facility, made worse in 1924 when Topeka's Fire Marshall closed the school's 4th floor, calling it "the biggest fire trap in the city". A committee planning the construction of a new high school recommended that one large school be built, and that it occupy an entire city block. They wished it to be "an addition to the City's public buildings, and not just another building". Bishop James Wise offered to sell the grounds of Bethany College and other church property for a price of $142,000, and in 1928, Topeka voters approved issuing bonds of $1.1 million (=$14 million in 2014 adjusted for inflation) to finance construction of the new Topeka High School. Thomas Williamson (an alumnus from 1907) and Ted Griest were selected as architects, and Linus Burr Smith as designer. Construction of the new school took 18 months, and the total cost was $1.8 million. The school opened in Sept. 1931, and there were 2000 students enrolled by the following year.

A spar from the USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides") was acquired with the assistance of Vice President Curtis, and mounted on a nautical base in the plaza to serve as a flagpole. It was dedicated in Oct. 1931. After years of wear, a replacement spar, also from the USS Constitution, was installed in 2004. Topeka High's 'Hoehner Auditorium' was selected as the site for the inauguration of Kansas Governor Payne Ratner, on Jan. 9, 1939. In 1957, Time and Newsweek listed Topeka High among the 38 best schools in the nation.

Two new high schools helped ease the crowded conditions at Topeka High: Highland Park High School was annexed into Topeka in 1958, and Topeka West High School was completed in 1961. Restructuring of the district curriculum meant that in 1980, students in the 9th grade would begin attending high school. In 1984, Topeka High installed a computer-assisted automated dialing device which called home each time a student was truant. Principal Ned Nusbaum commented, "It's been a very effective tool for getting kids into class". The US Dept of Education recognized Topeka High as a "School of Excellence" in 1989.

In 2001, Topeka High awarded an honorary diploma to the Honorable Eric S. Rosen, Justice, Kansas Supreme Court—a longtime supporter of the school. The school celebrated its 75th Anniversary at its current site on Sept. 17, 2006. In 2007, Topeka High School was ordered to stop providing free condoms to students, as it was contrary to school district policy. The annual Martin Luther King event, sponsored by the state of Kansas, took place in Hoehner Auditorium in 2012. Topeka High is located near the Statehouse, and the governor’s celebration at the new venue was well received.

Campus

The 1931 campus is a stunning, three-story Gothic building of almost 278,000 square feet designed by Thomas W. Williamson, a 1907 graduate of Topeka High School. Notable architecture includes an ornate carillon tower, which rises 165 feet over the main building entrance. In 1974, the tower was rededicated in honor of Thomas Williamson.

The library was modeled after the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace. Much of the wood shelving is hand-carved, and the ceiling is hand-painted. The original chairs, now 75 years old, remain in the library and have been restored by the Topeka High School Historical Society.

The 1931 building was fitted with a water supply and drain for a pool, though rising costs and concerns about segregation delayed the pool's construction until 1957. In 2005, the 20-yard swimming pool located underneath the gym was closed and converted into Laney Gym (after former swim coach Chet Laney). It is used for P.E. classes and wrestling. An additional gym was constructed on the soccer field located on the northwest side of the school where JV basketball games, Freshman basketball games, and volleyball games are played. Varsity basketball continues to be played in the "Dungeon."

The school building contains 4 fireplaces, and a greenhouse built in the late 1970s.

In 2000, the school installed air conditioning.

Topeka High School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in September 2005.

Academics

Topeka High has seven classes on a traditional bell schedule Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. On Wednesday and Thursday, the schedule changes to a modified block schedule. Even numbered classes are on Wednesday and odd numbered classes are on Thursday, with the addition of "Trojan Time" on Thursdays. Trojan Time allows students to sign out to specific locations for further help from teachers, or just stay in their current class and study. Six percent of Topeka High's enrollment comes as transfer students. Students outside the attendance zone come to the school for its strong fine arts program, including a music program (jazz band, drum line, wind ensembles, orchestra, and concert choirs,) its forensic and debate teams, as well as its foreign language program, which offers Spanish, German, Mandarin, and French. Also, THS also supports a Marine Corps JROTC drill team (1999–present). The school newspaper, The World, is a member of the High School National Ad Network. The school yearbook is "The Sunflower". Both publications are members of JEA and NSPA. Topeka High, under the former direction of Richard Green, has also built up its broadcast journalism program. The Newsdesk a bi-monthly news broadcast showcasing student news and feature packages. Under the direction of Green, The Newsdesk has won multiple statewide broadcasting awards. "The Newsdesk" is filmed on campus in "The Tom Browne Memorial News Room".

Debate and Forensics

Topeka High maintains a strong tradition of debate and forensics throughout its prolific history. The school has qualified nearly 180 competitors to the National Tournament of the National Speech and Debate Association and before 2013, had qualified students every year for 33 straight years. The school has 6 national champions, more than any other school in the Flint Hills. The debate squad has won 4 state championships, finished second 6 times, and third place twice. The forensics squad boasts 12 state championships, with a string of 7 straight championships from 1995-2002. Topeka High forensics has 40+ individual 6A State Speech champions. The Debate and Forensics squad is coached by Dustin Rimmey.

Students

Students arrive from USD 501 middle schools, including: Robinson, Jardine, Landon, Eisenhower and Chase. Six percent transfer into THS from outside the Topeka Public Schools district, such as other school districts or parochial schools. The senior class of 2011 had 370 students, and more than 80% enrolled in some kind of post secondary education. More than $1.2 million in scholarships were awarded to Topeka High seniors in 2005. Scholarships were awarded from such schools as Stanford, Vassar College, Vanderbilt, Georgetown and Brandeis.

National merit scholars (1999–2005)

The National Merit Scholarship Program is a college scholarship competition that includes taking the PSAT/NMSQT. The school has had 19 Semi-finalists, 35 Commended Scholars, 7 National Achievement Scholars, 3 Corporate Sponsor Merit Scholars, and 3 Hispanic Scholars.

Foreign exchange programs

Ten to fifteen students per year attend THS from countries such as Belgium, Turkmenistan, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Germany, Thailand, Brazil, Switzerland. Students are sponsored by the following exchange programs: AFS, AIFS, ASSE, CHI, AYUSA, ERDT, WISE, ISE, and Share.

Traditions

Running of the halls: During first period of days that THS has a home football game, the students gather in the halls of Troy, cheerleaders and the drill team, flag team, and marching band march through the halls to promote school spirit. The Topeka High Marching Trojans have been a part of the school for years. They travel the country regularly and have been on a national stage on multiple occasions, including the Disney Music Days Parade every other year in Orlando, Florida, as well as the Cotton Bowl Classic Parade in Dallas, Texas in 1988.

Extracurricular activities

The school offers many extracurricular activities, including performing arts, school publications, and clubs.

Athletics

The school teams are known as the "Trojans", and are classified as a 6A school, the largest classification in Kansas according to the Kansas State High School Activities Association. Throughout its history, Topeka has won 28 state championships in various sports. Many graduates have gone on to participate in Division I, Division II, and Division III athletics.

Boys' Basketball

An important part of the school's men's basketball history was the 1949 separation of the basketball teams between black and white players. White basketball players were on the Trojan team, and black athletes were on the Rambler basketball team. There were two different cheer-leading teams. While classes were integrated, blacks didn't have equal representation on the student council and separate school parties were held for black couples and white couples. The first black Topeka High basketball team, the Cardinals, started in 1929, and the Ramblers started in 1935. In 2009 the school looked back at the historic separation of the teams. Former UNC coach Dean Smith came back with a number of others that were associated with the Ramblers to discuss the team's history. There is no separation of the teams now, and is currently one of the most diverse basketball teams in Topeka. In the 2009–10 basketball season they were shown to be a lot stronger than past seasons after beating cross-town rival, Highland Park High School, the defending state champions for the past three years. The 2009–10 team is coached by Pat Denney.

Notable alumni

Notable faculty