Type Public high school School district Western School Corp Faculty 56 Principal Rick Davis Number of students 833 (2013–2014) | Established 1949 Superintendent Randy McCracken Enrollment 833 (2013-2014) School code 21934 Founded 1949 | |
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District Western School Corporation Headquarters Russiaville, Indiana, United States Motto Educating, Engaging, and Encouraging Students to Excel | ||
Western High School is a high school located in Russiaville, Indiana. The school is a part of Western School Corporation.
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About
Western High School is one of 5 public high schools in Howard County: Kokomo High School, Northwestern High School, Eastern (Greentown) High School, and Taylor High School.
Western was founded in 1949 by combining three smaller school systems into one corporation, Western School Corporation. The New London Quakers, West Middleton Broncos, and Russiaville Cossacks came together and formed the Western Panthers.
Academics
The Western student average was over the statewide average in Algebra and English for the End of Course Assessment (ECA) tests, including being 15 percent over the state average in English.
Band program
The Western High School Marching Panthers have been ISSMA Class C State Champions in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1996, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016 and Class B State Champions in 1988 for a total of 16 State Championships. They now have the most state championships in the state. The Western Marching Band has also been Bands of America Grand National Class A Champions in 1984, 1985, 1990, and 2012.
Athletics
Western High School is one of the 11 schools associated with the Hoosier Athletic Conference.
Currently, the teams are as follows: Boys- Football, Soccer, Cross Country, Basketball, Wrestling, Swimming, Track and Field, Golf, and Baseball. Girls- Volleyball, Cross Country, Basketball, Swimming, Track and Field, Softball, Golf, and Soccer. In addition, there was a club bowling team added in 2010, however its events do not count towards conference standings since not all of the other schools have a team.
Team state championships
The following teams have taken IHSAA state championships:
Ryan White incident
Western School Corporation gained notoriety for expelling Ryan White in 1984 because of his diagnosis of HIV, a disease that, at the time, was just coming into the national spotlight.