- Valley High School is a three-year public high school in West Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The school hosts grades 10-12. It is run by the West Des Moines Community School District. Freshmen attend a separate school, Valley Southwoods.
- As of the 2007-08 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,900 students and 122 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student-teacher ratio of 15.4.
- The 4 A's
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At Valley High School, students are encouraged to be involved in a variety of ways. The administration has defined the four following areas: Academics, Athletics, Arts and Activities.
- Academics
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Valley offers almost 190 academic courses, including 14 Advanced Placement Program (AP) courses.Valley also has recently started an Honors Program, which is meant to be comparable to the IB (International Baccalaureate) Program. This program allows for highly motivated and advanced students to take college-level courses sooner than normal.Valley also is working on a "designated scholars" program, which will allow students to specialize in one specific area of academics, such as math.
- Athletics
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Valley High is well known throughout Iowa for its strong athletics. The school has been honored as the top school for 4A athletics in Iowa by the Des Moines Register in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. Valley is the largest high school in the state of Iowa. In the 1990s the West Des Moines School District considered splitting Valley into two high schools, but the proposal failed because of a future decrease in enrollment. The Valley High School football team has been a state juggernaut in it's history. They've been a power ever since the 80's when Coach Jerry Crawford took over coaching. They are a perennial power in the state of Iowa. They have amassed a record of 306-122 in it's tenure. The Tigers won the Iowa State 4A Championships in 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2008. They've been to the semifinal game 9 times in the last 10 years. They went to the State Championship Finals from 2002-2005 The Valley High School Baseball team won the 4A state title four years in a row (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006).
History
Valley Junction High School was formed around 1900 and the first graduating class was in 1901 with just nine graduates. The school was first located at 7th and locust and then in 1917 moved to 8th and hillside. In 1967, it moved to its current location at 35th and ashworth. With 582 graduates, the Class of 2005 is the largest to have gone through the district.- The Valley High School Girls Swimming and Diving team won the state title four years in a row (2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008).
- The Valley High School Girls won the 4A State Track and Field Meet in 2005.
- Valley's Athletic Director, Steve Duncan, was named the National High School Athletic Director of the year in 2006. .
- The Valley High School Boys Soccer club won the state title 1996, 1997, 2001, and 2006.
- Watch out for the upcoming Cross Country Wu Tang.
- Arts
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The Arts, both performing, aural, and visual, reflect the soul of Valley's strong tradition of success. The study of Art History, Art Criticism, Art Production, and Aesthetics guides the curriculum in the Visual Arts Department.
- The Valley Music Department was honored with the first GRAMMY Signature School award in 1999. The Drama Department is defending the All-State Sweepstakes trophy for the fourth year in a row.
- The school newspaper is the Spotlight, a member of the High School National Ad Network. In the early 1980s, the Spotlight was named the best high school newspaper in the United States, earning a Pacemaker Award from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. Additionally, many of the student journalists who worked on the Spotlight have received awards and other recognition from sources such as the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, the Los Angeles Times / National Scholastic Press Association, the Quill and Scroll, and the Journalism Education Association.
- The school also has a radio station, KWDM which broadcasts from 6am to 6pm, Monday through Friday. It is one of only two high school radio programs in Iowa and the only high school program in the state to have a fully digital production and on-air studio.
- Current Valley principal Vicky Poole was named Principal of the Year (2006) by the American News Teachers Association.
- Activities
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The school has announced plans to achieve 100% student involvement in some kind of activity. This program is meant to encourage all students to be more involved in their school through athletics, the arts, or some form of extracurricular activity. The administration believes (and numerous research studies have backed up this claim ) that students who are involved more in their school through extracurricular activities succeed more in curricular exploits, do better in secondary education or post education endeavors, and are more invested in their school.
- Valley's extracurricular program is among the best in the nation, for example, Valley High School won the 2006 National High School Mock Trial Championship, held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
- Valley has a large selection of clubs for students to participate in. Among the most unique is the Valley Abstinence Movement, sponsored by English teacher Carol Engelmann. Started by 3 students in 2006, the club promotes sexual abstinence before marriage.
- Valley Southwoods
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In 1995, the West Des Moines school board voted to create Valley Southwoods, a school built specifically to house the 9th grade. Valley Southwoods was completed in the summer of 1996. Many members of the community question why the old school was not turned into the 9th grade only school, and have the new school turned into 10th-12th. The principal is Mr. Kent Abrahamson, and Southwoods is one of only two all 9th grade schools in the nation.
- Safe Schools
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Valley, and the West Des Moines Community School District, are known for having and working toward a more open and accepting environment for people from all walks of life. Governor Chet Culver, the Governor of Iowa signed trailblazing legislation in 2008 at Valley that required all school districts to update their harassment policies, including gender identity, a classification which is frequently ignored across the country and across the world. Beyond legislation, Valley and its district is active in enforcing their own policies and improving the climate for all students, best illustrated when Superintendent Doctor Tom Narak was the first recipient of the Kathy Collins Reilly “Courage in Education Award” which recognizes educators for courage and work for student equality.
- Construction
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Construction at Valley was completed in 2008. Construction included demolishing the former east wing which housed language arts and social studies classrooms, expanding the parking lot, and building a new two-story southwest wing that houses the social studies, language arts, and visual arts departments. The school's media center was also demolished as a part of the former east wing and is now at the center of the school, along with the rebuilt administrative offices and counseling offices.
- Notable alumni
- Zach Ouverson (born 1967), retired NBA player and NBA champion 1993-94.
- Jon Helak (born 1981), professional football player.
- Zach Goerdt (born 1978), center for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
- Peter Hedges (born 1962), film director.
- Dana Jacobson (born 1971), ESPN anchorwoman.
- Shawn Johnson (born 1992), artistic gymnast and Olympic Gold & Silver Medalist.
- Kyle Okposo (born 1988), professional hockey player.
- Carl Pohlad (1915–2009), owner of Minnesota Twins.
- Karlos Kirby U.S. Olympic Bobsledder
- External links
- Valley High School
- Valley Band Program
- Valley Southwoods Freshman High School website
- West Des Moines School District Website
- Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.
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