Northwest High School

Northwest High School is one of the premier high schools in the State of Kansas. The core values of Pride, Respect and Excellence focus the NWHS community on the individual success of each student. Northwest is considered a leader in educational reform practices which include block scheduling, instructional technology, academic intervention programs, Advanced Placement, vocational education, student leadership and more. National, state, and local assessments scores along with graduation rate are at the top.

Northwest is proud of the five National Board Certified Teachers that are Grizzlies. In the last several years, Northwest has had a significant number of administrators and teachers who have been recognized for excellence at the national, state and local level. There is a tradition of teaching and leadership excellence at NWHS. Excellence in teaching with a collaborative spirit has been the basis for the implementation of Professional Learning Communities culture.

Northwest has achieved the Kansas Standard of Excellence in Reading for three consecutive years and one year in Mathematics. Scores for all student groups have risen on state assessments along with graduation and attendance rates. Students excel in extra and co-curricular activities with numerous national, state and local champions. NW was recognized in 2008 by United Way of the Plains as the most outstanding student campaign in the county raising over $8,000 in 2008. The school tradition of supporting the United Way began thirty years ago in the first year of the school as the Grizzlies of 1978 raised the most in Sedgwick County. Parent involvement is an extraordinary component of NWHS. A strong and active PTA, Booster Club and Sound Support associations along with numerous volunteers provide direct support as well as financial resources for students and programs.

NWHS is a technology rich school that provides the most current electronic connections and support for all students. The implementation of new programs has led to the introduction of Digital Productions, Culinary Careers, AVIS, Project Lead the Way, Advanced Placement and more. A highlight for the past several years has been the development of strong connections between feeder pattern elementary and middle schools of the west side with Northwest. Staff development, student exchanges, ongoing vertical and curriculum alignment have been the focus of this unified effort.

• Softball City League & Regional Champions
• Baseball City League & Regional Champions
• Football District & Regional Champions
• Wrestling 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th Place State Finishers
• One Men's State Cross Country Medalist
• 2nd Place Men's State Bowler, 4th Place Women's State Bowler
• Men's Bowling City League Co-Champions
• Bear Buddies Basketball City League Champions
• Men's Track City League Champions
• JROTC Grizzly Battalion Designated "Honor Unit With Distinction"
• JROTC Orienteering Team City League Champions
• Band & Orchestra District Award of Excellence
• Band & Orchestra Sweepstakes Award, Heritage Music Festival, Chicago
• Orchestra Adjudicators Award, Heritage Music Festival, Chicago 
• Ten Debate/Forensics State Qualifiers
• Seven NCFL National Speech/Debate Qualifiers
• Five NFL Degrees of Distinction
• Five BPA National Competition Qualifiers
• Eleven K-State Programming Competitors
• Twelve DECA National Competitors
• Two Scholastic Art Gold Keys
• Two Scholastic Art Silver Keys

Exit west Kellogg at Tyler. Go north on Tyler. Northwest High School is located on the southeast corner of 13th and Tyler. See Maps for all USD 259 locations.

NORTHWEST MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of Northwest High School is:
- To provide a safe, positive learning environment; where
- All students are challenged to achieve their
personal best and
- Become responsible, productive citizens in
a changing world.


CORE VALUES
Pride, Respect, Excellence

The Campus Improvement Plan (CIP), along with the site based District Reform Strategies, have made a significant impact on student achievement. The CIP goals to be implemented across the curriculum for the school are: Reciprocal Teaching, Advanced Graphic Organizers and Math Power Words. The District Reform Strategies based on Breaking Ranks II to be implemented are: Student Advocacy, Professional Learning Communities and Aligned Curriculum, Assessment and Data.

Northwest is fully accredited by the State of Kansas and the North Central Association (NCA). During the past year, NWHS participated in the Advanced Ed (NCA), Quality Assurance Review (QAR). This review is a five year evaluation of the school improvement plan, curriculum and achievement data. An External Review Team interviewed students, parents and community members as well as faculty and administration during the accreditation visit. The school received full accreditation for the next five years. Northwest was rated in the top 2% of over twenty-three thousand schools that comprise the Advanced Ed Region.

The Visiting Review team offered five commendations:
1. A student-centered culture of success, with core values of pride, excellence, and respect, permeates the environment of the NWHS.
2. The staff and administration are highly professional, collaborative, caring, and committed to student learning.
3. Northwest High School has a long-standing committment to continuous improvement, empowering all staff to experience ownership of the progress.
4. A stong academic support system offers an array of opportunities for student success.
5. Quality communication and support among all stakeholders are exemplary.

The Visiting Team also provided two recommendations:
1. Facilitate programming to ensure the needs of the changing population are being met.
2. Expand the continuous improvement efforts beyond the core curriculum; increase the use of data-driven decision-making at the classroom level.

The school must respond to the accreditation recommendations within two years and show improvement in the areas noted.

The Northwest High School Site Council includes parents, community members, business representatives, teachers and other school staff, students, and administration. The Site Council provides advice and counsel on school related issues such as assessment and academic performance, budget and staffing, programs and curriculum to the principal.

Site Council membership is open to all members of the Northwest High School Community. All meetings are open to the public and held in the library on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. For more information, please call 973-6003 or check the school website for site council news.

Northwest offers a comprehensive high school curriculum that challenges and prepares students for post-secondary opportunities of college and/or careers of their choice, Programs offered at the school include AP and Honors courses, Technical Education including OFACS, business and technology as well as employment and service learning. Concurrent credit is offered in partnership with Wichita State University, Newman University and Friends University. Innovative programs include Project Lead the Way (Pre-engineering), Digital Media Productions (TV digital broadcasting), Machine Shop and Furniture Making along with Hospitality Management, Child Care, Interior Design and more. Special Education services are provided for gifted, interrelated, TMR, and Autism.

Co-curricular programs of distinction include debate and forensics as well as performing and production arts. Over half of the faculty have earned advanced degrees with five faculty recognized with National Board Certification. Many other faculty have been recognized with national, state and local awards. The Class of 2009 recognized six valedictorians, with over 50 Kansas Board of Regent Scholars as well as 37 National Honor Society members in the Class of 2009. Two students were designated National Merit Commended Students and one from the class a National Merit Semi-finalist.

It had become quite evident since the early 1960s that additional facilities were needed in the northwest section of the city to accommodate secondary students residing in the fast-growing Westlink-Country Acres area. The Board of Education approved the purchase of 161 acres of land at 13th Street and Tyler Road in May 1967.

After years of planning and financial struggle to match capital outlay available to capital outlay necessary, Northwest High School was started in January 1975 with the appointment of architects Schaefer, Schirmer and Associates. A request was made to the City of Wichita on May 17, 1976, to annex the property for school purposes, and bids for construction were awarded for the new high school on July 12, 1976, to Law and Co. for the new high school building to contain approximately 220,000 square feet. The first principal, John Gasper, was named in the spring of 1977 to coordinate the details of construction with the academic program, to select the staff, and make other preparations necessary to open the $10.4 million high school at the beginning of the 1978-79 school year. Designed to accommodate 1,600 students, the facility opened on August 28, 1978, with 1,267 students and 111 staff, including 67 teachers, and with colors of royal blue and gold and the Grizzlies mascot.

The facility housed 67 regular classrooms and 12 additional teaching areas in physical education, the auditorium, and the 11,000 square foot library. The auditorium has a seating capacity of 804, the gymnasium can seat 2,800, and the commons can accommodate 330. There is a six-lane swimming pool 25 yards long with folding bleachers for 400 spectators.

The facility includes a commons area as the center for student activity. This same area serves as a dining facility, a study area, an informal social gathering place and a foyer area for theater use. Surrounding the commons are administrative offices, instructional areas, student lockers and food service areas. Portions of the 800-seat theater, adjacent to the commons, have folding partitions that form two large-group instructional spaces. The physical education complex is located at the terminal of one of the students streets and a large multipurpose gymnasium with seating for 2,900 on folding bleachers. A large physical education area, equivalent to three basketball courts in size, is created when the bleachers are folded back.

Changes to the physical plan during the 1980s included the enclosing of some of the classrooms that were originally designed to promote open learning and student centers. During the middle 1980s, athletic fields including a football stadium, soccer, baseball and softball fields, were completed.

During the 1988-89 school year, ninth grade students were added to the student body. This 33 percent increase in the student body resulted in the addition of 25 professional staff positions. Seven portable classrooms were added to accommodate the addition of the ninth grade class. These were placed on the east side of the main complex. Enrollment averages around 1400.

From A History of Wichita Public School Buildings, c 1997