Southwest High School is a public high school in the Linden Hills neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is one of 10 high schools in the Minneapolis Public Schools district. Southwest offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
History
LAST DAY OF HIGH SCHOOL EVER!! - Last day of senior year at Minneapolis Southwest High School.
Southwest High School was opened in 1940 with the main entrance at Beard Avenue South and West 47th Street. The school drew 841 students from Minneapolis, Edina and Richfield its first year. Two additions were made to the original structure, the first opening in 1956 and the second (Southwest Junior High) in 1968.
With the reorganization of Minneapolis schools in 1982, Southwest returned to just grades 9â€"12, with seventh and eighth graders going to Anwatin or Anthony Middle Schools. Most of the students who attended West High School were transferred to Southwest when it was closed the same year.
In 1987, the International Baccalaureate Programme began at Southwest. Currently, all 9th and 10th grade students follow the IB Middle Years Programme curriculum.
Also in 1987, Southwest High School was one of the first high schools in the country to stop using a Native American for its mascot and nickname. The Southwest student body voted to change the nickname of the school from the Indians to the Lakers.
Demographics
The demographic breakdown of the 1,757 students enrolled in 2015-2016 was:
- Male - 48.7%
- Female - 51.3%
- Native American/Alaskan - 1.0%
- Asian/Pacific islanders - 5.5%
- Black - 26.0%
- Hispanic - 10.1%
- White - 57.0%
- Multiracial - 0.4%
35.9% of the students were eligible for free or reduced cost lunch. This is a Title I school.
Notable alumni
- Lizz Winstead â€" Comedian, Daily Show co-creator
- Dorothy Benham â€" Miss America 1977
- Tom Chorske â€" Professional ice hockey player
- Matthew Santos â€" Musician
- Peter Graves â€" Actor
- Dessa Darling â€" Hip hop artist, poet, writer
- Dylan Keefe â€" Bass guitarist of Marcy Playground
- John Taft â€" Professional ice hockey player
- Matt Smaby â€" Professional ice hockey player
- Palbasha Siddique â€" Singer
- Marion Ross â€" Actress
- Jake Sullivan â€" National security advisor to Vice President Joe Biden
- Ken Rizer - Iowa State representative
References
External links
- Official website
