Columbia River High School

Columbia River High School
Address
800 NW 99th Street Vancouver, Washington 98665 United States
Coordinates	45°41′38″N 122°40′44″W / 45.694°N 122.679°W / 45.694; -122.679Coordinates: 45°41′38″N 122°40′44″W / 45.694°N 122.679°W / 45.694; -122.679
Information
Type	Public 4-year
Established	1962
Principal	Alex Otoupaul
Staff	122[1]
Enrollment	1,286 (2013-2014 school year)
Mascot	Chieftain
Colors	Purple and Gold
Website	http://river.vansd.org

Columbia River High School is a public high school in Vancouver, Washington, United States. It is part of the Vancouver School District (VSD). The school was opened to students in 1962. Columbia River has over 1,200 students.^[2] Columbia River is a magnet school in the VSD for the International Baccalaureate Program.

Achievements

In September 2006 the Vancouver School District announced the names of students who earned recognition as National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists. Of ten recipients, nine were students at Columbia River.^[3] Two students were recognized as semifinalists in September 2007.^[4]

In June 2010 Newsweek magazine listed Columbia River High School in its annual list of “America’s Best High Schools,” which includes 1,600, or about 6 percent, of the nation’s high schools. CRHS was listed 1,573rd nationally and 32nd out of 32 high schools listed in the state of Washington.^[5]

Demographics

As of 1 October 2006, 1317 students attend Columbia River High School. Of all students enrolled, 1183, or 85 percent identify themselves as White; 80, or 6 percent identify themselves as Asian; 56, or 4 percent identify themselves as Hispanic; 31, or 2 percent identify themselves as Black; and 15, or 1 percent identify themselves as American Indian. Among all grade levels, 16 percent of students are eligible for federally subsidized lunch. One student is enrolled in the English Language Learning program and 132, or 9 percent of all students receive Special Education. English is the primary language spoken at home for 95 percent of students. It is followed by Spanish, Vietnamese, and Russian, which are each spoken by 1 percent of the student body. Of all students, 35 percent are enrolled on boundary exceptions.^[2]

Compared to the Vancouver School District high school populace as a whole, Columbia River students are more white, more likely to speak English at home and less likely to be eligible for subsidized lunches.^[6]

Standards-based Assessment

In Washington state, the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) is administered annually to students in the tenth grade. For testing administered in spring 2006, 91 percent of Columbia River students met reading standards, 68 percent met math standards, 90 percent met writing standards and 50 percent met science standards.^[7] This compares favorably to the District pass rates of 80, 48, 78 and 30 percent for each of the respective subjects.^[8]

Columbia River passed in all areas of Adequate Yearly Progress.^[9]

According to the most recent School Improvement Plan for Columbia River, a large achievement gap exists in WASL results between races. For example, 90 percent of Asian students passed the math section of the 2003 WASL; this compared to a 46 and 21 percent pass rates for White and American Indian students respectively.^[10] Results for Black and Hispanic students are not reported.

Sports

Cross country

The boys' 1965 (Fall season of 1964) and 1971 (Fall season of 1970) cross country teams won the State Cross Country Championships.

Track and field

The Columbia River Girls track team won the three A state championship in 2010.

Baseball

Columbia River won the 1984 and 1989 Washington State 3A championship.

Fastpitch Softball

Columbia River won the 1992 and went back-to-back in the 1996 and 1997 Washington State 4A championships.

Wrestling

Columbia River won the 1969 and 1986 Washington State 3A championship.

Volleyball

Columbia River won the 1991 4A and 2000 3A Washington State championship.

Gymnastics

Columbia River won the 2009 3A Washington State championships.

Soccer

In the 2009-2010 school year, the Chieftains won the girls 3A soccer state championship. In the 2012 season, the Chieftain's girls soccer team went undefeated and won the 3A soccer state championship with a record of 18-0-2.

Columbia River in the News

Columbia River gained national media attention in December 2002 after a visit by Washington senator Patty Murray. In a question and answer session with the class of teacher Gary Lorentzen,^[11] Sen. Murray stated: "We've got to ask, why is this man so popular around the world?" referring to Osama bin Laden, "Why are people so supportive of him in many countries that are riddled with poverty?" She elaborated that bin Laden had been "out in these countries for decades, building schools, building roads, building infrastructure, building day care facilities, building health care facilities, and the people are extremely grateful. We haven't done that." The remarks later became a political issue in her 2004 race against Republican challenger Rep. George Nethercutt.^[12]

Capturing Solar Energy

Solar panels were installed at Columbia River High School on May 26, 2010. The panels were purchased by a grant through the Clark Public Utilities Green Lights Program. Under peak sun conditions, the panels will produce 2,160 watts of power. Under typical Vancouver conditions, this relates to 2,400 kilowatt hours per year.^[13]

Notable alumni

• Dan Frantz - 1996 Alumni and place kicker for the Chicago Rush (AFL).
• Roger Hambright, Former MLB player (New York Yankees)
• Dennis Heck - Congressman from WA 10th District (2013-) and founder of TVW
• Ed Herman - Mixed Martial Arts and contract fighter for the [UFC].
• Joe Phillips - NFL, defensive lineman
• Brett Pierce - Tight End in the NFL.
• Stan Spencer - Former major league pitcher for the San Diego Padres

References

External links

• Columbia River High School website