West Monroe High School
| West Monroe High School | |
|---|---|
 Great is the truth, and it will prevail. | |
| Address | |
|
201 Riggs Street West Monroe, Louisiana, (Ouachita Parish) 71291 United States | |
| Coordinates | 32°30′41″N 92°08′20″W / 32.5115°N 92.13896°WCoordinates: 32°30′41″N 92°08′20″W / 32.5115°N 92.13896°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1953 |
| School district | Ouachita Parish School Board |
| Principal | Shelby Ainsworth |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Number of students | 2400-2500 |
| Color(s) | Red and Blue |
| Athletics conference | LHSAA District 2-5A |
| Mascot | Rebels |
| Rival |
Ouachita Lions Neville Tigers Ruston Bearcats |
| Yearbook | Rebelaire |
| Website | www.gorebs.org |
West Monroe High School is a high school in West Monroe, Louisiana, United States. It is administered by the Ouachita Parish School Board. WMHS is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school's mascot is The Rebel.[1]
In 2013, 87 percent of WMHS students who took the Advanced Placement test passed the examination, the highest rate in the state. Four thousand more students in Louisiana took the 2013 exam compared to the number doing so in 2012, the largest increase in participation of any state. Louisiana students taking the exam earned a collective 5,144 college credits, an increase of 25 percent over 2012.[2]
In 2015, WMHS principal Shelby Ainsworth banned students from displaying the Confederate battle flag from vehicles parked on campus though the school team is called The Rebels. Ainsworth said that students may wear clothing with the flag displayed at games, but flags cannot be waved from sticks or poles. Administrators confiscated several flags on August 28 but offered to return them to students or parents.[3]
Extracurricular activities
French Club
The West Monroe High School French Club competes at A.L.C.F.E.S. (Association Louisianaise des Clubs de Français des Écoles Secondaires) annually against the state's best public and private schools. Over the past few years, the club has done exceptionally well in theatre and media. Two students (in 2014 and 2015) have competed and won scholarships to study abroad.
Band
The band received consecutive Superior ratings at Marching and Concert festivals since 1966. The band consists of 180 students.[4]
Choir
West Monroe High School's Rebel Choir has a total of about 120 students. The choir is directed by Greg Oden.
AFJROTC
In the 2015-2016 school year West Monroe's Air Force Junior ROTC was awarded the Distinguished Unit with Merit award recognizing the program for being in the top 10% of 878 AFJROTC programs located around the world. Their Falcon Honor Guard was recognized as one of the best in the state at a statewide drill meet held in January 2016 at Louisiana Tech University.
Athletics
Football
Under Don Shows's coaching the Class 5-A Rebels have won seventeen district and eight ('93, '96, '97, '98, '00, '05, '09, '11) state championships. National championships were won in 1998 and 2000 and were runners-up in six state designations.[5][6] The school has a fully outfitted football stadium, mostly funded by the team's Rebel Booster Club.[7] The Rebels have ranked nationally for more than 10 years and have won district titles 19 years in a row. Their most recent state championship was in 2011 when they defeated Carencro(Lafayette) by a score of 20-13.
Notable alumni
- Tommy Banks (Class of 1997), medical doctor and former fullback for the LSU Tigers
- Chuck Finley, Former MLB player (California Angels, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals)[8]
- Bruce Fowler (Class of 1980), opera singer
- Roderick Green (Class of 1997), Oklahoma Christian University basketball player, Paralympian 1999–present Volleyball and Track and Field, Amp1 basketball 2012–present, and six-time Paralympic and World Championship medalist
- James Donald Halsell, Jr. (Class of 1973), NASA Astronaut
- Dixon Hearne (Class of 1966), award-winning author
- Bradie James (Class of 1999), Dallas Cowboys & Houston Texans
- Scott Leehy (Class of 1980), Judge of the Louisiana 4th Judicial District Court
- Barkevious Mingo (Class of 2009), Cleveland Browns
- Dave Norris (Class of 1960), mayor of West Monroe since July 1, 1978
- Jerry Stovall (Class of 1958), All-American running back LSU, NFL Pro Bowls, head football coach for LSU
- Andrew Whitworth (Class of 2001), Cincinnati Bengals (2006-present)
- Ralph Williams, gridiron football player
- Don Gonzales (Class or 1985), Otolaryngologist, serial entrepreneur. founded ENTrigue Surgical, Inc (Acquired by Arthrocare) and Spirox, Inc.
See also
References
- ↑ According to the website for the Ouachita Parish School Board
- ↑ "Barbara Leader, State shows gains in advanced testing". Monroe News-Star, July 30, 2013. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
- ↑ "West Monroe High School restricts use of Confederate flags at athletic events". Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
- ↑ USA Today Article, accessed December 2010
- ↑ "Coach's Corner". olerebels.com. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ↑ "Greg Hilburn, "West Monroe-West Ouachita Chamber Honors Don Shows with A.O. Evans Award"". Monroe News Star, January 26, 2010. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
- ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=CZi-yfHRBhEC&pg=PA52&dq=west+monroe+football&hl=en&ei=9jFsTvG-HYrfgQeOoND1BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=west%20monroe%20football&f=false
- ↑ "Chuck Finley Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved November 26, 2012.