Curtis Senior High School

Curtis Senior High School is a public high school located in University Place, Washington.

For the school of the same name in Staten Island, see Curtis High School.
George R. Curtis Senior High School
Address
8425 40th W

University Place
,
Washington
,
98466

United States
Information
TypePublic secondary
Established1957
School districtUniversity Place School District
PrincipalTom Adams
Grades10–12
Enrollment1,476 (2016-17)[1]
CampusSuburban
Color(s)Blue and White         
MascotVikings
WebsiteCurtis Senior High School

Curtis Senior High School is a part of the University Place School District and the only high school in the district. The school's namesake comes from the former UPSD Superintendent George R. Curtis. Opened in 1957 as a joint Junior-Senior High School at the corner of 40th and Grandview. In 1969 a high school facility was built about 500 yards east of the junior high that then extended up 40th Street. After this the original site became just a junior high school. In 2009 the original junior high was torn down and a new facility was built about 400 yards northeast of that site.

There are currently 105 staff members total.

Tom Adams is the principal of the school. Adams is known as a strict disciplinarian with harsh policies of zero tolerance for misconduct. Adams is also fluent in Spanish and has spent extensive time in Colombia.

Curtis has been alleged to be home to significant racial discrimination, particularly against black students. In 2017, the University Place School District reached a settlement with three former Curtis students over alleged racial discrimination. The settlement totaled $450,000 for the three students and their parents.[2]

In one particular incident cited in the lawsuit by one of the students, Karen Macy, a former American Sign Language teacher, was alleged to have written her home address on the whiteboard during a lesson on giving directions in sign language. Students joked that her house would be egged if students knew her home address. She responded with words to the effect of “no one would do that, except for [student plaintiff], because he’s black,” according to court documents. Macy was placed on leave immediately following the reported incident and resigned from her teaching job in 2014.

Current district superintendent, Jeff Chamberlin, has been criticized for his lack of action to address ongoing racial discrimination at Curtis and for his vigorous defense of the school district’s policies.

Academics

Curtis Senior High School offers many Advanced Placement classes such as US History, Chemistry, Physics, Government, Foreign Languages, English Language and Composition, English Literature, European History, Psychology, Biology, Statistics, Photo, and Environmental Science. Curtis Senior High School also offers a running start program for juniors and seniors to take classes at local colleges such as Tacoma Community College, and Pierce College.

Athletics

Sports offered
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Bowling
  • Cheerleading
  • Cross Country
  • Football
  • Golf
  • Lacrosse
  • Soccer
  • Softball
  • Swim/Dive
  • Tennis
  • Track and Field
  • Volleyball
  • Water Polo
  • Wrestling

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Curtis Senior High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  2. “Black Students Settle Discrimination Lawsuit Against UP School District for $450,000”, Debbie Cafazzo, Tacoma ‘’The News Tribune’’, March 17, 2017

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.