Forest Grove High School

Forest Grove High School is a public high school in Forest Grove, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1907, it is the only high school in the Forest Grove School District.

Forest Grove High School
Address
1401 Nichols Lane

Forest Grove
,
Oregon
97116

United States
Coordinates45°32′04″N 123°07′12″W
Information
TypePublic
Opened1907
School districtForest Grove School District
PrincipalKaren Robinson
Faculty74.71 (on FTE basis)
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,932 (2016-17)[1]
Student to teacher ratio25.32
Color(s)Maroon and gold   
Athletics conferenceOSAA Pacific Conference 6A-3
MascotViking
Websitefghs.fgsdk12.org
[2][3][4][5] [6]

Academics

The school has been awarded the Bronze Medal in the US News and World Report rankings of America's Best High Schools.[7] The school once had the highest dropout rate in Washington County and test scores below the state average in the early 2000s.[8] Forest Grove High hired a new principal, John O'Neil, to address these issues in 2002.[8] He introduced mandatory reading and math workshops for students below the state average to raise their performance. This, and other changes, helped to reduce the dropout rate and improve test scores.[8] For these improvements, in 2006 the school was presented the Closing the Achievement Gap award from the State of Oregon.[9] The following year, the 2,000-student school became the first high school to win the award two years in a row.[10] During this time, graduation rates improved from around 66% to 85%.[10]

In 2008, 73% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma. Of 444 students, 325 graduated, 51 dropped out, 19 received a modified diploma, and 49 were still in high school the following year.[11][12]

In 2009, The Oregonian described the school as an "overachiever" at teaching reading and math, due to its achievement scores.[13]

Athletics
  • State championship in women's softball: 2007[14]

Notable programs

In 1976, the school started the Viking House Program, in which students build a single-family home each year in the community.[15] They begin building in early September and finish construction with an open house in late May.[16] The house is then put up for sale at market price, with the proceeds used for furthering the program with purchases of new tools and the materials for the next house.[16][17] This program is one of few focused on house construction in Portland-area schools, in addition to those at Canby High School and Benson Polytechnic High School.[17][18] The program adopted "learn by doing" as their motto. Through 2011, the program had built 35 homes.[19]

The school also operates a firefighting cadet program that began in 2001.[20] The program allows juniors and seniors to learn firefighting techniques that are usually taught at the community college level to prepare students for careers in firefighting. Forest Grove’s fire department and the school partner in the program with the fire department providing instructors.[20]

In 2015, the school began publishing an online newspaper, The Advocate, written and edited by students. Published monthly during the school year, it emulates a full-fledged city newspaper, with national and world news sections. The September 2019 edition, for example, covered the devastation in the Bahamas from Hurricane Dorian.[21] Along with sports and school news, it also provides a platform for student commentaries, such as criticism of Disney Channel television program changes.[22]

Notable alumni

Further reading
  • Campillo, Linda (1990-02-01). "Forest Grove High School Program Impresses Governor". The Oregonian.
  • Haynes, Dana (1993-12-16). "Forest Grove High School Studies Fewer But Longer Classes". The Oregonian.
  • Staff (1990-02-22). "Australian Teaches at Forest Grove High". The Oregonian.

References
  1. "Forest Grove High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  2. "OSAA - Error". osaa.org. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  3. "Oregon School Directory 2008-09" (PDF). Oregon Department of Education. p. 139. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-26. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  4. Hammond, Betsy (September 10, 2009). "New principals for Portland-area high schools". OregonLive.com. The Oregonian. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  5. "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Forest Grove High School". ed.gov. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  6. Owen, Wendy (May 20, 2010). "Forest Grove High School newspaper advisor reassigned after controversy". The Oregonian. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  7. US News and World Report, FGHS: Best High Schools. Accessed June 15, 2008.
  8. Tareen, Sophia. A model for change. The Oregonian, May 18, 2006.
  9. Beghtel, Doug. School achievement award. The Oregonian, September 28, 2006.
  10. Pardington, Suzanne. Forest Grove High School: School turnaround? 'Absolutely'. The Oregonian, May 8, 2007.
  11. "State releases high school graduation rates". The Oregonian. 2009-06-30. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  12. "Oregon dropout rates for 2008". The Oregonian. 2009-06-30. Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  13. Hammond, Betsy (August 31, 2009). "Oregon middle schools make big academic gains". OregonLive.com. The Oregonian. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  14. Palmer, Zach. Lady Vikings win state championship. Archived 2013-02-22 at Archive.today The Forest Grove News-Times, June 2, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  15. Trap pen, Michelle. Forest Grove High School - Students build every square inch of house. The Oregonian, October 4, 2007
  16. Mandel, Michelle. Viking House not your average school project. The Oregonian, June 8, 2006
  17. Trappen, Michelle. Hands-on classes make a comeback. The Oregonian, October 11, 2007
  18. Owen, Betsy (2009-10-08). "High schoolers building houses in self-funded program". The Oregonian. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  19. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2011-07-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. Navas, Melissa. Firefighter cadet class might be cut. The Oregonian, January 30, 2007
  21. "The Aftermath of Hurricane Dorian". The Advocate. September 29, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  22. "Why Disney Channel Sucks Now". The Advocate. March 19, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  23. Bobby Chouinard, The Baseball Cube. Accessed November 12, 2007.
  24. "Biographical information from PGA Tour's official site". Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  25. Humburg, JD (April 16, 2014). "Ex-Forest Grove left-hander Zac Rosscup back in the big leagues with the Chicago Cubs". The Oregonian. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
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