Palmer High School (Colorado)
| General William J. Palmer High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Front of Palmer High School | |
| Address | |
 | |
301 North Nevada Avenue , 80903 United States | |
| Coordinates | 38°50′20″N 104°49′12″W / Coordinates: 38°50′20″N 104°49′12″W / |
| Information | |
| Other names | Palmer High School, Palmer, PHS |
| Former name | Colorado Springs High School |
| School type | Public high school |
| Motto | A Tradition of Excellence |
| Established | 1875 |
| School district | Colorado Springs 11 |
| CEEB code | 060288 |
| NCES School ID | 080306000257[1] |
| Principal | Lara Disney[2] |
| Teaching staff | 89.10 (on a FTE basis)[1] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 1,697 (2017–18[1]) |
| Student to teacher ratio | 19.05[1] |
| Color(s) | Brown and white |
| Athletics conference | CHSAA |
| Mascot | Terrors (Eaglebeak) |
| Accreditation | Western Association of Schools and Colleges |
| Newspaper | The Lever |
| Yearbook | Terror Trail |
| Feeder schools |
|
| Website | www |
General William J. Palmer High School, commonly referred to as Palmer High School (PHS), is a public high school in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship high school of School District 11 and has the oldest International Baccalaureate (IB) program in the area.
History[edit]
Palmer High School is located at 301 North Nevada Avenue in Colorado Springs. The present building was built by the Works Progress Administration under Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940. Originally named Colorado Springs High School, Palmer High School was renamed in 1959 after the city's founder, General William Jackson Palmer. At that date, the city had expanded enough to warrant the building of a second high school, Roy J. Wasson High School.
In 1945, a Native American student, Don Willis, designed Eaglebeak, a caricature of a fictitious Indian chieftain, and the school's teams became the Terrors. In 1985 a local political hopeful criticized the mascot as racist, making Palmer one of the first cases of controversy over a Native American mascot in the United States. Despite the fact that the politician, having lost the election, later publicly apologized to the student body and retracted the charge of racism, the damage was done and Eaglebeak was not to return. In the following years, Palmer experimented with a variety of mascots, to include a two-month flirtation with the Tasmanian devil from Warner Brothers, which nearly led to a lawsuit.[3][third-party source needed]
In the early 1990s the high school chose an eagle as its mascot, naming it "Eaglebeak", but without the historical background of the original.[3][third-party source needed]
Gender-inclusive bathrooms[edit]
In 2016 senior Doe Schall, a genderqueer student, along with others from the school's Gay-Straight-Trans Alliance, lobbied school officials for gender-inclusive bathrooms due to the discrimination experienced by transgender students. Palmer was the first high school in Southern Colorado to have gender-inclusive bathrooms.[4][5][6][7]
Extracurricular activities[edit]
Mock Trial[edit]
Palmer's Mock Trial program won the Southern Colorado Regional Competition in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2015; the Colorado State Competition in 2009 and 2013;[8] and took 14th place in the National High School Mock Trial Tournament in 2013.[9]
Notable alumni[edit]
Notable alumni of Palmer High School include:
- Lance Armstrong (graduated elsewhere)
- Patricia Louise Dudley (1947, as Colorado Springs High School), zoologist specializing in copepods
- Chris Fowler[10] (1980), host of ESPN's College Gameday
- Robert L. Gordon III,[11] (1975) Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy
- Robert M. Isaac (1945, as Colorado Springs High School), mayor of Colorado Springs
- Reggie Jackson (2008), basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA[12]
- Ray Jardine (1961), rock climber, adventurer, inventor of "Friends" spring-loaded camming device
- Cassandra Peterson[10] (1969), actress; played Elvira, Mistress of the Dark[citation needed]
- Laura Veirs, singer-songwriter[13]
References[edit]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Search for Public Schools - PALMER HIGH SCHOOL (080306000257)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
- ^ "A Message from the Principal / Welcome".
- ^ Jump up to: a b "About Palmer High School". d11.org. Archived from the original on October 19, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
- ^ Victor Skinner (March 8, 2016). "Colorado school installs 'gender-inclusive' bathroom".
- ^ http://www.terrortribe.org/phslever/?p=691[permanent dead link]
- ^ "High school creates gender-inclusive bathroom". KRDO. March 8, 2016.
- ^ Dawidowicz, Christina (March 11, 2016). "Palmer High School opens first gender-inclusive restroom in a public school in southern CO". KXRM.
- ^ "Media & Press". coloradohighschoolmocktrial.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
- ^ "2013 Championship Results". nationalmocktrial.org.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Brian Gomez (August 10, 2007). "Armstrong shares the importance of cycling to children at fundraiser". The Gazette.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Robert L. Gordon III". defense.gov. Archived from the original on April 13, 2015.
- ^ "Player Bio: Reggie Jackson". Boston College Official Athletic Site. Archived from the original on September 8, 2011. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
- ^ Epstein, Warren (March 4, 2010). "Homegrown: Laura Veirs flirts with acoustic stardom". Colorado Springs Gazette.
External links[edit]
- Official website
- CSHS/Palmer Alumni Association
- "Student's art battle winds up unifying", Mark Arnest, The Gazette (May 20, 2005)
- "Class dismissed: Planned Parenthood ejected from District 11 schools", deYoanna, Michael, The Independent (February 24, 2005)