Chaska Senior High School (CHS) is a public high school located in Chaska, Minnesota, United States, a southwestern suburb of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. CHS is a 9–12 grade school that is attended by more than 1,500 students.[2]

Chaska High School
Address
Map
545 Pioneer Trail

,
United States
Information
TypePublic high school
MottoExcellence. Tradition. Community. (Academics) Soar Hawks. (Athletics)
Established1905
School districtEastern Carver Country Schools (ISD 112)
DeanSusana DeLeon, Chuck Nelson
PrincipalJames Bach
Faculty180
Teaching staff58.76 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,526 (2019–20)[1]
Student to teacher ratio25.97[1]
Color(s)Purple, white, gold      
MascotHawk
Websitechs.district112.org

The school mascot is the "Hawk," with the school colors being purple and gold.

History

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Chaska High School first opened in the early 20th-century with its first graduating class in 1906. Since then, Chaska High School has moved to newer facilities three times. Currently, Chaska High School resides at 545 Pioneer Trail. The present facility opened in 1996.[3]

The high school was plagued with a series of racist incidents, starting with media coverage in September 2018 of students who attended a home football game in blackface and an African American-style wig.[4] The issue was echoed in 2019 with another blackface incident in February.[5]

Several black students responded by naming themselves Black History Uncensored and leading a peaceful protest on March 1, 2019 at Chaska High School. They created posters that were presented at a community center event later that month. The protest was against what they and others saw as inequitable censorship of their efforts to share what they viewed as important stories in American history.[6][7]

Responding to news media coverage of an image circulating on students' social media and posted to a lacrosse channel by Chaska students, Bach and superintendent of schools Clint Christopher admitted they'd known about the images for "about a week," and apologized for not at the meeting being transparent about it with parents. The image featured the faces of 25 black students photoshopped on a map with "Negro Hill" written on it.[8]

Current facilities

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Chaska's current facilities feature auditorium, several gymnasiums, a cafeteria, tech-ed labs, computer labs, a media center, a stadium, and several athletic fields. Originally designed for 1,600 students, the school received a substantial addition in 2004.[citation needed]

The South Wing

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This takes up about half the school's area. It consists of the band room, choir room, cafeteria, the auditorium, four gymnasiums, the weight room, locker rooms, workshops, additional classrooms, the activities office, athletic locker rooms, and other athletic-related areas. It is connected through the blue house and the media center. The cafeteria is one story with a high cone glass roof, but the athletic area is two stories.[citation needed]

Activities

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Music

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Chaska High School has four choirs, three bands, and many extracurricular groups that offer a wide range of music styles and levels. The choirs are called Cantare, Vivace, Bel Canto, and Concert Choir; the bands are Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and Wind Symphony.[citation needed]

Academic teams

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Chaska High School actively participates in several academic competitions, including Knowledge Bowl, Quiz Bowl, and Science Bowl.

Chaska won the Minnesota State Knowledge Bowl Meet in 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2003, 2009, and 2012.[9] It also won the Minnesota High School Quiz Bowl League in 1992, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004, and 2009.[10]

Sports

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Chaska High School is part of the Metro West Conference in the Minnesota State High School League.

State Championships
Season Sport Number of Championships Year
Fall Football 1 2019[11]
Winter Volleyball 7 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2005, 2006, 2014[12]
Dance 5 1999 (high kick), 2012 (jazz), 2012 (high kick), 2013 (jazz), 2013 (high kick)[13]
Basketball, Boys 1 2004[14]
Basketball, Girls 1 2021[15]
Spring Golf, Girls 1 1979[16]
Winter Speech 1 2023 (Great Speeches) [17]
Total 15

Notable alumni

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44°49′27″N 93°35′22″W / 44.8242289°N 93.5895252°W / 44.8242289; -93.5895252[28]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "CHASKA HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  2. ^ MSHSL September 11, 2015
  3. ^ editor@chaskaherald.com, Mark W. Olson (2014-01-28). "Where the heck it was". SWNewsMedia.com. Retrieved 2023-11-23. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  4. ^ "District: Some Chaska HS Students Painted Faces Black at Football Game Friday". KSTP.com. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  5. ^ "Chaska High Principal Calls Students' Racist Social Media Post 'Teachable Moment' – WCCO | CBS Minnesota". Minnesota.cbslocal.com. 2019-02-19. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  6. ^ "Students Protest After Minnesota High School Denies Approval for Some Black History Month Posters [Video]". Uk.finance.yahoo.com. 2019-03-01. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  7. ^ "Chaska High students protest over censoring of Black History Month posters | FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul". Fox9.com. 2019-03-04. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  8. ^ "Chaska High school students create racist Google Map". kare11.com. 20 April 2019. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
  9. ^ "What is the 2020-21 academic bowl season continues?".
  10. ^ "MNHSQB Historical Results". www.naqt.com. Archived from the original on 2008-12-26.
  11. ^ "2019 State Football - Class AAAAA". 2019 State Football. Minnesota State High School League. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Yearbook & Record Book: Girls' Volleyball" (PDF). Minnesota State High School League. p. 9. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Yearbook & Record Book: Girls' Dance Team" (PDF). Minnesota State High School League. p. 6. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Yearbook & Record Book: Boys' Basketball" (PDF). Minnesota State High School League. p. 20. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  15. ^ "Chaska is the 2021 MSHSL Girls Basketball champions". SWNewsMedia. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
  16. ^ "Yearbook & Record Book: Girls' Golf" (PDF). Minnesota State High School League. p. 9. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  17. ^ "Chaska's Halle Browning wins State Speech championship". Eastern Carver County Schools. p. 1. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  18. ^ Olson, Mark W.; Mollee Francisco (January 5, 2012). "Presenting Carver County's A-List". Chaska Herald. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  19. ^ "Chaska Hall of Fame 2011 class honored at Friday's Gala". Chaska Herald. April 14, 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  20. ^ Hutton, Todd (June 6, 2011). "Marlins call up Brad Hand to face Braves Tuesday". Florida Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on June 8, 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  21. ^ "Padres claim left-hander Brad Hand | SanDiegoUnionTribune.com". Archived from the original on 2016-06-13. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  22. ^ "MyPillow HQ moves to Chaska".
  23. ^ Jensen, Sean (April 30, 2008). "Free-agent Stanford center Mattran of Chaska chooses to stay home and try out with Minnesota Vikings". St. Paul Pioneer-Press. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  24. ^ Francisco, Mollee (November 15, 2012). "On familiar turf". Chaska Herald. Archived from the original on March 16, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  25. ^ "2022 NHL Draft Profile: Sam Rinzel". SBNation Raw Charge. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  26. ^ "Ross Travis profile". NFL. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  27. ^ Francisco, Mollee (December 13, 2012). "Unearthing America's secret history". Chaska Herald. Archived from the original on March 16, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
  28. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Chaska High School

Sources

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