Burnsville High School (BHS) is a four-year public high school located in Burnsville, Minnesota, United States. Burnsville is a southern suburb about 25 minutes outside of St. Paul. The school is part of Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District 191, which covers most of Burnsville, as well as parts of the surrounding cities Savage and Eagan, and small parts of Shakopee and Apple Valley. A majority of the incoming freshmen come from Eagle Ridge, Metcalf, or Nicollet Middle Schools. The school mascot is Sparky, a humanoid with a fireball for a head. Burnsville High School athletics are a part of the South Suburban Conference.
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History
Burnsville High School originally opened in 1957 as a K-12 school with an initial enrollment of about 400 students. In 1966, upon completion of the newly constructed school, students in grades seven through nine started attending Metcalf Junior High. Today, students attending Burnsville's Metcalf, Eagle Ridge and Nicollet Middle Schools will attend Burnsville Senior High School for grades 9-12.
On April 25, 1994, the largest high school arson in the United States occurred, which resulted in over $15 million in damages. The same arsonist also started fires at Edina High School and Minnetonka High School. During the restoration, high school students studied at nearby Nicollet Junior High and Sky Oaks Elementary Schools. Around the time of the fire, the school's mascot was changed from the Braves to the Blaze to avoid stigmatizing and stereotyping Native Americans. The name "Blaze" was conceived because of the word "Burnsville" in the school name, and had nothing to do with the fire; it was merely a coincidence. The Braves icon is still widely accepted, and many students still have Braves apparel. Prior to the Braves, the first mascot of Burnsville High School was the Bulldogs.
In September, 2012, the BHS school board started looking towards Burnsville High School becoming a grades nine-twelve school. If this were done, they would have to add on a new portion of the school. The proposed 40,000-square-foot building addition was estimated at $12 million. Randy Clegg (former superintendent of District 191) also recommended closing the Burnsville High School Senior Campus in 2014 and holding all senior classes at the main campus.
In 1997, District 191 bought the Diamondhead Mall and converted the top level into the Senior Campus to handle increasing enrollment. A year later, it was opened for use. Students can drive or take a shuttle bus to move from one campus to the other. Many classes available only to 12th grade students are offered at the Senior Campus, including many English, math and social studies classes. Most seniors at Burnsville High School spend half their day at this separate campus. The time needed to travel from one campus to the other is only about 10-15 minutes, but many students structure their schedule to consolidate their lunch and travel time. At the end of the 2015-2016 school year, the Burnsville High School Senior Campus closed permanently, and is now used for school district offices.
In 2006 the Beautification Committee, a group of volunteer parents, raised $50,000 from donations and proceeds from 50th anniversary blanket sales to purchase an electronic greeting sign, replacing an old stone one, as part of the school's 50th anniversary. Burnsville was one of the last not to have an electronic sign, as Lakeville, Bloomington, and Eagan already did. This group has also volunteered their time, energy, and resources to help upkeep the gardens and grounds of the school. There was some controversy among students and community members over the cost of the sign, and many questioned whether people would raise such money for books, new computers, or technology education equipment. The money for the sign, however, was raised by local businesses and private donors, and not taken from the school's budget.
The original portion of Burnsville High School was constructed in 1959, with additions in 1962, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1993, 1998, and 2016, which bring the school's total area to over 440,000 square feet.
A three-year, $13 million renovation commenced during summer 2011. Renovations included upgrades to the building's science labs, heating system, bathrooms and classrooms, and made the school more accessible to people with disabilities. Lockers were to be replaced, the cafeteria was enlarged and reconfigured, and a larger, more open commons was created.
On February 24, 2015, voters from around the school district voted to approve a funding levy to transform Burnsville High School into a 9-12 school, close the Senior Campus, and convert junior highs into 6-8 middle schools, and elementary schools into K-5 schools. As a result of the increased amount of students, Burnsville High School will require an expansion, including classrooms, new fabrication and auto labs, a new gymnasium, and further renovations.
The school participates in the University of Minnesota's College in the Schools program.
Demographics
As of the 2010-11 school year, there were 2,218 students attending Burnsville High School. White students made up 69% of the student population, while black students made up the largest minority, representing 13% of the student population. Asian and Hispanic students made up 10% and 8% of the student population respectively. American Indian students made up less than 1% of the student population.
Students with limited English proficiency made up 5% of the student body. Students with special education needs made up 9% of the student body. Students eligible for free or reduced price lunch made up just over one-quarter (26%) of the student body.
Athletics
Burnsville High School is affiliated with the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) and was a member of the Lake Conference until 2010-11, when they left to join the South Suburban Conference.
Notable alumni
- Greg Baker (class of 1986), actor; appeared as "Elliott" in Sports Night, "Mr Corelli" in Hannah Montana, "Burger Pitt" in I'm with the Band
- Gary Barta (class of 1982), athletic director at the University of Iowa
- Cameron Beckman (class of 1988), winner of three events on the PGA Tour
- Dan Beckmann (class of 2007), actor, most notably for his role in the 2009/2010 International Tour of Footloose
- Brock Boeser (class of 2015), hockey player, drafted to the Vancouver Canucks in 2015
- Todd Boonstra (class of 1980), two-time Olympian (cross country skiing) 1988 and 1994
- Janell Cannon (class of 1975), author and illustrator, most notably of Stellaluna
- Nate DiCasmirro (class of 1997), professional hockey player
- TeTori Dixon (class of 2010), volleyball player for Team USA
- Steve "Bjorn" Engberg (class of 1995), F-16 pilot, lieutenant colonel, earned Distinguished Flying Cross during Operation Iraqi Freedom
- Ryan Fitcher (class of 2007), member of the US rugby team
- Kevin Gorg, FSN TV personality and interviewer and Canterbury Park race announcer
- Ken Hippler (class of 1977), host and producer of KFAI's Good and Country show
- Korey Kelly (class of 2003), professional video game player, National Video Game Player of the Year (2007)
- David Knutson (class of 1978), federal judge and former state senator for the Burnsville area
- John McCoy (class of 1996), master sergeant, explosive ordnance disposal operator, earned three Bronze Stars and multiple other decorations during six tours in Afghanistan and Iraq
- Todd Okerlund (class of 1983), member of the 1988 US Olympic Hockey Team
- Kirsten Olson (class of 2010), figure skater and actor in Ice Princess
- Mark Osiecki (class of 1987), former NHL player 1990-1993; currently the head men's hockey coach at Ohio State University
- Melissa Peterman (class of 1989), played "Barbra Jean" on the show Reba
- James Ruffin (class of 2005), football player with the Spokane Shock
- Randy Scheunemann (class of 1978), lobbyist and foreign policy advisor to John McCain
- Michael Smith (class of 1978), director of Times Three Wireless and U.S. Supreme Court litigator
- Ryan Solovjovs (class of 1999), author of the German novel Gekränkt
- Jason Suttle (class of 1993), NFL football player for the Denver Broncos
- Ivan Tupup (class of 2003), leader of the popular Japanese show Oregato dark matter
- Pradeep Venkatasetty (class of 1977), CIO of Varel, Intl.
- David Voracek (class of 1982), center chief technologist at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center
- Weasel, former 93x morning show disc jockey
- Cedric Yarbrough (class of 1991), actor, most notably of TV shows Reno 911! and The Boondocks
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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