Minnetonka High School, or MHS (locally referred to as Tonka), is a four-year public high school located in Minnetonka, Minnesota, a western suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The school enrolls about 3,000 students, and offers four interchangeable academic curricula: International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, Honors, and G (general). Newsweek ranked the school at #123 in their list of America's Top High Schools.
Minnetonka High School is the only high school within Minnetonka School District, whose enrollment area comprises western Minnetonka, northern Chanhassen, Deephaven, Excelsior, Greenwood, Shorewood, Tonka Bay, Woodland, northern Victoria, and northern Eden Prairie; an area known as "South Lake Minnetonka," or simply "Minnetonka." Additionally, students come from all over the western suburbs due to open enrollment.
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Demographics
Minnetonka High School has the third largest enrollment of any high school in Minnesota, behind neighboring Lake Conference rivals Wayzata and Eden Prairie high schools. As of 2016, it has a student population of 3,017 that is 1% American Indian, 1% Hispanic, 1% black, 3% Asian, and 94% white. Minnetonka School District's catchment area has a population of 53,000 and is characterized as a bedroom community. It is predominantly white with a strong Scandinavian influence, and is considered one of the most affluent areas in the state. Since the 2000s, Minnetonka has actively tried to recruit a more diverse student body through advertising and participation in The Choice Is Yours program to serve inner regions of the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Academics
Minnetonka High School fares well in standardized test results and many metrics of school rank and quality. It is one of the few schools in the state to concurrently run Advanced Placement classes and the IB Diploma Programme. The school also offers Honors and G (general) classes which, unlike AP and IB, do not have curricula mediated by an external governing entity, and are meant to be less demanding. On average, 88% of students pass the IB exams (score of 3 or higher). Also, AP exams have an average pass rate of 83% (score of 3 or higher). Minnetonka averages a score of 1870 on the SAT, and 26.9 on the ACT. The top 100 students score an average of 32.2 on the ACT.
It is identified as a "National School of Excellence" by the U.S. Department of Education, and has been given a "Five Star" rating by the Minnesota Department of Education. According to No Child Left Behind Minnetonka High School made Adequate Yearly Progress in 2006.
Technology
Starting in 2011, Minnetonka High School introduced an 1:1 iPad program to further the technological teaching and learning for teachers and students. As of the 2016/2017 school year, Minnetonka has provided iPads for grades 5 through 12. For the students not involved in the iPad program, they are encouraged to bring their own laptops or tablets to use during school. The schools all have an enterprise wireless system to accommodate the iPads and other devices. Along with the iPad program, all classrooms at the high school are equipped with a Smart Board. Teachers undergo many training programs outside of the classroom to advance their knowledge of both iPads and Smart Boards. These training sessions give teachers information on things such as programs they can use in their classroom as a learning tool for students.
Specialty Programs
Minnetonka high school prides themselves with the ability to develop innovative methods for learning. There is an annual competition offered to teachers to try to allow anyone to provide these innovative ideas.
VANTAGE
VANTAGE Professional Studies is a program offered by Minnetonka High School offering a businesslike environment for students. Minnetonka High School's VANTAGE is a magnet program which is ranked sixth in the country for developing students with strong business and entrepreneurial leadership skills. Students go off campus for part of their school day and have class in an office building. Students are expected to act and dress professionally. Students are provided with projects with local and fortune 500 companies. They are also provided with mentors who work in a field related to their class. Currently (2016-17) there are five course "strands" that are being offered:
- Business in a Global Economy
- Business Analytics
- Design and Marketing
- Digital Journalism
- Healthcare and Sports Science
As of 2016-17, the new class Global Food Sustainability will be offered.
Tonka Online
Minnetonka High School also offers some of its courses through Tonka Online. It is available to all students in the state of Minnesota. Currently (2016-17), There are 28 courses offered. The classes are delivered through Schoology, Minnetonka's CMS. Fees are charged for students who are taking them as extra courses or over the summer.
Minnetonka Research
Minnetonka Research offers students the opportunity to learn through scientific research. The school built a cutting-edge, negative-pressure, wet lab to allow students to research topics that are important to them. Alike VANTAGE, Minnetonka Research provides its students with mentors who are industry leaders in their field of study.
Writing Center
Minnetonka also offers a writing center to allow all students a place to receive assistance on their work. It is located in the commons. The writing center is staffed by two English teachers and 30 trained student writing coaches. The program is funded by the Minnetonka Public Schools Foundation's Endowment.
Athletics
Minnetonka High School is part of the Lake Conference in the Minnesota State High School League. Mascot: Skippers
Minnetonka has a fierce rivalry with Edina. Both Lake Conference teams, they have repeatedly met in conference championship games and regional finals to determine state tournament berths.
Notable alumni
- Keith Nord (1975) is a former American football defensive back in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the Minnesota Vikings from 1979 to 1985. He played college football at St. Cloud State University
- Lee Blessing (1967) - Pulitzer and Tony nominated Playwright.
- Steve Comer (1972) - Former MLB Pitcher, Texas Rangers (1978-1982), Philadelphia Phillies (1983), Cleveland Indians (1984)
- Eric Bischoff (1973) - Professional Wrestling Booker/Talent for World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment
- Thomas O. Staggs (1978) - Chief Operating Officer, The Walt Disney Company
- David Wheaton (1988) - Former professional tennis player
- Arick Wierson (1990) - Emmy-award winning Hollywood Film and Television Producer; former Senior Political Advisor New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
- Jim Brower (1991) - Former MLB Pitcher, Cleveland Indians (1999-2000), Cincinnati Reds (2001-2002), Montreal Expos (2002), San Francisco Giants (2003-2005), Atlanta Braves (2005), San Diego Padres (2006) Baltimore Orioles (2006), New York Yankees (2007)
- Bennie Joppru (1999) - Former NFL Tight End, Houston Texans (2003-2005), Chicago Bears (2006), Seattle Seahawks (2006-2007)
- Dmitry Chaplin (2000) - Professional dancer
- Ryan Liestman (2001) - Keyboardist for popular teen band Jonas Brothers
- Will Leer (2003) - Professional Runner for Nike, personal best of 3:51.82 in the mile.
- Zac Barnett (2005) - Lead singer for American Authors
- Raina Hein (2006) - Runner-Up on America's Next Top Model Cycle 14
- Jake Gardiner (2008) - NHL Defensemen, Toronto Maple Leafs (Drafted by Anaheim Ducks, 1st Round, 17th Overall in 2008 NHL Entry Draft)
- Beau Allen (2010) - NFL Nose Tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles
- John Mark Nelson (2012) - Singer-songwriter
- The Suburbs - Rock band
- Ryan McCartan (2011) - Actor, Liv & Maddie, The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again
Feeder schools
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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