Northwest Classen High School
Encyclopedia
Northwest Classen High School is a public high school serving students in grades 9-12 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
.
, it was named for Anton H. Classen, an early Oklahoma City real estate developer and philanthropist .
As the neighborhoods around Northwest Classen have changed, so has the cultural makeup of the campus. Initially an almost all-Caucasian school, the population has gradually become more multi-cultural. Today, the enrollment in the school is nearly an equal split of Hispanic, African American, and Caucasian students with almost 100 different races and cultures represented.
teacher Joe Quigley was fired by the Board of the Oklahoma City Public Schools
citing "Giving zeros for behavior, rather than academic performance, not entering grades on Smart Web where parents can get on the computer and see what their child is doing" and generally poor performance as a reason. Quigley claimed that he had been singled out because he had pushed for anti-discrimination policies for homosexual students.
On August 26, 2009, Oklahoma County District Judge Barbara Swinton ruled that Mr. Quigley had been wrongly terminated, and ordered him reinstated
Mr.Quigley was reinstated, though he was assigned to U. S. Grant High School
. In April of 2010, he learned that his position would not be renewed for the 2010-2011 school year.
-sanctioned competition in fast-pitch softball, football, cheerleading, cross country, volleyball, basketball, swimming/diving, wrestling, golf, soccer, and track.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...
.
History
Northwest Classen High School was built in 1955 to accommodate the growing population in the northwest corridor of Oklahoma City. Along with Classen School of Advanced StudiesClassen School of Advanced Studies
Classen School of Advanced Studies is a public magnet school serving students in grades 6-12 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma...
, it was named for Anton H. Classen, an early Oklahoma City real estate developer and philanthropist .
As the neighborhoods around Northwest Classen have changed, so has the cultural makeup of the campus. Initially an almost all-Caucasian school, the population has gradually become more multi-cultural. Today, the enrollment in the school is nearly an equal split of Hispanic, African American, and Caucasian students with almost 100 different races and cultures represented.
Quigley firing
In May of 2009, longtime English languageEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
teacher Joe Quigley was fired by the Board of the Oklahoma City Public Schools
Oklahoma City Public Schools
The Oklahoma City Public Schools is an urban inner-city public school district located in Oklahoma City. It is the largest primary and secondary education district in the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Area, as well as the largest in the state of Oklahoma with over 42,750 enrolled students in 2009...
citing "Giving zeros for behavior, rather than academic performance, not entering grades on Smart Web where parents can get on the computer and see what their child is doing" and generally poor performance as a reason. Quigley claimed that he had been singled out because he had pushed for anti-discrimination policies for homosexual students.
On August 26, 2009, Oklahoma County District Judge Barbara Swinton ruled that Mr. Quigley had been wrongly terminated, and ordered him reinstated
Mr.Quigley was reinstated, though he was assigned to U. S. Grant High School
U. S. Grant High School
For the Ulysses S. Grant High School in Valley Glen, California see Grant High School .-History:In 1953, the Oklahoma City Public Schools opened U. S. Grant High School, which became the third high school for south Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.During its early years, it was both a junior and senior high...
. In April of 2010, he learned that his position would not be renewed for the 2010-2011 school year.
Extracurricular activities
Northwest fields teams in Oklahoma Secondary School Activities AssociationOklahoma Secondary School Activities Association
The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association , is an organization which organizes secondary school activities at the state level, such as sports, speech tournaments, and music competitions. Derald Glover is its president. The OSSAA is a member of the National Federation of State High School...
-sanctioned competition in fast-pitch softball, football, cheerleading, cross country, volleyball, basketball, swimming/diving, wrestling, golf, soccer, and track.
Notable alumni
| Name | Claim to Fame | Graduation Year |
|---|---|---|
| Mason Williams Mason Williams Mason Williams is an American guitarist and composer, best known for his guitar instrumental "Classical Gas". He is also a comedy writer, known for his writing on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, and Saturday Night Live... |
Recording Artist | 1956 |
| Edward Ruscha Edward Ruscha Edward Joseph Ruscha IV is an American artist associated with the Pop art movement. He has worked in the media of painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, and film. Ruscha lives and works in Culver City, California... |
Artist | 1956 |
| William A. Martin William A. Martin William A. Martin was a computer scientist from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.After graduating from Northwest Classen High School, where he was a state wrestling champion, he attended MIT where he received a bachelor's degree , master's and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering... |
Computer Scientist, Artificial Intelligence Pioneer | 1956 |
| Ronald Fagin Ronald Fagin Ronald Fagin is the Manager of the Foundations of Computer Science group at the IBM Almaden Research Center. He is best known for his pioneering work in database theory, finite model theory, and reasoning about knowledge... |
Computer Scientist, Author of Fagin's theorem Fagin's theorem Fagin's theorem is a result in descriptive complexity theory that states that the set of all properties expressible in existential second-order logic is precisely the complexity class NP... |
1963 |
| Ron Norick | Former mayor of Oklahoma City Oklahoma city Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial... |
1965 |
| Elizabeth (Herring) Warren Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Warren is an American bankruptcy expert, policy advocate, Harvard Law School professor, and Democratic Party candidate in the 2012 United States Senate election in Massachusetts. She has written several academic and popular books concerning the American economy and personal finance. She... |
Appointed by President Obama as special adviser to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner while establishing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.9/18/2010. Professor, Harvard Law School. | 1966 |
| Kirk Humphreys Kirk Humphreys Kirk Humphreys served as Mayor of Oklahoma City from April 9, 1998 to November 3, 2003. He was considered a favorite candidate of the Republican party establishment for U.S. Senator in 2004, losing to former Congressman Tom Coburn, MD in the primary... |
Former Mayor of Oklahoma City Oklahoma city Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial... |
1968 |
| Skip Bayless Skip Bayless Skip Bayless is an American journalist and television personality. Bayless regularly appears on ESPN2's ESPN First Take and its afternoon show 1st and 10. Bayless previously wrote regular columns for ESPN.com and its "Page 2" section.-Schooling and family:Bayless was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma... |
Sports Broadcaster | 1970 |
| Vince Gill Vince Gill Vincent Grant "Vince" Gill is an American neotraditional country singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman to the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s, and as a solo artist beginning in 1983, where his talents as a... |
Recording Artist | 1975 |
| Sean O'Grady | World Boxing Association Lightweight Champion | 1977 |
| Brad Piccolo | Recording Artist (member of Red Dirt Rangers Red Dirt (music) Red Dirt Music is a music genre that gets its name from the color of soil found in Oklahoma. Although Stillwater, Oklahoma is considered to be the epicenter of Red Dirt music, there's a Texas Red Dirt sound as well. Outlaws Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson are associated with that distinctive... ) |
1979 |
| Kevin Thornton | Recording Artist (member of Color Me Badd Color Me Badd Color Me Badd was an R&B vocal group that was formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. The original members of the group were Bryan Abrams ; Mark Calderon ; Sam Watters and Kevin Thornton... ) |
1987 |
| Bryan Abrams | Recording Artist (member of Color Me Badd Color Me Badd Color Me Badd was an R&B vocal group that was formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. The original members of the group were Bryan Abrams ; Mark Calderon ; Sam Watters and Kevin Thornton... ) |
1988 |
| Sam Watters Sam Watters Sam Watters is a Grammy nominated American songwriter, record producer, singer, and record executive. Watters was a member of the multi-platinum selling 1990’s R&B group Color Me Badd and co-authored many of their hits including “I Wanna Sex You Up”, “I Adore Mi Amor”, and “All 4 Love”... |
Recording Artist (member of Color Me Badd Color Me Badd Color Me Badd was an R&B vocal group that was formed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. The original members of the group were Bryan Abrams ; Mark Calderon ; Sam Watters and Kevin Thornton... ) |
1988 |
| Darnell Jackson Darnell Jackson Darnell Edred Jackson is an American professional basketball player for BC Donetsk in Ukraine. He is 6'9" and is 253 lbs. Jackson played for the University of Kansas in college for four seasons, including the 2008 national championship team... |
NBA Basketball Player | 2003 (transferred) |