Clinton High School (Iowa)

Clinton High School
Address
817 Eighth Avenue South Clinton , Iowa USA
Coordinates	41°50′10″N90°12′22″W / 41.836°N 90.206°W / 41.836; -90.206
Information
Type	Public secondary
School district	Clinton Community School District
Principal	Theresa Shultz
Faculty	70.60 (FTE) [1]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	981 (2022-23) [1]
Student to teacher ratio	13.90 [1]
Color(s)	Red, black, and white
Athletics	Mississippi Athletic Conference
Mascot	past Rudy the river King. Present River Kings/Queens
Newspaper	The Clintonian
Website	www.clinton.k12.ia.us/our-schools/clinton-high-school

Clinton High School is a four-year comprehensive high school located in Clinton, Iowa. ^[2] The school is part of the Clinton Community School District.

History

In November 1919, a vote passed authorizing the construction of the current Clinton High School. The land for the school located on Eighth Avenue South was donated by the family of William Folwell Coan Sr.

The deed provided that the school would be named Clinton High School and the athletic field named Coan Field. Construction on the high school started in 1920. The high school opened in September 1921, although some construction was still taking place.^{[ citation needed ]}

In 1968, a large fire caused extensive damage to the high school. ^[3] The building was extensively remodeled in 1958 at a cost of $108,812. Firemen managed to save the adjoining industrial arts wing, which was also built in 1958 at a cost of $522, 049. It however was damaged by fire Dec. 31 and repair of the structure and replacement is expected to cost more than $100,000. Yourd gym, located directly west of the main high school building, also escaped the flames. It, too, was built in 1958 at a cost of $876,623.

In 2012, a large addition to the high school was completed with the main function of providing updated and additional athletic facilities. These upgrades included a new pool, auxiliary gym, and wrestling room. ^[4]

In 2017, the district purchased the former athletic complex of Ashford University. The complex features a turf football field, a nine-lane track, field event facilities, locker and medical facilities, and other amenities. It was estimated that the seating capacity of the bleachers could be 500 to 700. According to tax records from 2016, the property the district is planning to purchase at 1650 S. 14th St. was assessed at $5.086 million. The land was valued at $491,050, while the structures were valued at a little more than $4.595 million. The reported cost to the district for the facility was $200,000. ^[5]

On Monday, February 26, 2018, the district school board finalized a deal with the China-based Confucius International Education Group that brings at least 72 international students to the Iowa school. ^[6] The students will stay in the former dorms of Mount St. Clare College and Ashford University. The CIEG will pay the district the state aid rate of about $6,700 a year per student, as well as providing accommodations for the international students.

October 2018: The Christian Science Monitor publishes profile of Confucius International Education Group (CIEG) project with Clinton High School. ^[7]

In 2020, superintendent Gary Delacy brought up the idea to tear down the building there now and completely rebuild the high school. The project to rebuild will cost the residents of Clinton in total 62 million dollars.^{[ citation needed ]}

Athletics

Clinton sports teams are known as the River Kings (boys) and River Queens (girls); their uniforms display the school's colors of red and black.

The school fields athletic teams in 21 sports, including:

• Summer: Baseball and softball
  • Baseball (1964 Baseball State Champions)
• Fall: Football, volleyball, girls' swimming, girls' cross country
  • Boys' cross country (6-time State Champions – 1976, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1986) ^[8]
  • Boys' golf (5-time State Champions – 1958, 1959, 1960, 1979, 1980) ^[9]
• Winter: Girls' basketball, girls' bowling
  • Boys' basketball (1992 State Champions) ^[10]
  • Wrestling (1987 State Champions) ^[11]
  • Boys' swimming (11-time State Champions – 1941, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1962) ^[12]
  • Boys' bowling (2010 and 2021 Class 2A State Champions) ^[13]
• Spring: Girls' track and field, boys' soccer, girls' soccer, boys' tennis
  • Boys' track and field (5-time State Champions – 1932, 1933, 1946, 1969, 1970) ^[14]
  • Girls' golf (1988 State Champions) ^[12]
  • Girls' tennis (2013 State Champions) ^[12]

The school also has a cheerleading squad.

Clinton is classified as a 4A school (Iowa's largest 48 schools), according to the Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union; in sports where there are fewer divisions, the River Kings/Queens are always in the largest class (e.g., Class 3A for wrestling, boys soccer, and Class 2A for golf, tennis and girls soccer). The school is a member of the 10-team Mississippi Athletic Conference (known to locals as the MAC), which comprises schools from the Iowa Quad Cities, along with Burlington, Muscatine and North Scott high schools.

Notable alumni

• Frank Berrien (1877–1951), class of 1895, U.S. Naval Academy head football coach and U.S. Navy rear admiral
• William Durward Connor (1874–1960), former superintendent of the United States Military Academy
• David Johnson, (1991–), class of 2010, NFL running back for the Arizona Cardinals (2015–present)
• Lulu Johnson (1907–1995), class of 1925, historian, second African-American woman to receive a PhD in history in the United States
• Scott Morehead (1982–), class of 2000, The Second City alumnus, television and film actor
• Ken Ploen (1935-2024), Hall of Fame football player (Winnipeg Blue Bombers) ^[15]
• Duke Slater (1898–1966), class of 1915, College Football Hall of Fame Member, first African-American All-American at Iowa
• Taylor Wiebers, class of 2012, Miss Iowa 2015 ^[16]

See also

• List of high schools in Iowa

References

1. "Clinton High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
2. Whitaker, Winona (September 3, 2019). "School officials make the most of Congressman's visit". Clinton Herald. Clinton, Iowa. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
3. White, Marjorie Blaess and Lee. "1968: Fire damages Clinton High School". Clinton Herald. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
4. "Clinton High School Athletics Addition – What We Do – FRK". www.frk-ae.com. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
5. "Clinton School District to purchase former Ashford Sports Complex". Clinton Herald. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
6. "Clinton to open international school for Chinese students". Radio Iowa. 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2018-03-04.
7. "For Chinese high schoolers there's value to living and learning in Iowa". The Christian Science Monitor. 2018-10-18. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
8. "2020 IHSAA Cross Country Stat Book" (PDF). Iowa High School Athletic Association. 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
9. "2019–2020 Golf Stat Book" (PDF). Iowa High School Athletic Association. 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
10. "2020 State Tournament Stat Book Basketball" (PDF). Iowa High School Athletic Association. 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
11. "2020 Wrestling Stat Book" (PDF). Iowa High School Athletic Association. 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
12. "Clinton". Iowa High School Sports. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
13. "2023 Record Book Bowling" (PDF). Iowa High School Athletic Association. August 18, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
14. "2020 IHSAA Track & Field Stat Book" (PDF). Iowa High School Athletic Association. 2019-12-16. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
15. "Kenny Ploen — Clinton, Hawkeye and Blue Bomber legend — dies at 88". Clinton Herald. 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
16. Pidde, Samantha (June 30, 2012). "MEET YOUR NEIGHBOR: Taylor Wiebers". Clinton Herald . Clinton, Iowa: Community Newspaper Holdings . Retrieved June 24, 2015.

External links

• Official website
• Athletics site