Thurston High School

For other schools with similar names, see Thurston High School (disambiguation).

Thurston High School
Entrance to the school, 2021
Address
333 North 58th Street Springfield , (Lane County) , Oregon 97478 United States
Coordinates	44°02′57″N122°55′30″W / 44.04917°N 122.92500°W / 44.04917; -122.92500
Information
Type	Public
Opened	1960
School district	Springfield School District
Grades	9–12 [1]
Number of students	1,236 (2023-2024) [1]
Color(s)	Red, black, and white     [2]
Athletics conference	OSAA Midwestern 5A [2]
Mascot	Colt [2]
Newspaper	The Pony Express
Website	www.springfield.k12.or.us/THS

Thurston High School is a public high school located in the Thurston area of Springfield, Oregon, United States.

Academics

In 2008, 80% of the school's seniors received a high school diploma. Of 338 students, 271 graduated, 30 dropped out, 11 received a modified diploma and 26 were still in high school the following year. ^[3]

Notable alumni

• Anthony W. Case, astrophysicist
• Colby Covington, professional mixed martial artist, former UFC interim welterweight champion ^[4]
• Jodi Ann Paterson, Playboy Playmate of the Year 2000
• Dan Straily (born 1988), starting pitcher in the Philadelphia Phillies organization^{[ citation needed ]}

Shooting

Main article: Thurston High School shooting

On May 21, 1998, the school was the scene of a shooting. Expelled student Kipland Kinkel opened fire with three guns and killed two students and injured 25 others. ^[5] He was pinned down while he was reloading and restrained until police arrived and arrested him. ^[6] Kinkel, who had also murdered his parents the previous night, was sentenced to 111 years in prison.

References

1. "Thurston High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved April 5, 2025.
2. "Thurston High School". Archived from the original on October 10, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
3. "State releases high school graduation rates". The Oregonian . June 30, 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
   - "Oregon dropout rates for 2008". The Oregonian. June 30, 2009. Archived from the original on September 16, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
4. "Colby Covington". UFC. September 14, 2018.
5. "8 years later: Thurston and Kinkel revisited". Daily Emerald. October 10, 2023.
6. "Accused Oregon school shooter shows no emotion in court". CNN . May 22, 1998.

Further reading

• Kracht, Shannon L. (2018). Thurston Union High--A History (PDF) via Springfield History Museum