Northwest High School (Michigan)
Northwest High School is a public high school in Jackson, Michigan in the United States of America. The school's principal is Erik Bergh.[1]
History
Established in 1954, the Northwest Community School District is one of the largest districts in Jackson County. Northwest provides some of the most outstanding educational and extra-curricular programs in the area. The district includes approximately 144 square miles and serves 3,600 students in kindergarten through twelfth grade and another 600 children and adults through an extensive Childcare and Adult & Community Education Program. The district currently employs over 300 staff members.[2]
Bond Issues
The Northwest School District has attempted to pass a bond several times, most recently in October of 2005. The bond measure has failed each time, which, in addition to a decrease in funding from state government, has created a dilemma for the district. As noted by Assistant Principal Chris Galloway, "Unfortunately the people of Jackson are not as supportive as we have hoped. Many of you have already heard that necessary budget cuts will be taken, and 17 teaching positions will be abolished. However, this will not deter us from offering your child the best education possible." To update the validity of this quote MEAP scores decreased, and the average GPA has gone down .31 points out of 4.0 (cite: Secretary of Records, Julian Garmack). The school by choice, taking children away from Northwest to other schools, has increased 47.4%; second highest in Jackson, only trailing the Western High School by 1.7%.
Extra Cirricular Activities
One of the premier choir/bands in the state of Michigan, Northwest High School has taken honors in 37 out of 38 major contests. First places were awarded in 27 of them for the two programs. For the sport cirriculums, Northwest hasn't had quite the same record. The football program has failed to ever make it to the playoffs. Their previous winning record was in 1984 where the Mounties went 5-4 (win / loss). Over the past 5 years (2002 - 2007) the program has only amassed 5 wins, an average of 1 per year. The Mounties have the second highest losing percentage in Michigan. Only Inkster contains a worse team (All Time). Coach Ric Seager, recently fired due to, "The continued losing tradition that we will not pride ourselves with," as stated by Athletic Director Ric Kimmel commented about the future coaching of the team. Seager continues, "Coach Dennis Cobb takes over the reigns of head coach and will take the Mounties into next season, and into the future to the Dome," referring to the championship game (previously) played at the Silverdome. However, Coach Cobb was fired as of 2005 after leading the program to a dismal 1 win over three years. The current coach, Bill Zamalich was able to get two wins his first year coaching to give the Mounties their best season in 8 years.
Criticism Against Northwest
(Currently a stub, will eventually expand) The Northwest School District faces multiple arguments against it, and many voices criticizing its management. Fifty-Seven percent of Northwest School District Citizens polled in the Jackson Citizen Patriot say they do not support the choices that the school has been making. These are largely due in part to the building of 7 new tennis courts, and renovation of the stadium, while the school fails to be updated. Another cause for complaints is the low college acceptance rate. Out of the 2006 graduates (Most Current Statistics Available), 347 students graduated: 127 did not go to college, while 95 went to community colleges or lower. Twenty-nine students made it into Michigan State University, whereas the University of Michigan only accepted 5 students. Zero students were accepted into more prestigious universities than Michigan. The main controversy over college acceptance is the flyer created to lure parents into sending their children to Northwest. It claims that over half the graduates go to a public university or greater.
External links
References
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