Minnetonka High School

Minnetonka High School, or MHS (locally referred to as Tonka), is a four-year public high school located in Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States, a western suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The school enrolls about 3,311 students,[3] 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.[4] Minnetonka High School is rated #1 in public high schools in Minnesota by Niche.[5]

For other uses, see Minnetonka (disambiguation).
Minnetonka High School
Location
Minnetonka
,
Minnesota

United States
Coordinates
Information
TypePublic
Established1952
PrincipalJeffrey Erickson
Enrollment3,311 (2018-2019)[2]
Color(s)Royal blue and white
  
MascotSkipper
Websitewww.minnetonkaschools.org/schools/high-school/mhs

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.

Demographics

Minnetonka High School has the second largest enrollment of any high school in Minnesota, behind neighboring Lake Conference rival Wayzata High School. As of 2017, it has a student population of 3,311 that is 1% Native American 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,[6] and is considered one of the most affluent areas in the state.[7] 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 has been shown to fare 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.

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 a 1:1 iPad program to further the technological teaching and learning for teachers and students. As of the 2019/2020 school year, Minnetonka has provided iPads for grades 4 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 throughout the district 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. Minnetonka High School also has a State of the art News Studio, where they broadcast a daily school news program in HD to all 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 (2018–19) there are six course "strands" that are being offered, with a seventh to be added for the 2019-20 year:

  • Business in a Global Economy
  • Business Analytics
  • Design and Marketing
  • Digital Journalism
  • Healthcare and Sports Science
  • Global Food Sustainability[8]
  • UX Design/Computer Science (Planned for the 2019/2020 School year)

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.[9]

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.[10] In addition to this, many of the students in Minnetonka research compete in the Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair,[11] and many of go on to compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair(ISEF).

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.[12]

Athletics

Minnetonka High School is part of the Lake Conference in the Minnesota State High School League. The school mascot is a Skipper.

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.

State Championships
SeasonSportNumber of ChampionshipsYear
FallTennis, Girls21974, 1975
Soccer, Girls32001, 2013, 2018
Cross Country Running, Girls41981, 1982, 1991, 2004
Volleyball, Girls11976
Football12004
Marching Band 1 2016
Swimming and Diving, Girls31975, 1976, 2012
WinterAlpine Skiing, Boys61996, 1998, 2000, 2012, 2017, 2018
Alpine Skiing, Girls51987, 1993, 2011, 2013, 2014
Wrestling11974
Hockey, Girls32011, 2012, 2013
Hockey, Boys12018
Swimming and Diving, Boys111978, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2011, 2017, 2018
Basketball, Boys31965, 1998, 2008
Basketball, Girls12016
Cheerleading, Girls24
SpringTennis, Boys3[13] 1974, 2016, 2017
Softball, Girls21999, 2000
Lacrosse, Boys12009
Track and Field, Boys21976, 2012
Track and Field, Girls81983, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1992, 2013, 2014, 2018
Rugby union, Boys32004, 2005, 2018
Adapted Bowling32006, 2007, 2008
Total92

Notable alumni

Feeder schools
  • Elementary School
    • Clear Springs Elementary
    • Deephaven Elementary School
    • Excelsior Elementary School
    • Groveland Elementary
    • Minnewashta Elementary School
    • Scenic Heights Elementary
  • Middle School
    • Minnetonka Middle School East
    • Minnetonka Middle School West

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Minnetonka High School
  2. "MINNETONKA SENIOR HIGH" (PDF). Minnetonka Public Schools. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  3. "Minnetonka High School profile" (PDF). Minnetonka Public Schools. October 2018. Retrieved Feb 4, 2019.
  4. http://www.newsweek.com/high-schools/americas-top-high-schools-2016
  5. 2020 Best Public High Schools in Minnesota
  6. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/2743252
  7. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-11-19. Retrieved 2011-09-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. "VANTAGE Advanced Professional Studies".
  9. "Tonka Online".
  10. "Minnetonka Research".
  11. Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair
  12. . Minnetonka Public Schools https://www.minnetonkaschools.org/schools/high-school/mhs/student-life/writing-center. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. "Minnetonka wins first boys' tennis state title since 1974". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
  14. "Tom Staggs". Archived from the original on 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  15. "Jake Gardiner". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
  16. "Beau Allen". Wisconsin Badgers. University of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on April 17, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  17. "VINNI LETTIERI". gophersports.com. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  18. Riemenschneider, Chris (2019-11-10). "Hüsker Dü and Replacements sound tech, Garage D'Or operator Terry Katzman dies". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
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