Back to School: East High Today

East High School has changed in many ways since 1960.  If you check out the East High website or Facebook page, however, many things will look familiar – class schedules, athletics games, concerts and plays, fundraisers for clubs, cheerleaders, proms, ACT and SAT tests. East High has continued to function as a comprehensive city high school offering a wide range of programs for a diverse population. This year, students have a seven-period day, the same as pre-COVID, and are in class from 8:00 a.m. to 3:10 p.m., including 45 minutes for lunch. 

The campus, with its iconic neo-Gothic tower, was recognized in 2017 by Architectural Digest as the most beautiful high school in Kansas and among the top 10 in the U.S. East High has expanded to 44 acres and now includes the former Roosevelt Intermediate and a bridge building connecting the main building and the former intermediate with a cafeteria and library. The main building was extensively remodeled in 2004. Additional facilities were built between 2011 and 2014, thanks to taxpayer support of bond issues for a beautiful performing arts center, updated science labs, and extensive athletic facilities. WSU Tech, a community college, is on the East campus, offering career and technical education to teenagers and adults.

Enrollment at East High School for 2022-23 is 2,307, more than 1000 fewer than in 1960. Students in grades 9-12 are enrolled at East, compared to grades 10-12 in 1960. The demographics are also different: 37% Hispanic, 25% White, 20% Black, 10% Asian/PI, 7% Multi-racial. About 78% of students are low-income. East continues to serve students from all socio-economic groups.

Academic offerings have greatly expanded since 1960. In addition to a solid core of academic and elective classes, East delivers 10 Advanced Placement (AP) courses and the International Baccalaureate (IB) program as well as Honors and Gifted Education courses. The AVID program, which has proven effective in preparing mid-level students for college, operates in grades 4-12.

• 36% of students enrolled in AP courses last year and 21% passed at least one AP test, earning college credit.
• 55 students in the Class of 2023 are International Baccalaureate Diploma candidates. More than 90% of students enrolled graduate from this four-year program with an international curriculum and rigorous tests. 
• For the school as a whole, students averaged 18 on the ACT and 1330 on the SAT.
• In addition to four years of English and three years of math, science, and social sciences, all students are required to take at least two semesters in Fine Arts, one semester in Industrial Education, one semester of financial literacy, and only one semester of Physical Education.

Extra-curricular activities, which were extensive in 1960, have also expanded. Today, more than 50 clubs and organizations serve an impressive diversity of student interests, promote service to the community, and participate successfully in national competitions. In 2015, East’s principal told 1960 classmates touring the building that East hosted clubs for everything from Anime to Muslim Students to Ultimate Frisbee in addition to many traditional clubs and service opportunities. As would be expected, activities utilize current technologies. The social media ad below is promoting an East High Soccer team fundraiser. Videos of athletics contests and school events are on Facebook and the school website, including the one below describing community service events.

Athletics teams continue to perform at a high level, winning regional and state championships. Excellent facilities, including a new swimming pool in 2014, help the athletes achieve their best. The biggest difference, the addition of interscholastic, competitive teams for girls, resulted from the passage of Title IX in 1972. East High’s boys and girls compete successfully and win college scholarships with their athletic skills. Look at the list of teams by season to see how athletics has changed.

Fall: Cross Country – Boys/Girls; Football; Golf – Girls; Soccer – Boys; Tennis – Girls; Volleyball

Winter: Basketball – Boys; Basketball – Girls; Bowling – Boys/Girls; Swimming & Diving – Boys; Wrestling

Spring: Baseball; Golf – Boys; Soccer – Girls; Softball; Swimming & Diving – Girls; Tennis – Boys; Track – Boys/Girls

Activities:  Cheer; Dance

 Above: Blue Aces Boys Basketball Team won the state championship in 2015.

Student services were limited in 1960. Today, East provides extensive programs for students with disabilities, day care for students’ infants and toddlers, and support for a wide variety of learning technologies.

• Students with disabilities have been legally entitled to appropriate educational services since 1975.  Students with severe intellectual and physical disabilities tended to be absent from public schools when we were students. Today, they are integrated into regular classes when appropriate and included in many social programs and student activities. 
• Pregnant students are welcome at East High, unlike 1958-60 when pregnancy caused girls to disappear from school. The nursery and day care facility does double-duty, providing a lab setting for students in early childhood education.
• School staff members include two social workers, a psychologist, a college and careers counselor, and five general counselors as well as personnel who assist students and teachers with learning technology devices. 
• Laptops are provided for students along with technical support for students and teachers.

Faculty and staff are well-qualified and experienced, reflecting stability (90% have been at East more than three years) and strong leadership in the school environment. East High employs 176 faculty and student-oriented staff, plus facilities staff. Average faculty salary in 2018 was $60,937. The faculty-to-student ratio is 17-1. Above, a spring 2021 East High classroom, complete with masks and social distancing.

Outcomes vary from 1960. 

• About 80% of students graduate compared to 75% in 1960. The student body in 1960, however, included few students with disabilities, and a significant number of students had dropped out before 10th grade.
• More than 83% of graduates go on for some type of post-secondary education, a significant increase.
• In 2019, the College Board indicated that East High students far exceeded expectations on the SAT for the school’s socio-economic level.
• U.S. News and World Report also confirmed that the academic performance of East’s students exceeded predictions based on demographic information.

Typical of a large, city high school with a high percentage of low-income students and diverse enrollment, East High students perform below the Kansas state average on indicators measured by the state and lower than students enrolled at high schools in affluent suburbs of Wichita and Kansas City.

• English: 27% of East students met standards compared to a state average of 36%
• Math: 24% met standards compared to state average of 32%
• Science: 24% met standards compared to state average of 35%

The meaning of those numbers remains open to debate. The tests are relatively new, so academic studies have not been completed on whether the tests do a valid job of predicting college performance.

Official state academic standards for what students should know and be able to do and state tests to measure performance did not exist in 1960. (Some state curriculum requirements apparently did exist. Many of us remember being told that George Eliot’s Silas Marner, a novel about a narcoleptic weaver that, ironically, put many of us to sleep in 1958, was required by the state.) The adoption of state academic standards has been controversial in Kansas, as in other states. Teachers have had to revise their lessons to align with state standards in English, math, and science, on which students take state tests. With the alignment process ongoing and incomplete, performance of students lags on the state tests, especially for low-income students. Standards, by the way, exist in most curricular areas – including arts, foreign languages, industrial education, etc. – but those areas are not tested by the state.  Whether standards and expectations are high enough, too high, or just right continues to be controversial.

The achievement gap between low-income and more affluent students did exist in 1960 and was expected as part of the culture. Today, East is using a variety of well-researched methods and programs to meet a complex challenge that confronts educators across the nation: how to increase the success of all students, not just those who come to school well-fed and ready to learn.

The phrase “comprehensive high school” describes East High today, as it did in 1960. Although East has magnet programs such as the International Baccalaureate that draw students from across the city, Wichita also delivers specialized education through a separate school for gifted and talented students, centers for severely disabled students, and alternative education for students unable to function in a large school. East High today has sustained and greatly expanded its array of high quality academics, athletics, and activities.

And yes, school spirit and traditions seem to be alive and well at East High along with innovations. Check out The Landing, a new shop within the high school. Designed by Business and Marketing students, built by Carpentry students, promoted online by Digital Media students, and staffed by Career and Technical Ed students, The Landing sells coffee and snacks, gifts, t-shirts, and “spirit” gear in person and online. Stop in when you are touring the high school on October 1 and buy some East High swag from these entrepreneurial students.