Charles A. Sprague High School, known as Sprague High School (SHS), is a high school in the Sunnyslope neighborhood of Salem, Oregon, United States. The school is named after Charles A. Sprague, who served as Oregon's governor from 1939 to 1943.

Charles A. Sprague High School
Address
Map
2373 Kuebler Road S

, ,
97302

United States
Coordinates44°53′13″N 123°04′40″W / 44.886988°N 123.077743°W / 44.886988; -123.077743
Information
TypePublic
Opened1972
School districtSalem-Keizer School District
PrincipalChad Barkes
Teaching staff77.77 (FTE)[1]
Number of students1,779 (2022–23)[1]
Student to teacher ratio22.88[1]
Color(s)Olympic orange and white
    [4]
Athletics conferenceOSAA Central Valley Conference 6A-6[2]
MascotOlympian[2]
Team nameOlympians[3]
RivalSouth Salem High School
NewspaperThe Oracle
Feeder schoolsCrossler Middle School,
Judson Middle School[5]
Websitesprague.salkeiz.k12.or.us

Academics

edit

In the 2017–18 school year, 87.9% of Sprague's seniors received a high school diploma, compared to a statewide rate of 77%. Of 365 students, 321 graduated and 30 dropped out.

In the 2017–18 school year, Sprague's test scores were significantly higher than the state averages. In English, Sprague had 84% of students meeting state standards compared to the 70% state average, 46% in math compared to 33% statewide, and 81% in science compared to the 54% state average.

The racial makeup of Sprague currently consists of 74% white, 11% Hispanic, with all other races compiling the other 15%.

Music activities

edit

Grammy Signature School recognition

edit

Sprague has been recognized as a Grammy Signature School in many years.[6] This program is designed to honor exceptional public high school music programs across the country.

  • 2009: GRAMMY Signature Schools[6]
  • 2008: GRAMMY Signature Schools[7]
  • 2000: National GRAMMY Signature School[6]
  • 1999: GRAMMY Signature Schools Gold[6]

Orchestra

edit

Since the orchestral program was created in 1986, Sprague's Camerata Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra have won a combined 25 Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) State Championships, and the program flourished under the direction of Steve A. Nelson. In addition, Sprague is the only high school in Oregon to have won state championships in all four OSAA music categories (String Orchestra, Full Orchestra, Choir, and Band) in a single year (1998).[8] Beginning in 1993, and every fourth year until 2005 (1997, 2001, 2005), Sprague's Orchestra Program has traveled to Austria, where the Camerata has been named the "Top High School String Orchestra in the World" on multiple occasions after winning the Vienna Youth and Music Festival in 1997 and 2005. The orchestras are currently directed by Lisa Rael.

  • State Championships:
  • Full Orchestra: 1988, 1996–99, 2001–03, 2006, 2011
  • String Orchestra: 1990, 1993, 1995–2000, 2002, 2004–06, 2009–11

Choir

edit

Choir director Russ Christensen was named the Oregon Music Educator of the year for 2007. The choir placed or tied for first in OSAA state choir championships in 1998, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012, and 2017. The choir is now directed by Dr. Robert David Brown.[9]

Bands

edit

Sprague High School Marching Band and Color Guard won the Oregon state championship in 1984, 1985, and 1986. They won the Kelso Highlander Marching band competition in 1983. The marching band competed in the California state championships in San Jose in 1984, coming in second place by only 3/4 of a point. They also took first place at the Bands of America regional championship in Moscow, Idaho in 1985. The color guard, named the Starlighters Winterguard, won the Western Dream Pageant Scholastic division with the highest score up to that point in 1986, having an undefeated season.[citation needed] In 2017, under the direction of Dr. Richard Greenwood, the band won the 6A OSAA state championship for the first time since 2012.

  • State Championships: 1998, 2001, 2003–07, 2009, 2012, 2017

The band is a member of Northwest Association for Performing Arts and Oregon School Activities Association.

Sprague has hosted the Pacific Coast Invitational, a marching band competition, since 1982.

Concert Band

edit

Sprague band has participated in many Heritage Festivals[10] in Anaheim and San Francisco, California over the years. Below is list of the accomplishments by participation year:

Year Event Band Ranking
2008 Heritage Festivals, Anaheim Wind Ensemble Gold 1st
2008 Heritage Festivals, Anaheim Wind Symphony Silver
2001 Heritage Festivals, Anaheim Wind Ensemble Gold 1st
2001 Heritage Festivals, Anaheim Symphonic Band Silver 1st
2001 Heritage Festivals, San Francisco Jazz Band I Gold 1st
2000 Heritage Festivals, San Francisco Jazz Band Gold 1st
2000 Heritage Festivals, San Francisco Jazz Band Gold 2nd
2000 Heritage Festivals, San Francisco Wind Ensemble Gold 1st
2000 Heritage Festivals, San Francisco Concert Band Gold 1st

Marching band accolades

edit

The first two months of each school year is marching band season. To start the season off, two weeks in August are devoted to marching band camp. Members of Sprague Band assemble with the Color Guard practice drills, straighten lines and create a show for competition with other high school marching bands within Oregon, Washington, California, and Idaho. Most are members of the Northwest Association of Performing Artists.

Year[11] Event Class rank Class captions Event rank Event captions
2018 U of O Festival of Bands 3rd in AA - 10th -
2013 Pride of the Northwest 1st in A[12] High General Effect
High Visual
High Auxiliary
1st[13] High Music
High Visual
High Auxiliary
2013 McKenzie Classic 2nd in A[14] High General Effect 8th[15] -
2013 Southridge Spectacle of Sound 2nd in A[16] - 12th[17] -
2012 U of O Festival of Bands 3rd in A[18] High Music 10th[19] -
2012 Century Showcase 1st in A[20] High General Effect
High Music
High Visual
High Auxiliary
10th[21] -
2011 U of O Festival of Bands 3rd in A[22] - 13th[23] -
2011 Century Showcase 2nd in A[24] - 5th[25] -
2010 U of O Festival of Bands (Championships) 7th in A[26] - - -
2010 Pride of the Northwest 2nd in A[27] High Music
High Auxiliary
7th[28] -
2010 Pacific Coast Invitational 1st in A[29] High Music
High Auxiliary
5th[30] -
2009 OSU Marching Band Competition (Championships) 1st in A[31]
Note:
West Salem 1st in AA
South Salem 1st in AAA
Southridge 1st in Open
High Music
High Auxiliary
9th[32] -
2009 Pride of the Northwest 1st in A High General Effect
High Music
High Visual
High Auxiliary
2nd[33] High Auxiliary
2008 U of O Festival of Bands (Championships) 2nd in A
2008 OSU Marching Band Competition 1st in A High General Effect
2008 McKenzie Classic 2nd in A High Music
2007 OSU Marching Band Competition (Championships) 2nd in AA High General Effect
2007 Puget Sound Festival of Bands 1st in AA High General Effect
High Music
High Visual
High Percussion
High Auxiliary
4th
2007 Sunset Classic 2nd in AA High Music
High Auxiliary
3rd High Music
2006 Pride of the Northwest 2nd in AA High Music
2005 U of O Festival of Bands 7th
2005 Sunset Classic 1st in AA High General Effect
High Music
High Visual
High Auxiliary
3rd High Music
2004 U of O Festival of Bands (Championships) 1st in A
2004 Sunset Classic 1st in A High General Effect
High Music
High Auxiliary

Athletics

edit

Sprague now competes in the 6A Central Valley Conference, re-established in 2022. The other teams in the conference are also from Salem and Keizer: McNary, North Salem, South Salem, West Salem.

Sprague has won ten state championships in various sports, including six Directors Cup[clarification needed] trophies for league standings in all sports throughout a school year.

During the 2004-2005 school year, Sprague won both the football and baseball state championships, marking the first time since 1998[34][35] that a major Oregon high school was a state champion in two of the "Big 3" (football, basketball, and baseball) in the same year. Sprague has also had a very successful tennis program. Between 2006 and 2009, the boys' tennis team won the team state championship and had a player in the singles final in three out of four years (2006, 2007, 2009).

Sprague has one of the best high school racquetball teams in the nation. They have 7 state and 6 national titles, along with numerous individual player titles. The team swept the state championship in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022. They have been in the top 2 high school racquetball teams for over a decade.

State Championships

  • Football: 2004[36]
  • Boys' tennis: 1977, 1993, 1997, 2006, 2007, 2009[37]
  • Baseball: 1995, 2005[38]
  • Softball: 2003
  • Racquetball: 1998, 2008, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022 (club sport)

National Champions

  • Racquetball: 1998, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2019, 2020 (club sport)

State Championship Appearances

  • Boys Cross Country: 1972, 1980, 1984, 1989–91, 1999-2000, 2004, 2022
  • Girls Cross Country: 1978–81, 1986–87, 1989, 1992, 1996–97, 2007, 2015–17
  • Volleyball: 2018
  • Girls Basketball: 1989
  • Boys Basketball: 1989, 1996–97
  • Boys Swimming: 1974–78, 1986, 1990–95, 2002–03, 2007–08, 2011, 2015, 2017–18
  • Girls Swimming: 1976–78, 1985, 1990–97, 1999-2000, 2002–15, 2017–18
  • Wrestling: 1979-82, 1984–85, 1988, 1991–18
  • Baseball: 1995, 2005
  • Boys Golf: 1976, 1979–80, 1992–93, 1999–2003, 2007–08, 2011–12
  • Girls Golf: 2000–01, 2007, 2012–14, 2018
  • Softball: 1989, 1992, 1994, 2003, 2005
  • Boys Tennis: 1974–79, 1982–83, 1985, 1988–18
  • Girls Tennis: 1977, 1980–85, 1988, 1990–92, 1994, 1996–98, 2004–14, 2018
  • Boys Track and Field: 1974–76, 1978–82, 1984–85, 1989–94, 1997, 2000–12, 2014–17
  • Girls Track and Field: 1975–77, 1979–83, 1986, 1988–89, 1992, 1995–98, 2001–04, 2007, 2010–14, 2017

Notable alumni

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Sprague High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Oregon School Activities Association". 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  3. ^ "Oregon School Activities Association". 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  4. ^ "Sprague High School". Oregon School Activities Association. Retrieved 2024-04-17.
  5. ^ https://salkeiz.k12.or.us/schools/attendance-areas
  6. ^ a b c d "GRAMMY in the Schools". Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  7. ^ "2008 GRAMMY Signature Schools Finalists" (PDF). 2007-11-02. Retrieved 2009-07-15.
  8. ^ "1998 Championship Results" (PDF).
  9. ^ "OSAA Choir". Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  10. ^ http://www.heritagefestivals.com/heritagefest/main/default.asp
  11. ^ "Northwest Association of Performing Arts". August 2007. Retrieved 2012-10-01.
  12. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2013 PNW Prelims" (PDF). October 26, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  13. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2013 PNW Finals" (PDF). October 26, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  14. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2013 McKenzie Classic Prelims" (PDF). October 19, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  15. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2013 McKenzie Classic Finals" (PDF). October 19, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  16. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2013 Southridge Spectacle of Sound Prelims" (PDF). October 5, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  17. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2013 Southridge Spectacle of Sound Finals" (PDF). October 5, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
  18. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2012 Festival of Bands Prelims" (PDF). October 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
  19. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2012 Festival of Bands Finals" (PDF). October 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
  20. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2012 Century Showcase Prelims" (PDF). October 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
  21. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2012 Century Showcase Finals" (PDF). October 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
  22. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2011 Festival of Bands Prelims" (PDF). October 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
  23. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2011 Festival of Bands Finals" (PDF). October 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-24.
  24. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2011 Century Showcase Prelims" (PDF). September 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  25. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2011 Century Showcase Finals" (PDF). September 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  26. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2010 FoB Prelims" (PDF). October 2010. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
  27. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2010 PNW Prelims" (PDF). October 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-01.
  28. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2010 PNW Finals" (PDF). October 2010. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
  29. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2010 PCI Prelims" (PDF). October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
  30. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2010 PCI Finals" (PDF). October 2010. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
  31. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2009 Championships Prelims" (PDF). November 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
  32. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2009 Championships Finals" (PDF). November 2009. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
  33. ^ "NWAPA Recap Sheet 2009 PNW Finals" (PDF). October 2009. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
  34. ^ "OSAA Baseball Champions" (PDF).
  35. ^ "OSAA Football Champions" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-05-13.
  36. ^ "OSAA Football Championships" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-10-03.
  37. ^ "OSAA Boys Tennis Championships" (PDF).
  38. ^ "OSAA Baseball Championships" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-10-03.
  39. ^ "Joey Wong representing China in World Baseball Classic".