Forest Grove High School (FGHS) is a

public high school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

Forest Grove, Oregon Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland, Oregon, Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a commuter town in the Portland metro area . Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in ...

. Founded in 1907, it is the only high school in the Forest Grove School District.

Academics

The school has been awarded the Bronze Medal in the '' U.S. News & World Report'' rankings of America's Best High Schools. The school once had the highest dropout rate in Washington County and test scores below the state average in the early 2000s.Tareen, Sophia. A model for change. ''The Oregonian'', May 18, 2006. Forest Grove High hired a new principal, John O'Neil, to address these issues in 2002. He introduced mandatory reading and math workshops for students below the state average to raise their performance. This, and other changes, helped to reduce the dropout rate and improve test scores. For these improvements, in 2006 the school was presented the Closing the Achievement Gap award from the

State of Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. The following year, the 2,000-student school became the first high school to win the award two years in a row.Pardington, Suzanne. Forest Grove High School: School turnaround? 'Absolutely'. ''The Oregonian'', May 8, 2007. During this time, graduation rates improved from around 66% to 85%. In 2008, 73% of the school's seniors received a

high school diploma A high school diploma (sometimes referred to as a high school degree) is a diploma awarded upon graduation of high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary s ...

. Of 444 students, 325 graduated, 51 dropped out, 19 received a modified diploma, and 49 were still in high school the following year. In 2009, ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'' described the school as an "overachiever" at teaching reading and math, due to its achievement scores.

Athletics

* State championship in women's softball: 2007 * State championship in women's wrestling: 2022

Notable programs

In 1976, the school started the ''Viking House Program'', in which students build a single-family home each year in the community.Trap pen, Michelle. Forest Grove High School - Students build every square inch of house. ''The Oregonian'', October 4, 2007 They begin building in early September and finish construction with an open house in late May.Mandel, Michelle. Viking House not your average school project. ''The Oregonian'', June 8, 2006 The house is then put up for sale at market price, with the proceeds used for furthering the program with purchases of new tools and the materials for the next house.Trappen, Michelle. Hands-on classes make a comeback. ''The Oregonian'', October 11, 2007 This program is one of few focused on house construction in Portland-area schools, in addition to those at Canby High School and

Benson Polytechnic High School Benson Polytechnic High School (BHS) is a technical public high school in the Portland Public Schools district. Its campus is located in the Central Eastside commercial area of Portland, Oregon, United States. Students are given a special em ...

. The program adopted "learn by doing" as their motto. Through 2011, the program had built 35 homes. The school also operates a firefighting cadet program that began in 2001.Navas, Melissa. Firefighter cadet class might be cut. ''The Oregonian'', January 30, 2007 The program allows juniors and seniors to learn firefighting techniques that are usually taught at the community college level to prepare students for careers in firefighting. Forest Grove’s fire department and the school partner in the program with the fire department providing instructors. In 2015, the school began publishing an online newspaper, ''The Advocate'', written and edited by students. Published monthly during the school year, it emulates a full-fledged city newspaper, with national and world news sections.

Notable alumni

Bobby Chouinard Robert William Chouinard (born May 1, 1972) is a Filipino-American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was the first person born in the Philippines to play Major League Baseball since Claudio Manela in 1925 (and the first t ...

, baseball pitcher * Robert Garrigus, golfer * Mitch Meeuwsen, football player *

Zac Rosscup Zachary Martin Rosscup (born June 9, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Piratas de Campeche of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles ...

, baseball pitcher

References

External links