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Madison West High School is a grade 9-12 public high school in Madison,
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
, operated by the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD). The school was founded in 1930. It is one of the five high schools in MMSD, and serves students from three municipalities: Madison, Shorewood Hills and Fitchburg. Located near the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the State Capitol, West High School was rated as significantly exceeds expectations on the 2018-2019 School Report Card from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Its athletics teams, the Regents, compete in the WIAA Big Eight Conference. On multiple occasions West High School has had more National Merit Scholarship semifinalists than any other high school in Wisconsin.


About School

Equity Vision: "West is committed to being an intentionally
anti-racist Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and delibera ...
school community. We will be inclusive and student centered, uplifting and valuing the diverse identities of all students and families. We will promote high expectations,
educational equity Educational equity, also known as equity in education, is a measure of equity in education. Educational equity depends on two main factors. The first is distributive justice, which implies that factors specific to one's personal conditions should ...
and excellence to ensure that every student graduates college, career and community ready."


Academics


Ranking

Madison West High School is ranked #997 nationally, #24 in Wisconsin, and #1 in the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) by U.S. News & World Report's 2025 rankings for Best High Schools. It has a student to teacher ratio 17:1, higher than U.S. average of 15.4:1.


Advanced Placement (AP) Offerings

Madison West offers 24 out the total 38 AP classes, which is higher than grade 9-12 school's national average of 10. West's AP courses include French Language and Culture, Spanish Language and Culture, Spanish Literature and Culture, German Language and Culture, U.S. Government and Politics, U.S. History, World History, Statistics, Precalculus, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Computer Science Principles, Computer Science A, Physics 2, Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Science, and Music Theory.


Extracurricular Activities (club listed in alphabetical order)

Madison West High School offer
101 extracurricular organizations
and activities, alongside 21 interscholastic sports. With prominent academic competitive clubs that has strong records in local, state, national, and some international tournaments : * DECA (formerly Distributive Education Clubs of America) *
Mock Trial A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisti ...

Math Team
(offers exams for AMC 8, AMC 10, AMC 12, AIME, USAMO/USAJMO, and IMO) * National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA): Forensics Team, and Debate Team are separate clubs under NSDA * American Rocketry Challenge: Rocket Club *
Science Olympiad Science Olympiad, sometimes abbreviated as SciOly, is an American team competition in which students compete in 23 events pertaining to various fields of science. The subjects include earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. O ...


Math Team

The Madison West Math Team took first place in the 2015 state math meet. In 2016, they took first in the state math meet, the Wisconsin Math League, and the International Online "Purple Comet! Math Meet" for Wisconsin (20th in the U.S.).


Rocket Club

Madison West Rocket Club was started in 2003 by freshman Thomas Hanzlik. In 2009, 2012, and 2019 it placed first in the American Rocketry Challenge (TARC) national finals. In 2020, the club submitted a proposal to the Ken Sousa Memorial Grant Contest to study the effects of space flight on organisms by sending
slime mold Slime mold or slime mould is an informal name given to a polyphyletic assemblage of unrelated eukaryotic organisms in the Stramenopiles, Rhizaria, Discoba, Amoebozoa and Holomycota clades. Most are near-microscopic; those in the Myxogastria ...
s into suborbital flight. The club completed Project Ariadne, putting slime mold through the stress of going on a suborbital flight and studying its ability to solve mazes and develop pathways competing in the 2020
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
Student Launch Challenge. The club participates regularly in the American Rocketry Challenge and Rockets For Schools, where they have consistently placed at finals.


Science Olympiad

The Madison West
Science Olympiad Science Olympiad, sometimes abbreviated as SciOly, is an American team competition in which students compete in 23 events pertaining to various fields of science. The subjects include earth science, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. O ...
team began in 1985. The West team placed in the top 10 in the national tournament in three consecutive years from 1989 to 1991, placing 2nd in 1989. The team also finished first in the state tournament in 2012 and 2013. From 1989 to 2019 the Madison West team won state 19 times, placed second 15 times, and were invited to the national tournament 24 times.


Athletics

Madison West's athletic teams are known as the Regents, and compete in the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association's
Big Eight Conference The Big Eight Conference was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored American football, football. It was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate ...
. The Regents have won a WIAA-record 92 state championships.


Main Events of School


1924-1930: Founding

Established in 1930, Madison West High School began as a junior-senior high before becoming a four-year high school in the 1960s. The building is a notable example of Collegiate Gothic Revival architecture, featuring pointed arches, stonework, and ornamental detailing. At the time of its construction, the school was located at the western edge of Madison, inspiring its name. In the early 20th century, Madison’s only public high school was located downtown on the isthmus. A second school, East High School, opened in 1924 on the far east side. As western neighborhoods such as Nakoma, Wingra Park, and Westmorland grew, the school board selected the Carpenter farm on Regent Street for a new high school. The site, bordered by Highland Avenue at the city limits, was controversial. On April 22, 1924, the ''Capital Times'' reported that Board member E.E. Brossard opposed the location, citing concerns that Madison would not expand far enough west for the site to be considered central.


1939-1945: World War II

Fifty-seven alumni from the Classes of 1931 to 1944 are recognized as Gold Star alumni, having sacrificed in military service during for U.S. in World War II. Their names are inscribed on a memorial wall at the school's southern entrance, beneath a 13-folded triangle American flag.


2020-2024: Renovation

In 2020, Madison voters approved a $317 million referendum to improve school facilities across the district. As part of this plan, extensive renovations began at West High in summer 2022 and were completed in fall 2024. These renovations aimed to address overcrowding and accommodate a projected student population of 2,200, as noted in a 2019 facilities assessment by Zimmerman Architectural Studios, Inc. Between 2022 and 2024, enrollment at West High increased significantly, contributing to overcrowding concerns. The renovation included a new pool and gym with updated locker rooms, new classrooms and team rooms, and integrated wrestling and weight training facilities. Other additions include a library media center, expanded science labs, a welcome center, and a four-story accessibility addition to connect all school levels.


2020–2022: Academic and Policy Changes

In 2020, the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) implemented a policy setting 50% as the minimum grade for assignments, including those that were not submitted. Critics raised concerns about grade inflation and its effects on academic preparedness. Academic performance at Madison West High School has declined since the 2018–19 school year, with some attributing the drop to factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in district policy, and shifting cultural dynamics. From 2021 to 2024, the MMSD school board considered removing honors classes, though the proposal was not adopted following large community opposition. As of 2024, West High ranks above only one other district school in Dane County for overall academic performance. In October 2019, a security assistant was terminated after using a racial slur while advising a student not to use it. The incident prompted student protests, and the staff member was subsequently reinstated. Legal and Cultural Issues In April 2021, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL) sent a letter to Madison West administrators, raising concerns about a potential violation of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...
. This followed virtual discussions on race where students were divided into groups for “white students” and “students of color,” as noted in school emails. In February 2020, WILL filed a lawsuit against MMSD on behalf of parents, challenging a 2018 policy that allowed students to change their gender identity at school without parental consent or notification. In September 2020, Judge Frank Remington issued an injunction blocking the policy, and in January 2022, the
Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...
reviewed the case. However, the case was dismissed after the plaintiffs withdrew their child from the district, thus losing jurisdiction.


2025-Present: Federal Intervention and Criticism

In January 2025, the Trump administration issued Executive Order 14190, titled "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling, which prohibits the use of federal funds to “illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools.” The accompanying fact sheet cited the Madison Metropolitan School District as an example of the policies the order seeks to address. West High School is part of the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD). The MMSD has broad control over its operations and management.


Historical Archives

Madison West High School, in partnership with Advantage Archives, digitized its 2,414 pages of the West High Times (1930–1962) and 14,105 pages of yearbooks (1933–2020). Contents from this archive has been used to update and enrich this wikipedia page about the school's history.


Notable Alumni

* Jim Bakken – former NFL place kicker,
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
* Drake Baldwin – MLB catcher *
Tammy Baldwin Tammy Suzanne Green Baldwin (born February 11, 1962) is an American politician and lawyer serving since 2013 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party (United Stat ...
– U.S. representative and U.S. senator * Carol A. Buettner – Wisconsin state senator * Alex Compton – former
Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...
player and head coach * Jeff Conrad – drummer for the band
Phantom Planet Phantom Planet is an American Rock music, rock band from Los Angeles, formed in 1994. The band consists of Alex Greenwald (vocals, rhythm guitar), Darren Robinson (lead guitar), Sam Farrar (bass guitar) and Jeff Conrad (drums). The band is bes ...
* Jim Doyle, class of 1963 – 44th governor of
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
* Reece Gaines – former
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
guard,
Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...
,
Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...
,
Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...
* Alexander Gee Jr – founder of Nehemiah Ministries, Justified Anger, and the Center for Black Excellence and Culture * Alexander R. Grant – Wisconsin state representative * Beth Heiden – Olympic
bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...
ist speed skater in the 1980 Winter Olympic Games; professional cyclist *
Eric Heiden Eric Arthur Heiden (born June 14, 1958) is an American physician and a former long track speed skater, road cyclist and track cyclist. He won an unprecedented five individual gold medals, and set four Olympic records and one world record at th ...
– Olympic
gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...
ist speed skater at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games; professional cyclist *
Phil Hellmuth Phillip Jerome Hellmuth Jr. (born July 16, 1964) is an American professional poker player who has won a record seventeen World Series of Poker bracelets, the majority in no-limit hold'em. He is the winner of the Main Event of the 1989 World Se ...
– professional poker player * Dan Immerfall – Olympic speed skater 1976 Winter Olympic Games, 1980 Winter Olympic Games * Daniel Kane – mathematician;
Morgan Prize The Morgan Prize (full name Frank and Brennie Morgan Prize for Outstanding Research in Mathematics by an Undergraduate Student) is an annual award given to an undergraduate student in the US, Canada, or Mexico who demonstrates superior mathematic ...
(2007),
Putnam Fellow The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition, often abbreviated to Putnam Competition, is an annual mathematics competition for undergraduate college students enrolled at institutions of higher learning in the United States and Canada (regar ...
(2003–2006) *
Peter Koechley Peter Lennon Koechley is an American writer and internet entrepreneur. He was the managing editor of '' The Onion'' and co-founded Upworthy. Biography Koechley attended Madison West High School and graduated from Columbia University in 2003 w ...
– co-founder of
Upworthy Upworthy is a media brand that focuses on positive storytelling. It was started in March 2012 by Eli Pariser, the former executive director of MoveOn, and Peter Koechley, the former managing editor of '' The Onion''. One of Facebook's co-found ...
*
Fred Lerdahl Alfred Whitford (Fred) Lerdahl (born March 10, 1943) is an American music theorist and composer. Best known for his work on musical grammar, Music cognition, cognition, Rhythm, rhythmic theory, and pitch space, he and the linguist Ray Jackendoff d ...
– composer and music theorist * Awonder Liang – chess player, third youngest American to qualify for the title of Grandmaster * Barbara Lorman – Wisconsin state senator * Denny Love – actor * David Maraniss – journalist and author * K. T. McFarland – deputy national security advisor *
Dalia Mogahed Dalia Mogahed (born 1975), is an American researcher and consultant of Egyptian American, Egyptian origin. She is the director of research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU) in Washington, D.C. She is also President and C ...
– Director of Research at the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding * Ward Moorehouse – anti-corporate activist, publisher * Jay Mortenson – Olympic gold medalist in swimming in 1988 *
Cyrus Nowrasteh Cyrus Nowrasteh (Persian language, Persian: سیروس/کوروش نورسته; ; born September 19, 1956) is an American filmmaker. He has worked on numerous television series and Television movie, made-for-TV movies including ''The Day Reagan W ...
– filmmaker * Sarayu Rao – actress * John Reynolds – actor and writer * Sarah T. Roberts – researcher * David L. Rose – business executive * Leo Sidran – musician * Charles P. Smith – Wisconsin state treasurer * John Stamstad – bike racer and trail runner, member of the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame * Scott Stantis – editorial cartoonist for ''
The Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN radio and WGN tel ...
'' and creator of the comic strips '' The Buckets'' and '' Prickly City'' * Tim Stracka – former NFL tight end,
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...
* Mike Sui – actor * Chris Tallman – actor * Donnel Thompson – former NFL
linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...
,
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
,
Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...
*
Tim Van Galder Thomas Scott "Tim" Van Galder (May 26, 1944 – January 26, 2022) was an American professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) with the St. Louis Cardinals (NFL), St. Louis Cardina ...
– former NFL
quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
,
St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
* Stu Voigt – former NFL tight end,
Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...
* J.D. Walsh – actor *
Marc Webb Marc Preston Webb (born August 31, 1974) is an American filmmaker and music video director. He made his feature film directorial debut in 2009 with the romantic comedy '' (500) Days of Summer.'' He then directed ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' (2012 ...
– film director *
Bob Whitsitt Bob Whitsitt is a former sports executive in both the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Football League (NFL). He has served as the general manager (or in an equivalent role) for three teams: the Seattle SuperSonics and Po ...
– general manager of the
Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (N ...
and the Seattle SuperSonics in the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
; the
Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...
in the NFL * Ben Wikler – chair of the
Democratic Party of Wisconsin The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler. Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public edu ...


References


External links


School websiteDistrict website
{{authority control High schools in Madison, Wisconsin Educational institutions established in 1930 Public high schools in Wisconsin 1930 establishments in Wisconsin *