Charles A. Sprague High School, known as Sprague High School (SHS), is a

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

in the Sunnyslope neighborhood of

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The school is named after Charles A. Sprague, who served as Oregon's governor from 1939 to 1943.

Academics

In the 2017–18 school year, 87.9% of Sprague'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 ...

, 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, 15% other.

Music activities

Grammy Signature School recognition

Sprague has been recognized as a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

Signature School in many years. This program is designed to honor exceptional public high school music programs across the country. * 2009: GRAMMY Signature Schools * 2008: GRAMMY Signature Schools * 2000: National GRAMMY Signature School * 1999: GRAMMY Signature Schools Gold

Orchestra

Since the orchestral program was created in 1986, Sprague's Camerata Orchestra and

Symphony Orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

have won a combined 25

Oregon School Activities Association The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) is a non-profit, board-governed organization that regulates high school athletics and competitive activities via athletic conferences in the U.S. state of Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. s ...

(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 The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) is a non-profit, board-governed organization that regulates high school athletics and competitive activities via athletic conferences in the U.S. state of Oregon, providing equitable competition a ...

music categories (String Orchestra, Full Orchestra, Choir, and Band) in a single year (1998). 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 Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

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

Choir director

Russ Christensen Russ is a masculine given name, often a short form of Russell, and also a surname. People Given name or nickname * Russ (rapper) (born 1992), American rapper, real name Russell James Vitale * Russ Abbot (born 1947), British musician, comedian ...

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.

Bands

Sprague High School Marching Band and

Color Guard In Military, military organizations, a colour guard (or color guard) is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of Colours, standards and guidons, regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is highly prestigious, and the mil ...

won the

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 ...

state championship in 1984, 1985, and 1986. They won the Kelso Highlander Marching band competition in 1983. The marching band competed in the

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

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 Bands of America (BOA) is a music education advocacy organization and promoter of high school marching band competitions in the United States. Established in 1975 as Marching Bands of America (MBA), founder Larry McCormick's goal was to provide e ...

regional championship in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

in 1985. The color guard, named the Starlighters

Winterguard Winter guard (sometimes spelled "winterguard") is an indoor color guard sport and performance art derived from military ceremonies. Modern winter guard is a competitive, performance-based activity which incorporates choreographed staging, dance, ...

, won the Western Dream Pageant Scholastic division with the highest score up to that point in 1986, having an undefeated season. 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 The Northwest Association for Performing Arts (NWAPA) is a governing body and competitive circuit of high school marching bands, color guards, and percussion ensembles based in Portland, Oregon. The association was founded in 1997 as the Northw ...

and

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

Concert Band

Sprague band has participated in many Heritage Festivals in

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

over the years. Below is list of the accomplishments by participation year:

Marching band accolades

The first two months of each

school year An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classes and do rel ...

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 Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, and

. Most are members of the Northwest Association of Performing Artists.

Athletics

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 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 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 * Boys' tennis: 1977, 1993, 1997, 2006, 2007, 2009 * Baseball: 1995, 2005 * 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

Joey Wong Joey Wong Cho-Yee ( AKA Joey Wang, Wang Tsu Hsien) (, born 31 January 1967) is a Taiwanese former actress and singer who rose to pan-Asian fame for her roles in Hong Kong films, particularly the film series '' A Chinese Ghost Story'' (1987–1991) ...

, baseball player * Bill Swancutt, NFL football player *

Teagan Quitoriano Teagan Quitoriano (born March 15, 2000) is an American professional football tight end for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon State Beavers. College career Quitoriano played at Or ...

, NFL football player

References

{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1972 High schools in Salem, Oregon Public high schools in Oregon 1972 establishments in Oregon