Westlake High School is a public high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 located in Westlake, Ohio

Westlake, Ohio

Westlake is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 32,729 at the 2010 census. It is an affluent suburb of Cleveland, Ohio and is located 12 miles from Cleveland's downtown.-Geography:Westlake is located at...

, west of Cleveland, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. It is the only high school in the Westlake City Schools district. Its principal is Tim Freeman. It has two assistant principals: Michael May and Vishtasp Nuggud.

Mission statement

We educate for excellence...empowering all students to achieve their educational goals, to direct their lives, and to contribute to society.

Arts

The Westlake High School music program has been consistently ranked as one of the top music programs in the state of Ohio. The program features the Class AA Symphonic Wind Ensemble, which has earned the top rating at the Ohio Music Education Association's state contests for the last seven years. The program also has a string orchestra, two jazz ensembles, a concert band, and numerous other small performing groups. Jazz Ensemble I has garnered many awards and is considered to be one of the finest high school Jazz Ensembles in the state. The 160-person Demon Marching Band, known to many as "The Pride of Westlake," is also highly reputed among the teams of the Southwest Conference, and has performed at the Rose Bowl and the Chicago Thanksgiving Day Parade. Raymond S. Walczuk, the director of the band, was recognized as Westlake's Teacher of the Year in 2005. He teaches the Symphonic Band, Marching band, Chamber Orchestra, and Jazz Ensembles. His instruction has produced many fine musicians who have gone on to study musical performance and music education.

On June 16, 2008, Walczuk established an alumni band open to all former students of the instrumental music program in Westlake.

Student Information (as of 2006)

Ethnicity:

White, non-Hispanic: 94% (state average: 77%)

Asian or Pacific Islander: 3% (state average: 1%)

Black, non-Hispanic: 2% (state average: 17%)

Multiracial: 1% (state average: 3%)

Subgroups:

Economically disadvantaged students: 5% (state average: 35%)

Disabled students: 11% (state average: 14%)

Gifted students: 24% (state average: 16%)

Migrant students: n/a (state average: <1%)

Limited English proficient (LEP) students: n/a (state average: 2%)

Attendance and Completion:

Attendance rate: 95% (state average: 94%)

Mobility rate: 8% (state average: n/a)

Graduation rate: 99% (state average: 86%)

School Discipline:

Fighting/violence incidents:44

Vandalism incidents: n/a

Weapons incidents: n/a

Drug/alcohol incidents: 68

Teacher Information

Teacher Credentials:

Temporary Teaching Certificate: <1%

Fully certified: 100%

Evenly divided, there are 17 students per teacher.

Educational Performance

Performance Index of 2005: 108

Performance Index of 2006: 107

Performance Index of 2007: 108

OGT Results:

Reading

98% (2007)

96% (2006)

97% (2005)

100% (2004)

The state average for Reading was 87% in 2007.

Social Studies

93% (2007)

The state average for Social Studies was 76% in 2007.

Science

92% (2007)

91% (2006)

The state average for Science was 72% in 2007.

Writing

97% (2007)

96% (2006)

93% (2005)

The state average for Writing was 89% in 2007.

Math

94% (2007)

92% (2006)

92% (2005)

100% (2004)

The state average for Math was 81% in 2007.

Clubs

Academic Challenge Team

AFS

Art club

Book Club

Bowling Team

Cheerleading

Choir – Several choices

Cooperative Business

Education Club

Dance/Drill Team

Debate Club

Debonaires

Drama Club/Center Stage Players

Foreign Language Clubs

Latin Club - a local chapter of both the Ohio Junior Classical League (OJCL) and National Junior Classical League

National Junior Classical League

The National Junior Classical League is a youth organization of secondary school students sponsored by the American Classical League...

 (NJCL).
The Gentlemen's League of Fine Dining

Green & White - Newspaper

Jazz Band

Key Club

Literacy Magazine

Marching Band

Math Club

Majorettes

Music Club

National Art Honor Society

National Honor Society

PEP Club

PRIDE

Project Love

Project Support

Orchestra

S.A.D.D. (Students Against Destructive Decisions)

Science Club

Ski Club

Student Government

Student Council

Science Olympiad

Tech Mates

Ultimate Frisbee Club

Yearbook

WHBS Radio & TV

Boys

• Football
• Basketball
• Baseball
• Swimming/Diving
• Track & Field
• Cross Country
• Soccer
• Tennis
• Golf
• Wrestling
• Lacrosse
• Hockey

Girls

• Swimming/Diving
• Cross Country
• Basketball
• Softball
• Soccer
• Track & Field
• Volleyball
• Tennis
• Golf
• Gymnastics

The school mascot, the Demon has occasionally caused controversy because of its assumed religious connotations. When Westlake was known as Dover, the school teams were called the 'Dover Men'. Popular usage shortened this to 'D-Men', which when spoken is indistinguishable from the word 'demon', hence the current name.

Notable alumni

• Dan "Big Mac" McDowell, co-host of the BaD Radio Show
  BaD Radio Show
  The BaD Radio Show is a midday radio program on Dallas, Texas radio station KTCK, "1310AM, The Ticket"...
  
  , a sports-talk radio show airing on KTCK
  KTCK
  KTCK , is a sports talk radio station based in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The station, currently owned by Cumulus Media, has been made popular by the incorporation of humor alongside the sports talk....
  
   in Dallas, Texas
  Dallas, Texas
  Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
  
  .
• R.M. Meluch, science fiction author.
• Colonel Robert F. Overmyer
  Robert F. Overmyer
  Robert Franklyn Overmyer, Colonel, United States Marine Corps, Ret. was an American test pilot and NASA astronaut. He was born in Lorain, Ohio, but considered Westlake, Ohio his hometown.-Early life:...
  
  , United States Marine Corps
  United States Marine Corps
  The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
  
  , American test pilot and astronaut.
• Joan G. Stark (1979) ASCII art
  ASCII art
  ASCII art is a graphic design technique that uses computers for presentation and consists of pictures pieced together from the 95 printable characters defined by the ASCII Standard from 1963 and ASCII compliant character sets with proprietary extended characters...
  
   artist, and college swimmer.
• Kevin J. Houser, former long snapper for the New Orleans Saints
  New Orleans Saints
  The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
  
  and a draft pick in 2000.