Sun Prairie East High School (SPEHS) is a public high school in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, United States. It is one of two high schools in the Sun Prairie Area School District, the other being Sun Prairie West High School. During the 2022-2023 school year, there were 1,365 students at Sun Prairie East High School. SPEHS is a WIAA Division 1 school and is a member of the Big Eight athletic conference in all sports except for football, in which it is a WIAA Division 2 school and a member of the Badger Conference.[2]
| Sun Prairie East High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
888 Grove Street , 53590 United States | |
| Coordinates | 43°10′24″N 89°12′34″W / 43.17328°N 89.20952°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public high school |
| Established | 2022 |
| Sister school | Sun Prairie West High School |
| School district | Sun Prairie Area School District |
| Principal | James Ertel (Interim) |
| Teaching staff | 91.27 (FTE)[1] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 1,274 (2022–2023)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 13.96[1] |
| Color(s) | Cardinal red, white, and black |
| Mascot | Curt the Cardinal |
| Nickname | Cardinals |
| Rival | Sun Prairie West High School |
| Yearbook | The Cardinal |
| Feeder schools | Central Heights Middle School Patrick Marsh Middle School |
| Website | www |
| SPEHS is one of 2 high schools created from the splitting of Sun Prairie High School in 2022, the other being Sun Prairie West High School | |
In the summer of 2010, Sun Prairie High School moved to a new building in the southeast part of town. The former school became a combined 8th and 9th grade upper middle school and was named Cardinal Heights Upper Middle School. Cardinal Heights later became a 6th-8th grade middle school and was renamed to Central Heights Middle School. In 2022, the school split into 2 high schools, Sun Prairie West High School and Sun Prairie East High School, with SPWHS getting a new campus on Ironwood Drive and SPEHS keeping the Grove Street Campus.
Extracurricular activities
editAthletics
editSun Prairie East includes a 4-court competition fieldhouse that seats 2,100, an 8-lane olympic-size swimming pool, a weight room, a cardio room, a wrestling room, and has an indoor track inside the fieldhouse.[3][4]
Sun Prairie East hosts all home football, lacrosse, and some soccer games at Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field, a multi-purpose stadium that seats 4,000. The stadium was built in 2022 to replace the original Ashley Field that was built in 1953 on the same site, 155 Kroncke Drive. SPEHS shares the venue with Sun Prairie West. The stadium features aluminum bleachers, team rooms, a multi-purpose synthetic turf field with team colors of both high schools, 2 concession stands, multiple restroom facilities, and ample parking.[4][5]
The SPHS hockey team, a joint team with SPWHS, plays at the Sun Prairie Ice Arena on Grove Street.[4]
State championships before split (as Sun Prairie High School)
edit- Baseball: 1974, 1994, 1997, 2005,[6] 2006,[7] 2012,[8] 2013,[9] 2014,[10] 2021
- Bowling: 2015,[11] 2016[12]
- Cross Country (girls): 2016,[13] 2017[14]
- Football: 1995
- Golf (boys): 1991
- Hockey: 1997[15]
- Softball: 2018
Academic Decathlon
editSun Prairie's Academic Decathlon team has placed in the top three at the Wisconsin state finals five times.[16]
In April 2014, the Sun Prairie Academic Decathlon team represented Wisconsin in the Large School division of the National United States Academic Decathlon online national competition taking fifth place among the large schools.[citation needed] They repeated this in 2016.[citation needed]
Music
editSun Prairie East includes a Performing Arts Center (PAC) that seats 1,044. The PAC's 2,400 square-foot stage features a 23-line fly system with a full fly loft, an orchestra pit with a removable cover, and a custom-made Wenger Diva acoustical shell system. The PAC is also home to a Steinway D Concert Grand Piano.[17]
The Sun Prairie High School Jazz I has been selected to compete in the Essentially Ellington Jazz Band competition in New York City 12 times since the festival's conception, most recently in 2023. When SPHS split into two, Jazz I became a joint extracurricular between Sun Prairie East High School and Sun Prairie West High School [18][19][20] The SPHS theatre department has been nominated for numerous Jerry Awards for both their cast and crew.
Notable alumni
edit- Gary Hebl, class of 1969; Wisconsin State Assembly, 2005-present
- John A. List, class of 1987; University of Chicago economist
- Thomas A. Loftus; Wisconsin Legislator and diplomat; Ambassador to Norway, 1993-1997
- Steven Quale, class of 1984; Hollywood film director[21]
- Andy Thompson, class of 1994; major league baseball player with the Toronto Blue Jays, 2000[22]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Sun Prairie East High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
- ^ "Big 8 Conference". 2011
- ^ [1] - SPEHS Gym - May 2, 2011
- ^ a b c "Athletic Facilities - Sun Prairie Area School District". www.sunprairieschools.org. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- ^ "Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium at Ashley Field". Bray Architects. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- ^ "Eau Claire North vs Sun Prairie". www.wiaawi.org. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ "Wisconsin Lutheran vs Sun Prairie (6/15/06)". www.wiaawi.org. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ "Sun Prairie vs Bay Port (6/14/12)". www.wiaawi.org. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ "Sun Prairie High School baseball review". hngnews.com. 2 July 2013. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ Polzin, Jim (20 June 2014). "WIAA state baseball: Sun Prairie rallies to bring home a third straight state title". madison.com. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ http://www.wihsbowlclub.com/docs/2015%20BOYS%20TEAM%20DIV%201%20SCORES.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ http://www.wihsbowlclub.com/docs/2016FINAL%20SCORES-BoysTeamDivI.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ http://www.wiaawi.org/Portals/0/PDF/Results/Cross_Country/2016/gd1stateteamresults.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "WIAA D1 State XC Championships - Cross Country Meet".
- ^ "The Hockey database listing of Sun Prairie Alumni" (SHTML). Retrieved June 19, 2007.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Historical Records". Archived from the original on 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
- ^ "Sun Prairie East Performing Arts Center - Sun Prairie Area School District". www.sunprairieschools.org. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
- ^ "Home". academy.jazz.org. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ "Sun Prairie High School Jazz I wins awards at Essentially Ellington". The Sun Prairie Star. May 25, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ "Jazz I has final push before tenth Essentially Ellington trip". The Sun Prairie Star. April 30, 2016. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
- ^ http://www.hngnews.com/sun_prairie_star/community/article_a823ed00-1f[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Andy Thompson". www.retrosheet.org. Retrieved May 6, 2017.