Forest Grove High School (FGHS) is a public high school in Forest Grove, Oregon. 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.U.S. News & World Report, FGHS: Best High Schools. Accessed June 15, 2008. 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.Beghtel, Doug. School achievement award. The Oregonian, September 28, 2006. 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. 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 described the school as an "overachiever" at teaching reading and math, due to its achievement scores.
Athletics State championship in women's softball: 2007Palmer, Zach. The Forest Grove News-Times, June 2, 2007. Retrieved November 17, 2012. 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. 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, baseball pitcherBobby Chouinard, The Baseball Cube. Accessed November 12, 2007. Robert Garrigus, golfer Mitch Meeuwsen, football player Zac Rosscup, baseball pitcher
References
Further reading
External links
The Advocate, student-published newspaper