North Community High School, also called North High School, is a four-year public comprehensive high school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school has existed for over 120 years in several buildings all located on the city's northside. Minneapolis North once had a predominantly Jewish student body but by 1982, the school and the neighborhood it is located in had become mostly African American. Desegregation efforts, such as magnet school programs, have attempted to attract students from throughout Minneapolis and nearby suburbs. KBEM-FM, established by Minneapolis Public Schools in 1970, is operated partially by North students and has been located at the school since 1985.
History North has occupied four buildings. The first housed three grades when North opened in 1888. Three years later the first class graduated.Alexander. Dave (February 25, 1988) "Younger North High graduates keep alumni group on move" Star Tribune The school outgrew the building and a new facility was built at a new site, opening in 1896. On June 18, 1913, a fire burned down most of the school. A new building was built over the destroyed structure and was completed in 1914.Historic images of North High School Minnesota Historical Society Additions were made in 1921, 1923, and 1939.North Senior High School: Planning for the Future August 1, 1963 History of Minneapolis Public Schools
In 1963 it was determined that if the building was "to be retained as a secondary educational facility over a long period of time by the Minneapolis Public School system, it needs extensive rehabilitation and modernization to meet present day health, safety and educational adequacy.". Instead of improving the building, a new school was built on a new site and funded as part of a 1964 $18 million bond referendum that also funded improvements to other Minneapolis public schools. The new—and current—North opened in 1973.Smetanka, Mary Jane (February 25, 1987) "Green says city may need more schools" 7B Star TribuneBuilding History Minneapolis North High Alumni The building was described as "resembling a giant bunker with few windows, double doors that are often locked from outside during the day to keep out unwanted visitors and painted-over graffiti on outside walls."Lewin, Rhoda (2001) The Jewish Community of North Minneapolis Arcadia Publishing pg. 121 Another description calls it a "series of brick boxes arranged around a courtyard" that "doesn't allow it to connect well with the community". North used to house adult education classes, a school for teenage mothers and a separate charter school, Dunwoody Academy.Releford, Patrice (December 2, 2008), "school to share Minneapolis public school space " Star TribuneShah Allie (October 11, 2010) "Angry, sad over North High's decline Star Tribune All of these programs have relocated to other buildings.
As the North Side neighborhood has changed, so has North High. During the 1920s and 1930s, the North Side was the center of Minneapolis' Jewish population.Grossman, Max From Washington Avenue to Plymouth Avenue Accessed: February 1, 2008 In 1936, almost half of the students were Jewish.Lewin, Rhoda (2001) The Jewish Community of North Minneapolis Arcadia Publishing pg. 18
The North Side has since transitioned into a diverse working-class neighborhood. North at one time had high enrollment and was overcrowded with more than 2800 students attending in 1931.Fire Protection Engineering Report March 1 1931 History of MPS Facilities Now, students are able to choose which schools they attend, and as a result only about half of the North Side's students attend local schools such as North.Hawkins, Beth (November 16, 2007) North Minneapolis schools face crisis of confidence MinnPost.com The Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Education's decision to close several North Side middle and elementary schools in the early 2000s led to North's enrollment plummeting from 1,143 students in 2004–2005 to 265 students in 2010. On October 11, 2010, Minneapolis Public Schools Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson recommended to the Board of Education the phasing out of North High Community High School beginning in the 2011–2012 school year.Unknown(October 11, 2010) Superintendent Johnson to recommend phasing out of North Community High School , Minneapolis Public SchoolsDenko, Paul (June 20, 2007) The Outsiders City Pages However, this decision resulted in backlash from the North Minneapolis community. It was decided that North Community High School would remain open, but change its curriculum standards to focus more on arts and communications. It is now called North Academy of Arts and Communications (NAAC).
Since the 1970s, the school has been known for its strong boys and girls basketball programs. Both teams have enjoyed numerous state tournament appearances and won state championship titles. North offers several college preparatory classes, and owns and operates KBEM-FM. The school has often struggled with graduation rate and state standardized tests.Report Card Information North Senor High Minnesota Department of Education
Students and demographics 964 students attended North during the 2006–2007 school year.Smith, Dane (March 14, 1987) "North's magnet classes draw Perpich's praise" 11B Star Tribune Minority enrollment rose to over 60% in 1991.Smetanka, Mary Jane (January 8, 1991) "Minorities now are majority in Minneapolis Public Schools" Star Tribune In 2010, 3% of students were white, with 69% black. 82% qualified for free or reduced price lunch (an indicator of poverty), 16% had limited English proficiency, and 22% qualified for special education.
Academics During the 20122013 school year and with its inaugural class of freshman, North Academy of Arts and Communication (NAAC), began as a small college preparatory school.
North's framework is based on the Seven Guiding Principles of the Institute for Student Achievement (ISA): College Preparatory Instructional Program Dedicated Team of Teachers and Counselor Distributed Counseling Continuous Professional Development Extended School Day and School Year Family Involvement Continuous Organizational Improvement The school has an Advanced Placement program that offers several different courses.School Choice Data Minneapolis Public School
North is opened a second academy in the fall of 2016—N-STEM (North Academy of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)—which is an iteration of the school's successful Summatech program that closed in 2007.Summatech Minneapolis High Schools' Choice Center
Local politician Don Samuels criticized North's low academic results in the 2000s after apologizing for a statement that the school should be burned.Collins, Terry (February 3, 2007) "Samuels refuses to back down on North - The City Council member, who has said the high school should be burned, apologized for the language but not for his critique of the school's performance." Star Tribune
Radio station
North High School is home to KBEM-FM, a radio station owned by the Minneapolis Public Schools. The station signed on the air in October, 1970, and moved to North in 1983 when the Minneapolis Area Vocational Technical Institute, where the station had been located from its launch (as Vocational High School), closed and the building sold. Students are responsible for much of the station's operation, and 35 hours of airtime a week is devoted to student programming. Approximately 150 students are involved in the radio station's operation, with the majority attending North.Mission Statement KBEM-FM. Students typically enroll in the program as ninth-graders and are prepared for on-air duties by their junior or senior year.Blake, Laurie (April 13, 1989) "Minneapolis students will broadcast traffic reports" 3B Star Tribune
The station broadcasts traffic reports for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metro area with data provided by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. From 1989 to 2005, the station was paid approximately $400,000 by the DOT for this service.Rybak, Deborah Caulfield (March 9, 2005) "KBEM reaches an agreement with MnDOT" 3B Star Tribune Gutknecht, Kevin (January 5, 2005) "Mn/DOT ends KBEM contract, traffic reporting" Minnesota Department of Education MnDOT had planned to cancel the contract, but due to public demand the state continued the relationship.
Extracurricular activities North offers a variety of musical programs. A beginning band, concert band, Jazz ensemble and drum line are offered. Choir, varsity choir, vocal ensembles and a gospel choir are available. Other extracurricular activities include a variety of academic competitions, a chess club, culture-specific clubs including an award-winning Asian Club,McNiff, Tim (January 14, 2008) KARE-11 debate and mock trial teams, a school newspaper and yearbook, science club and student government. North's Math team competes in the Minnesota State High School Mathematics League. The school has a chapter of National Honor Society.
Sports
North is a member of the Minnesota State High School League.Minneapolis North Community H.S. Minnesota State High School League North offers eleven boys' and twelve girls' varsity sports.Athletics North Community High School These include football (boys), wrestling (boys), tennis (boys and girls), basketball (boys and girls), baseball (boys), softball (girls), golf (boys and girls), soccer (boys and girls), volleyball (girls), swimming (boys and girls), gymnastics (girls), badminton (girls), ice hockey (boys and girls), cross country (boys and girls) and track and field (boys and girls). North has Adapted Bowling.History of Adapted Bowling at North North Community High School Both boys' and girls' teams are called "Polars". All of the sports teams participate, like all public high schools in Minneapolis, in the Minneapolis City Conference. North has won the state title in Boys' Track and Field in 1943 and 1948.
The boys' basketball team was dominant in the 1980s. Coached by Tony Queen, the team won eight of ten Minneapolis City Conference championships and went to the state tournament eight times, winning in 1980 and placing second in 1984 and 1985.Pate, Eric T. (March 12, 1992) "Glory of `80s is long gone for North - Polars yearn for return to top echelon" 9C Star Tribune In 1988 Queen was suspended from coaching for one year following attempts to recruit basketball players, which is illegal under Minnesota State High School League rules.Augustoviz, Roman (May 13, 1988) "Queen loses North basketball job" 1C Star TribuneFermoyle, Mike (May 13, 1988) "NORTH SUSPENDS QUEEN FOR PLAYER RECRUITMENT" Sports 5D Saint Paul Pioneer Press He lost a battle to be rehired in U.S. District court.Dalglish, Lucy (July 28, 1988) "NORTH HIGH COACH LOSES BID FOR REINSTATEMENT" Saint Paul Pioneer Press Queen was fired in 1990 for having sex with a student in the early 1980s.Gendler, Neal (February 14, 1990) "Ex-coach fired on ground that he had had sex with a student" 1B Star Tribune(February 15, 1990) "ACCUSED MINNEAPOLIS TEACHER IS FIRED AFTER YEAR'S SUSPENSION" Metro 2D Saint Paul Pioneer Press In the mid-1990s the boys' team had a dominating resurgence. Led by Khalid El-Amin, North tied a state record with three state championships in a row, from 1995 to 1997.Taylor, Kimberly Hayes (March 24, 1997) "Emotion replaces pressure as North celebrates another basketball crown" 1B Star Tribune The boys' teams have also won championships in 2003, 2016, and 2017.