Academics

Gresham High is an official International Baccalaureate

International Baccalaureate Organization

The International Baccalaureate , formerly the International Baccalaureate Organization , is an international educational foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and founded in 1968. IB offers three educational programmes for children ages 3–19.The organization's name and logo were changed...

 school offering the IB Diploma Program

IB Diploma Programme

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year educational programme for students aged 16–19that provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education, and is recognised by universities worldwide. It was developed in the early to mid-1960s in Geneva by...

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In 2008, 81% of the school's seniors received their high school diploma

High school diploma

A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED.-Past diploma styles:...

. Of 450 students, 366 graduated, 45 dropped out, 15 received a modified diploma

Oregon modified high school diploma

The Oregon modified high school diploma, also known as the OAR 581-022-1134 Modified Diploma, is a document that is given to students who need special consideration throughout their time in high school...

, and 24 are still in high school.

State championships

• Boys' Swimming: 1992
• Football: 1982. From 1982 to 2001, the football team made an 0SAA Big School record 20 consecutive playoff appearances, with 13 conference championships.
• Boys' Water polo: 1981.
• Girls' Water polo: 1982, 1991
• Girls Volleyball: 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 2001, 2002, and 2006.
• Speech and Debate: 2009, 2010, 2011.
• Oregon All High School Drag Racing: 1977
• Rythemettes Dance Team: 1991, 1999

Activities

Under the direction of Sara Dempsey the Theatre Arts Department has produced several state, regional and district champions in serious, comedy and musical Theatre. Students are able to participate in several opportunities from acting in main stage productions including a full length Musical to directing or working as a crew member backstage. Students work with Theatre professionals throughout the Portland area including a residency with Portland Center Stage. Many of GHS alumni have received Theatre scholarships to colleges throughout the nation and many are currently working professionals.
The Band and Choir programs have also produced several state champions. . The choir program is directed by Janine Kirstein and consists of Encore Choir, Gresham Men’s Choir, Treble Choir, Concert Choir, and Overtones. The Concert Choir and Overtones have traveled to Canada, Hawaii, Texas, California, and New York winning competitions each year in their choral performance category. For the past five years the Gresham High School Concert Choir placed in the top five in the OSAA State Choir Competition. Many of the students involved in the choir program win district and state solo competitions, going on to sing in prestigious university choir programs such as Oregon State University, Pacific Lutheran University and Chapman University.

The Gresham High School Band program is directed by Justin Prunk and consists of Wind Symphony, Symphonic Band, Concert Band, Jazz Band, Pep Band, and Pit Orchestra. The first Gresham High School Band was in 1926 under the direction of Dorothy Dickey. Harold Weber composed Gresham High School’s fight song in 1931 and devoted 25 years of his life to the program.

Although the Gresham Barlow School District cut millions of dollars from the budget for the 2009/2010 school year, the band and choir programs were able to continue at Gresham High School because of peaceful student protests through song,

Publications

Gresham High School produces two newspapers: The Gresham Argus and The Gopher Gazette. The newspapers are produced by separate staffs and are budgeted by their own advertising efforts. The newspapers have different audiences as well; the Gresham Argus gets delivered to students in class and the Gopher Gazette gets distributed via postal mail to parents of students and businesses in the community. Recently the Gopher Gazette lost funding and has had to switch to an online format.