Portage Central High School
Encyclopedia
History
The building of the original high school building was completed in 1922. This building soon became obsolete, and is now the Portage Public SchoolsPortage Public Schools
Portage Public School is a school district located in Portage, Michigan which serves 8,766 students in 14 different schools, including 8 elementary, 3 middle, 2 high, and a community high school...
(PPS) administration building. A new school was constructed during the 1940s and began use in 1949 that is still in use today as of 2010. In 1966 the building became too small with approximately 1,500 students, and the school split into two schools, Portage Central High School and Portage Northern High School
Portage Northern High School
Portage Northern High School is a high school in Portage, Michigan.Northern High School serves 1,350 students from ninth through twelfth grades. In addition to meeting the regular education needs of students living in the NHS attendance area, the school also houses several special education...
. In January 1998 Portage Central High School, along with Portage Northern High School, became an official International Baccalaureate (IB) World School, governed by the International Baccalaureate Organization
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...
. The school district began construction of a new school complex summer 2009. The new complex is still currently being built, an is scheduled to be finished by fall 2011. Because part of the current building had to be demolished to continue the construction of the new school, some classes are now held at the former Waylee Elementary School building located about 500 feet from the current high school.
Enrollment history
- Enrollment 2002-2003: 1,464 students
- Enrollment 2003-2004: 1,485 students
- Enrollment 2004-2005: 1,494 students
- Enrollment 2005-2006: 1,499 students
- Enrollment 2006-2007:
- Enrollment 2007-2008:
- Enrollment 2008-2009: 1,431 students
Information from Annual Reports published on the Portage Central High School Website
Faculty
- 2002-2003: 87 teachers
- 2003-2004: 142 faculty
- 2004-2005: 155 faculty
- 2005-2006: 155 faculty
- 2007-2008:
- 2008-2009: 155 faculty
Information from Annual Reports published on the Portage Central High School Website
Notable alumni
- Pete MetzelaarsPete MetzelaarsPeter Henry Metzelaars is a former American football tight end who played for the Seattle Seahawks, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, and Detroit Lions in a sixteen-year career in the National Football League...
- American football player for the Seattle SeahawksSeattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, Buffalo BillsBuffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Carolina PanthersCarolina PanthersThe Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
and Detroit LionsDetroit LionsThe Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and... - Lindsay TarpleyLindsay TarpleyLindsay Ann Tarpley Snow is an American soccer forward currently playing for magicJack of Women's Professional Soccer and is a member of the United States women's national soccer team. She went to Portage Central High School.-High school:Tarpley grew up in Portage, Michigan, and attended Portage...
- soccer player, Olympic Gold Medalist - Eric AlexanderEric Alexander (soccer)Eric Alexander is an American soccer player who currently plays for Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer.-College and Amateur:...
- Professional Soccer player for the FC DallasFC DallasFC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
School sports
Central High is a member of the SMAC (Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference) and has outstanding sports teams.Fight Song
(To the tune of On Wisconsin)- Onward Portage, ever onward fight to victory.
- Blue and Gold forever fighting here's our cheer to thee.
- RAH RAH RAH
- Fighting Mustangs, loyal booster here's to do or die.
- All for the fame of our school Portage High.
- RAH RAH, SIS BOOM BAH Portage Central RAH RAH RAH
Arts
Portage Central High School maintains a high quality arts program that is respected both locally and internationally. Many of the programs such as the theater program and the Marching Band travel to many locations within the United States and elsewhere such as ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Theatrical productions
This is a list of the most recent shows performed by Portage Central High School, most directed by theater teacher Kathy Mulay.! Year
! Musical
! Play
|-
| 2012
| The Phantom of the Opera
The Phantom of the Opera
Le Fantôme de l'Opéra is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serialisation in "Le Gaulois" from September 23, 1909 to January 8, 1910...
| 12 Angry Men and Women
|-
| 2011
| Hairspray
Hairspray (musical)
Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues...
| None
|-
| 2010
| Good News
Good News (musical)
Good News is a musical with a book by Laurence Schwab and B.G. DeSylva, lyrics by DeSylva and Lew Brown, and music by Ray Henderson.The show opened on Broadway in 1927, the same year as Show Boat, but its plot was decidedly old-fashioned in comparison to Show Boats somewhat tragic and daring...
| Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men is a novella written by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression in California, USA....
|-
| 2009
| All Shook Up
All Shook Up (musical)
All Shook Up is a jukebox musical with Elvis Presley music, with a book by Joe DiPietro. The story is based on William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.-Production history:...
| Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?
Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?
Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? is a book published in 1975 by author John R. Powers. It was subsequently adapted into a Broadway musical and a screenplay.Film In Development=...
|-
| 2008
| Thoroughly Modern Millie
Thoroughly Modern Millie (musical)
Thoroughly Modern Millie is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori, lyrics by Dick Scanlan, and a book by Richard Morris and Scanlan. Based on the 1967 film of the same name, Thoroughly Modern Millie tells the story of a small-town girl, Millie Dillmount, who comes to New York City to marry for...
| Enter Laughing
Enter Laughing
Enter Laughing is a play by Joseph Stein.Based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Carl Reiner, it centers on the journey of young aspiring actor David Kolowitz as he tries to extricate himself from overly protective parents and two too many girlfriends, while struggling to meet the challenge of...
|-
| 2007
| Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
| The Diary of Anne Frank
|-
| 2006
| The Scarlet Pimpernel
The Scarlet Pimpernel (musical)
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a musical with music by Frank Wildhorn and lyrics and book by Nan Knighton, based on the novel of the same name by Baroness Orczy. The show is set in England and France during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution...
| Little Women
Little Women
Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott . The book was written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. It was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869...
|-
| 2005
| The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden (musical)
The Secret Garden is a musical based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The musical's book and lyrics are by Marsha Norman, with music by Lucy Simon...
| Bullshot Crummond
Bullshot Crummond
Bullshot Crummond is a stage play parodying the British pulp hero Bulldog Drummond. "Bullshot" was performed by Ron House, Diz White, John Neville-Andrews, Alan Shearman, and Derek Cunninghamwhen later made into a 1983 film, Bullshot....
|-
| 2004
| Ragtime
Ragtime (musical)
Ragtime is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty.Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in America, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; Mother, the matriarch of a WASP family in...
| Into the Woods
Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...
|-
| 2003
| Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
| Epic Proportions
Epic Proportions
Epic Proportions is a play by Larry Coen and David Crane.Set in the 1930s, it tells the story of brothers Benny and Phil, who go to the Arizona desert to work as extras in the Biblical epic film Exeunt Omnes, directed by the mysteriously reclusive D.W. DeWitt. All 3400 extras are supervised by...
|-
| 2002
| Evita
| Honk!
Honk!
Honk! is a musical adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story The Ugly Duckling, incorporating a message of tolerance. The book and lyrics are by Anthony Drewe and music is by George Stiles...
|-
| 2001
| Big: the musical
| A Few Good Men
|-
| 2000
| Tommy
Tommy (rock opera)
Tommy is the fourth album by English rock band The Who, released by Track Records and Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and Decca Records/MCA in the United States. A double album telling a loose story about a "deaf, dumb and blind boy" who becomes the leader of a messianic movement, Tommy was...
| Dracula
Dracula (play)
Dracula is a 1924 stage play adapted by Hamilton Deane from the novel of the same name by Bram Stoker, and substantially revised by John L. Balderston in 1927...
|-
| 1999
| Blood Brothers
| The Nerd
The Nerd
The Nerd is a two-act comedy written by American actor/playwright Larry Shue.-Plot:Set in Terre Haute, Indiana in late 1979, The Nerd presents the story of Willum Cubbert, an unassuming young architect, friends Tansy and Axel and unexpected houseguest Rick, who had saved Willum's life in Vietnam...
|-
| 1998
| Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?
Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?
Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? is a book published in 1975 by author John R. Powers. It was subsequently adapted into a Broadway musical and a screenplay.Film In Development=...
| And They Danced Real Slow
|-
| 1997
| The Boys From Syracuse
The Boys from Syracuse
The Boys from Syracuse is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on William Shakespeare's play, The Comedy of Errors, as adapted by librettist George Abbott. The score includes swing and other contemporary rhythms of the 1930s. The show was the first musical...
| Bus Stop
Bus Stop (play)
Bus Stop is a 1955 play by William Inge. The 1956 film is only loosely based upon it.-Characters:Bus Stop is a drama, with romantic and some comedic elements. It is set in a diner in rural Kansas, about 20 miles west of Kansas City, Missouri during a snowstorm from which bus passengers must take...
|-
| 1996
| Good News
Good News (musical)
Good News is a musical with a book by Laurence Schwab and B.G. DeSylva, lyrics by DeSylva and Lew Brown, and music by Ray Henderson.The show opened on Broadway in 1927, the same year as Show Boat, but its plot was decidedly old-fashioned in comparison to Show Boats somewhat tragic and daring...
| Lost in Yonkers
Lost in Yonkers
Lost in Yonkers is a 1991 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Neil Simon. After eleven previews, the Broadway production, produced by Emanuel Azenberg and directed by Gene Saks, opened on February 21, 1991 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, where it ran for 780 performances...
|-
| 1995
| Guys and Dolls
| The Miracle Worker
The Miracle Worker
The Miracle Worker is a cycle of 20th century dramatic works derived from Helen Keller's autobiography The Story of My Life. Each of the various dramas describes the relationship between Keller—a deafblind and initially almost feral child—and Anne Sullivan, the teacher who introduced her to...
|-
| 1994
| Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof
Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...
| Flowers for Algernon
Flowers for Algernon
Flowers for Algernon is a science fiction short story and subsequent novel written by Daniel Keyes. The short story, written in 1958 and first published in the April 1959 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 1960...
|-
| 1993
| South Pacific
South Pacific (musical)
South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
|
|-
| 1992
| The King and I
The King and I
The King and I is a stage musical, the fifth by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. The work is based on the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon and derives from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became governess to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in...
| Brighton Beach Memoirs
Brighton Beach Memoirs
Brighton Beach Memoirs is a semi-autobiographical play by Neil Simon, the first chapter in what is known as his Eugene trilogy. It precedes Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound.-Characters:*Eugene Morris Jerome, almost 15...
|-
| 1991
| Little Shop of Horrors
Little Shop of Horrors (musical)
Little Shop of Horrors is a rock musical, by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a hapless florist shop worker who raises a plant that feeds on human blood. The musical is based on the low-budget 1960 black comedy film The Little Shop of Horrors, directed by Roger Corman...
| Premature Corpse
|-
| 1990
| Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story is based on the "coat of many colors" story of Joseph from the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis. This was the first Lloyd Webber and Rice musical to be performed publicly...
| Present Tense
|-
| 1989
| Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...
| The Diary of Anne Frank
The Diary of Anne Frank (play)
The Diary of Anne Frank is a stage adaptation of the book The Diary of a Young Girl. The play is a dramatization by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. It opened at the Cort Theatre, Broadway, on October 5, 1955, in a production by Kermit Bloomgarden, directed by Garson Kanin and designed by Boris...
|-
| 1988
|
| Fools
Fools (play)
Fools is a light-hearted romantic comedy by Neil Simon, set in the small village of Kulyenchikov, Ukraine , during the late 19th century....
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See also
- Portage Northern High SchoolPortage Northern High SchoolPortage Northern High School is a high school in Portage, Michigan.Northern High School serves 1,350 students from ninth through twelfth grades. In addition to meeting the regular education needs of students living in the NHS attendance area, the school also houses several special education...
- Portage Public SchoolsPortage Public SchoolsPortage Public School is a school district located in Portage, Michigan which serves 8,766 students in 14 different schools, including 8 elementary, 3 middle, 2 high, and a community high school...
- Kalamazoo Public SchoolsKalamazoo Public SchoolsKalamazoo Public Schools are located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Graduates of the district are eligible to receive scholarships through the Kalamazoo Promise, a program launched in 2005 and funded by anonymous donors....