Ravenna High School (Ohio)
Encyclopedia
Ravenna High School a public high school located in Ravenna
, Ohio
, USA. It is the only high school in the Ravenna School District and serves students primarily in Ravenna and Ravenna Township
. The school's colors are blue, white, and red and its athletic teams are known as the Ravens.
Ravenna High School was established in 1858, first meeting in a grocery store along West Main Street before moving to the new Union School building on Chestnut Street after it opened in December 1859. The first graduating class from the school was in 1862 and included two students. The Union School building would serve as home to all grades in the Ravenna City Schools until enrollment growth necessitated the construction of a new high school building. The next building, which stood on what is now Highland Avenue, opened in 1883 with an addition built in 1910. The addition still stands as is known as Walnut School, though it is no longer used as a school. The next home of Ravenna High School, located at the intersection of Clinton Street and East Main Street, opened in August 1923 after an August 1921 groundbreaking. It initially contained 28 classrooms, an auditorium, and a gymnasium. Additions were added to the building first in 1958-1959 with the Coll Annex on the north side and later in the late 1960s with Whittaker Hall on the south side of the building. In 1960, Ravenna Township High School was merged with Ravenna High School. Prior to that time, Ravenna High School was often referred to as "Ravenna City High School" to distinguish it from the township school.
In 2006 voters approved a bond issue to fund construction of a new high school with assistance from the state of Ohio. The building was built adjacent to the district's existing athletic facilities on North Chestnut Street and was completed in August 2010. The previous Ravenna High School building at corner of Main Street and Clinton Street was put up for sale in 2010. It was unseccussfully auctioned off along with remaining contents inside in April 2011. Because the state funded a majority of the new high school project, the building it replaced must be sold or demolished and cannot be used for a public school. On November 22, 2011 it was publicly announced that the old high school would be demolished in early 2012. The site is planned to be redeveloped once demolition is completed. Historical artifacts and nostalgia from the school will be removed, preserved and moved into the new high school.
The campus is 69 acres (27.9 ha) and located in northern Ravenna along North Chestnut Street. The district first purchased the land in 1973 but nothing was built at the site until 1999 when athletic facilities were constructed, funded mainly by private donations and the sale of personal seat license
s. Prior to that time, outdoor sports were held at the old Gilcrest Stadium and various locations throughout the area. The campus includes Ravenna Stadium which has a seating capacity of 5,000 and features an eight-lane tartan track and artificial playing surface. A baseball field, softball field, eight tennis courts, and a cross country course are also on campus.
Ravenna, Ohio
* Chris Bangle; automobile designer* Bill Bower, last surviving pilot of the Doolittle Raid* David D. Busch; best-selling author* William Rufus Day; U.S. Supreme Court justice* Calvin Hampton; Classical organist* Robert B...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, USA. It is the only high school in the Ravenna School District and serves students primarily in Ravenna and Ravenna Township
Ravenna Township, Portage County, Ohio
Ravenna Township is one of the eighteen townships of Portage County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 9,270 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the center of the county, it borders the following townships and city:...
. The school's colors are blue, white, and red and its athletic teams are known as the Ravens.
History
In 2006 voters approved a bond issue to fund construction of a new high school with assistance from the state of Ohio. The building was built adjacent to the district's existing athletic facilities on North Chestnut Street and was completed in August 2010. The previous Ravenna High School building at corner of Main Street and Clinton Street was put up for sale in 2010. It was unseccussfully auctioned off along with remaining contents inside in April 2011. Because the state funded a majority of the new high school project, the building it replaced must be sold or demolished and cannot be used for a public school. On November 22, 2011 it was publicly announced that the old high school would be demolished in early 2012. The site is planned to be redeveloped once demolition is completed. Historical artifacts and nostalgia from the school will be removed, preserved and moved into the new high school.
Campus and facilities
The Ravenna High school building contains 158000 square feet (14,678.7 m²) of space and includes the main gym, auxiliary field house gym, auditorium, cafeteria, and around 45 classrooms. The main gym has retractable bleacher seating for 1,125 and the auditorium has seating for 600 with 300 additional retractable seats that can expand into space in the cafeteria. The field house gym includes a rubberized surface which has two full-size basketball courts and an elevated walking track. The building also has two courtyards that separate the three academic sections of the building which are used for natural lighting and can also be used for outdoor teaching space. The building was dedicated August 28, 2010.The campus is 69 acres (27.9 ha) and located in northern Ravenna along North Chestnut Street. The district first purchased the land in 1973 but nothing was built at the site until 1999 when athletic facilities were constructed, funded mainly by private donations and the sale of personal seat license
Personal Seat License
A personal seat license, or PSL, gives the holder the right to buy season tickets for a certain seat in a stadium. This holder can sell the seat license to someone else if they no longer wish to purchase season tickets. However, if the seat license holder chooses not to sell the seat licenses and...
s. Prior to that time, outdoor sports were held at the old Gilcrest Stadium and various locations throughout the area. The campus includes Ravenna Stadium which has a seating capacity of 5,000 and features an eight-lane tartan track and artificial playing surface. A baseball field, softball field, eight tennis courts, and a cross country course are also on campus.
State championships
- Boys GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
– 1966 - Boys WrestlingWrestlingWrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
– 1993
Notable alumni
- Bill BowerBill BowerWilliam Marsh "Bill" Bower was an American aviator, U.S. Air Force Colonel and veteran of World War II. Bower was the last surviving pilot of the Doolittle Raid, the first air raid to target the Japanese Home Island of Honshu.A native of Ravenna, Ohio, Bower graduated from Ravenna High School in...
, class of 1934 - last surviving pilot of the Doolittle Raid - David D. BuschDavid D. BuschDavid D. Busch is a photographer and well-known award-winning author of more than 140 books with a total of more than a million copies in print, and thousands of photography- and technology-related articles for Popular Photography & Imaging, The Rangefinder, The Professional Photographer, Computer...
, class of 1966 – best-selling author - William R. DayWilliam R. DayWilliam Rufus Day was an American diplomat and jurist, who served for nineteen years as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.-Biography:...
, class of 1866 – former US Supreme Court Justice - Al HodgeAl HodgeFor "Big" Al Hodge, the Cornish rock musician, see Al Hodge Albert E. Hodge was an American actor best known for playing space adventurer Captain Video on the DuMont Television Network from December 15, 1950 to April 1, 1955...
, class of 1930 – actor in films such as Captain VideoCaptain VideoCaptain Video and His Video Rangers is an American science fiction television series. It was broadcast on the DuMont Television Network, and was the first series of its kind on American television...
and The Green HornetThe Green HornetThe Green Hornet is an American radio and television masked vigilante created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell, in 1936. Since his radio debut in the 1930s, the Green Hornet has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media...
and producer of The Lone RangerThe Lone RangerThe Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
radio program - Robert B. "Yank" HeislerRobert B. "Yank" HeislerRobert B. "Yank" Heisler Jr. is the retired chairman of KeyBank, the 12th largest bank in the United States by total assets, the retired chief executive officer of McDonald Financial Group, and currently the dean of the Kent State University College of Business Administration and Graduate School...
, class of 1966 – Key Bank chairman, dean of the Kent State UniversityKent State UniversityKent State University is a public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university has eight campuses around the northeast Ohio region with the main campus in Kent being the largest...
College of Business Administration - Peggy KingPeggy KingPeggy King is a pop singer and former TV personality.She is best remembered as the female vocalist on The George Gobel Show. She also appeared in American Bandstand, Maverick, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Jack Benny Show...
, class of 1947 – former pop singer and television personality - Don NottinghamDon NottinghamDon Nottingham was an American football running back who played for the Baltimore Colts and Miami Dolphins of the National Football League...
, class of 1967 – American footballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player at Kent State University and in the National Football LeagueNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
with the Baltimore ColtsIndianapolis ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
and Miami DolphinsMiami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... - Jeffrey Harold West, class of 1971 – American football punter, b. 1953
- Don M. Wilson IIIDon M. Wilson IIIDon M. Wilson III is an American banker and risk management specialist. He was appointed as chief risk officer with JPMorgan Chase in 2003 and retired in2006....
, class of 1966 – Chief Risk Officer at JP Morgan Chase Bank-Retired