Eastipedia: Shawnee Mission East

Shawnee Mission East High School was founded in 1958 and was the second high school created in the district. Shawnee Mission East is one of five high schools in the Shawnee Mission School District. Starting in the 2011-2012 school year, Indian Hills Middle School will be the sole middle school feeding into East. Shawnee Mission East hosts students in ninth through 12th grades and had an enrollment of 2,012 in 2008. The mascot is the Lancer, and the school colors are Columbia blue, black and white.

Shawnee Mission East has long been recognized for its academic achievement and rigorous programs of study. East has offered the International Baccalaureate program to students since 1994 and has offered AP and honors classes for decades. East is currently home to three Presidential Scholar Program candidates, numerous National Merit Scholars, and countless other recipients of prestigious scholarships. East is the only school in the district to offer the Legal Studies program.

East has taken pride in its extracurricular accomplishments, winning state titles and receiving national recognition in numerous fields.

Athletics

East is part of the Sunflower League and is classified as a 6A school. East has sixty-three state titles including 14 in girls tennis and eleven state titles in both girls and boy’s swim and dive.

Debate and Forensics

East has also received national recognition through its debate and forensics squads. The debate squad team has qualified more teams than any other in Kansas to the Tournament of Champions. The squad had multiple teams qualify to both the TOC and Debate Coaches Invitational in the 2010-2011 season.

Performing Arts

The theater department, orchestra, band, and choral department have all received national recognition in the last decade. The music department regularly sends their students on trips both nationally and internationally. Most recently, the many chorus students went on a European tour, the band students attended a competition in San Antonio, and the Orchestra students went to Chicago. In the 2010-2011 school year, East had twenty-eight all-state musicians.

Student Publications

The Harbinger and Hauberk are East’s student run publications and both have been recognized on the national level. Both publications won Pacemakers in 2010 among other respectable awards. Dow Tate, the advisor for these publications, was recently announced a finalist for Teacher of the Year in the state of Kansas.

East’s current principal is Dr. Karl Krawitz. The Associate Principals are Molli Armstrong-White, Jeremy Higgins, and John Mckinney and the athletic director is Sam Brown.