Conway High School (Arkansas)
Conway High School is a comprehensive public school in Conway, Arkansas, United States. Conway High School serves over 2,000 students and is administered by the Conway School District. The school has been nationally recognized as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and since 1953 has won at least 33 state championships in interscholastic sports. History. Established in 1928, the original buildings of Conway High School served the surrounding community until new facilities were built in 1937. A cafeteria was added in 1948 and a gymnasium in 1949. The cafeteria was demolished in 1961. The West campus  building was constructed in 1968 and was reconstructed and improved in 2012–13. The new building was completed in 2013. The West Campus has 3 floors and has 2100 students as of the 2015-16 school year. Academics. Conway High School is accredited by the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). In 1984-85, Conway High School was honored as a National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Conway High School East is one of twenty high schools to be recognized with the "2012 College Readiness Award" by the Arkansas ACT Council in recognition of improving the participation  rate of students taking the ACT college readiness exam. Curriculum. The school's assumed course of study is based on the Smart Core curriculum developed by the ADE. The school offers regular (core and career focus) courses and exams and students may select from 22 Advanced Placement (AP) coursework and exams that provide an opportunity for college credit. Conway Area Career Center. Located on the campus of Conway High School is the Conway Area Career Center, which fosters career and technical education for the following Conway area high schools: The Conway Area Career Center offers numerous professional certification programs in  welding, photography, health science technology for medical professionals, and family and consumer sciences. The Center maintains affiliations with the various schools' programs for Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA), FFA, SkillsUSA, Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA), and JROTC. Extracurricular activities. The Conway High School mascot is the Wampus cat, stylized as a mythical, 6-legged swamp cat. The school colors are blue and white. Athletics. The Conway Wampus Cats participate in numerous interscholastic sports and activities in the state's largest classification (7A) within the 7A/6A Central Conference administered by the  Arkansas Activities Association including: baseball, basketball (boys/girls), bowling (boys/girls), cheer, cross country (boys/girls), dance, football, golf (boys/girls), soccer (boys/girls), softball, swimming (boys/girls), tennis (boys/girls), track (boys/girls), volleyball and wrestling. Home football games are played at John McConnell Stadium, named in 1993 after the late community leader and school board president. The Conway Wampus Cats have been competitive at the district and state level for several years. For example, the Wampus Cats baseball teams have been to six state championship games (winning two) and 24 state tournaments. The girls track teams won four  consecutive titles from 1986 to 1989. In all, the Conway Wampus Cats have at least 47 state championships including: In 2002, baseball head coach Noel Boucher, for his work on Wampus Cat Field, was selected as the District 6 Groundkeeper/Field of the Year by the National High School Baseball Coaches of America. Clubs and traditions. Conway students are provided opportunities to participate in programs such as National Honor Society, National Beta Club, Arkansas Governor's School, Tri-M Music Honor Society, Teachers of Tomorrow, Key Club, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), SkillsUSA, Mu Alpha Theta, Health Occupations Students  of America, Model United Nations, Speech and Debate, Mock Trial, and Student Council. Conway High School also has a dominant quiz bowl program. The team has made it to 7A division state finals from 2015 to 2019, winning in 2015, 2017, and 2018, and finishing as runners-up in 2016 and 2019. In 2019, Conway High School’s Mock Trial team won the state championship and advanced to the national competition, where they placed 30th. Notable alumni. The following are notable people associated with Conway High School. If the person was a Conway High School student, the number in parentheses  indicates the year of graduation; if the person was a faculty or staff member, that person's title and years of association are listed.