South Salem High School
South Salem High School is a public high school in Salem, Oregon. It was built in 1954 as the second public high school in the city. After South Salem opened, the former Salem High School was renamed North Salem High School. History. South Salem High School is not the first school to be built on the current site. The former Leslie Middle School was built in 1927, and South Salem was connected to it when it was constructed in 1954. The schools shared common facilities, including the cafeteria and auditorium. When the middle school was moved  in 1997, the old building became home to Howard Street Charter School. The Howard Street building was demolished in 2020. Academics. South Salem offers the International Baccalaureate program in the 11th and 12th grades, as well as a preparatory Honors program for 9th and 10th grades. The first graduating class to have spent 4 years with the IB program was the class of 2002. In 1987, South Salem High School was honored in the Blue Ribbon Schools Program, the highest honor a school can receive in the United States. In 2008, 78% of the school's seniors received their high  school diploma. Of 466 students, 364 graduated, 69 dropped out, 1 received a modified diploma, and 32 are still in high school. Athletics. Boys' Basketball Program. The men's basketball team has been one of the most successful programs in Oregon. South Salem has produced 15 plus D1 basketball recruits in program history. Some previous Saxon players have chosen to play at Stanford, UCLA, BYU, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, and other schools. South Salem has won state titles in 1996 and 2004. Travis Brown has been head coach since 2019. Music. South Salem High School's entire music department has been  nationally recognized as a Gold school in the Grammy Signature School program. Since the OSAA State Band Contest began in 1987, the SSHS's Wind Ensemble has won in 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. The Wind Ensemble also performed in Shanghai and Beijing in activities surrounding the 2008 Summer Olympics in China. Since the state choir championship began in 1987, SSHS placed first in 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2010, 2014, and 2016. The state orchestra championship also began in 1987, and SSHS placed first in 2001 , 2004, 2007, and 2014. In 1989, Oregon added Full Orchestra to the state competition; SSHS won in 1995, 2000, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, and 2015.