Bowsher High School (Toledo, Ohio)

E.L. Bowsher High School was constructed in the early 1960s at the intersection of Glanzman and Detroit in Toledo, Ohio. Its replacement (opened 2009) is at the corner of Arlington and Detroit, north of the original site. It is part of the Toledo Public Schools.

E. L. Bowsher High School
Address
2200 Arlington Avenue

Toledo
,
(Lucas County)
,
Ohio
43609

United States
Coordinates41°37′28″N 83°35′55″W
Information
TypePublic, Coeducational high school
Opened1962
School districtToledo City School District
SuperintendentDr. Romulus Durant
PrincipalTeri Sherwood
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,348[1] (2021–22)
Color(s)Red & Columbia Blue[2]
   
Athletics conferenceToledo City League[2]
Team nameBlue Racers
AccreditationNorth Central Association of Colleges and Schools[3]
Athletic DirectorTerry Reeves[2]
Websitehttp://www.tps.org

Background

Bowsher High School's original building opened in September 1962 at 3548 S. Detroit Avenue, just north of Glanzman Road. It was named for Edward Leslie Bowsher (1890–1974), Superintendent of the Toledo Public Schools from the late 1930s[4] until his retirement in 1958.[5] A new structure was built as a replacement at the corner of Detroit and Arlington, about 1.5 miles north of the original location, opening for students at the start of the 2008/2009 school year. It is home to the Rebels and has about one thousand four hundred students.[6] The construction of the new school is part of Toledo Public Schools' "Building for Success" program, which aims to renovate the majority of Toledo Public's schools by 2010. The class of 2009 became the first graduating class of the new building. The current Athletic Stadium will stay and not be moved to the new location. As of October 2010 the student population of Bowsher is now at around 1,400 students, the jump in enrollment is mainly due to the closing of Libbey High School.

Marching Band

Bowsher High School's band is known as the TBA. They perform at the football games (pregame, halftime, and during the game), the basketball games, known as the Pep Band. Their uniform colors are the same of the school colors, red and Columbia blue. The colors changed slightly, putting the color black in the uniform. The Pep Band has been canceled due to the budget cuts from Toledo Public Schools.

Clubs and activities

Bowsher offers several after school activities: Bible Study, Knitting club, Language clubs, dancing, etc. The school's Latin Club functions as a local chapter of both the Ohio Junior Classical League (OJCL) and National Junior Classical League (NJCL).[7] The school's German Club, run by teacher Anthony Dodge, has been a wide growing part of the school. The program has been involved in school events such as the Homecoming parade, Homecoming week etc. The main focus of the program is an international partnership with Toledo's sister city Delmenhorst, Germany. Every year during October German students will come to the school, and see some of the United States. During the following summer, students from both the program and the German classes will visit Delmenhorst.[8]

Mascot controversy

Though the school's mascot has been Rowdy the Rebel since the school's opening in the 1960s, students and alumni in recent years have been arguing in favor of changing the mascot, which is a Confederate soldier riding a horse. In 2017, the TPS Superintendent Brian Murphy opened discussions regarding the potential change through a post on Facebook.[9] The Facebook post in question, which has since been removed, sparked a passionate debate between current and former students about whether the mascot represented years of oppression. However, a lack of change since 2017 has prompted the community to continue pressing for action. As of June 2020, over 2,000 signatures were collected for a petition to change the mascot officially, with former students offering services to help make the process as cost-effective as possible.[10]

On December 9, 2020, Bowsher High School announced that their new nickname would be the "Blue Racers", which is a type of racer snake that is native to South Toledo and Swan Creek.[11]

Toledo City League titles

(years marked with an asterisk (*) denote a shared title)

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Bowsher High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  2. OHSAA. "Ohio High School Athletic Association member directory". Archived from the original on 2010-11-03. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
  3. NCA-CASI. "NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on March 15, 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-02.
  4. "Keeping Abreast of the Times". The Phi Delta Kappan. 20 (2): 61–75. October 1937. JSTOR 20258671.
  5. "Toledo Blade - Google News Archive Search".
  6. "Bowsher High School: What Do Parents Say? - GreatSchools".
  7. "OJCL Constitution". OhioJCL.org - July 2002. Internet Archive: Wayback Machine. 2010. Archived from the original on July 21, 2002. Retrieved August 16, 2010. ... by paying both OJCL annual chapter dues and any annual chapter membership dues required by NJCL.
  8. "Executive Board Pre-File Application". OhioJCL.org - June 2007. Internet Archive: Wayback Machine. 2010. Archived from the original on June 17, 2007. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
  9. "Bowsher Discusses Changing Its Rebel Mascot".
  10. "Group of Bowsher Alumni Head Up Petition to Replace the High Schools Rebel Mascot".
  11. Schneider, Jeremy (December 9, 2020). "Bowsher nickname change honors ties to South Toledo". WTVG. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  12. "Graphics" (PDF). p. 126. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-24. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
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