Bay City Western High School

Secondary school in Auburn, Michigan, United States

Bay City Western High School

Address

500 Midland Road

Auburn

Michigan

48611

United States

Coordinates| 43°36′16″N 84°04′42″W﻿ / ﻿43.6045°N 84.0784°W﻿ / 43.6045; -84.0784
Information
Type| Secondary
Established| 1973
School district| Bay City Public Schools
Superintendent| Grant Hegenauer
CEEB code| 230128
NCES School ID| 260426004113[1]
Dean| Elizabeth Christensen
Principal| Judy Cox
Athletic Director| Gabe Frisbie
Teaching staff| 45.21 (FTE)[1]
Grades| 9-12
Enrollment| 1,033 (2023-2024)[1]
Student to teacher ratio| 22.85[1]
Campus| Suburban
Color(s)| Brown and Gold

Nickname| Warrior
Rival| Bay City Central
Accreditation| North Central Association
Website| BCW website

Bay City Western High School (colloquially referred to as BCW or WHS) is a high school located at 500 Midland Road, Auburn, Michigan, and a part of Bay City Public Schools. Its mascot is the Warrior, and its colors are brown and gold. The school fight song consists of music from the march Winchester (from Winchester High School, Winchester, Virginia), with original words written for Western High. The entrance roads to the school are Bryant Boulevard, named after the original principal, and Noell Way, named in honor of the school district administrator and head of the school board at the time.

## History

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Western High School opened its doors in September 1973 after two years of construction. It was built due to overcrowding at Bay City Central and T. L. Handy High School.[2] During this time the students who lived in Bay City would go to school in the morning from 7:00 AM to 12:00 Noon; and those outside of the city would go in the afternoon, from 12:00 Noon through 5:00 PM. In 1973, new boundaries were established, with mostly everyone west of Two Mile Road attending Western High School. Seniors (and some juniors) were given the option to complete their education at Handy or Central. On the first day of school, there were Handy kids on one side of the room and Central kids on the other side. By the end of the year, they were all Western High Students. When the building opened, construction on some parts of the facility had not yet been completed, including the main hallway, the swimming pool, the football stadium, and the commons. There were student desks still in boxes in some parts of the building. In some cases, students ate their lunches on top of carpet rolls in the commons that had not yet been installed. It has been claimed that, after Handy High School was converted back to T.L Handy middle school (having been Handy High School since 1940) in 1990, two of its former students, now being forced to attend Western, went to their old school's parking lot and danced their own personal Homecoming, rather than attending Western's. At commencement that year, former Handy students were permitted to wear their traditional red caps and gowns, while Western students wore brown and gold.

In the 1980s, it was announced that Western Middle School would be created and would share a building with Western High School. To this day, Western Middle School occupies half of the building that was originally designed for the high school. The two schools are able to operate simultaneously because of different schedules. In addition, classrooms are physically separated into different areas of the building. The two schools share the building's swimming pool and commons, but each has its own gymnasium.[3]

In the 1980s, some portions of the school's tunnel systems collapsed due to water damage and were fixed with wooden beams to prevent future damage.

Bay City Western earned athletic state championships in 1999 in Michigan Division I Boys' Golf,[4] and in 2013 and 2014[5] in Division 1 Baseball. In 2006 the Pompon team earned a state championship at the Highkick competition. [citation needed]

## Building

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Western High School has the usual number of academic departments. These include English, math, social studies, science, computers, arts, broadcasting and communications, human services, physical education and industrial arts, all of which are separated into wings.

There is a library, now commonly referred to as the media center in between the high school and middle school sides; they are connected as one room, but students are restricted from the other school's side of the media center. Said area was remodeled before the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year by decorating, installing new carpet, adding couches and chairs, and replacing old bookshelves with new ones.

Recent renovation is shown with the addition of new lockers.

The second floor hosts both middle and high school classes, consisting mostly of math, human services, and social studies.

The lower portion of the first floor on the south side of the school consists of science, social studies, and English. This area also contains a library entrance as well as a locker bay. Additionally, the south portion consists of most of the classrooms in the middle school.

The administration offices are between the lower level and the second floor. This floor contains the main entrances, commons, and gym on the west side. To the east is Bryant Auditorium and the Arts Department. Said Arts Department offers classes such as art, auto mechanics, industrial drawing, welding, woodshop, video and radio, drama, choir and band. There is a backstage entrance to Bryant Auditorium as well as a locker bay and entrances to the school's tunnel system.

Bryant Auditorium seats about 1200 people and is used for various activities including school plays and presentations. The region features a rehearsal/dressing room and an area for technical work with sound and lighting. There is also a loading dock behind the stage. In the upper portion of the auditorium, there is a lounge and access area for spotlights.

The Commons is the area in which students of Western High and Middle School eat. A trophy case is in the hallway at the front of the commons. High school students have an open campus lunch due to the number of students that attend the school.

The upper and lower gym are located next to the commons, and there are two entrances from the commons. Access to the locker rooms is also provided. Through the locker rooms, there is a pool.

The pool area is connected to three separate rooms and contains an emergency exit door. Of the three separate rooms, two are changing rooms (one each for men and women), and the other is a storage room. The pool ranges from 4 to 10.5 feet deep and has 6 lanes. It is used for swimming tournaments and practice for the Western swim team and for the swim unit in the school's P.E. classes. The pool also has diving boards and starting blocks. The room holds bleachers for spectators of the swim team.

The Bay City Western Football Stadium is commonly referred to as "The Cornfield". It is believed that the most attended game at the stadium was between Bay City Western and Midland High on November 4, 2005, in a district championship playoff game, which Western won 35–21.[6]

## Grounds

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The grounds consist of tennis courts, practice fields, baseball fields, and track surrounding the football field. The school's campus includes numerous sidewalks, providing pedestrians access to Midland Road. The courtyard area, in which some students eat lunch, is located outside the main entrance.

## Western High School Band

[edit]

The WHS band, also known as the Western High School Band, is the official band of Western High. The school offers a concert, symphonic, jazz, and marching band. Their marching band performs concerts and at pep rallies.

From time to time, the marching band will march from the east wing of the school to the football field to the sound of their cadences which can be heard from inside the stadium. From there they form into their train circles for pregame. This pregame routine consists of the train, the tomahawk, and the death march. From there they form a W, representing the school's logo, and play their alma mater and the Star-Spangled Banner. In more recent times, the band has started performing one of their most famous routines — Trombone Danger Line. This consists of the trombone section and the drumline lining up on the home side of the track at the end of the first quarter. They will then perform their "Ts" and spins 3 times, getting faster each time. During football games, the marching band also often performs a "train" routine where they begin in concentric circles and slowly rotate before speeding up and running out while imitating the sound of a moving train. The train sound made by the band originated due to a set of train tracks running directly behind the north end of the field that is visible from all around the stadium. The band also plays what is known as the tomahawk after the runout. In the 2024 Central vs Western game, the band did this blindfolded. For 20-plus years, the school's concert band has consistently performed well at band festivals.[citation needed] The band leads the parade in the Bay City Western Homecoming and is featured in the Cornfest and the Bay City St Patrick's Day parade.

## Demographics

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The demographic breakdown of the 1,102 students enrolled in 2022-2023 was:[1]

* Male – 555
* Female – 547
* American Indian/Alaska Native – 3
* Asian – 10
* Black – 8
* Hispanic – 47
* Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander– 0
* White – 996
* Two or More Races – 38

320 of the 1,102 students were eligible for free or reduced-cost lunch.[1]

## Notable alumni

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This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

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* Betsy Brandt – actress
* Matt Costello – professional basketball player
* Matt Mieske – professional baseball player
* Robert Rechsteiner a.k.a. Rick Steiner – professional wrestler
* Scott Rechsteiner a.k.a. Scott Steiner – professional wrestler

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f "Search for Public Schools – Bay City Western High School (260426004113)". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 8, 2024.
2. ^ "Bay City Western High School History". baycitywestern.com. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
3. ^ "BayCity Western Middle School History". bcpswesternmiddle.com. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
4. ^ "Golf Team Champions". mhsaa.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
5. ^ "Baseball Yearly Champions". mhsaa.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2014. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
6. ^ "MHSAA—2005 Football Playoff Scores and Pairings". Michigan High School Athletic Association.

## External links

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* Bay City Public Schools Homepage
* Western High School Homepage

* v
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Saginaw Valley League

North|

* Bay City Central
* Bay City Western
* Midland
* Midland Dow
* Mt. Pleasant
* Traverse City Central
* Traverse City West

South|

* Davison
* Flint Carman-Ainsworth
* Grand Blanc
* Lapeer
* Saginaw
* Saginaw Arthur Hill
* Saginaw Heritage

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI

Geographic|

* NCES

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