William Chrisman High School

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Public, grades 9–12 school in Independence, Missouri, United States

William Chrisman High School

Address

1223 North Noland Road

Independence

Missouri

64050-1947

United States

Coordinates| 39°6′12″N 94°24′42″W﻿ / ﻿39.10333°N 94.41167°W﻿ / 39.10333; -94.41167
Information
Type| Public, grades 9–12
Established| 1888
School district| Independence School District
Superintendent| Dale Herl
Principal| Denise Textor
Teaching staff| 83.63 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Enrollment| 1,441 (2023–2024)[1]
Student to teacher ratio| 17.23[1]
Color(s)| Navy and Vegas gold
[2]
Nickname| Bears[2]
Website| sites.isdschools.org/williamchrisman

William Chrisman High School is a high school located in Independence, Missouri, United States, as part of the Independence School District.

## History

[edit]

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The school was founded in 1888 and was known as Independence High School. The first building was located at the intersection of Pleasant and Truman Road, the current location of the Palmer/Central Office Building. It is from this location that President Harry S. Truman, First Lady Bess Truman, and Truman White House Press Secretary and Pulitzer Prize winner Charles Griffith Ross graduated in 1901.

In 1917 the Independence School District passed a levy and bond to build a new high school building. Margaret Chrisman Swope offered to sell the district land for the new school at the southeast corner of Union and Maple for $1 in exchange for naming the school after her father, William Chrisman. Chrisman had served as a member of the first school board in 1866 and was also a prominent lawyer and banker in the community. The new building opened in 1918 as William Chrisman High School. The high school moved to its current site in 1956, at the northeast corner of Noland Road and U.S. Route 24 (Independence Avenue), when a major addition was added to Ott Elementary School and the building was converted into the high school. Since that time the building has undergone numerous additions.

## Demographics

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William Chrisman is home to 1,491 students from Independence, Missouri, and part of Sugar Creek, Missouri, (as of the beginning of the 2013–2014 school year). The student population's racial breakdown is: 72.5% white, 12.6% black, 9.1% Hispanic, 0.7% Asian, and 0.3% Native American.[3]

## Extracurricular

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### Sports and activities

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William Chrisman is a member of the Suburban Kansas City- White, a division of the Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference League, which realigns/changes every two years. Consisting of high schools: William Chrisman, Oak Park, Raytown, Fort Osage, Liberty North, and Staley[4] William Chrisman also plays Truman, and Van Horn, which are also part of the Independence School District.

The William Chrisman Bears compete in the following sports:

* Fall
* Boys: cross country, football, soccer, swimming
* Girls: volleyball, cross country, golf, softball, tennis, dance, cheer
* Winter
* Boys: basketball, wrestling
* Girls: basketball, swimming, dance, cheer
* Spring
* Boys: baseball, golf, tennis, track & field
* Girls: soccer, track & field

## Robotics

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The school district's FIRST Robotics Competition team, Team 1723 the FBI (First Bots of Independence), was founded in 2006. The student members from all three ISD high schools meet almost all year round at William Chrisman High school. The FBI is also active in the ISD community; many members from the team mentor ISD middle school and elementary school FIRST Lego League teams and host an annual FIRST Lego League tournament at George Caleb Bingham Middle School.

## Notable alumni

[edit]

This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article and are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (June 2023)

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* Forrest "Phog" Allen \- KU basketball coach
* Don Buschhorn \- former MLB player (Kansas City Athletics)
* Mort Cooper \- former MLB player (St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves, New York Giants, Chicago Cubs)
* Walker Cooper \- former MLB player (St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs)
* Paul Henning \- TV producer (The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Green Acres)
* Jared Huffman \- US Congressman, CA Dist 2
* Sharon Kinne \- Serial Killer, One of the longest fugitives in American history
* Russ Morman \- former MLB player (Florida Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals); and current hitting coach for the Fresno Grizzlies
* Paul C. Nagel \- historian and biographer
* Barbara J. Potts \- first female mayor of Independence
* Charles Ross \- White House Press Secretary/Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist
* Ellis Short \- billionaire investor
* Madisen Ward \- musician, Madisen Ward and The Mama Bear
* Matt Williams - first known commercial fisherman from independence,lobster boat sternman and owner/operator of the "F/V Leaky Skeg" purse seine boat Swans Island, Maine
* Tava Smiley \- TV actress
* Orvar Swenson \- pediatric surgeon[5]
* Bess Wallace Truman \- former First Lady of the United States[6]
* Harry S. Truman \- 33rd President of the United States[6]

## References

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1. ^ a b c "WILLIAM CHRISMAN HIGH". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 28, 2025.
2. ^ a b "William Chrisman High School". Missouri State High School Activities Association. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
3. ^ Building Demographic Data
4. ^ "Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference". Greater Kansas City Suburban Conference. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
5. ^ "Orvar Swenson, M.D." The Kansas City Star. Kansas City, MO. April 15, 2012. p. B5. Retrieved February 7, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ a b Anon (2021). "Columbian School, Ott School & Independence High School". trumanlibrary.gov. Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum. ""Readers of good books are preparing themselves for leadership. Not all readers become leaders. But all leaders must be readers." (Post Presidential Papers, Desk File.)"

* v
* t
* e

Independence, Missouri

Jackson County, Missouri

Education|

| Primary & Secondary
Schools|

* Independence SD
* William Chrisman HS
* Truman HS
* Van Horn HS
* Fort Osage SD
* Fort Osage HS
* Blue Springs SD
* Raytown SD
* Center Place Restoration School
* Family Christian Academy

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Other education|

* Metropolitan Community College
* Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum
* Mid-Continent Public Library
* Kansas City Public Library
* Midwest Genealogy Center

Former education|

* Kansas City, MO SD (prior to 2008)

Landmarks|

* Harry S. Truman National Historic Site (Harry S. Truman Home)
* Jackson County Jail and Marshal's House
* LDS
* Visitors Center
* Temple Lot
* Vaile Mansion

History|

* Civil War
* In Missouri
* First Battle of Independence
* Second Battle of Independence
* Westward Expansion Trails

Media|

* The Examiner

Transportation|

I-70

Note: Fort Osage High School has an Independence address but is outside the city limits.

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI

Geographic|

* NCES

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