The year 2000 will bring a New World and new opportunities to everyone, but for John Marshall High School in Oklahoma City it brings an additional celebration and unique challenge. Like its' mascot, John Marshall will "Bearly" be getting started after it celebrates its' first 50 years.
The school, located in northwest Oklahoma City, has always dealt well with the new and unique. In 1950 it came into being replacing Britton High School in what had been the town of Britton. It presently serves the cities of The Village, Nichols Hills, Arcadia and Oklahoma City. This geography has necessitated a flexibility that most schools never have to face.
Athletics has been a source of great pride for the Bears. They have 30 State Championship titles those 50 years. Girls Track has won 18 of those which is a Guinness Book of Worlds Records record. Boys Track, Wrestling, Football, Gymnastics and Basketball account for the rest. A record which may never be duplicated occurred in 1995-96 school year when Football and Boys Basketball claimed titles without a single loss (14-0 & 28-0). Bears have continued their education and athletics at colleges around the United States including two wrestlers Wayne Baughman and Wayne Wells who became World Champions.
Academically John Marshall boasts a long string of National Merit Semi-Finalists, Finalists, and Academic All-Staters. They were among the first schools in the State to offer academic teams and they have consistently finished among the top competitors in Oklahoma.
John Marshall High School has "Bearly" started our journey in education, growth and change, yet this school has touched thousands of people's lives. The how and why is because this school has empowered people to celebrate their life.
People modeled change themselves as they faced change and John Marshall enabled students to have a real impact upon what Oklahoma would become. Their vision of the future found much of its beginnings within the notion that goals could be established, reached and re-invented.
Lives have been changed as Oklahoma, and Oklahoma City itself faced change. The impact of change, growth and learning is clearly reflected in the faces that have touched the halls of John Marshall High School, Oklahoma City and the Nation.