Westside High School (Omaha)

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In 2021, Westside High School, has an indoor golf facility called the Swede Center. It includes putting and chipping areas, two hitting bays, a players’ lounge, and a locker room. The facility cost $350,000 and was funded by 61 donors. {{Cite web |last=Nichols |first=Beth Ann |title=Is there a public high school in the U.S. that can rival this Omaha team's indoor practice facility? |url=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/story/sports/golf/2021/11/02/high-school-golf-facilities-indoor-practice-lab-westside-high-omaha/76474008007/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Golfweek |language=en-US}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cQ_asNqelY |title=Westside High School dedicates state-of-the-art golf facility |date=2021-02-15 |last=KETV NewsWatch 7 |access-date=2025-03-13 |via=YouTube}}{{Cite web |date=2024-08-22 |title=FOR THE LOVE OF COMPETITION: Westside indoor golf facility gives teams more than competitive edge |url=https://www.3newsnow.com/sports/for-the-love-of-competition-westside-indoor-golf-facility-gives-teams-more-than-competitive-edge |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=KMTV 3 News Now Omaha |language=en}}

Westside has used a modular schedule since 1967. Each module, or "mod" (as known colloquially among WHS students), is either a 20 or 40-minute period used for classes or independent study time in an instructional materials center (IMC). This allows freedom in scheduling as classes can be 40, 60, or 80 minutes long, as needed for one-to-one, small group, large group, and laboratory instruction. Classes are taught in a similar format to many universities; students typically meet a large group lecture once per week and have small group recitations throughout the week. An average student has at least one or two open mods per day, to be used for studying, interacting with teachers, eating lunch, or socializing. Students who have met specific requirements are eligible to apply for a pass that allows them to leave the building during open mods.{{cite web |title=Modular Schedule – Bell Schedule {{!}} Westside High School |url=http://whs.westside66.org/about-us/modular-schedule-bell-schedule/ |access-date=11 February 2019}}

In 1985, Westside Senior Bridget Mergens was denied the ability to create an after-school Christian Bible club. The principal at the time rejected the idea since he said a religious club violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause. In addition, the club lacked a school sponsor that was required when forming a club. Mergens argued that the district's decision was in violation of the federal Equal Access Act requiring that groups seeking to express messages containing “religious, political, philosophical, or other content” not be denied the ability to form clubs. The case was initially ruled in favor of the school by the District Court, being over turned in the Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court granted Westside certiorari, following appeal.{{Cite web|title=Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens By and Through Mergens|url=https://www.oyez.org/cases/1989/88-1597|access-date=2021-06-14|website=Oyez Project|publisher=Chicago-Kent College of Law}}{{Cite web|title=U.S. Reports: Westside Community BD. of ED. v. Mergens, 496 U.S. 226 (1990).|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/usrep496226/|access-date=2021-06-14|website=Library of Congress}}

In 1990, Westside Community Board of Education v. Mergens was heard by the Supreme Court. In an 8–1 decision, the court said that since the club did not study school curriculum, it was permitted under the Equal Access Act.{{Cite web|last=Tauber|first=Alan|title=Board of Education of the Westside Community Schools v. Mergens|url=https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/661/board-of-education-of-the-westside-community-schools-v-mergens|access-date=2021-06-14|website=www.mtsu.edu|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=BOARD OF EDUCATION OF the WESTSIDE COMMUNITY SCHOOLS (Dist. 66), et al., Petitioners v. Bridget C. MERGENS, By and Through Her Next Friend, Daniel N. MERGENS, et al.|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/496/226|access-date=2021-06-14|website=LII / Legal Information Institute|language=en}} Supreme Court of the United States decided in favour of Mergens in Westside School District v. Mergens saying that in distinguishing between "curriculum" and "noncurriculum student groups," the Court held that since Westside permitted other noncurricular clubs, it was prohibited under the Equal Access Act from denying equal access to any after-school club based on the content of its speech. The proposed Christian club would be a noncurriculum group since no other course required students to become its members, its subject matter would not actually be taught in classes, it did not concern the school's cumulative body of courses, and its members would not receive academic credit for their participation.{{Cite web|title=Bd. of Educ. v. Mergens {{!}} Case Brief for Law School {{!}} LexisNexis|url=https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/casebrief/p/casebrief-bd-of-educ-v-mergens|access-date=2021-06-14|website=Community|language=en}} The Court added that the Equal Access Act was constitutional because it served an overriding secular purpose by prohibiting discrimination on the basis of philosophical, political, or other types of speech. As such, the Act protected the Christian club's formation even if its members engaged in religious discussions.{{Cite journal|last=Russo|first=Charles|date=2016-01-01|title='Board of Education of Westside Community Schools v. Mergens' at Twenty-Five: An Update on the Equal Access Act|url=https://ecommons.udayton.edu/eda_fac_pub/64|journal=Religion & Education|volume=43|issue=1|pages=3–18 |doi=10.1080/15507394.2015.1093876 }}{{Cite journal|last=Morrell|first=Scot|title=Recent Developments: Board of Education of the Westside Community Schools v. Mergens: Equal Access Act Allowing a High School Student Religious Group to Meet on School Premises during Noninstructional Time Does Not Violate the Establishment Clause|url=https://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1581&context=lf|journal=University of Baltimore Law Forum}}

Westside athletic teams have won the following state championships.

• Kurt Andersen, writer{{Cite web|title=High school reunion|url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-09-07/high-school-reunion|access-date=2021-06-25|website=The World from PRX|language=en}}
• Brad Ashford, U.S. Representative for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district (elected 2014){{Cite web|title=Brad Ashford|url=https://houghtonbradford.com/employees/brad-ashford/|access-date=2021-06-28|website=Houghton Bradford Whitted|language=en-US}}
• Bill Danenhauer, professional wrestler and football player/coach{{Cite web|title=Athletic Hall of Fame|url=https://wcsfoundation66.org/alumni-association/alumni-happenings/athletic-hall-fame/|access-date=2021-06-28|website=Westside Foundation|language=en-US}}
• Clark Baechle, member of The Faint
• Todd Fink, member of The Faint{{Cite web|title=Todd Fink - MusicBrainz|url=https://musicbrainz.org/artist/8f222584-cf4e-45d6-8a25-d3ae7980a5a2|access-date=2021-07-13|website=musicbrainz.org}}
• Pat Fischer, professional football player (Washington Commanders)
• Channing Gibson, screenwriter
• Bennett Greenspan, businessman and entrepreneur
• Tim Halperin, musician, and Top 24 American Idol contestant (2011)
• Eva Houston, 2x Paralympic track athlete for Team USA (Tokyo 2020 & Paris 2024) {{cite web | url=https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/eva-houston-1153662 | title=Eva Houston | date=3 November 2023 }}
• Magnolia Howell (born 1983), sprinter for Trinidad and Tobago
• Nick Hexum, member of 311
• Michael J. Hopkins, mathematician
• Jaime King, actress and model
• Terry Kiser, actor
• Joseph Limprecht, United States Ambassador to Albania
• Nick Nolte (1959), actor
• Pete Ricketts, 40th governor of Nebraska; U.S. Senator; former Chief Operating Officer of TD Ameritrade{{Cite web|last=Rendell|first=Aren|title=Q&A with Governor of Nebraska and Westside alum Pete Ricketts|url=https://westsidewired.net/21724/feature/qa-with-governor-of-nebraska-and-westside-alum-pete-ricketts/|access-date=2021-07-13|website=Westside Wired}}
• Darin Ruf, professional baseball player, Milwaukee Brewers
• Dave Stryker, American Jazz Guitarist
• Virginia Lamp Thomas, lawyer and consultant
• Adeev and Ezra Potash, identical twin musicians and television personalities
• Jake Meyers, professional baseball player, Houston Astros

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.westside66.org/ District website]

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Category:High schools in Omaha, Nebraska

Category:Educational institutions established in 1951

Category:Public high schools in Nebraska

Category:1951 establishments in Nebraska