Union High School is the highest level of secondary education in the Union Public Schools system of Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, for students in 10th, 11th and 12th grades. The school, combined with Union 9th Grade Center, is the second-largest high school in the state of Oklahoma, behind only Broken Arrow High School.[2]
History
Tulsa's first public school opened in 1884.[3] The Union school district was formed in 1919 when four rural community districts consolidated.[4]
Curriculum
In addition to providing typical academic courses in English, mathematics and science, Union High School offers an Oklahoma social studies course as required by state law.[5]
All Oklahoma high schools must provide a physical education course designed to provide a minimum of 150 minutes of physical education per week, unless provided an exemption by the Oklahoma State Department of Education due to undue hardship.[5]
Union High School fields 22 athletics teams. The Redskins and Lady Redskins have won 65 state championships in their history as recognized by the Secondary Schools Athletic Association.[citation needed]
The following is a list of the sports in which the school competes, as well as the years, if any, during which the school's team won the state championship:[6]
The Union High School Marching Band The Renegade Regiment is an eleven-time Bands of America Grand National Finalist, a two-time BOA Regional Champion, an 18-time BOA Regional finalist and a 12-time OBA State Champion.[7] The band has won numerous awards, including:
Union's use of the "Redskins" team name has exposed it to some criticism, similar to the controversy faced by other schools using mascots referring to Native Americans. In 1999, Cherokee Nation chief Chad "Corntassel" Smith criticized the school's use of the name.[10] In December 2002, the school received a demand from the University of Miami that it stop using a "split-U' logo which Miami claimed was unacceptably similar to the university's trademarked logo. Some Native American groups saw this as an appropriate time to renew their calls to pressure Union to abandon the Redskins name, since it appeared that the school would have to change its uniforms in any event. However, in January 2003, Union settled Miami's claim by agreeing to pay $1,000 per year for the continuing right to use the split-U logo.[11] In November 2003 the school board voted unanimously to keep the "Redskins" name.[12] Since that time the school had maintained its position despite continued protests and proposed legislation intended to change the name.[13] In July 2020, following an announcement by the Washington Redskins that their ownership would review its name, the Union school board announced it would also reevaluate the district's mascot.[14]
