Madison East High School is one of four comprehensive four-year high schools in Madison, Wisconsin. It was established in 1922, making it the oldest public high school still operating in Madison. The school mascot is "Peppy Purgolder", an animal resembling a feline. Madison East athletes compete in the WIAA Big Eight Conference.

Facility

Madison East was built by architect Frank Riley in 1922, in the Collegiate Gothic style. Since it was first built, four additions to the school have been constructed, in 1925, 1932, 1938-1939 and 1962–1963. Madison East has an inside mall, which was built from bricks from the older building before the school was expanded. This area houses most of the lockers in the school and serves as a place for students to congregate. The forum is normally reserved for freshman, but upperclassmen are also allowed to use it. Above the freshman forum is the "Sophomore Wall"; closer to the cafeteria are the "Junior" and "Senior" walls. In 2017, the Madison East theater underwent a major renovation, costing $4.7 million and radically changing the school's main performing arts space. Beginning in 2022, East underwent major renovations as part of a 2020 referendum.

Academics

Honors and advanced classes are part of the curriculum. Advanced Placement (AP) courses include Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Environmental Science, Statistics, French Language and Culture, Spanish Language and Culture, Music Theory, Psychology, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Modern European History, Computer Science Principles, and Computer Science A. Courses are available in advanced physics, advanced chemistry, anatomy, literature, composition, creative writing, and computer programming. The school also has a music program. The band program includes Freshman Band, Concert Band, Pep Band, Jazz Band, Jazz Orchestra and the highest level, Sinfonietta. The orchestra program includes the Concert Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonic Orchestra. The choir program has both concert choirs and show choirs. The concert choirs include Chorale, Treble Choir and Concert Choir. There is no show choir anymore, but there is the Cypher which is an arts group that performs in local spaces.

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

East's sports include softball, volleyball, football, baseball, track and field, soccer, tennis, golf, gymnastics, wrestling, cross country, cheerleading, basketball, ice hockey, swimming, and ultimate frisbee.

Theater

The Margaret Williams Theater in East High School once had enormous chandelier. However, in the 1970s, the theater was renovated and the back was walled up to allow for the creation of the Barrett and Randall rooms as study halls. The chandelier was removed and the theater's seats were replaced with desks for more study halls. The theater was renovated in 2017. This renovation included the construction of a new balcony, and made the theater fully handicap-accessible. Madison East High has a student theater program called the Eastside Players.

Notable alumni