Mound Westonka High School is a grades 8–12 public high school in Mound, Minnesota, United States. Mound Westonka competes in the Wright County Conference. Mound Westonka, located west of Lake Minnetonka, serves the westernmost portion of the lake and is located west of Minnetonka and south of Orono. Mound Westonka houses over 900 students in grades 8-12. It began as Mound Consolidated High School, which opened in the fall of 1917 in downtown Mound as part of District 85. In 1958, District 85 became Westonka District 277. In the fall of 1971, Mound High School was relocated several miles to a new building at its present location in Minnetrista and “Westonka” was added to its name. Mound High School adopted the “Mohawk” mascot in the 1930s, in part because Mound was named for the ancient Native American burial mounds located within its borders. In the fall of 1997, the school mascot was changed to the White Hawks.

History

Mound Westonka High School was founded as Mound High School. Voters in the district approved $22.95 million in bond funding in May 2016, resulting in major additions to the south (Westonka Activity Center) and east (Westonka Performing Arts Center). Designed by Wold Architects and Engineers and built by Kraus-Anderson, they were completed in 2018.

Awards and recognitions

The original structure, designed by Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, won a 1972 AIA Minnesota Merit Award. Mound Westonka High School is ranked among the top high schools in the United States by several national publications. Mound Westonka ranks fifth in Minnesota and 104th in the country on Newsweek's 2014 list of "America's Top High Schools." MWHS was also named to U.S. News & World Report's 2014 "Best High Schools" list, The Washington Post's 2014 "America's Most Challenging High Schools" list and Niche's 2014 "Best Public High Schools" list. The Westonka School District was named to the College Board's AP District Honor Roll in 2012 for increasing access to Advanced Placement exams as well as scores of 3 or higher (usually the minimum to earn college credit).

Athletics and activities

Campus

Mound Westonka High School itself contains two levels, with separate academic wings for different teaching subjects. The school has a pool as well as an ice arena. On the exterior, the school property has three soccer fields, five baseball/softball fields, nine tennis courts, a track, and a football stadium. Following a referendum in 2016, the Westonka Performing Arts Center and Westonka Activity Center were built, both of which opened in September 2018.

Notable alumni