Roosevelt High School (St. Louis)

Roosevelt High School
Entrance to Roosevelt High School
Location
3240 Hartford Avenue St. Louis, Missouri United States
Coordinates	38°36′01″N 90°14′12″W / 38.6002°N 90.2368°W / 38.6002; -90.2368Coordinates: 38°36′01″N 90°14′12″W / 38.6002°N 90.2368°W / 38.6002; -90.2368
Information
Type	Comprehensive public high school
Opened	1925 (1925)
School district	St. Louis Public Schools
Superintendent	Kelvin Adams
Principal	Crystal Gale
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1,003 (2010–2011)
Campus type	Urban
Color(s)	Crimson and white
Mascot	Teddy bear
Team name	The Rough Riders
Newspaper	The Rough Rider
Yearbook	Yearbook, formerly Bwana
Information	(314) 776-6040
Website	School web site

Roosevelt High School is a public high school in St. Louis, Missouri that is part of the St. Louis Public Schools. Roosevelt opened in 1925 after two years of construction and the evacuation of a cemetery for the building site. From the 1930s through the 1970s, Roosevelt served a predominantly white, ethnically German population, and among its graduates was Clyde Cowan, the co-discoverer of the neutrino particle. As a result of intradistrict busing in the 1980s and 1990s, Roosevelt served increasing numbers of black students, and it continues to be among the most integrated comprehensive schools in the district. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Roosevelt operated a magnet school within its building as a small learning community; however, the magnet school operation shifted to Soldan High School in 1993. Despite a two-year renovation in the mid-1990s, Roosevelt has since suffered from academic and discipline issues, and its test scores and graduation rates remain below state averages.

To relieve overcrowding at McKinley High School and Cleveland High School, the city's south side high schools for whites, the St. Louis Public Schools ordered the acquisition of property to construct a "New Southside High School" in 1922. Due to a lack of vacant land in the area, the Picker Cemetery (also known as Holy Ghost Cemetery) was acquired for the school's site, and evacuation of its graves began in October 1922. Most graves were relocated to mass graves in other cemeteries, although some remains were not relocated. During construction, neighbors reported dogs and children bringing home bones from the site, and workers reported finding jewelry and coffin handles while constructing the building. The building's cornerstone was laid on April 22, 1923, and the building was designed by R.M. Milligan at a cost of slightly less than $1.5 million.

The building opened to its first students on January 26, 1925, and it was officially named to honor Theodore Roosevelt. Most of its students and faculty transferred from McKinley High School, which was converted to a middle school from 1925 through 1932, and a smaller number of students transferred from Cleveland High School. Many school traditions and names relate to Roosevelt, such as its mascot (the Teddy Bear), its nickname (the Rough Riders), its original yearbook title (Bwana, in reference to Roosevelt's Swahili nickname), and its school colors and the melody of the school song are those of Harvard University, Roosevelt's alma mater.