Ketchikan High School

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Ketchikan High School (KHS)
Ketchikan High School (left of center) and surrounding neighborhood viewed from a cruise ship in 2009
Location
2610 Fourth Avenue Ketchikan, Alaska 99901 United States 55°21′12″N 131°40′38″W / 55.35333°N 131.67722°W / 55.35333; -131.67722
Information
Other name	Kayhi
Type	Public Secondary
Motto	"It's good to be a Kayhi King!"
Established	1946
School district	Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District
CEEB code	020065
Principal	Jared Garlick
Staff	36.00 (FTE)
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	516 (2023–2024)
Student to teacher ratio	14.33
Colors	Maroon and white
Fight song	Kayhi Fight Song [citation needed]
Mascot	King salmon
Website	khs.kgbsd.org/en-US

Ketchikan High School, often referred to as Kayhi, is the principal high school for the Southeast Alaska community of Ketchikan and the Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District.

About the school

The Ketchikan High School started as a main school in the downtown part of Ketchikan, offering the first high school program in 1915. In the following years more accredited courses were established.

In 1946 the KHS was officially recognized as a standalone institution besides still being located at the main school. This eventually lead to the creation of the independent Ketchikan School District shortly after.

With the founding of the Ketchikan Pulp Company in 1954 the town grew exponentially, creating the need for more classrooms. Because the building of the main school was to small for the expected amount of students it was transitioned to serve only elementery studens. In 1955 the first part of the current building on Fourth and Madison was finished and opened for up to 750 high school students. To mark this new chapter in KHS history the mascot of the school was changed from the previous polar bear to the current king salmon.

Over the years, the school went through several construction projects before reaching its current form. These changes transformed its overall appearance, most notably the addition of a new building. This new wing is far larger than the original and houses almost all of the current classes. The old building has been converted into a pre-school program, so access for students is restricted in this area. The school's IT department is also based here. ^{[citation needed]}

History behind the schools nickname

The nickname "Kayhi" comes from the annual for the KHS which was first published by studens in 1921. The annual yearbooks have beend constantly printed since then (apart from a few gaps during WWII). In 1960, the yearbook was renamed to the name "Williwaw". Over the years the design was changed multiple times until it reached its current state.

Ketchikan Museums List of Yearbooks Original yearbook 1950Yearbook of 2020

The term Kayhi now relates less to the yearbook but the school itself.

List of available Courses, Clubs and Athletics (2026)

Notable alumni

• Elizabeth Peratrovich, Tlingit civil rights activist (Class of 1931 )
• Isaac Updike, professional steeplechaser (Class of 2010)
• Rudy Pankow, actor who has appeared in the Netflix series Outer Banks (Class of 2016 )

See also

• List of high schools in Alaska
• Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District
• Ketchikan

References

External links

• Official website
• Ketchikan Gateway Borough School District official website