Western International High School - Detroit, MI
N 42° 19.133 W 083° 05.516
17T E 327614 N 4687302
Western International High School was established in 1898 as Western High School. When that building burned the WPA built a replacement school in August 1937.
Waymark Code: WM1BDTZ
Location: Michigan, United States
Date Posted: 01/25/2025
Views: 0
Western International High School is a public high school, located across from Clark Park, within southwest Detroit's Mexicantown. Western is operated by the Detroit Public Schools system.
As of 2012, it was the final remaining public high school in southwestern Detroit. Western serves Mexicantown, Boynton–Oakwood Heights, Delray, and Springwells Village.
The school opened in 1898 as "Western High School." The Webster School held high school classes on a temporary basis until Western was built.
On February 26, 1935, Western High School's campus was destroyed by a fire. No classes occurred during the incident. Western received a new campus as part of the Public Works Administration projects. $216,381 (around $4683651.15 when adjusted for inflation) in federal aid was used to rebuild the school.
Western International previously had a rivalry with Southwestern High School. In 2012 Southwestern closed, and part of its boundary was reassigned to Western International. Students from both schools protested the closure of Southwestern, the perceived quality of education, and DPS policies. As a result, over 100 students from Western received suspensions, with several also receiving tickets from police officers. In response several students started a "freedom school" so they could receive education during their suspensions.
In 2015 DPS designated Western as part of the "Clark Park K-12 Educational Comunidad" ("Comunidad" means community in Spanish) along with Earhart and Maybury elementary schools.-
Western International High School