| Benson High School Magnet | |
| Location: | 5120 Maple Street Omaha, Nebraska United States |
| Established: | 1904 |
| District: | Omaha Public Schools |
| Grades: | 9–12 |
| Enrollment: | 1,487 (2018–19)[1] |
| Ratio: | 16.23 |
| Staff: | 91.64 (FTE) |
| Colors: | Green and white |
| Mascot: | Bunny |
| Newspaper: | Benson High Gazette / Benson High News[2] |
| Website: | Benson H.S. |
Omaha Benson High School Magnet, Benson High Magnet, or Benson High, is a public high school in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, in the Benson neighborhood. The original site of Benson High was the current building that houses Benson West Elementary School. Founded in 1904, Benson High is one of the oldest high schools in the state. Its enrollment is approximately 1,500 students. As of 2018, the principal was Tom Wagner. The school mascot is the Bunny.[3]
A full renovation of the school was completed in the mid-1990s. Additions included a new science classroom wing, an auditorium for the performing arts, a gymnasium, a student commons area and a track and football field. The football field and track were redone once again during the 2006 summer.
Benson is currently participating in NASA's Student Launch Initiative program.
Omaha Benson High School is also one of the Omaha area schools that participates in the yearly Day of Silence event.
| State championships[4] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Sport | Number of championships | Year | |
| Fall | 2 | 2001, 2007 | ||
| Winter | 2 | 1920, 1992 | ||
| 1 | 2014 | |||
| Spring | 1 | 1974 | ||
| 1 | 1939 | |||
| Total | 7 | |||
In April 2007, the student newspaper published a four-page special feature entitled "The N-Word" examining the use of the racial epithet "nigger" within the school community. It included factual reporting, editorial content, and a transcript of a round-table discussion on the topic in one of the school's ethics classes.
Community response was mixed. Many students and parents, and the school's principal, were supportive of the newspaper's coverage, but the school district received many phone calls expressing concern or offense at the content. The school district, Omaha Public Schools, put the principal on temporary administrative leave and denounced the publication. The principal was later reinstated.[5]