| West Monroe High School | |
| Established: | 1953 |
| Motto: | Great is the truth, and it will prevail. |
| Type: | Public |
| District: | Ouachita Parish School Board |
| Grades: | 9–12 |
| Students: | 2,189 (2022-23)[1] |
| Ratio: | 19.32 |
| Faculty: | 113.33 (FTE) |
| Address: | 201 Riggs Street |
| City: | West Monroe |
| State: | Louisiana |
| County: | (Ouachita Parish) |
| Zipcode: | 71291 |
| Country: | USA |
| Principal: | Dan Lane |
| Mascot: | Rebel |
| Nickname: | Rebels |
| Rival: | Ouachita Lions Neville Tigers Ruston Bearcats |
| Conference: | LHSAA District 2-5A |
| Yearbook: | Rebelaire |
| Website: | www.gorebs.org |
West Monroe High School is a high school in West Monroe, Louisiana, United States. It is administered by the Ouachita Parish School Board. WMHS is fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school's mascot is The Rebel Man.
In 2013, 87 percent of WMHS students who took the Advanced Placement test passed the examination, the highest rate in the state. Four thousand more students in Louisiana took the 2013 exam compared to the number doing so in 2012, the largest increase in participation of any state. Louisiana students taking the exam earned a collective 5,144 college credits, an increase of 25 percent over 2012.[2]
The West Monroe High School Student Council is one of the largest active clubs on campus. It boasts over 100 members per year. The club is active on the state and regional level attending both state and regional conferences each year. The Council has also held the title of District President in the past.
The West Monroe High School French Club competes at A.L.C.F.E.S. (Association Louisianaise des Clubs de Français des Écoles Secondaires) annually against the state's best public and private schools. Over the past few years, the club has done exceptionally well in theatre, media, and music. Five students (in 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2020) have competed and won scholarships to study abroad in Nova Scotia and Belgium.
The band received consecutive Superior ratings at Marching and Concert festivals since 1966. The band consists of 200 students. In 2014, the band appeared in the London New Years Day Parade in Westminster, UK. The band has appeared in two Presidential Inaugural Parades, George W. Bush in 2005 and Donald Trump in 2017.[3] The band was one of only 7 high school bands invited. The band has also been invited to the Louisiana Showcase of Marching Bands in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. In those years, they placed 11th (2014), 6th (2015), 5th (2016), 9th (2017), and 3rd (2018,) in the state of Louisiana.[4]
West Monroe High School's Rebel Choir has a total of about 120 students. It is an auditioned ensemble that performs at an advanced level. The choir is directed by Greg Oden. The choir has an unbroken streak of Superior Ratings beginning in 1994, and has toured Italy, Europe, and Austria. The students were also invited to sing at New York's Carnegie Hall in 1999, 2003, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020.
In the 2015–2016 school year West Monroe's Air Force Junior ROTC was awarded the Distinguished Unit with Merit award recognizing the program for being in the top 10% of 878 AFJROTC programs located around the world. Their Falcon Honor Guard was recognized as one of the best in the state at a statewide drill meet held in January 2016 at Louisiana Tech University. The AJFROTC program is led by Retired Lt. Col. Brain Buck and was named, instructor of the year worldwide. The accomplishments of LA-061 continue and live on forever at West Monroe High School
West Monroe High School has an established chapter of the Junior Classical League that over a hundred students are involved in.
West Monroe High athletics competes in the LHSAA.
The school has won eight state championships and two national championships. The most recent state championship was in 2011 when they defeated Carencro (Lafayette) by a score of 20–13. The school has a fully outfitted football stadium named Rebel Stadium, which is mostly funded by the team's Rebel Booster Club.[5] Artificial turf was installed on Don Shows Field in 2017.[6]
Coaches