Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School (IBWHS; colloquially Wells High School) is a publichigh school in Portland, Oregon, United States. The school is located in the center Hillsdale neighborhood next to Rieke Elementary. The boundary includes most of Southwest Portland.
History
Wells High School (originally Wilson High School) was built in 1956, after a ballot measure was passed in 1945 providing $5 million to improve Portland's school system. Population was growing explosively, so emphasis was put on economy and ease of building, instead of on architectural style as was the norm in the earlier school buildings. Wilson High School, which was designed by the firm Edmundson and Kochendoerfer, used the technique of lift-slab construction to speed up construction. Wilson was the first building in the Northwest to use that technique.[5]
In July 2020, Portland Public Schools pledged to rename the school in response to pressure from the community in light of the racial justice movement that followed the murder of George Floyd.[6] In January 2021, the name was changed to Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School, in honor of Ida B. Wells.[7] The mascot was also changed from the Trojans to the Guardians (represented by an owl).
