Omaha Burke High School

Harry A. Burke High School is a secondary school located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The principal is Darren Rasmussen.^[2] The school's mascot is the Bulldog.

Burke High School
12200 Burke Blvd Omaha, Nebraska United States
Information
Type	Public high school
School district	Omaha Public Schools
Principal	Darren Rasmussen
Teaching staff	88.00 (FTE)[1]
Grades	9–12
Number of students	1,729 (2023-2024)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	19.65[1]
Color(s)	Black and gold
Mascot	Bulldog
Website	http://www.ops.org/burke

Each year in May, the Nebraska State Track Meet is held at the school.^[3] Its stadium was renovated in 2008.^[3]

The school property abuts the eastbound lanes of West Dodge Road (US 6).

Name

Burke High School was dedicated to Harry A. Burke in November 1967. Burke, who was Omaha Public Schools superintendent from 1946 to 1962, actively prevented black educators from having positions of authority during his tenure.^[4] Among Burke's racist statements was "I would never want black people in a position of power, where white children would be educated." A 2019 op-ed in school newspaper The Burke Beat and a June 2020 petition both called for the school to change its name.^[5][6] Alternative namesakes were suggested, including Lucinda Gamble, Omaha Public Schools' first African American teacher.^[6]

Extracurricular activities

Academic Decathlon

Burke has participated in the Academic Decathlon competition for 14 years, and has been the Nebraska state champion seven times. Their chief rivals are Creighton Preparatory School and Pius X High School. Burke holds the record for the highest overall score by a Nebraska team (48,337), set in 2008.^[7] In 2009, the Burke Academic Decathlon team placed second in Division I and third overall at the national competition.^[8]

Athletics

Burke athletic teams have won 39 state championships.

State championships[9]
Season	Sport	Number of championships	Year
Fall	Golf, girls'	1	1982
	Tennis, boys'	1	1986
	Football	1	2018
	Cross country, boys'	6	1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983
Winter	Wrestling, boys'	1	2000
	Basketball, boys'	2	1977, 1986
	Basketball, girls'	1	1978
	Swimming, boys'	3	1992, 1994, 1995
	Swimming, girls'	5	1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994
Spring	Golf, boys'	3	1976, 1981, 1992
	Soccer, boys'	2	1990, 1994
	Tennis, girls'	7	1975, 1981, 1984, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997
	Track and field, girls'	1	2004
	Baseball	5	1970, 1975, 1979, 1992, 2000
Total		39

Notable alumni

• George Andrews, professional football player for the Los Angeles Rams, 19th overall pick in the 1979 NFL Draft^[10]
• Craig Anton, supporting character on Phil of the Future
• Joshua Becker, minimalist writer
• Barney Cotton, offensive line coach for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
• Jason Dourisseau, professional basketball player
• Mike Freeman, jazz musician
• Alex Henery, professional football player
• Ricky Henry, former offensive lineman for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and former NFL player
• Rich King, professional basketball player
• Rod Kush, professional football player and founder of Rod Kush Furniture
• Xavier Watts, All-American safety for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish^[11]
• Jackson Withrow, professional tennis player