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Minnetonka High School, or MHS (locally referred to as Tonka or Tonka High), is a four-year public high school in Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States, a western suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The school enrolls about 3,540 students, and offers four interchangeable academic curricula: International Baccalaureate, Advanced Placement, Honors, and G (general). Newsweek ranked the school 123rd on its list of America's Top High Schools. Niche ranked it 3rd among Minnesota public high schools.

Minnetonka High School is the only high school in the Minnetonka School District, whose enrollment area comprises western Minnetonka, northern Chanhassen, Deephaven, Excelsior, Greenwood, Shorewood, Tonka Bay, Woodland, northern Victoria, and northern Eden Prairie, an area known as "South Lake Minnetonka" or simply "Minnetonka". Other students come from all over the western suburbs due to open enrollment.

Demographics

Minnetonka High School has the second-largest enrollment of any Minnesota high school, behind neighboring Lake Conference rival Wayzata High School. As of 2017, it has a student population of 3,444 that is 0.5% Native American 4.8% Hispanic, 3.7% black, 6.5% Asian, and 80.2% white. Minnetonka School District's catchment area has a population of 53,000 and is characterized as a bedroom community. It is predominantly white, with a strong Scandinavian influence, and is considered one of the state's most affluent areas.

Specialty programs

VANTAGE

VANTAGE Professional Studies is a Minnetonka High School program offering a businesslike environment for students. Students go off campus for part of the school day and have class in an office building. They are expected to act and dress professionally. Students are provided with projects with local and Fortune 500 companies and with mentors who work in a field related to their class. As of 2024–25 there are 11 course "strands":

• Global Business
• Business Analytics
• Design and Marketing
• Digital Journalism
• Health Sciences
• Health Sciences 2
• Public Policy
• Global Sustainability
• User Experience (UX) Design
• Vantage Education
• International Relations

Tonka Online

Minnetonka High School also offers some of its courses through Tonka Online. It is available to all Minnesota students. As of 2016–17, 28 courses are offered. The classes are delivered through Schoology, Minnetonka's CMS. Fees are charged for students who are taking them as extra courses or over the summer.

Minnetonka Research

Minnetonka Research gives students the opportunity to learn through scientific research. The school built a "cutting-edge", negative-pressure, wet lab to allow students to research topics that are important to them. Like VANTAGE, Minnetonka Research provides its students with mentors who are industry leaders in their field of study. Many Minnetonka Research students compete in the Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair, and many go on to compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

MOMENTUM

MOMENTUM, a state-of-the-art technology education program, is Minnetonka High School’s newest specialty program. It allows students to explore careers with hands-on training in construction systems, manufacturing, design, and transportation. The program began during the 2020-21 school year, providing a trade school experience without leaving the campus. MOMENTUM also partners with local businesses to learn about their fields.

Writing Center

Minnetonka offers a writing center to allow all students a place to receive assistance on their work. It is in the commons and staffed by two English teachers and 40 trained student writing coaches. The Minnetonka Public Schools Foundation's Endowment funds the program.

Athletics

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Minnetonka High School" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Minnetonka High School is part of the Lake Conference in the Minnesota State High School League. The school mascot is a Skipper.

Notable alumni

This article's list of alumni may not follow Misplaced Pages's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations. (October 2021)

• Nancy Parsons (1960), actress
• Keith Nord (1975), former American football defensive back in the National Football League
• Lee Blessing (1967), Pulitzer and Tony nominated playwright
• Steve Comer (1972), former MLB Pitcher
• Eric Bischoff (1973), American entrepreneur, television producer, professional wrestling booker, podcast host, and on-screen personality
• Thomas O. Staggs (1978), former Chief Operating Officer, The Walt Disney Company
• David Wheaton (1988), former professional tennis player
• Peter A. Selfridge (1989), U.S. public servant who served as the United States Chief of Protocol from 2014 to 2017
• Arick Wierson (1990), Emmy-award-winning Hollywood Film and Television Producer
• Jim Brower (1991), former MLB Pitcher
• Dmitry Chaplin (2000), Russian dancer and Emmy nominated choreographer
• Will Leer (2003), former professional mid-distance runner
• Jake Gardiner (2008), American professional ice hockey defenseman
• Beau Allen (2010), NFL nose tackle for the New England Patriots
• Haley Kalil (2010), Former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model
• Ryan McCartan (2011), American actor and singer
• John Mark Nelson (2012), American songwriter and producer
• Vinni Lettieri, professional ice hockey player for the Providence Bruins
• Justin Holl, professional ice hockey player
• Jan Malcolm, Health Commissioner of Minnesota
• K'Andre Miller, professional ice hockey player for the New York Rangers
• Terry Katzman, producer, sound engineer, archivist, and record-store owner
• Matthew Wilkinson, professional distance runner with Project Dark Sky - Under Armor

Feeder schools

• Elementary School
  • Clear Springs Elementary
  • Deephaven Elementary School
  • Excelsior Elementary School
  • Groveland Elementary
  • Minnewashta Elementary School
  • Scenic Heights Elementary
• Middle School
  • Minnetonka Middle School East
  • Minnetonka Middle School West

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Minnetonka High School
2. "MINNETONKA SENIOR HIGH" (PDF). Minnetonka Public Schools. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
3. https://www.minnetonkaschools.org/uploaded/Documents/MHS/Counseling/MHS-Profile.pdf
4. "Minnetonka High School Profile".
5. "America's Top High Schools 2016". Newsweek. 11 August 2016.
6. 2020 Best Public High Schools in Minnesota
7. "Minnetonka Senior High School Students".
8. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/2743252
9. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-11-19. Retrieved 2011-09-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
10. "VANTAGE Advanced Professional Studies".
11. "Tonka Online".
12. "Minnetonka Research".
13. Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair
14. "Minnetonka High adding auto shop as part of trades program expansion". 4 March 2021.
15. "Minnetonka High School Writing Center | Minnetonka Public Schools". Minnetonka Public Schools.
16. "Minnetonka captures Class AA Girls Tennis crown | News | MSHSL".
17. "Past State Placements". MCCA. Minnesota Cheerleading Coaches Association.
18. "Minnetonka wins first boys' tennis state title since 1974". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on March 31, 2018. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
19. Paulsen, Jim. "Minnetonka repeats as Class 2A boys' tennis champions". Star Tribune. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
20. Giles, Kevin (January 12, 2001). "Nancy Parsons, actress best known for her role in the 'Porky's' movies". Star Tribune. Minnesota, Minneapolis. p. 31. Retrieved May 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
21. "Tom Staggs". Archived from the original on 2016-02-23. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
22. "Jake Gardiner". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved October 8, 2012.
23. "Beau Allen". Wisconsin Badgers. University of Wisconsin. Archived from the original on April 17, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
24. "With job on the line, Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm to meet with top Republican on Friday". Twin Cities. 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
25. Riemenschneider, Chris (2019-11-10). "Hüsker Dü and Replacements sound tech, Garage D'Or operator Terry Katzman dies". Star Tribune. Minneapolis-St. Paul. Retrieved 2019-11-11.

External links

• Official website
• Official Minnetonka Football Website
• Minnetonka High School iPads

v t e Municipalities and communities of Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States
County seat: Minneapolis
Cities	Bloomington Brooklyn Center Brooklyn Park Champlin Chanhassen‡ Corcoran Crystal Dayton‡ Deephaven Eden Prairie Edina Excelsior Golden Valley Greenfield Greenwood Hanover‡ Hopkins Independence Long Lake Loretto Maple Grove Maple Plain Medicine Lake Medina Minneapolis Minnetonka Minnetonka Beach Minnetrista Mound New Hope Orono Osseo Plymouth Richfield Robbinsdale Rockford‡ Rogers Shorewood Spring Park St. Anthony‡ St. Bonifacius St. Louis Park Tonka Bay Wayzata Woodland
Unincorporated area	Fort Snelling unorganized territory
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Minnesota portal United States portal

• Public high schools in Minnesota
• Schools in Hennepin County, Minnesota
• Chanhassen, Minnesota
• Minnetonka, Minnesota
• International Baccalaureate schools in Minnesota
• Educational institutions established in 1952
• 1952 establishments in Minnesota