Minnetonka High School

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Minnetonka High School
Location
Minnetonka , Minnesota United States
Coordinates	44°54′33″N 93°30′41″W / 44.9090907°N 93.5112960°W / 44.9090907; -93.5112960[1]
Information
Type	Public
Established	c. 1952
Principal	Jeff Erickson
Enrollment	3,200 (2022–2023)[2]
Color(s)	Royal blue and White
Mascot	Skipper
Website	www.minnetonkaschools.org/schools/high-school/mhs

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,^[4] 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.^[5] Niche ranked it 3rd among Minnesota public high schools.^[6]

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.

Minnetonka High School has the second-largest enrollment of any Minnesota high school, behind neighboring Lake Conference rival Wayzata High School. As of 2017^[update], 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.^[7] 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,^[8] and is considered one of the state's most affluent areas.^[9]

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^[10]
• User Experience (UX) Design
• Vantage Education
• International Relations

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.^[11]

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.^[12] Many Minnetonka Research students compete in the Minnesota State Science and Engineering Fair,^[13] and many go on to compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

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.^[14]

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.^[15]

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.

This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia'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^[20]
• 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^[21]
• 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^[22]
• Beau Allen (2010), NFL nose tackle for the New England Patriots^[23]
• 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 ^[24]
• K'Andre Miller, professional ice hockey player for the New York Rangers
• Terry Katzman, producer, sound engineer, archivist, and record-store owner^[25]
• Matthew Wilkinson, professional distance runner with Project Dark Sky - Under Armor

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