Madison East High School is one of four comprehensive four-year high schools in Madison, Wisconsin. It was established in 1922, making it the oldest public high school still operating in Madison. The school mascot is the "Purgolder", an animal resembling a cat or other such feline. Madison East athletes compete in the WIAA Big Eight Conference. Its girls' swim team won the WIAA Division 1 state championship in 2007.
Facility
Madison East was built by architect Frank Riley in 1922, in the Collegiate Gothic style. Since it was first built, four additions to the school have been constructed, in 1925, 1932, 1938-1939 and 1962-1963. Madison East has an inside mall, which was built from bricks from the older building before the school was expanded. This area houses most of the lockers in the school and serves as a place for students to congregate. The forum is normally reserved for freshman, but upperclassmen are also allowed to use it. Above the freshman forum is the "Sophomore Wall"; closer to the cafeteria are the "Junior" and "Senior" walls. In 2017, the Madison East theater underwent a major renovation, costing $4.7 million and radically changing the school's main performing arts space.
Academics
Honors and advanced classes are part of the curriculum. Advanced Placement courses include calculus AB, calculus BC, Environmental Science, Statistics, French 5, Spanish 5, music theory, psychology, macroeconomics, microeconomics, European history, computer science Principles, and computer science A. Courses are available in advanced physics, advanced chemistry, anatomy, literature, composition, creative writing, and computer programming. The school also has a music program. The band program includes Freshman Band, Concert Band, Pep Band, Jazz Band, Jazz Orchestra and the highest level, Sinfonietta. The orchestra program includes the Concert Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra and the Philharmonic Orchestra. The choir program has both concert choirs and show choirs. The concert choirs include Chorale, Women's Choir and Concert Choir. The Show Choirs include Mad City Swing and Encore Show Choir.
Extracurricular activities
Athletics
East's sports include softball, volleyball, football, baseball, track and field, soccer, tennis, golf, gymnastics, wrestling, cross country, cheerleading, basketball,ice hockey and swimming. The hockey team won several state championships, however, because of a lack of funding and participation the hockey team has been combined with the team from La Follette. The girls' swim team won the WIAA Division 1 state title in 2007, and was runner-up in 2008. The boys' tennis team competed in the state tournament in the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 seasons. The girls' tennis team competed in the state tournament in the 1995, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2011 seasons. The boys' basketball team won three consecutive regional titles and were ranked 10th in the Midwest by USA Today in 2010. The team reached the state tournament in the 2014-15 season, falling to three-time defending champion Germantown in the semifinals. The Purgolders won their only state title in 1958. The East Debate team has won many tournaments and qualified to State many times. Even getting to semifinals and winning elimination rounds at some tournaments. Revitalized by the mentor Miranda in 2014, the team has been getting exponentially better every year, and gunning to win state. However, the club is currently underfunded by the school. The ultimate frisbee team took third place at the state meet in 2016 and second in 2017 season.
Theater
The Margaret Williams Theater in East High School once had an upper balcony, a back section under the balcony, and an enormous chandelier. However, in the 1970s, the theater was renovated and the upper balcony was walled up to allow for the creation of the Barrett and Randall rooms as study halls. The chandelier was removed and the theater's seats were replaced with desks for more study halls. The theater was renovated in 2017. This renovation included the construction of a new balcony, and made the theater fully handicap-accessible. Madison East High has a student theater program called the Eastside Players.
