The school was named for Dr. Robert McQueen, emeritus professor of Psychology at the University of Nevada, Reno. During his tenure from 1955–1991, Dr. McQueen headed UNR's scholarship program, served as department chair and dean, and was appointed to Nevada's first psychological board of examiners. Dr. McQueen served on the Washoe County School District Board of Trustees from 1969–1990, during which the district built several new schools, including Reed and McQueen. He also negotiated the purchase of McQueen's site from the Bureau of Land Management for just one dollar. When the school opened in 1982, adjoining Seventh Street and Robb Drive were only dirt roads extended out to allow access to the school. Some remarked the school was "in the middle of nowhere" as it was more than a mile from other buildings. Since then, the construction of numerous subdevelopments has resulted in overcrowding problems. The building was designed for an enrollment of 1,600; in 2009/10 more than 1,800 were enrolled. In order to mitigate overcrowding concerns and comply with local fire regulations, several modular classrooms have been added to the campus. In 2010, Newsweek listed McQueen as the 740th best high school in the United States using the ratio of number of AP exams taken to graduating students as its criterion. In March 2018, student Noah Christensen called the office of U.S. Representative Mark Amodei to argue in favor of banning bump stocks and raising the minimum age to buy a gun. A staffer who worked for Amodei called Robert McQueen High School for his use of the word "fuck", which led to Christensen's suspension. On March 19, the American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to the school district demanding that the suspension be overturned. On March 23, the school district decided to withdraw the suspension to avoid "expensive and protracted litigation", but stood by the school's action to punish the student.
Extracurricular activities
Athletics
The Lancers compete in the High Desert League, which is part of the Northern Nevada 4A Region. McQueen competes in the 4A level, which is the large school category. In 2008, rivals.com named them the 75th Best High School Football Team in the nation. They beat Palo Verde High School in a rematch of the 2001 state semi-final game on December 6, 2008 with a score of 13-12 for the Nevada 4A High School Football Championship. They finished ranked 48th in the nation by Rivals.com.
Football - 1990, 1992, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2008, 2010
Soccer - 2003
Softball - 2005, 2006
Swimming - 1995
Track and Field - 2010, 2014
Track and Field - 2010
Cross Country - 2014
Music
MARCHING BAND Current Director: Natalia Tomasello The marching band has won the state championships fifteen times: The band has played in the following parades:
American Legion National Convention, Non-Competitive
Presidential Inaugural Parade, Washington, DC
CHOIR Current Director: Maribeth Burt
The Robert McQueen High School Choir performed in Carnegie Hall in 2007, June 2009, and March 2019.
McQueen's Core Jazz vocal ensemble won the "Best in Nevada" award at the UNR Jazz Festival in 2005.
McQueen's Core Jazz choir also had a concert tour of 5 cities in China for the World Choir Games, held in Shaoxing, China, July 2010.
ORCHESTRA Current Director: Kenny Baker
The McQueen Orchestra with Kenny Baker has played at the ASTA National Conference in 2010 in Santa Clara, California
Publications
The Excalibur — monthly school newspaper, inducted into the National Scholastic Press Association'sHall of Fame in the fall of 2004, making it the only student publication in the state to be inducted. It won a NSPA Newspaper Pacemaker in 2009.
