Tafuna High School (THS) is a public high school located in the village of Tafuna, Tuālāuta County, Western District, American Samoa. It is one of the 6 public high schools under the jurisdiction of the American Samoa Department of Education.^[1] Its inception in 1982 welcomed 100 freshmen. Its enrollment has grown to an average of 1,200 students per academic year. It is the largest public school in American Samoa by enrollment.^[2]

History

On March 18, 1966, Governor H. Rex Lee announced that the local government signed an agreement with the US Air Force to provide half a million dollars to build a transit dormitory for military men and women. This building would later be utilized as a classroom setting for various subjects taught at Tafuna High School. On October 19, 2018, the historic site would be demolished in dedication of a new two-story, 10-classroom building.^[3]

Tafuna High School was established in 1982. It welcomed 100 freshmen and would have its first-graduating class in 1986. It was the fastest-growing school in the public school system in the 90's.^[4]

In 2020, the then-Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga had plans to relocate the E-rate office of DOE to the lower campus of Tafuna High School.^[5] This would mean that the high school would lose its lower campus that housed its JROTC program. A peaceful protest and a petition from the school PTA ensued in hopes of the decision being rescinded. After an on-site visit of the lower campus in October 30, 2020, the Governor agreed to return the campus to Tafuna High School for future use.^[6]

Athletics

Tafuna offers the following sports overseen by the American Samoa High School Athletic Association (ASHSAA): football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, and baseball.

Tafuna has enjoyed a significant amount of success in many of its athletic programs. Some of its notable achievements include but are not limited to the following. The warrior's football program experienced championship streaks in two notable periods. In 2007-2013, the team became the first ASHSAA football 5-peat champions in the JV division^[7] and were the Varsity football back-to-back champions^[8] after defeating Samoana High School in a lopsided 44-6 win in the 2013-14 Varsity football championship game. In the period 2018-2023, Tafuna were once again at the top of the JV league after defeating Marist to become 4-peat champs in the 2022-23 football season^[9][10] and is the first team to win 4 consecutive championship games without a tie in the Varsity division after defeating Leone High School 44-20 in the 2023-24 football season.^[11][12] Its JV division were once again champions in the football season 2023-24 after defeating Faga'itua High School 24-14.^[13] The Girls-Volleyball team clinched a 3-peat Varsity championship streak in 2018^[14] and became Varsity champions again in 2022.^[15] The Boys-Basketball team clinched a consecutive Varsity championship win in 2021.^[16] The Boys-Baseball team secured a 3rd-consecutive championship win in 2018^[17]

Academics

In addition to the general core subjects and electives it offers, THS also has College Accelerated Courses and participates in the Dual Enrollment Program at the American Samoa Community College.^[18] It is highly competitive in islandwide academic competitions and has made strides in national academic competitions as well. In 2017, the Tafuna JROTC team competed in the 8th Annual Academic Challenge and placed first in the LET I division, beating 46 teams across the nation, Asia and other territories that participated in the event.^[19] In the 2023 JPA, the JROTC program earned the Gold-Star distinction award after topping the 5 JROTC programs on island with an overall score of 99.13%.^[20] In April 2023, THS swept the top 3 spots in the NHD islandwide competition and were the overall champions for the 7th year in a row.^[21] The school also took first place in the 36th annual speech festival in 2023 for the third-successive year in a row.^[22]

References