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Wilson Senior High School
1411 Old Marion Hwy, Florence, SC, 29506 -  Map
tel: (843)664-8440
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School Overview:
Definition of Terms Wilson Senior High School
School Level High school
School Type Magnet School
Grades Offered Grades 9 - 12
County Florence County, SC
Students & Faculty
Total Students 1288 students
% Male / % Female 48%  /  52%
Total Classroom Teachers 78 teachers
Students by Grade
Grade 9 - 433 students
Grade 10 - 291 students
Grade 11 - 269 students
Grade 12 - 295 students
This School ( SC ) School Average
Teacher : Student Ratio 1:17 1:15
Students by Ethnicity
This School ( SC ) School Average
% American Indian n/a n/a
% Asian 2% 1%
% Hispanic 1% 5%
% Black 73% 44%
% White 24% 49%
Additional Student Information
This School ( SC ) School Average
% Eligible for Free Lunch 53% 47%
% Eligible for Reduced Lunch 8% 8%
% Migrant Students Enrolled n/a n/a
School Performance:
( SC ) Statewide Testing Performance
School Statewide Performance View Education Department Test Scores
School District:
School District Name Florence County 01 School District
This School's Agency ( SC ) District Average
Number of Schools Managed 21 7
Number of Students Managed 16,913 students 4,796 students
District Total Revenue $124,199,000 $32,593,000
District Expenditure $116,660,000 $32,358,000
District Revenue / Student $7,343 $8,131
District Expenditure / Student $6,898 $13,599
District Graduation Rates 76% 86%
School Notes:
  • Wilson High School is a secondary school in Florence Public School District One in Florence County, South Carolina. Wilson is the only high school in the Pee Dee region that offers the International Baccalaureate diploma.
  • History: Wilson was founded in 1869 as a school for African-American children, operated by the Freedmen's Bureau. The school opened on the corner of Palmetto and Dargan Streets in downtown Florence. There are several theories and rumors as to how Wilson got its name. Some say the school was named after future Vice-President Henry Wilson, then a Massachusetts congressman and sponsor of the Bureau. Others believe that a local educator, Josiah E. Wilson, lent his name to the school.
  • The school has existed in four different locations. Since 1982, Wilson's current building has been on Old Marion Highway northeast of Florence, after having moved from a building on North Irby Street in downtown Florence. The longest-serving principal of Wilson was Allie E. Brooks, who retired in 2005 after 31 years of service.
  • In 1996 Wilson became the second International Baccalaureate school in South Carolina. Earning the right to host an IB program culminated a long process of close examination and evaluation of the school from the IB headquarters itself. The first IB class graduated in 1999, and a class has been graduated in each year since. The first class to complete both the Mid-Years Program and the IB program graduated in 2002.
  • Curriculum: Wilson High School provides many different courses for people of all interests. It contains International Baccalaureate courses, many Advanced Placement classes, and Career Center Courses.
  • Extra Curricular Activities: Academic Challenge Team, Art Club, Athletic Booster Club, Band Booster Club, Choral Booster Club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Future Business Leaders of America, Future Farmers of America, Future Homemakers of America, German Club, Gospel Chorus, Junior Civitan/Civinettes, Math Team, Wilson High School Mock Trial Team, National Beta Club, National Honor Society, Willie Mae White chapter, Orchestra Booster Club, Pep Club, Photography Club, U.S. Air Force JROTC, Spanish Club, Student Action for Education, Student Council, Teacher Cadet, Tiger Production, Tiger Times, We The People, Yearbook, WWHS News.
  • The Wilson High School Academic Challenge Team has won the regional championship seven out of the last eight years (finishing second in 2003). The team has been ranked as one of the top forty high school teams in the nation. Wilson High School's band, orchestra, and chorus are widely regarded as the best in the region. Most of the students in the Wilson High School Orchestra are students of the widely known composer and violist, Dr. Sherry Woods, who is the wife of the famous pianist Dr. Benjamin Woods.
  • Wilson students have won the solo competition for FSD1 six years recently. Their names include (in chronological order): Robert Wells (2), Roman Lin, John Tsai, Shang-lin Chung, Ray Tsai, Sharon Chen, Jasper Lee, and Shang-Lin Chung. Many students have also made All-Region and All-State Orchestra, and have made honorable seatings. Two Wilson students, Bella Wang and Hui Lin, had been selected for the All-State math team.
  • In 2003, Linmiao Xu became the first student in Wilson history to place in the top 20 in the high school division of the South Carolina Chess Association's Scholastic Championships. Wilson's We The People government/debate team has won the annual state competition four times in the past six years and won the national competition in 2004. In 2004 Civitans Cliff Daniels, Paul Evans, and Greg Schuetz were awarded the Multiple Sclerosis Society Youth Volunteers of the Year Award.
  • Athletics: Wilson competes in the AAA classfication of the South Carolina High School League and is located in Lower State, Region VI. Boys' sports include football, basketball, baseball, track, cross-country, soccer, golf, swimming, and tennis. Girls compete in basketball, softball, track, cross-country, soccer, swimming and tennis.
  • In 2007 the boys' basketball team won the AAA state championship with a 67-50 win over Greenville High School in the championship game. Wilson qualified for the playoffs with a 6-4 region record and was forced to play every playoff game on the road, but won each of their five playoff games by an average margin of 12.6 points per game, and holding their opponents to 48 points per game. The team finished the 2006-07 season with an overall record of 23-6.
  • In 2002 the baseball team won the AAA state championship, the first SCHSL championship in school history. In 2005 track runner Keeno Dargan won gold in the 200m and silver in the 100m at the SCHSL championship meet. He also won gold in both events at the Lower State championship meet. The boys' cross-country team qualified for the state championship four years in a row (2000-2003), a Wilson first. In 2002, junior Greg Schuetz became the first Wilson runner to win an individual region championship and place in the statewide top-20 in the same year. The varsity football team qualified for the Lower State finals in 2000 and 2006.
  • The boys' tennis team was undefeated in the 2006 regular season and were the first tennis team in school history to win the Region VI Championship. The tennis team was able to get to the second round of the state playoffs and were the only undefeated athletic team at Wilson in the 2005-2006 school year.
  • Famous attendees: Harry Carson, class of 1972, NY Giants linebacker and Hall of Famer.
  • Darian Durant '00, Saskatchewan Roughriders quarterback.
  • Davy Gregg '01, Chicago Cubs minor leaguer.
  • William Johnson (artist) 1916-18, painter.
  • Jolette Law '86, former Harlem Globetrotter.
  • Pearl Moore '75, all-time leading scorer in women's college basketball.
  • Carlos Powell '01, 2005 NIT MVP and New Zealand Breakers forward.
  • Reggie Sanders (MLB outfielder) '85, Kansas City Royals right fielder.
  • Marva Smalls, Nickelodeon executive.
  • Lawrence Timmons '04, Florida State linebacker.
  • Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL
  • Add information about this school (e.g., awards, news stories, notable alumni, fun facts)
 
School Zip Code:
About This Zip Code (29506)
School Zip (29506) (SC) State Average
Population (Approximate) 21,333 people 3,827,690 people
% (age 25+) w/College Degree 16% 21%
Population Average Age 32 years old 35.4 years old
Average Household size 2.7 persons 2.3 persons
Median Household Income $26,468 $37,524
Avg. # of Rooms in Household 5.2 rooms 5.4 rooms
Median Age of Housing Structure 32 years old 32 years old
View current housing listings in 29506
% Owning / % Renting 65% / 35% 69% / 31%
School Map:
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  Nearby Schools:
1. Florence Career Center - n/a - view location
2. South Florence High School - 1543 students - view location
3. West Florence High School - 1595 students - view location
4. Choices School - 41 students - view location
View all schools in: Florence Town, Florence County, Zip 29506 
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Note: Data has been gathered from several government and commercial data sources. School data reflects years 2002-04 statistics (most recent years available). Area and demographic data reflects year 2000 statistics. Public School Review does not ensure the timeliness or accuracy of the information on this site.

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