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This article is about the high school in Arlington, Virginia. For the high school in Montross, Virginia, see Washington and Lee High School. For the university, see Washington and Lee University.
- Washington-Lee High School (or simply W-L) is one of three traditional public high schools in Arlington County, Virginia. As of 2009-2010 the school has over 1,800 students and 120 teachers and covers grades 9-12. Washington-Lee calls all its sports teams the Generals. The school is a part of the Arlington Public Schools district.
- Washington-Lee is currently undergoing a complete reconstruction. When complete, it will be one of the most expensive high schools in the United States, costing Arlington County nearly 100 million dollars.
- History
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The school is named after two Virginians, George Washington and Confederate general Robert E. Lee.
- Construction on Washington-Lee began in 1924 with the school opening its doors in 1925 and graduating its first class in 1927. The distinguished architectural firm Upman & Adams designed the building in a simplified version of the Colonial Revival style. The Barcroft School and the Avalon Theater in Chevy Chase are local extant examples of the firm's work. The school fronted on 13th St. N, which separated the school from its athletic field, eventually dedicated as Arlington County's War Memorial Stadium. In 1932, 41 classrooms, new offices, and another gym were added to the original building. A new wing and a large library with Palladian windows and two reading rooms were built in 1942 with WPA funds. The rifle range was also constructed in the shop area. In 1951, noted architect Rhees Burkett designed an addition that fronted on N Quincy Street in the International Style. Along with the new Stratford Junior High School, it helped usher in a wave of contemporary commercial and school architecture that defined much of Arlington until the 80s. In 1975, the school board made the highly controversial decision to demolish the original sections of W-L to construct a new facility with an open space instructional environment. The new school opened in 1977, and a new auditorium was constructed a few years later. In 1984, with the introduction of a new "closed campus" policy for underclassmen, a cafeteria was constructed in the school's commons.
- The school is currently undergoing a complete reconstruction and none of the older buildings will remain. The theater and nearby classrooms were demolished two years ago to allow for the construction of the new classroom building which opened in January 2008. An axial orientation to War Memorial Stadium and the primary parking areas is the defining characteristic of the new school. A ten lane regulation NCAA short course swimming pool (with optional 25 meter lanes), gym and other indoor athletic facilities, and an 800 seat auditorium opened to the public in July 2009. The demolition of the 1951 building and the construction of auxiliary athletic fields and additional landscaping should be complete by the end of the year. The process resulted in one of the costliest high schools ever built in the nation.
- Notable alumni
- Forrest Tucker (actor), 1938
- Gena Rowlands, 1947
- Shirley MacLaine, 1952
- Nancy Dussault, 1953, Actress and Broadway musicals singer and dancer, ABC's Good Morning America co-anchor
- Pat Priest, Actress The Munsters, 1954
- Warren Beatty, 1955
- George Lee Butler, Commander in Chief, USSC, 1957
- Robert Richardson, Nobel Prize-winning physicist, 1955
- Jake Scott, 1963 (two time Super Bowl champion w/ Miami Dolphins: Super Bowl VII and VIII)
- Stan Winston (film director, visual effects supervisor),1964
- Reggie Harrison, 1969 (two time Super Bowl champion w/ Pittsburgh Steelers: Super Bowls IX and X)
- Carl Tanner, (World-class opera tenor), 1980
- Sandra Bullock (actress), 1982
- Academics
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Since the 1950s, W-L has received national recognition for its academic programs. W-L was the first high school in the country to exempt qualified seniors from final exams during the '58-'59 academic year. In the 1960s, Time Magazine named W-L the second best public high school in the nation. The Ladies Home Journal also grouped W-L with an elite list that included New Trier in Winnetka, IL, and the Bronx High School of Science. In 1985, W-L was named a National (Blue Ribbon) School of Excellence by the US Department of Education. The school has also received honors from the Virginia Board of Education and the Virginia Department of Education. Most recently, Newsweek Magazine ranked Washington-Lee 31st among the nation's top high schools.
- W-L offers courses required as part of a standard high school curriculum (Math, Social Science, English, Science,Physical Education,). Beyond these courses, the school offers elective classes in Computer Science, Business, Art, Music, Foreign Languages, Drama, Psychology, and Tech Education. The school also runs a HILT (high-intensity language training) program for students who are not well-versed in English.
- Washington-Lee is the only school in Arlington that offers both the Advanced Placement Program as well as the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. 450 of its students take advantage of these advanced courses or diploma programs.
- Technology
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There are over 500 computers (Windows and Mac) at Washington-Lee connected to its local area network which provides access to educational software, administrative data bases, and the Internet. Additionally all classrooms have SMART board interactive whiteboards. The school currently has 5 computer labs, with 3 in its library. There is also a mobile laptop lab and several mini labs in math, business and publications. All science classrooms are equipped with 5 or more student computer stations. Washington-Lee has a student-operated broadcasting studio which is used to produce the morning announcements to all classrooms on its closed circuit television channel. A technologically advanced distance-learning classroom in the school allows classes conducted in that room to be viewed by students in other schools and by individuals watching from their homes.
- The school's CNC/digital fabrication lab has been updated to meet the latest standards in digital fabrication technology. The lab has CAD and 3d modeling software, 3d printers, a laser cutter, vacuum former, 3-axis CNC milling machine, and standard wood shop equipment. The lab provides students with interests in architecture, industrial design, and engineering a complete set of digital and analog design tools for form-making.
- Demographics
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The school boasts a diverse student population representing more than 20 countries around the world. The student population is 42.2% White, 31.7% Hispanic, 13.2% Black, 12.2% Asian, and 0.1% American Indian. 140 of its students receive English as a second language, or ESL.
- Sons and daughters of prominent Washington families have attended W-L, and the attendance area includes some of the region's most affluent neighborhoods. W-L also draws students from middle and low income areas throughout Arlington, and this helps account for the socio-economic diversity of the student body.
- The attendance area includes neighborhoods both suburban and urban in character.North Arlington neighborhoods: Dover Crystal, Riverwood, Woodmont, Maywood, Lyon Village, Lyon Park, Ashton Heights, Cherrydale, Ballston/Virginia Square, Waycroft-Woodlawn, Tara-Leeway Heights, Waverly Hills, Stonewall Jackson, Dominion Hills, Arlington Forest, Buckingham, Fort Myer.South Arlington neighborhoods: Glencarlyn, Columbia Heights West, Arlington View.
- Most current W-L students matriculate from Swanson or Kenmore for grades 6-8 and Taylor, Barrett, Science Focus or McKinley for K-5. However, students in the IB Program may reside in any part of the county and can transfer from their home school.
- Test scores
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Washington-Lee High School is a fully accredited high school base on its performance on the Standards of Learning tests in Virginia. W-L's average SAT score in 2007 was a 1,095 (547 in Reading; 548 in Math).
- Athletics
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The men's crew team was started in 1949 and the women's crew team in 1975. The crew teams have won 31 S.R.A. National Championships (Men's Varsity 8). W-L boats in other events have also won at both Nationals and Stotesbury. Washington-Lee Crew has competed seven times at Henley, winning it twice. The crew team has also produced four national team members, and three Olympians. The crew team rows from the Potomac Boat Club boathouse in Georgetown along the Potomac River.
- A Washington-Lee senior recently achieved the state championship in the 1000m run in 2007.
- All other athletic teams, as well as many scholastic competitions, compete through the Virginia High School League.
- List of Teams
- External links
- Washington-Lee High School
- Washington-Lee History
- Arlington County Public Schools
- School Report
- 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.
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