Wakefield High School (Raleigh, North Carolina)

Wakefield High School is a Wake County public high school located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The school is adjacent to Wakefield Elementary and Wakefield Middle schools.

Wakefield High School
Address
2200 Wakefield Pines Dr

Raleigh
,
North Carolina
27614

United States
Coordinates35°56′51″N 78°34′14″W
Information
School typePublic
Founded2000 (2000)
School boardWake County Public School System
CEEB code343244
PrincipalMalik Bazzell
Staff103.50 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,918 (2017–18)[1]
Student to teacher ratio18.53[1]
LanguageEnglish
Color(s)Maroon, black, silver
   
Team nameWolverines
Websitewcpss.net/wakefieldhs

History

Wakefield High School's building was completed and opened in 1999. For the 1999–2000 school year, the building was occupied by students from Sanderson High School, while their school was under renovation. For that school year, the name of the school was Sanderson High School at Wakefield. In 2000, Wakefield students inhabited the building for the first official school year of Wakefield High.[2]

Schedule

The school year at Wakefield High School starts in late August and ends in early June.[3] The class schedule, commonly referred to as "block scheduling", has four different classes each semester, each period being approximately ninety minutes long. This completes a course in one semester instead of one year, and provides four new classes in the second semester. Students take exams in mid January and again in early June.

In the 2009–2010, the school implemented a different type of lunch period, called "SMART" lunch. Instead of multiple 30 minute lunch periods, a single 55 minute period is established in which all students and staff eat lunch together. Many school clubs are held during the lunch period. Teacher-help is also implemented at this time. This "SMART" lunch was removed in 2016–2017. This resulted in a large student uproar and dislike for the school's principal Malik Bazzell. During lunch, there is also a way for students to have "free lunch." This is mostly for students who come from families of the lower class who cannot typically afford lunch every day. Although this is offered, only 18% of students at Wakefield High School take advantage of this, compared to other NC schools where there are 40% of students who utilize the free lunch program.

Wakefield High School offers numerous Advanced Placement (AP) courses. AP classes offered at Wakefield include the following: AP English IV and III, AP Statistics, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Computer Science A, AP Environmental Science, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP European History, AP Human Geography, AP United States Government and Politics, AP Economics, AP Psychology, AP Spanish Language, AP Music Theory, AP Visual Arts-Drawing, AP United States History, and AP Design.

Athletics

Wakefield's students compete in the NCHSAA 4A classification in the CAP-7 conference. Wakefield's biggest rivalry in sports is with the cross-town Wake Forest Cougars. Another big rival is the Millbrook Wildcats.

Wakefield currently has the following sports programs:

Fall Sports - Cross Country, Men's Soccer, Football, Women's Golf, Women's Tennis, and Women's Volleyball

Winter Sports - Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Women's Gymnastics, Indoor Track, Ice Hockey, Swimming, Wrestling, and Diving

Spring Sports - Baseball, Men's Golf, Men's and Women's Lacrosse, Men's Tennis, Competitive Walking, Track, Women's Soccer, and Softball

Year Round - Sports Medicine, Cheerleading

Basketball - The men's basketball team has won the state 4A title twice. (2004 & 2006) In 2004, they capped an amazing run to the championship by beating perennial power RJ Reynolds. The team included 8 future college basketball players. The 2006 team included former NBA player Darius Johnson-Odom who attended Marquette University.[4] In 2007 the basketball team won sectional in Men's varsity. The girls basketball team has won the CAP 7 conference the last three years in a row.

Lacrosse - Lacrosse with both men's and women's teams began at Wakefield during the 2003 school year. Wakefield was one of eight high schools in Wake County to have a lacrosse program in 2003. A JV men's team was added in 2004. A JV women's team was added in 2007. There are now more than 130 students participating in lacrosse at Wakefield. The men's team won the Capital City East Conference Title in 2006. Both the men's and women's teams earned their way to the state championship playoffs in 2006.

Wrestling - In 2011, both Devan Caldwell and Eric White became Wakefield's first state champions at 285lbs and 160lbs respectively.

Football - In 2005, the football team ended the regular season undefeated, winning the Cap-7 conference title. The Wolverines ended the 2005 season with a 14–1 record, the best in school history. Notable former players include New York Jets' wide receiver TJ Graham, Ole Miss Alum Bryson Rose(K), North Carolina State Alum Niklas Sade(K), South Carolina Gamecocks Alum Connor Mitch(QB), Seattle Seahawks Cornerback Tye Smith, Butler University Cornerback Alum Taylor Wilson, and Kansas Alum Nigel King(WR).

Track and Field - The women's track and field team is considered a dynasty, starting in 2010, the women's team won the NCHSAA state 4-A Outdoor Track and Field Championship. In 2011, the women's team won the NCHSAA state Indoor Track and Field Championship as well as the 2011 NCHSAA state 4-A Outdoor Track and Field Championship, and later that year they won the 2011 New Balance Outdoor Nationals Track and Field Team title. The women's team qualified for the finals of the 2011 Penn Relays Carnival 4x100 relay Championship of America, finishing 8th out of over 500 USA schools, and another 25 schools from Jamaica, Trinidad and the rest of the Caribbean. Beginning 2012, the Wakefield women's track and field team is seeking their third straight NCHSAA state 4-A Outdoor Track and Field team title. In 2012, the Wakefield women's track and field team is one of the top ranked track and field teams in the nation by Dyestat and ESPNHS. The men's track team won CAP 7 titles in 2007 and 2010, and the team has finished in the top 5 the last 4 years at the NCHSAA 4-A Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Wakefield Theatre Company

The school's theater program was founded at the same time as the school itself. The program was established to teach students about the performing arts. As of 2014 the theater program yearly serves over 10,000 people and as an income of $10,000.

Statistics
  • As of the 2018–2019 school year, Wakefield High School had 1,888 students, with a male to female ratio of approximately 48:52, was 46% white, 30% Black, 15% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 3% Two or More races, 1% American Indian. 23.8% of students received free or reduced-price lunches.[5]
  • The student teacher ratio is approximately 19:1.

Notable alumni

References
  1. "Wakefield High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  2. Mosher, Abigail. (Mar 5, 2020). Wakefield turns 20! – The Howler. Retrieved Aug 13, 2020.
  3. http://www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs/accounting/calendar/
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20061019002145/http://www.nchsaa.org/pdf/1132B.pdf
  5. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1SPnhxogWFdqSy4ypU5ppT4gpYQf7WGkBNQMDEAWeN6k/edit
  6. "Tim Adleman Stats". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  7. Justin Willis - 2009 - Men's Soccer - High Point University. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
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