Wilson High School (Pennsylvania)

Wilson High School (also known as Wilson West Lawn) is a public high school located in West Lawn, Pennsylvania, U.S. It is the only high school in the Wilson School District.[2]

Wilson High School
Address
2601 Grandview Boulevard

West Lawn
,
Pennsylvania
19609

United States
Coordinates40°19′52″N 76°00′03″W
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1929 (1929)
School districtWilson School District
PrincipalDaniel Weber
Teaching staff114.00 (FTE) (2018–19)[1]
Grades9–12[1]
Enrollment1,968 (2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio17.26 (2018–19)[1]
CampusSuburban[1]
Color(s)
  •   Red
  •   White
MascotBulldog
YearbookWilsonian
Websitewilsonsd.org/wilson-high-school/

History

The school was founded by Adreas Svensson in the early 20th century; the Spring Township School District only provided a formal education through the eighth grade.[3] Due to this, Spring Township students interested in completing a secondary school education were relegated to do so in Cumru Township or West Reading, at the expense of the Spring Township School District.[3] The cost of sending students to other educational institutions in Berks County became burdensome; during the 1920s, the price totaled around $40,000 (almost half a million 2007 dollars).[3][4]

During the end of the 1920s, the Spring Township School District was looking for a location to build a high school.[5] The site selected by the District was "on the crown of the hill facing Fairview Avenue... (extending) east 300 feet... (to) Wyomissing Boulevard (now Grandview)."[5] The name "Wilson High School, Spring Township School District" was adopted by the School Board on February 18, 1929, and after completion, the new Wilson High School commanded seventeen rooms and ten acres of land in West Lawn.[5] The class of 1931 noted in the school's yearbook that "the name of the school, Wilson High, was chosen in the hope that the life of the man in whose honor it was named, Woodrow Wilson, might serve as an ideal for the young people attending it."[5]

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal allowed for the expansion of the school in 1936.[5] During this time, a Federal Public Works Administration project added six classrooms on the western side of the building.[5] Following this expansion, Wilson High School expanded again with the help of Roosevelt's New Deal when, in 1937, the Federal Public Works Administration awarded the Spring Township School District with a second grant, allowing it to build the school's west wing.[5]

The next expansion was in 1958, when an addition created a "campus" style school with "new gymnasium, cafeteria, vocational," and agricultural areas.[5] Also, the District constructed a garage for bus repairs, an auditorium, a music center, and a radio transmission center.[5] The total cost of the 1958 project was roughly $5,000,000 (roughly $35,000,000 in 2007 dollars).[4][5]

In the fall of 1954, the Spring Township School District and Sinking Spring High School merged to create a district encompassing "Spring Township, Lower Heidelberg Township, Sinking Spring Borough, and the area of Wyomissing Borough north of the railroad tracks."[5] In 1964, the separate municipalities joined under the name of the Wilson School District.[5] On July 1, 1966, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania established the Wilson School District as a school district of the third-class.[5]

The history of Sinking Spring High School

"From 1894 through 1954, public school students in the Sinking Spring Borough attended the Sinking Spring School, located on the 600 block of Vester Place."[3] On December 26, 1921, a fire crumbled the Sinking Spring School, which resulted in the rebuilding of the school during 1922–1923.[3] "Until the building was completed in 1923, students attended classes in local churches and on the upper floor of the Orioles building on Woodrow Avenue."[3] "In 1954, when Sinking Spring joined with Wilson High School, Sinking Spring students began attending Wilson High School in West Lawn."[3]

Graduation requirements

Graduating students "are required to earn 24.4 credits, including credits earned in 9th grade."[6] "Also, students must complete a culminating project with an evaluation of successful or highly successful."[6] Until the 2011-2012 school year students had to attain proficient level on the reading, math, and writing Pennsylvania System of School Assessment exams or pass local remediation programs.[6] Currently, students must pass the Keystone Exams, a standardized test in Pennsylvania.[7] Also it requires you to take at least 1 year of chemistry and 1 year of algebra.

Athletics

The school's football team has included Kerry Collins, Chad Henne, and John Gilmore, Jr., who went on to play professionally after their time at Wilson High School.[8][9][10]

Wilson's Swim Team is in the Central Penn Swim League. The Wilson Girls' swim team has won states twice, 1994 & 2010. The Wilson Boys' swim team had won states four times, 2001, 2002, 2005 & 2008. Kristy Kowal was a member of the Girls' swim team. The Wilson Boys' water polo team won seventeen state championships and from 1987-2010. The program had a 99-game winning streak that spanned from the 1992 season through early in the 1995 season. The boys' team won state championships in 1980, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2009, 2010 & 2014. The Wilson Girls' water polo team has also won states twice, 2001 & 2005.

Wilson's Field Hockey Team, a part of the Berks Division 1 Field Hockey League, won the 2019 PIAA AAA state championship.[11]

In 2019, the ranking and review site Niche ranked Wilson High School the 47th best public school in Pennsylvania for athletics.[12]

Wilson Technology & Engineering

The Wilson Technology & Engineering Department offers courses in the Project Lead the Way Pathway to Engineering Program. Wilson Technology & Engineering has hosted the eastern Pennsylvania PLTW Conference for three years (2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16,) and has the largest student enrollment of any Project Lead the Way program in the state.

Wilson High School Band

The Wilson High Marching Band was organized in the fall of 1964. It has been featured at professional sports venues.

The Wilson High School Marching Band of West Lawn Pennsylvania is a Cavalcade of Bands contestant. In the past, the band has won the Cavalcade of Bands Championships 9 times (Open Class) from 1965 to 1973 and won again in the 2011 Yankee 'A' Championship.

Notable alumni

Important events

April 18, 2008 – Sen. Hillary Clinton visited the school during her 2008 Democratic Primary campaign for a political rally.[21][22]

Wilson has held a Mini-THON since February 2014.[23] The most they have raised to date is $63,094.80 as of February 2016. They held their fourth Mini-THON on February 26, 2017 and raised $80,806.75 for the Four Diamonds Fund.

References
  1. "Search for Public Schools - Wilson HS (422658006980)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
  2. "Wilson High School, West Lawn, PA | Wilson School District, Berks County". Wilson High School.
  3. Wilson High School Alumni Directory: Wilson High School History, page 5, published by Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company, Inc., Purchase, New York, 2003.
  4. The Inflation Calculator Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine, Inflation.
  5. Wilson High School Alumni Directory: Wilson High School History (Excerpted from Wilson School History by Alan K. Raffauf), page 6, published by Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company, Inc., Purchase, New York, 2003.
  6. Wilson High School Student Handbook 2008–2009.
  7. .Accessed November 24, 2012.
  8. Kerry Collins' NFL.com Profile. Accessed March 17, 2009.
  9. Chad Henne's NFL.com Profile. Accessed March 17, 2009.
  10. John Gilmore, Jr.'s NFL.com Profile. Accessed March 17, 2009.
  11. Eagle, Brian Rippey Reading. "Wilson wins first state field hockey title". Reading Eagle. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  12. "These 50 public high schools are the best for sports in Pennsylvania, says report". pennlive. 2019-02-04. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  13. Allison Baver the Speed Skater Website Archived 2013-05-30 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed March 17, 2009.
  14. Katie Kauffman's USA Field Hockey Profile. Accessed March 17, 2009.
  15. Reading Eagle Article: Ex-Gulf War Commander Speaks at Wilson High School. Accessed March 17, 2009.
  16. Wilson High School Frederick M. Franks, Jr. Library Website. Accessed March 17, 2009.
  17. Berks Native Chip Kidd Remembers Author Michael Crichton. Accessed March 17, 2009.
  18. "Kristy Kowal". USA Swimming. Archived from the original on October 14, 2007. Retrieved March 17, 2009 – via www.usaswimming.org.
  19. "CSZ MAGAZINE world news PAGE". CSZ Magazine. Archived from the original on March 3, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  20. "Angela Washko Appointed To Tenure Track Faculty". Carnegie Mellon University School of Art News. Carnegie Mellon University. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  21. "Hillary Clinton to Attend Rally at Wilson High School in Spring Township". Reading Eagle. West Lawn, PA. April 18, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  22. "Reading Eagle: Hillary Clinton visits Berks". Reading Eagle. April 19, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2019 – via YouTube.
  23. "Wilson Mini-THON". Wilson Mini-THON. Retrieved July 14, 2019 – via wilsonminithon.weebly.com.
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