Washington-Lee High School

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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

Established	1924
School type	public school
Principal	Gregg Robertson
Address	1300 N Quincy Street Arlington, Virginia 22201
Enrollment	1,587
Athletic Conference	National District Northern Region
Colors	Blue Gray
Nickname	Generals
Rival Schools	Wakefield High School Yorktown High School
Homepage	Official Site

Washington-Lee High School (or simply W-L) is one of three traditional public high schools in Arlington County, Virginia. As of 2005-2006 the school has 1,587 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.

1 History
2 Notable alumni
3 Academics
4 Demographics
5 Test scores
6 Athletics
7 External links

[edit] History

The school is named after Virginians George Washington and 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. It has undergone several renovations in its long history.

W-L will be undergoing construction over the next few years to build a new school building where the faculty and senior parking lots currently are. The current plan involves the removal of the current building in distinct phases so as to limit disruption. The first part of the building to be torn down will be the theater and nearby classrooms. Once the removal of this section of the current building has been removed, the main part of the new building will be constructed on the cleared land. The process will likely result in one of the costliest high schools ever built in Virginia.

[edit] Notable alumni

Forrest Tucker (actor), 1938
Gena Rowlands, 1947
Shirley MacLaine, 1952
Warren Beatty, 1955
Carl Tanner, (World-class opera tenor), 1980
Sandra Bullock (actress), 1982

[edit] Academics

W-L offers courses required as part of a standard high school curriculum (Math, Social Science, English, Science, and 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.

[edit] Demographics

The school boasts a diverse student population representing more than 20 countries around the world. The student population is 14.0% Asian, 13.5% Black, 32.9% Hispanic, 39.3% White, and 0.3% American Indian. 155 of its students receive English as a second language, or ESL.

[edit] Test scores

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 2005 was a 1,085 (540 in Verbal; 545 in Math).

[edit] Athletics

Historically, Washington-Lee's athletics are most well known for the performance of the crew team. Since the inception of the men's team in 1949 and the women's team in 1975, Washington-Lee Crew has won 31 S.R.A. National Championships. 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.

By and large, all other athletic teams (as well as many scholastic competitions) compete through the Virginia High School League.