Westwood High School (Williamson County, Texas)

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Official name	Westwood High School
Established	1980
Principal	Becky Donald
Location	12400 Mellow Meadow Williamson County, Texas (Austin address)
Website	http://209.184.141.5/westwood
Enrollment	Approx. 3000
Mascot	Warriors
School colors	White and Orange

Westwood High School is a secondary school in Anderson Mill in unincorporated Williamson County, Texas. WWHS is located in a suburban community. The community is largely composed of business, technical, and professional people who commute to jobs in and around Austin, Texas. Westwood High School is approximately 17 miles (27 km) north of downtown Austin and 12 miles (19 km) west of downtown Round Rock, Texas.

The school is a part of the Round Rock Independent School District.

Two Middle Schools feed into this school:

1 Academics
2 Block Schedules
3 Musical Ensembles
4 Debate
5 External links

[edit] Academics

Texas Monthly as well as US News & World Report in recent years have listed Westwood amongst their top 10 high schools for the state of Texas and top 100 in the nation, respectively. This is a result of the school’s robust college matriculation rate, as well as honors, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs.

Westwood also houses an independent, district wide International Baccalaureate academy that operates under a selective admissions system. It recent years, the program has achieved, or fallen only a single tester or two short, of a perfect pass rate amongst those sitting for the Diploma examinations, with many scoring in the highest levels of the point schema (including perfect scores). Hence, it has frequently placed amongst the best IB programs in North America by median score (although this rate is bolstered by a majority attrition process over the four years of study). Almost all students who receive the IB Diploma also receive the AP Scholar Award with varying degrees of additional attainment, with the school having several AP National Scholars each year. The Academy likewise produces many National Merit Scholars, as well as numerous winners of major American math and science competitions. In general, the 50 or less graduates from the program each year make up the highest ranked graduates in each class, and go on either to attend state flagship honors programs on merit scholarships (primarily at the University of Texas in Austin), or selective, private colleges (Rice University and Ivy League institutions being the most popular).

Westwood's IB academy is both its thorn and rose. As highly talented and gifted academic students transfer to Westwood from Round Rock ISD to join the IB program, a distinct disadvantage drops on to regular students. Many regular student's class rank in result drops dramatically, as many of the academically talented students transfer to Westwood. This topic has highly been debated, as Texas colleges such as the University of Texas and Texas A&M University are rarely accepting students outside of their top quartile of class rank.

[edit] Block Schedules

Westwood High School uses a type of academic scheduling in which each student has fewer classes per day for a longer period of time. This results in more time for teaching due to less time wasted due to class switching and preparation. Each class is called a block. On Orange days students have blocks 1 through 4 and on White days students have block 5 through 8. Orange and White days alternate each day.

[edit] Musical Ensembles

The student orchestras and bands of Westwood High School have earned several statewide distinctions, the most recent of which has been the title of 2006 State Honor Orchestra award, given to the top Texas high school full orchestra each year by the Texas Music Educators Association. The Westwood High School orchestra consistently ranks among the top student groups in the state; it also held the State Honor Orchestra title in 2000 and again in 2006.

Also, participating student musicians have earned places in region and state orchestras. Each year, Westwood students number nearly a third of the local all-region orchestra, an ensemble determined by an audition process. In addition to the several students each year who qualify for the prestigious all-state orchestras, recently Westwood students have held the titles of statewide first-chair viola and e-flat clarinet players.

The Westwood Marching Band made it to the finals at the Westlake Marching Festival in 2005, and won 4th prize for their show, "Rhythms of a New Era." In 2006, the band took 4th place at the Cedar Park Marching Festival with their show, "Chain Reaction." Also in 2006, the Westwood Drumline won 1st place in the CBS 42/Rudy's Country Store and Bar-B-Q Marching Band Challenge. This was a competition that featured 15 other high school drumlines throughout the area.

[edit] Debate

Westwood High School Speech and Debate has long been a part of school life and offers events in Lincoln Douglas Debate, Policy Debate, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Original Oratory as well as other events.

Westwood is actively involved in the TFA (the Texas Forensics Association) where participants compete against debaters from other schools. The tournaments Westwood attends attracts quality competition, and many students have received multiple awards through success at the tournaments, including qualification to attend the most prestigious national tournament, the Tournament of Champions, in 05-06 for CX debate. Other schools in the area include McNeil, Akins, Round Rock, LBJ, and Stony Point.