George Walton Comprehensive High School

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George Walton Comprehensive High School
Seal of Walton High School
Established 1975
Type Public (charter) high school
Principal Dr. Tom Higgins
Students 2,600 (Approx.)
Grades 9–12
Location 1590 Bill Murdock Rd.
Marietta, Georgia, United States
Campus Suburban
Colors Red, White and Blue
Mascot Raiders
Newspaper The Centurion
Website www.waltonhigh.org

George Walton Comprehensive High School, usually referred to simply as "Walton High School," is public secondary school located in suburban Marietta, Georgia in the United States. It resides in eastern Cobb County and is chartered by the Cobb County School District. It is a School of Excellence and one of the top schools academically in Georgia.

In recent years, Walton has been among the top high schools in Georgia in SAT scores.[1] The class of 2006 had 603 students, over 500 of whom took Advanced Placement exams, thus having the highest AP exam scores in the state, as well as the most test-takers overall. Walton was also named the fifth best high school in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in 1999.[2]

Contents

[edit] History

Walton High School was established in 1975. It was named after George Walton, signer of the Declaration of Independence as a representative of Georgia. When it was built, construction was heavily influenced by the open classroom movement of the 1970s. Various sections of the school have been renovated in the past, and entirely new halls have been added, each time with their own distinct type of architecture and style. Throughout these many years of construction, especially in recent years, mobile classrooms, colloquially called trailers, were added to accommodate for the classrooms rendered unavailable. A small number are still in use today, primarily for required Health classes.

Walton has been a Georgia School of Excellence since the program's creation in 1984. It became a charter school in 1998. This charter, renewed in 2002, has allowed Walton to alter and transcend certain regulations the state school board put into place to further academic and extracurricular success.

[edit] Campus

Walton's campus is not substantially large for its number of students, and it resides amidst several suburban neighborhoods. The school building today is a conglomeration of many years of seperate renovations: the B hall and G hall are each only one year old, lying on opposite ends of the school, while the Technology hall (T hall) remains relatively unchanged after many years. A new rotunda entrance was added at the same time as the B hall, and the cafeteria was recently expanded.

Outside of the building, the campus includes football, baseball, softball, and soccer fields, as well as tennis courts. The football and baseball fields are often referred to as Raider Valley and Raider Mountain, respectively, due to their elevation below and above the school. Several parking lots provide spaces for teachers and limited spaces for students, who must participate in a raffle to receive one. The lower parking lot, or E Lot, is sometimes called Pride Field by marching band members due to it being the band's practice space during the fall.

In 2005, the bleachers for the football field were remodeled to be covered with metal, rather than concrete. A timing tower was erected nearby soon after for the track and field team, as well.

Almost directly across the street is Dodgen Middle School, which feeds into Walton.

[edit] Students

Logo of Walton High School
Logo of Walton High School

Walton High School contains about 2,600 students in the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades. The ethnic composition of the school is approximately 82% white, 12% Asian, 4% black, and 2% Hispanic.[3] The average income in the area is over $90,000.[2] These figures are at least partially due to the many families that move to the district primarily for the educational opportunity.

Dodgen and Dickerson Middle Schools are Walton's feeder schools.

[edit] Faculty

About 142 full-time teachers are employed at Walton, as well as administration, clerical staff, and others.[3] The student to teacher ratio is 18:1, above the state average of 14:1.

[edit] Administration

  • Dr. Tom Higgins, Principal
  • Ms. Judy McNeill, Associate Principal
  • Dr. June Hand, Assistant Principal
  • Ms. Marla Hutton, Assistant Principal
  • Mr. Steve Jones, Assistant Principal
  • Ms. Catherine Mallanda, Assistant Principal
  • Mr. Art O'Neill, Assistant Principal
  • Mr. Vince Mull, Administrative Assistant
  • Mr. Richmond Parker, Administrative Assistant

[edit] Curriculum

While Walton makes no changes to the required credits for graduation, it does change the daily schedule multiple times a year. Walton's primary change is the Walton Enrichment Block (WEB), which shortens classes one day a week (usually Wednesday) to provide several hours of individual help for students. They may complete missed assignments, receive extra help, or simply leave early. WEBs only occur on weeks without any other events, such as teacher workdays or early releases.

One other significant change Walton makes is known as the Incentive policy. If a student has A averages (90-100%) in any classes, he or she may exempt the final exams at the end of the semester for any two of them. The same is allowed if the student misses two or fewer days of that class. The student will also recieve an additional 10% on each final taken with the attendance incentive.

[edit] Extracurricular Activities

With a large number of students in the school, many clubs, groups, and societies exist for a variety of interests. Walton has, for example, a Beta Club, a National Honor Society, and a Habitat for Humanity group. It also has Young Democrats and Young Republicans clubs and a Future Physicians Club.[4] Aside from general interest groups, service clubs, and honor societies, students may participate in various sports, fine arts, and academic organizations.

[edit] Athletic

[edit] Athletic Director

  • Mr. Steve Jones

Walton won the first two All-Sports trophies in Georgia history, as well as five consecutive volleyball championships. In recent years, it has won state championships in girl's and boy's tennis, girl's cross country, and boy's soccer.

[edit] Teams

[edit] Music

Walton's band and orchestra each comprise over 200 students. Both receive consistent Superior ratings at District Festivals. In 2002, the orchestra performed in New Orleans at the National School Board Association Convention. The orchestra completed a 10-day concert tour of Austria in the Spring of 2004 and is booked for another tour of Prague, Vienna, and Berlin in Spring of 2007.

In 1998, the Walton Marching Raider Band performed in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The marching band performed in the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1st, 2003. In 2005, it performed in front of the USS Missouri in Hawaii and placed third in the Bands of America Regional Competition in Atlanta. In 2006 the band placed 21st at the Bands of America Grand Nationals Competition in Indianapolis.

Walton's chorus is comprised of four choirs that have performed in the cathedrals of St. Bartholomew and St. Patrick in New York City and the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France. They have been featured on a local FOX station and have perfomed in many events around the city.

[edit] Academic

The Walton Academic Bowl team has won the GATA varsity state championship from 2004 to 2006. It has won numerous prestigious awards and its members were National Champions in 1995. The team also consistently wins the annual High Q competition.

The Science Bowl team won the state championship in 2004 and 2005 and, also in 2005, placed third in the national competition.

[edit] Traditions

[edit] Fight Song

The fight song is known to have been chosen because it was the first and "easiest one in the book." The words, albeit rarely, are sung to the tune of "Minnesota Rouser":

We're the Raiders of Walton High,
We sure do have a whole lot of pride,
And we're here to say, "Raiders fight!"
F-I-G-H-T!
Go Raiders, fight tonight!
Raiders, raid on and on!

[edit] Alma Mater

Raise up your voices,
Hold your heads up high,
George Walton's loyalty is,
Calling to your heart,
I will remember,
When I must depart,
Honor, wisdom, and fraternity.

[edit] Notable Alumni

[edit] Valedictorians and Salutatorians

[edit] References

  1. ^ Governor Perdue, Superintendent Cox Announce Georgia’s Top 25. Retrieved April 5, 2007.
  2. ^ a b George Walton Comprehensive High School Charter School Renewal Petition September 2002 (Appendix A). Retrieved April 5, 2007.
  3. ^ a b Local School Directory for Walton High School. Retrieved April 6, 2007.
  4. ^ Clubs & Organizations. Retrieved April 6, 2007.
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