Wilton High School

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Wilton High School
Magnet School	No
School District	Wilton Public Schools
School Colors	Blue and White
Coeducational	Yes
Year Opened	September 1971
Charter School	No
Grade Levels	9-12
School type	Public
Principal	Timothy H. Canty
Location	395 Danbury Road Wilton, Connecticut, 06897, USA
Year-round schedule	No
Phone Number	203-762-0381
Enrollment	1216
Sports Teams	The Warriors
Mascot	Warrior
Homepage	wilton.k12.ct.us/whs/

Wilton High School is a public high school in Wilton, Connecticut, and considered "consistently one of Connecticut’s top performers" in various measures of school success.^[1] The current principal is Timothy H. Canty, who also attended the school in the 1970s.^[2][1]

School enrollment increased 29 percent from 2001 to 2006. ^[3] In Fall 2001, a major multi-million dollar construction project was completed, significantly expanding the square footage of the school.

In 2005-2006, Wilton High School students in 11 groups took part in the North American Music Festival in which eight schools and 1,300 students took part. Several ensembles from Wilton finished in first place and all 11 were rated "superior" or "excellent". Wilton won best overall instrumental and best overall choral program.^[3]

Contents 1 Student body 2 2007 cancellation of school play on Iraq War 3 History of secondary education in town 3.1 Before 1959 3.2 High School shuffle 1959-1971 4 ProjectAsha 5 Athletics 5.1 Boys Lacrosse 5.2 Girls Lacrosse 6 Notable alumni 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Student body

Reflecting its location in a wealthy, nearly all-white community, the school has little racial or economic diversity.

Ethnicity/economic status indicator.[3]	Year	Wilton	Similar schools	State
Eligible for free/reduced price meals	2005-06	0.9%	1.0%	22.4%
Eligible for free/reduced price meals	2002-03	0.6%	n/a	17.6%
Juniors, Seniors working 16+ hrs./week	2005-06	n/a	6.5%	21.7
Juniors, Seniors working 16+ hrs./week	2000-01	15.8%	n/a	31.7
K-12 students, non-English home language	2005-06	4.7%	2.7%	11.4
White	2004-05	92.7%		67%[4]
Hispanic	2004-05	1.9%		15%[4]
African American	2004-05	1.3%		14%[4]
Asian American	2004-05	4.0%		3%[4]
American Indian	2004-05	0.1%		>1%[4]

• "Similar schools" are in the state-designated "District Reference Group", defined by the state Department of Education as "districts whose students' families are similar in eduation, income, occupation and need, and that have roughly similar enrollment".^[3] Wilton is one of eight school districts in District Reference Group A (others are Darien, Easton, New Canaan, Redding, Ridgefield, Weston, and Westport).^[5]

[edit] 2007 cancellation of school play on Iraq War

In mid-March 2007, school Principal Timothy H. Canty canceled an original school play about the Iraq War, saying he was concerned the play might hurt Wilton families “who had lost loved ones or who had individuals serving. He also cited problems of political balance.^[1]

The play, "Voices in Conflict", had been written and practiced by students in an advanced acting class and planned to present it in April during the school day. The play was made up of reflections of soldiers and others involved in the conflict, including a letter from a 2005 graduate of the school who was killed in Iraq in September 2006, at age 19. Although the drama teacher and another teacher revised the play in an attempt to meet the objections, Canty again decided the play should not be shown.^[1]

First Amendment lawyers contacted by a New York Times reporter said the principal "had some leeway to limit speech that might be disruptive and to consider the educational merit of what goes on during the school day", according to a news article. But the cancellation became controversial in town, particularly among students.^[1]

The principal had restricted student speech at the school in previous incidents. The administration required that yearbook quotations come from well-known sources in order to prevent coded messages. Posters from the school's Gay Straight Alliance on stairwells prompted the administration, citing concerns over public safety, to require that all student posters be approved in advance. An initial decision to ban bandanas because they could be associated with gangs, prompted hundreds of students to start wearing them, and officials backed down. .^[1]

Wilton Bulletin's March 29th issue contained an op-ed and many letters to the editor calling for either Canty's resignation or to allow the play to continue. However, The Bulletin's editorial did not support Canty and the editorial also criticized Canty for not handling the situation better from the start so that bias issues could be addressed and the play could go on. ^[6]

Days after the controversy became public, Music Theatre International, a 54-year-old company that supplies scripts and musical materials to theaters, created a "Courage in Theatre" award for the students in the class and announced the granting of the award.^[7]

The Wilton Bulletin posted an early and later version of the play on its Web site.^[8]

[edit] History of secondary education in town

[edit] Before 1959

Even though Wilton became an independent town in 1802, separating from Norwalk^[9], its education system was highly unorganized until the late 1950's. Prior to the 1959 academic year, all students seeking public secondary school education had to attend Staples High School in Westport. Although it must be noted, students who did not want to attend a public institution had many options. A Montessori School has existed in the town for many years, which originally catered to a high school curriculum,^[10] among others.

[edit] High School shuffle 1959-1971

The WHS class of 1959, which consisted of 57 seniors, is universally recognized as the first publicly educated class the town has ever produced; this was only the formation of a period of constant transition for Wilton students. These students were taught in the building known as the Cider Mill School, which is presently a post-elementary, pre-middle school institution, educating children in grades 4 and 5. The facility was being used as a junior high school prior to 1959. In 1962, the public secondary education building moved again. This time the destination was a brand new structure presently known as the Middlebrook School. The first graduating class of this new high school, the class of 1963, was comprised of 170 seniors and an overall 615 student enrollment. Although this was a new facility, it was quickly deemed as inappropriate due to its diminutive size, in the wake of the "baby boomer" education era. The present day Wilton High School opened its doors in September 1971, reaching a maximum student population of 1646 during the 1976-77 academic year. WHS has graduated nearly 12,500 students as of the 2006-07 academic year. ^[11]

[edit] ProjectAsha

ProjectAsha is a sister city program with Kannauj, India^[12] which was established in October 2005 by Wilton students and run from within the school.

[edit] Athletics

[edit] Boys Lacrosse

The Wilton High School boys lacrosse program is perennially regarded as a powerhouse in the northeast United States, as it is one of the most decorated programs in the country. In the 36 years since the sport gained school-sponsorship, the team has won 21 Connecticut state championships, and 13 FCIAC titles.^[13] Guy Whitten, who was already employed by the school as an algebra teacher and the varsity football coach, was hired in 1969 to field a competitive group of athletes from the schools club and intramural programs. Whitten, who is regarded as an influential figure to the popularity that the sport enjoys today throughout the state, would end up coaching boys lacrosse at WHS for 26 years before his retirement following the conclusion of the 1995 season. He was also chosen to represent his country as the Head Coach of the USA U-19 National Team, who won the World Championship in Adelaide, Australia in 1988. Upon retirement, Whitten had tabulated 410 wins versus only 77 losses for a career winning percentage of %.812. At the time, he was one of only four coaches in the history of the sport to reach the 400 win plateau. Many of the program's athletes have gone on to compete in collegiate teams on the NCAA division I level; most recently Bill Curry, a 2004 graduate, was recruited and signed a letter of intent to Ohio State University where he is the starting goalkeeper.^[14]

Season	W	L	Pct.	FCIAC tournament	CIAC (state) tournament
2007	0	0	.000	N/A	N/A
2006	12	8	.600	Lost Semi Finals to Darien	Lost Quarter Finals to Daniel Hand
2005	16	5	.762	Lost Semi Finals to New Canaan
2004	20	3	.870	Lost Finals to Darien	Won State Championship over New Canaan
2003	13	8	.620		Lost Semi Finals to Glastonbury
2002	11	7	.611	Lost Semi Finals to Darien	Lost Quarter Finals to Cheshire
2001	12	9	.571	Lost Finals to Darien	Lost Semi Finals to Fairfield Prep
2000	15	8	.652	Lost Semi Finals	Lost Finals to Darien
1999	20	2	.910	Won Championship over Darien	Won State Championship over
1998	19	3	.863		Won State Championship over New Canaan

[edit] Girls Lacrosse

The girls varsity lacrosse program, established as a school sponsored sport in 1982, was invariably mediocre until a breakthrough 1995 campaign under first year coach Joanie Tripp that culminated with a 10-4 record and three athletes named to the all FCIAC team. After a few seasons of disappointing losses in the state and FCIAC tournaments, the lady warriors finished the 1999 season with a 17-3 record and claimed their first FCIAC crown, along with the distinction of taking second place in the state tournament. The lady warriors would reclaim themselves as FCIAC champions in the 2004 season, which also saw the team take home its first state title in a come-from-behind win over rival Darien.^[15]

[edit] Notable alumni

• Paul Dano - Award winning actor best known for his role as "Dwayne" in Little Miss Sunshine.^[16]
• Kristine Lilly - Influential womens soccer player and long time member of the U.S. women's national team, has won three Olympic medals, four NCAA titles, and two FIFA World Cup Championships, was born and raised in the town.^[17]
• Lydia Hearst-Shaw - Fashion model, socialite, daughter of kidnapping victim Patty Hearst, and great-granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst.^[18]
• John Scofield - Influential jazz guitarist who has played with Miles Davis and Medeski Martin & Wood among others, attended the school in the late 1960's while it was at the present location of The Middlebrook School.^[19]

Preceded by Deborah Low, 1998–2004

Principal, Timothy H. Canty 2004–present

Succeeded by incumbant, –

Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference
Bassick • Brien McMahon • Central • Danbury • Darien • Fairfield Ludlowe • Fairfield Warde • Greenwich • Harding • New Canaan • Norwalk • Ridgefield • St. Joseph • Stamford • Staples • Trinity Catholic • Trumbull • Westhill • Wilton

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Wilton High School Web site
• State "Strategic School Profile 2005-2006" for Wilton High School
• Wilton High main Web page at Great Schools Web site