Walden III Middle/High School
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| Established | 1972 |
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| Type | Public secondary |
| Students | 600 (approx) |
| Grades | 6–12 |
| Location | Racine, Wisconsin, USA |
| Colors | Rainbow |
| Mascot | Walnut |
| Website | http://www.waldeniii.org |
Walden III Middle/High School is an alternative school located in downtown Racine, Wisconsin. It operates on a few core strategies: small size, flexibility and developing student responsibility.
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[edit] Rite of Passage Experience
The Rite of Passage Experience (ROPE)is a graduation requirement completed by all graduating Walden III students in their senior year. The first two quarters, students are required to make a portfolio showcasing their talents and personality. This portfolio includes an autobiography, a reflective essay on a piece of literature, a resumé, letters of recommendation, and proof in various forms that the student not only meets the requirements set out by the school district (mathematics, reading, English, and knowledge of American government) but meets the additional, more rigorous requirements set by Walden III. The second two quarters, students are required to write (under the guidance of a faculty member and ROPE advisor) a thesis on a topic of their choice. All of these are presented orally to the student's ROPE committee, composed of the two faculty members previously mentioned and a junior year student.
[edit] History
Walden III was founded in 1972 as an alternative high school for the students of the Racine Unified School District. The school initially began as part of the doctoral projects of two University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee education students, Jackson VanBuren Parker and David Lloyd Johnston. Their doctoral dissertations were on evaluation of effectiveness and curriculum choice in alternative secondary schools, and the pair received permission from the Racine Unified School District in 1971 to found an alternative school to serve as a living educational experiment on their educational philosophy.
Jackson Parker served as the school's first Principal, retiring from that position after the 1983-84 school year; when he was replaced by Chuck Kent, who served as Principal until the early '90s. The current principal is Bob Holzem.
Walden III was named by the students after Henry David Thoreau's Walden because of Thoreau's commitments to experimentalism and individuality, and subsequent to behavioral psychologist B.F. Skinner's utopian novel, Walden Two. (The runner-up was Frank Zappa High School.) In its first year, it only admitted 12th grade students; however, the following year it became a senior high school serving grades 9-12. Walden III was originally located in the McMynn building across from Memorial Hall (where the McMynn towers now stand). After a few years, however, it was moved to its current location at 1012 Center Street, in the former Franklin High School building. The older wing of the building was occupied by the magnet elementary school Red Apple until the 1986-87 school year, not too long after Walden first admitted middle school students (grades 6 through 8).
Since its founding, Walden III has exhibited a high level of academic success. Its standardized test scores were routinely among the highest in the state of Wisconsin at all grade levels; and it has produced numerous National Merit Scholarship award-winners and finalists. It was one of the first high schools in the state of Wisconsin to require geography for graduation, and the first to require a major research project for graduation. It has been recognized as an essential school by the Coalition of Essential Schools.
In the early 2000s, Walden III lost some of its experienced faculty when teachers Willie Maryland and Al Clausen opened another alternative high school in Racine, the R.E.A.L. School. The R.E.A.L. school was founded with many of the same ideals as Walden III, but hopes to maintain a more relaxed atmosphere by having even smaller enrollment and a more intimate environment.
Walden III has recently become Racine, Wisconsin’s first Green School due to the creative efforts of many students and a high school English teacher, Tom Rutkowski. The green school act has more students recycling cans, bottles and papers and with future efforts are hoping for much more green progress. Because of many charitable donations and philanthropic grants, it was announced that solar panels will be installed on the roof of Walden III in the summer of 2008. Along with the solar panels installed by the Racine Police Department a few blocks away on Center Street, Walden III hopes to spark a "green corridor" of clean energy in Racine, Wisconsin.
[edit] Notable Alumni
Chris Spangenberg - Class of 2002
