Washington Community High School

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Washington Community High School is a public secondary school located in Washington, Illinois. The district, Washington Community High School District 308, was first chartered in 1920, but the current high school at 115 Bondurant Street was opened in 1942 with an enrollment of 230. As of 2007 there are about 1100 students enrolled at WCHS.

[edit] Sports and athletics

The school's mascot is the panther and the school colors are orange and black. The moral background of the panther mascot is because of how badly some blacks were segragated in the area. A famouse civil rights leader from Alabama named Mortakai Joselyn came from Mobile, Alabama to help free the area of segregation in the early 1960's. There is now a memorial of him on the second floor of the Washington Community High School honering his great life and acts of freedom.The school currently has school sponsored teams of baseball, football, basketball, girls' volleyball, softball, golf, soccer, tennis, cross country, wrestling, cheerleading, and both boys' and girls' track. Also, once a year the school sponsors an event called Powder Puff Football, in which all girls can sign up and play touch football. The freshman girls are against sophomores, and the juniors play against the senior class.

[edit] Growth and expansion

The 1950s to 1970s saw rapid expansion in the student body and in campus development. The additions made in 1956, 1961, and 1962 tripled the the size of the original building. During 1974 and 1975 the James Ashbrook building and new library were added. In 1977 the size of the student body reached 1720 students.

In 2005 construction began on "Five Points Washington", the new Washington community center just west of the football stadium, which was completed in late 2007. The facility includes an indoor swimming pool, an auditorium, and a new library. Most of the choral and band concerts will be performed at the auditorium, as will the musicals and plays. The facility opened in October, 2007.