| Warwick High School | |
|---|---|
| USGS image of Warwick HS | |
| Address | |
| 301 W. Orange Street Lititz, PA, Lancaster County, 17543 United States |
|
| Information | |
| School type | Public, Secondary |
| School district | Warwick School District |
| Superintendent | April Hershey[1] |
| Principal | Troy Price[2] |
| Vice principal | Scott Galen[2] |
| Asst. Principal | Tracy Weller[2] |
| Grades | 9th - 12th[3] |
| Mascot | Warriors |
| Feeder schools | Warwick Middle School |
| Information | (717) 626-3700 |
| Website | Warwick High School |
| Warwick Warriors logo | |
Warwick High School is a public secondary school in the Warwick School District located in Lititz, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
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Prior to the opening of the high school, Lititz was served by the Lititz Public School, located in the former building now on the site of the Lititz Elementary school.[4]
Warwick High School was opened in 1956[5] and included students in grades six through twelve. Warwick Middle School was opened in 1971,[5] which removed students in grades six through eight, leaving the current ninth- through twelfth-grade configuration.[6]
Warwick High School received press coverage on October 11, 2007, after three white students allegedly yelled racial slurs at minority students outside of the school building.[7] As a result, the students were suspended, and Confederate flags were banned on school property.[8] Several other incidents also occurred in the following days.[9] In response, the community of Lititz commemorated the 2009 Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday with "a clear statement against racism."[9]
Warwick High School was in the press once again when during the prom at the Willow Valley resort on May 2, 2009, shot glasses were handed out as prom favors, contradicting the school's anti-drinking demonstration that was specifically directed at the prom.[10] The junior class, who is responsible for ordering the prom gifts, labeled them only as "prom souvenirs", therefore not allowing the principal to identify and stop the shot glasses from being ordered. The school has come under scrutiny for supposedly promoting underage drinking. The assistant principal has said "This will never happen again."[11]
The high school's current mascot depicts the profile of a Native American warrior. Since 1999, Lititz residents, teachers, and students have criticized the mascot both as a racist stereotype[12] and for misrepresenting a Native American religious symbol.[13] The campaign to eliminate the mascot resurfaced during the 2009-2010 school year, as the district renovated the high school's football field; current plans call for a spear design in the center of the field. In 2010, the district removed the warrior logo from the high school's sign, replacing it with a black-and-red seal featuring the letter W.[14] The warrior image has been used less frequently since 1999;[13] since then, residents have suggested to the school board that the mascot be changed to something representative of Lititz, such as "Wilbur Buds,"[13] a well-known product of the local Wilbur Chocolate Company.
Warwick High School has a strong tradition in academics, having met the vast majority of the goals set for all schools by the No Child Left Behind Act for the 2007–2008 school year.[15]
The school is well-known for the strength of its music program, notably its marching band, which won three consecutive championships in the Cavalcade of Bands competition circuit from 2006 to 2008.[16]
In addition to success of the high school's curricular music program, many students also participate in a student-run organization called Club for the Integration of the Arts (CIA). Its main event, the coffeehouse, attracts upwards of 200 students (roughly 180 in 2010) and raised in 2010 $348 at a single coffeehouse. The proceeds are used to fuel art projects and curricula both within the high school itself and elsewhere. In 2010 proceeds were donated to Blackfeet Indians in Browning, Montana to help fund their initiative called "Sacred Grounds", an event similar to the CIA's coffeehouse.[17]