Joseph Wheeler High School

Joseph Wheeler High School
Address
375 Holt Rd. Marietta, GA, 30068 United States
Coordinates	33°57′32″N 84°28′40″W / 33.958841°N 84.477775°W / 33.958841; -84.477775Coordinates: 33°57′32″N 84°28′40″W / 33.958841°N 84.477775°W / 33.958841; -84.477775
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1965
Principal	Dr. Peter Giles
Grades	9–12
Number of students	2100
Color(s)	Navy Blue, Gold, White
Mascot	Scratch the Wildcat
Schedule	Semester
Website	www.wheelerhigh.com

Wheeler High School is located in northeast Cobb County, Georgia, USA. It is near the city of Marietta, about 15 miles (24 km) northwest of downtown Atlanta. Wheeler has been in operation since 1965. It is a public high school of the State of Georgia and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the Georgia High School Association.

Notable achievements

Newsweek Magazine ranked Wheeler in the top 5% of high schools in America in 2007 and Atlanta Magazine named Wheeler number 3 of the top 32 high schools in Georgia in 2006.

Wheeler's basketball team, led by coach Doug Lipscomb, is a nationally ranked program, winning 4 state titles between 2002 and 2009. Wheeler has taken the state title in 1994, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2009 and 2015. Wheeler was also the state runner-up in 1995, 2008 and 2014. They have had many wins over regional teams from Alabama, Oregon, Arizona, New York, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Canada. Many of Lipscomb's players have gone on to play D-1 Basketball. Four of his players have gone on to play in the NBA. Lipscomb was also a coach for the east in the 2010 McDonald's All American Game (where he coached his own player Jelan Kendrick). Other players out out of the Wheeler program include J.J. Hickson and Shareef Abdur-Rahim

The robotics club^[1] participates in the FIRST Robotics League, the VEX Robotics Competition and the BEST Robotics Competition each year, and has earned the Chairman's Award three years in a row. The 2005 One-Act Play "Jerry Finnegan's Sister" won the Region and State Titles and received the awards for Best Actress and Actor in Region for Bailey McClure and Zlatomir Moldovanski respectively and Best Actor in State for Zlatomir. The debate team^[2] is nationally competitive. Students have received national recognition in prestigious science competitions including semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search and the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in 2004, 2006, 2007, & 2009 and semifinalists in the Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition in both 2006 & 2007. Wheeler's club water polo team, founded in 2006 by Owen Sweitzer and expanded by former coach Richard Tavernaro in 2007, competes around the Atlanta area. The team encourages other schools to form water polo programs and is responsible for the growth of interest in the sport in Georgia. Due to Wheeler's efforts, it is possible that Water Polo will become a Varsity sport in the future.

Wheeler offers a wide range of courses including honors courses, more than 25 AP classes and many Post-AP courses, including Genetics, Robotics, and Internship classes. Wheeler also has technical/vocational courses for those seeking a vocational diploma. The Center for Advanced Studies offers dual college prep and technology seals on a participant's high school diploma.

Wheeler is home to the award winning Wildcat Pride Marching Band, directed by Mark Hoskins. In fall of 2013, the Wildcat Pride presented their show 'Daydream Portraits' and won first in the Silver Division (Classes AA and AAA) at the White Columns Invitational. The Band proceeded to win first overall at the LaFayette Classic. The Wheeler Jazz Band, also directed by Mark Hoskins, attended the GMEA District 12 Jazz Performance Evaluations in 2014 and received superior ratings.

In 2015, a team of students from Wheeler's Center for Advanced Studies won the Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge, an international competition designed to honor the spirit of Pete Conrad by encouraging innovation in students.^[3][4][5]

The Center For Advanced Studies in Science, Math, & Technology

Wheeler High School's Center For Advanced Studies in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math) began teaching classes in 1999. Since then, it has accepted about 100 rising freshmen every year and has become the top magnet program in Georgia. In 2012, Wheeler was pronounced as the first STEM-certified high school in the state of Georgia. Wheeler's program is a member of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science, and Technology, offering an advanced curriculum to highly motivated students.^[6] The rigorous coursework allows magnet students to begin taking college-level courses in math and science by the time they are in eleventh grade and participating in internships at local businesses by the time they are in the twelfth grade. The Magnet Program's original founder, Cathy Banks, died November 9, 2013. Recently, the Magnet foundation has earned the STEM Certified School Outreach from Tag-Ed,^[7] a Georgia STEM organization.

Admissions

Admission to the program is open to any rising ninth-graders in Cobb County, Georgia. Interested students must enter the program at the level of Advanced Math 1 or 2 (Geometry or Algebra II) and submit an application by the deadline. The admissions criterion is based on the following:^[8]

Academics

The Center for Advanced studies strongly emphasizes the math and science programs, but encourages students to pursue high-level social studies and English as well. Students take two science credits each year (one per semester) and at least one math course (though some students choose to double up here as well). By their junior year, students are taking primarily AP and post-AP science and math courses. Students are also encouraged to take honors and AP level history, English, and foreign languages, which many do.^[9] The Georgia Institute of Technology accepts more students from Wheeler High School's Magnet Program than from any other High School in the world.

Construction

Wheeler High School has been under heavy construction since 2011 to get a new building. The area around the magnet buildings is being expanded to house a new gym and an art and drama center, as well as a new auditorium.

Notable alumni

State championships

• Boys Basketball 1994,2002,2003,2005,2009,2015
• One-Act Play 2005
• Boys Track 2003
• Girls Basketball 1998
• Wrestling 1985
• Golf 1976
• Baseball 1975
• Softball 1983,1984

References

External links

• Wheeler High web page
• Wheeler Magnet web page