Warwick High School (Pennsylvania)

Warwick High School

USGS image of Warwick HS
Address
301 W. Orange Street
Lititz, Pennsylvania, Lancaster County 17543
United States
Coordinates 40°09′17″N 76°18′52″W / 40.1548°N 76.3145°W / 40.1548; -76.3145
Information
School type Public, secondary
School district Warwick School District
Superintendent April Hershey[1]
Principal Kristina Szobocsan[2]
Grades 9th - 12th[3]
Mascot Warriors
Feeder schools Warwick Middle School
Website warwick.k12.pa.us

Warwick Warriors logo

Warwick High School is a public secondary school in the Warwick School District located in Lititz, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States.

School history

Warwick High School was opened in 1956[4] and included students in grades six through twelve. Warwick Middle School was opened in 1971,[4] which removed students in grades six through eight, leaving the current ninth- through twelfth-grade configuration.[5] The school district now has four elementary schools for grades K-12: Lititz Elementary, John Beck Elementary, Kissel Hill Elementary, and Bonfield Elementary. The school district has recently renovated the middle school and high school campus, which has provided several new athletic fields for various sporting events. The district is known for its field hockey program, which has produced several Division 1 athletes.

2007 racism incident

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.[6] As a result, the students were suspended, and Confederate flags were banned on school property.[7] Several other incidents also occurred in the following days.[8] In response, the community of Lititz commemorated the 2009 Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday with "a clear statement against racism."[8]

2009 shot glass incident

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.[9] The junior class, which was 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.[10]

School mascot

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 for being a racist stereotype[11] and for misrepresenting a Native American religious symbol.[12] The campaign to eliminate the mascot resurfaced during the 2009-2010 school year, as the district renovated the high school's football field; plans called for a spear design in the center of the field. In 2010, the district removed the warrior logo from the school's sign, replacing it with a black-and-red seal featuring the letter "W".[13] The warrior image has been used less frequently since 1999.[12] Since then, residents have suggested to the school board that the mascot be changed to something representative of Lititz, such as "Wilbur Buds,"[12] a well-known product of the local Wilbur Chocolate Company.

Fine arts

The school is 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.[14]

Student organizations

Club for the Integration of the Arts

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 $348 at a single coffeehouse in 2010. The proceeds are used to fuel art projects and curricula both within the 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.[15]

References

  1. ↑ "Superintendent's Office". Warwick School District. Retrieved March 20, 2015.
  2. ↑ https://www.warwicksd.org/website/staffpage.php?pid=1202&schoolid=0006. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ↑ "About our School". Warwick School District. Retrieved December 1, 2008.
  4. 1 2 Blankenbiller, p. 29.
  5. ↑ "About our School". Warwick School District. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  6. ↑ Gamber, Frankie (Winter 2008). "Regional Update". The Crisis. The Crisis Publishing Co. 115 (1): 59. ISSN 0011-1422.
  7. ↑ Wallace, Brian (October 11, 2007). "Six at Warwick charged in wake of racial unrest in district". Intelligencer Journal. Lancaster Newspapers.
  8. 1 2 Lindt, Susan (February 16, 2009). "MLK Day service aims to help Lititz heal". Intelligencer Journal. Lancaster Newspapers.
  9. ↑ "Warwick Prom Promise Event". Warwick School District. Retrieved August 8, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Pa. high school orders shot glasses as prom favors". Associated Press. May 9, 2009. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
  11. ↑ Is Warwick's Indian logo racist? - A group of Warwick students have won a partial victory in their quest to banish from the district the logo of an American Indian, which they say is racist.
  12. 1 2 3 Knowles, Laura. Warwick Controversy Over Mascot Renewed. Intelligencer Journal, April 29, 2010.
  13. ↑ Long-debated Warwick logo slowly disappearing - The mascot has been a source of dispute for years. District sports teams still use the image.
  14. ↑ "Warwick marching band a division champ again". Intelligencer Journal. Lancaster Newspapers. November 10, 2008.
  15. ↑ "In the news: WHS Holds Recent Coffeehouse". Retrieved May 11, 2009.

Bibliography

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