Woodrow Wilson Classical High School

Woodrow Wilson Classical High School
Address
4400 East Tenth Street Long Beach, California United States
Information
Type	Public
Motto	Academic and Athletic Excellence[1]
Established	1926[2]
School district	Long Beach Unified
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	3,739 [3]
Campus	Urban
Color(s)	Cardinal red      Gold
Athletics conference	Moore League
Mascot	Woody Bruin Wilma Bruin Wilbur Bruin [4]
Team name	Bruins[5]
Newspaper	Loudspeaker
Yearbook	Campanile
Website	Woodrow Wilson Classical High School

Woodrow Wilson Classical High School (colloquially known as Long Beach Wilson) is an American public high school located in Long Beach, California, a suburb of the Greater Los Angeles Area. This two-block campus is located approximately 1.5 miles from the Pacific Ocean, across from the Recreation Park, and adjacent to Orange County.

History

Woodrow Wilson Classical High School was established in 1925 as the second school in the city, and ultimately opened for classes in 1926.^[6] The institution was named after Woodrow Wilson, who was an American politician and served as the 28th president of the United States. In 1926, a group of high school students chose the nickname Bruins as well as the colors Cardinal and Gold for Long Beach Wilson, due to close distance of two prestigious research universities, the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California, respectively.^[7]

Academics

Ethnic group of students, 2016-17 school year ^[8]

Ethnic group	Percentage
American Indian or Alaska Native	>1.0%
Asian	7.0%
Black	11.2%
Filipino	1.7%
Hispanic	56.7%
Mixed	>1.0%
Other	2.2%
Pacific Islander	>1.0%
White	19.2%

The "Classical" Term

Woodrow Wilson Classical High School earned the distinction of being "classical" (hence the term being in the official school name) when they offered graduates a diploma with higher distinction than the regular diploma across the Long Beach Unified School District. Those who earned the "classical" diploma fulfilled one year of performing or visual arts and two years of foreign language in addition to the minimum requirements to graduate from a LBUSD high school. Wilson is the only school to offer such a high school diploma in the district.^[9][10]

Pathways

The institution offers five distinct pathways: Wilson Academic Vision of Excellence, School of the Arts, School of Leadership & Public Service, School of Medicine & Biotechnology, and School of Technology. The Distinguished Scholars program is offered to students who are in a school pathway and met academic requirements in middle school. ^[11]

Wilson Academic Vision of Excellence

Commonly referred to as WAVE, the Wilson Academic Vision of Excellence is the most rigorous pathway offered at the school. This liberal arts intensive program provides students the resources to earn acceptances at elite universities and colleges. In order to be qualified, students must earn a 3.7 GPA in middle school and pass Algebra I with at least a C. Students must follow a road-map to graduation, which includes at least ten Advanced Placement courses.^[12]

Advanced Placement

Woodrow Wilson Classical High school is a participating institution of the Advanced Placement program, which offers students the opportunity to gain college credit albeit two-year and four-year colleges having different policies for granting A.P. credit, if any. The program is maintained by College Board, an organization that administers the AP exams. Long Beach Wilson offers students the chance to participate in Advanced Placement for 27 different disciplines. Although there may be requirements to take an A.P. class, it is possible to challenge any A.P. exam (where the student takes the exam by being an autodidact for the discipline tested), regardless if Long Beach Wilson offers the course or not. As of the 2014-15 school year, Long Beach Wilson had 49% of the 12th grade student body tested at some time during high school where 71% of those passed at least one exam.^[13]

Rankings

• According to US News, Long Beach Wilson is No. 240 in the state and No. 1,301 in the nation for best overall high schools for the 2016-17 school year. Wilson also earned a silver medal, a distinction awarded for placing 501st to 2,673th best in the nation and had at least a 20.17 college readiness index.^[15] Wilson is the 3rd best high school in the Long Beach Unified School District.^[16]
• According to The Washington Post, Woodrow Wilson Classical High School is No. 1,024 in the nation for "America's Most Challenging High Schools."^[17]
• According to Niche, Long Beach Wilson is No. 150 in the nation for "Standout Schools in America," which recognizes how much the school has positively impacted their community. Also, Wilson is No. 294 in the nation for "Most Diverse Public High Schools in America," which notes the diversity of a high school in terms of ethnicity.^[18]

Wilson Science Building

Athletics

The Long Beach Wilson Bruins participate in the CIF Southern Section under the California Interscholastic Federation. The Bruins are primarily associated with the Moore League for conference play. The Bruins have a fierce rivalry with the Jackrabbits of Long Beach Poly across all sports, which originated from an American football match in 1932.^[19]

Varsity teams

The Bruins sponsor varsity teams in 12 boys', 12 girls', and three coed sports. All are CIF-sponsored sports unless indicated.

Championships

Long Beach Wilson has won 64 regional, 6 state, and 2 national championships since the institution fielded athletics in 1926.^[20]

Regional championships

• Boys (51)
  • Baseball (4): 1940, 1947, 1950, 2007
  • Basketball (1): 1927
  • Cross Country (3): 1934, 1935, 1936
  • Golf (20): 1928, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1935, 1939, 1940, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1965, 2016, 2017
  • Gymnastics (2): 1970, 1977
  • Soccer (1): 2003
  • Swimming & Diving (4): 1939, 1953, 1955, 1956
  • Track & Field (4): 1931, 1936, 1937, 1992
  • Water Polo (12): 1981, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2011
• Girls (12)
  • Basketball (1): 2000
  • Golf (1): 2004
  • Soccer (2): 2008, 2013
  • Swimming & Diving (2): 1995, 2005
  • Track & Field (5): 1996, 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006
  • Volleyball (1): 2001
• Coed (1)
  • Badminton (1): 1998

State championships

• Boys (1)
  • Track & Field: 1931
• Girls (5)
  • Golf: 2004
  • Soccer: 2008
  • Track & Field: 1996, 1998, 2006

National championships

• Boys (1)
  • Baseball: 2007
• Girls (1)
  • Soccer: 2008

Alumni

• Notable Long Beach Wilson alumni include:
• 
  Bob Bailey, American former professional baseball athlete
• 
  Cynthia Barboza, American professional volleyball athlete
• 
  Lashinda Demus, American professional hurdler
• 
  Bobby Grich, American former professional baseball athlete
• 
  Jessica Hardy, American professional swimmer
• 
  Aaron Hicks, American professional baseball athlete
• 
  Gabriel Iglesias, American actor, comedian, producer, voice actor, and writer
• 
  Camryn Manheim, American actress
• 
  Bruce McCandless II, American former astronaut, aviator, electrical engineer, NASA employee, and naval officer
• 
  Swen Nater, Dutch former professional basketball athlete

Olympics

Since the 1952 Summer Olympics, 38 Bruins have participated in the quadrennial Olympic Games. By the conclusion of the 2016 Summer Olympics, the Bruins have gathered 16 olympiads.^[21] Long Beach Wilson has been recognized by ESPN for their output of Olympians.^[22]

Medals of Long Beach Wilson

1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland

Olympian	Gender	College	Country	Sport	Event	Medal
Pat McCormick				Diving	Platform
Pat McCormick				Diving	Springboard

1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Olympian	Gender	College	Country	Sport	Event	Medal
Pat McCormick				Diving	Platform
Pat McCormick				Diving	Springboard

1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany

Olympian	Gender	College	Country	Sport	Event	Medal
Kate Schmidt				Track and Field	Javelin

1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Olympian	Gender	College	Country	Sport	Event	Medal
Joan Lind				Rowing	Single sculls
Kate Schmidt				Track and Field	Javelin
Tim Shaw				Swimming	400 m freestyle
Tim Shaw				Swimming	4 × 200 m freestyle relay

1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, United States

Olympian	Gender	College	Country	Sport	Event	Medal
Jody Campbell				Water Polo	Water Polo
Joan Lind				Rowing	Coxed quad sculls
Tim Shaw				Water Polo	Water Polo

1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea

Olympian	Gender	College	Country	Sport	Event	Medal
Jody Campbell				Water Polo	Water Polo
Bob Ctvrtlik				Volleyball	Volleyball
John Shadden				Sailing	470 class

1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

Olympian	Gender	College	Country	Sport	Event	Medal
Bob Ctvrtlik				Volleyball	Volleyball

2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Olympian	Gender	College	Country	Sport	Event	Medal
Sean Burroughs				Baseball	Baseball
Maureen O'Toole				Water Polo	Water Polo

2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece

Olympian	Gender	College	Country	Sport	Event	Medal
Jacqueline Frank DeLuca				Water Polo	Water Polo
Susan Williams				Triathlon	Triathlon

2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China

Olympian	Gender	College	Country	Sport	Event	Medal
Tony Azevedo				Water Polo	Water Polo
Lauren Wenger				Water Polo	Water Polo
Adam Wright				Water Polo	Water Polo

2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom

Olympian	Gender	College	Country	Sport	Event	Medal
Lashinda Demus				Track and Field	400 m hurdles
Jessica Hardy				Swimming	4 × 100 m freestyle
Jessica Hardy				Swimming	4 × 100 m medley
Lauren Wenger				Water Polo	Water Polo

Note: If applicable, the college attended is where one studied for undergraduate education and competed at the college level; all other colleges where an athlete attended for another kind of education and/or competition are excluded.

References

Coordinates: 33°46′37″N 118°08′27″W / 33.777042°N 118.140822°W / 33.777042; -118.140822