Woodlawn High School (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

Infobox US school
name = Woodlawn High School


image caption = No Free Image Available
location = 15755 Jefferson Hwy.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70817
USA
coordinates = coord|30.373523,-91.013703
motto =
established = Early 1900s
type = public
district = East Baton Rouge Parish
grades = 9 - 12
principal = James Newman
campus type = Suburb
campus size = 57 Acre
enrollment = 1300 Capacity
budget = $23.598 Million USD
faculty = 59
mascot = Panther
mascot

colors = Purple, White, Silver, and Black color box|purple color box|silver color box|white color box|black
homepage = http://woodlawnhigh.ebrschools.org/

Woodlawn High School (commonly Woodlawn or WHS) is a public high school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It serves the Southeast Baton Rouge area’s public school needs for grades 8 – 12 and its 2006 enrollment was 1095 students. It is one of the 19 public high schools in the East Baton Rouge Parish School District and should not be confused with Woodlawn High School of Shreveport, Louisiana.

Curriculum

Woodlawn requires that students register for a schedule of 7 classes per day. They offer a mix of courses and credits to prepare students for college or vocational training. The school offers honors classes in English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies as well as advanced placement calculus.

Dual enrollment and concurrent enrollment with Baton Rouge Community College and Louisiana State University are also offered at Woodlawn. Students must be approved by the principal as well as meet the strict qualifications to be eligible to enroll. Both high school and college credits are awarded for students enrolled in these classes.

Woodlawn in cooperation with the United States Army also offers JROTC courses. The focus for the education is on leadership but also includes training in map reading, marksmanship, drill, and more. Woodlawn even boasts an indoor firing range for marksmanship practice with .177 caliber air rifles.

Academics

During the 2006 - 2007 academic year, Woodlawn scored an overall 2 stars (5 possible stars with an additional "unacceptable" category) on Louisiana’s performance label index with a School Performance Score (SPS) of 83.7. The school has regressed slightly in its YoY SPS by 4.3 points labeling it as a School in Decline and qualifying it as ineligible to receive any monetary awards.http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/saa/ReportCards07/Parentsp_test/017102_Parent_RC.pdf]

The school has an on-time graduation percentage of 73.6% exceeding both the district and state averages of 66.4% and 64.8% respectively. Woodlawn’s integrated Louisiana Education Assessment Program (iLEAP) and Graduation Exit Exam (GEE) scores are slightly lower than state averages and slightly higher than district averages.Woodlawn also scores slightly lower than district, state, and national averages on American College Testing (ACT) scores (Composite: 19.3, English: 18.9,Math: 18.7, Reading: 19.2, Science: 19.7). [ [http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/uploads/11434.pdf Rpt_2007_ACT_Report ] ]

Of the teachers at Woodlawn who are instrucing students in English, math, science, social studies, foreign language, and the high school arts 94% meet the No Child Left Behind Act's Highly Qualified definition.

Campus

Woodlawn’s original campus was on Tiger Bend Road in Baton Rouge. The original school house and its accompanying buildings were unknowingly constructed on top of the Baton Rouge fault line and as a result the buildings were continuously moving. Cracks in the school were investigated in 1975 and estimates of mm to in|5|round=2 per year. [http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-1115102-090126/unrestricted/Kebede_thesis.pdf] In 1996 the band and choir halls as well as the auditorium were condemned and classes were no longer permitted to take place in them as a result of structural movement.

Due largely in part to its age and location on the fault line and consequently as a result of the dilapidated buildings and approval by the tax payers, a new Woodlawn High School was constructed a few short miles away on a 57 acre site. The new school opened its doors in 2003 and became the first new school to open in the parish in 30 years. As a result of the construction of a new school, the site of the original school was razed in 2004. The former location, although moved on the property, is now home to the Woodlawn Middle School.

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

Woodlawn competes in Louisiana High School Athletics Association’s (LHSAA) District 4 Class 5A. The athletics department is currently led by Athletic Director Don Jones. The school competes in Football, Basketball, Volleyball, Baseball, Softball, Soccer, Track, Swimming, Bowling, and Golf.

The 2002 – 2003 boys basketball team garnered national attention after winning back-to-back state championships. Coach Kenny Almond led the team to a #2 ranking in USA Today’s national high school poll. The team was runner up to the St.Vincent-St.Mary's squad led by youth star Lebron James.

Clubs

Woodlawn has many clubs and extra curricular activities some of which meet as regular classes. The following is an abbreviated list:

*Art Club
*Band
*Beta Club
*Choir
*Fellowship of Christian Athetes
*Flag Corps
*JROTC
*Key Club
*Leo Club
*National Honor Society
*SADD
*Yearbook

Notable alumni

*Chad Durbin - Pitcher for the MLB Philadelphia Phillies
*Kentrell Gransberry - Center for South Florida Bulls ["ESPN - Kentrell Gransberry Stats, News, Photos - South Florida Bulls." http://sports.espn.go.com. Unknown Date. 26 Jun. 2008. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=26855.]
*Darnell Lazare - Former starting forward for LSU Basketball Team [Darnell Lazare Bio. Unknown Publication Date. LSUSports.net. 04 Jun. 2008. http://www.lsusports.net/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&ATCLID=174839&Q_SEASON=2006]
*Danielle Scott-Arruda - Four time U.S. indoor volleyball Olympian

Notable faculty

* John McCann - 2005 Louisiana Department of Education Principal of the Year runner-up [LOUISIANA’S 2005 PRINCIPALS OF THE YEAR ANNOUNCED. 01 Feb. 2005. Department of Education. 31 Mar. 2008. http://www.doe.state.la.us/lde/comm/pr.asp?pr=586.]

Notes