Webb City High School (Missouri)

Webb City High School

Current Principal	Stephen Gollhofer
School type	Public
Founded	1877
Opened	1968 (current facility)
Location	Webb City, Missouri USA
Enrollment	1068 (as of Aug 2006)
Faculty	77
Mascot	Cardinal
School colors	Blue, Red, & White

Webb City High School, or WCHS, is a public high school in the Webb City R-7 located in Webb City, Missouri USA.

Location and campus

The school's campus, located at 621 North Madison, Webb City, Missouri is currently housed in a one-story structure originally built in 1968. It was expanded in 1971, 1975, 1983, 1987, 1994, 1997, 1999, and 2004. The most recent addition added a band room, two drama classrooms, an automotive technology annex, an industrial arts technology classroom, and a weight room. Adjacent to the main building are several annex structures including a football stadium, tennis courts, a soccer field and an indoor swimming pool.

Controversy

WCHS was the center of a gay rights controversy when Brad Mathewson, a recent transfer student, was suspended from school for wearing a gay pride shirts on two separate occasions in November 2004 cite web | title=ACLU Sues Missouri High School for Censoring Gay Student
work= American Civil Liberties Union web site | publisher =ACLU
url=http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/youth/12426prs20041123.html | accessdate =2006-10-23 ] . The ACLU issued press releases about the incident and created a national controversy about students' free speech rights on high school campuses. The ACLU filed a civil lawsuit on November 23, 2004 against the schoolcite web | title=Complaint - Mathewson v. Webb City High School
work= American Civil Liberties Union web site | publisher =ACLU
url=http://www.aclu.org/FilesPDFs/mathewson%20complaint.pdf | accessdate =2006-10-23 ] . The controversy attracted the attention of the Westboro Baptist Church which announced it would hold a protest at the schoolcite web | title= Press Release (site contains language which may be offensive)
work= Press Release | publisher =Westboro Baptist Church
url=http://www.godhatesfags.com/fliers/nov2004/Webb_City_Fag_Churches_11-11-2004.pdf | accessdate =2006-10-23 ] .

In the days following Mathewson's suspension, students on both sides of the Mathewson issue wore t-shirts, bumper stickers, and other displays of their beliefs. Some opposed to Mathewson wore shirts supporting a ban on gay marriage, while at least one student in support of Mathewson wore a shirt reading "I Love Lesbians." Lastaysha Myers, a friend and supporter of Mathewson, was later suspended for wearing pro-gay rights shirts on several occasions. The ACLU filed a lawsuit in April of 2005 on her behalfcite web | title=Myers v. Thornsberry Declaration of LaStaysha Myers
work= American Civil Liberties Union web site | publisher =ACLU
url=http://www.aclu.org/FilesPDFs/myersdeclaration.pdf | accessdate =2006-10-23 ] .

On the day of the Westboro Baptist Church's protest, the protesters were greatly outnumbered by counter-protesters against the church. While the counter-protesters were not necessarily supporting the rights of Mathewson, or of gays in general, they were protesting the incendiary tactics of the church. Mathewson's suit was withdrawn because he dropped out of school. Myers' suit was withdrawn when the school district agreed to not limit the free speech of their studentscite web | title=ACLU Secures Promise from Missouri High School to Stop Censoring Student's Gay-Supportive T-Shirts
work= American Civil Liberties Union web site | publisher =ACLU
url=http://www.aclukswmo.org/news/tshirt.htm | accessdate =2006-10-23 ] .

Athletics

Baseball

The Webb City baseball team won back to back state championships in 2005 and 2006. The Cards were a state contenders in 2007 finishing the season with only one loss. But, the Cardinals were eliminated by the Carl Junction Bulldogs, 8-4.cite web | title=Carl Junction Bulldogs defeat Webb City
work= The Joplin Globe Newspaper | publisher =The Joplin Globe
url=http://www.joplinglobe.com/apstorysection/local_story_138003628.html | accessdate =2007-11-20 ] . After the season was over for the Cards, Coach Bryce Darnell decided to move on to coach college baseball. In 2008, Darnell will be coaching the Missouri Southern State Lions.

Notable alumni

* Grant Wistrom - Retired Professional Football Player (NFL), Class of 1994.
* Lisa Myers - NBC News Senior Investigative Correspondent, Class of 1969.
* Ken Boyer - Professional Baseball Player (MLB), St. Louis Cardinals, National League MVP in 1964, Class of 1949.
* Clete Boyer - Professional Baseball Player (MLB) 1959-1969, member of the 1961 and 1962 New York Yankee World Championship team, Class of 1955.
* Cloyd Boyer - Professional Baseball Player (MLB) 1949-1955, St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Athletics, Class of 1945.

References

External links

* [http://www.wccards.k12.mo.us/highschool/default.html Webb City High School Homepage]

webb city high school also has a swim team with head coach shawn klosterman. there is a boys season in the fall and a girls in the winter. both seasons include swimming and diving. check school website for meet schedule