Joseph Wheeler High School

Infobox Secondary school
established = 1965
name = Joseph Wheeler High School
type = Public high school
principal =Mr. Ed Thayer
students = 1,910
grades = 9–12
city = Marietta
state = GA
country = USA
colors = Navy Blue, Gold, White
mascot = Scratch the Wildcat
free_label_1 = Schedule
free_1 = Semester
website = [http://www.wheelerhigh.com/ www.wheelerhigh.com]

Wheeler High School is located in northeast Cobb County, Georgia, USA. It is near the city of Marietta, about convert|15|mi|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.

Population

Wheeler's approximately 1,910 students are active: 30% participate in athletics and 90% participate in extracurricular activities. About 81% of graduates go on to college. 74% attend four-year colleges and universities while 7% go to two-year colleges.

Wheeler Cluster Schools include:
*Middle School - Mainly East Cobb Middle School, but varies because of Magnet program
*Elementary Schools - East Valley, Sope Creek, Sedalia Park, Brumby & Powers Ferry.

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 3 state titles in 4 years. Wheeler has taken the state title in 1994, 2002, 2003, and 2005. With wins over regional teams from Alabama, Oregon, Arizona, New York, Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, and Canada, Wheeler's national profile continues to grow. Many of Lipscomb's players have gone on to play D-1 Basketball. Three of his players have gone on to play in the NBA.

The robotics club [http://www.circuitrunners.com] participates in the FIRST Robotics League and BEST Robotics Championships each year, earning 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 [http://www.wheelerdebate.com] 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 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 new 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.

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

Wheeler High School's Center For Advanced Studies in Science, Math, & Technology began teaching classes in 1999. Since then, it has accepted about 100 rising freshmen every year and has become a highly respected magnet program. Wheeler's program is a member of the National Consortium of Science, Math, and Technology Magnet Schools, offering an advanced curriculum to highly motivated students. [http://www.wheelermagnet.com] The rigorous coursework allows magnet students to begin taking college-level courses in math and science by the time they are in eleventh grade.

History

In 1996, planning began for a magnet program to be housed at Wheeler High School. School board member Gordon O'Neill was a driving force in the creation of what is now known as The Center for Advanced Studies in Science, Math and Technology. In the fall of 1997, under the leadership of principal Dr. Tom Higgins and science department chair, Cathie Banks, a planning committee of school officials &, community leaders determined that the program would have a science, math, & technology focus basis, with emphasis in biotechnology and engineering. Approval of the SPLOST (Special Local Options Sales Tax) referendum provided financing for the building and in the fall of 1999 classes began with a small group of brave teachers and students under the leadership of program director Gregg Farmer.

Facilities

The Center for Advanced Studies is housed in a convert|33000|sqft|m2|sing=on facility designed especially for the program. The facility is among the most technologically advanced K-12 buildings in the nation. Included are four state-of-the-art science labs equipped for in-depth and technology-based instruction. Three technology-based math classrooms allow the natural integration between math and science.

Every student in the facility has access to an array of technological resources and each student station is wired for access to the school's local area network. Each classroom has ceiling mounted LCD projectors which allow for the display of any student or teacher workstation screen. The use of the local Novell network allows students to move their digital files to any other location in the building, thus promoting cross-curricular integration.

The building also houses four state-of-the-art technology and research labs that are utilized for special high-tech offerings and for interdisciplinary studies and research. Included is a distance learning lab which allows the latest distance learning technologies, including online courses, Virtual High School courses, and video conferencing. All Wheeler students have access to these technology labs through various courses. A convert|2800|sqft|m2|sing=on multi-use applied research lab is utilized for a variety of Center curricular activities including a special Magnet Foundations/Survey of Technology course designed for all Center freshmen. The building has been flexibly designed to allow the program to remain on the cutting edge of technology and research based instruction.

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: [http://wheelermagnet.com/admissions.html]

- Proper math placement
- Middle school grades
- Standardized test scores
- Admissions test scores
- Interest and aptitude in math and/or science
- Strong communications skills
- Teacher recommendations

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. [http://wheelermagnet.com/curriculum.html]

Alumni

Notable alumni include:

*Shareef Abdur-Rahim 95: NBA Forward, Olympic Gold Medalist (USA Basketball)
*Josh Burrus: Minor League Baseball Player
*Jermareo Davidson 03: NBA Power Forward
*Robby Ginepri 01: Professional Tennis Player
*J. J. Hickson 07: Cleveland Cavaliers Forward
*Jeremy Hermida 02: Florida Marlins OF
*Dequan Jones 08: Miami Small Forward
*J.T. Tiller 06: Missouri Guard
*James Florence 06: Mercer University Guard
*Michael Schlact: Minor League Baseball Pitcher
*Amy Landers: Actress
*D.A. Layne 97: Former SG for UGA
*Sharaud Curry 05: Providence Point Guard
*Harold Melton 84: Justice on the Supreme Court of Georgia (U.S. state)
*Robert Shaw: Former NFL Football Player
*Bob Tway: PGA Golfer
*Brett Butler: Comedian
*Randy Edwards: Former NFL Football Player
*Cale Yarbrough 05: Contestant-The Ultimate Fighter Season 7
* Reggie Witherspoon 03: All-American 400m, 2008 Olympics U.S. Mens Track Team Gold Medalist
*Aries Merritt 03: All-American Hurdles, 2008 Olympics U.S. Mens Track Team G
*Dax Griffin 90: Actor

tate Championships

*1984-Softball
*1983-Softball
*2005-Boys Basketball
*2003-Boys Basketball
*2002-Boys Basketball
*1994-Boys Basketball
*2003-Boys Track
*1998-Girls Basketball
*1985-Wrestling
*1976-Golf
*1975-Baseball

Trivia

*The school is named after civil war general Joseph Wheeler.
*Wheeler's primary high school school rivals include Walton and Pope, among others.

ources

* [http://wheelerhigh.com/ Wheeler High web page]
* [http://wheelermagnet.com/ Wheeler Magnet web page]