Wentzville Holt High School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Wentzville Holt High School

established = Unknown
address = 600 Campus Drive
city = Wentzville
state = Missouri
country = USA
type = Public co-ed secondary
accreditation = North Central Association Missouri School Improvement Program (MISP); A+ School [ [http://dese.mo.gov/schooldata/four/092089/accrnone.html MODESE Annual Report of School Data ] ]
principal = John Waters
asst principal = Kelly Haman Ben Hebisen Dr. Aaron Gwinn
grades = 9–12
enrollment = 1,538 [ [http://dese.mo.gov/directory/092089.html Missouri School District Directory: Wentzville R-IV ] ]
mascot = Indians
colors = Navy and Vegas Gold
newspaper = "Blue & Gold"
yearbook = "Pow Wow"

Wentzville Holt High School is the older and larger of the two high schools in the Wentzville R-IV School District. With a 2007 enrollment of 1,538, Holt is the sixth largest high school in St. Charles County.Fact|date=September 2008 Although officially known as Emil E. Holt Senior High School, it was known only as Wentzville High School until 2000, when "Holt" became a common addition to the name in preparation for the addition of a second high school in the district. Now the school is often referred to as just "Holt" or "Holt High", though the common initials remain WHHS or sometimes still WHS.

Academics

Holt High School has two diploma options available to students depending on student performance and classes completed. Both the general diploma and the college preparatory certificate require completion of at least 25 units of credit; however the college preparatory certificate also requires students to maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 as well as achieving a score above the national average on either the ACT or SAT.

WHHS was the first high school in St. Charles County to receive A+ designation under the Outstanding Schools Act of 1993.Fact|date=September 2008 Wentzville secured the A+ designation in 1997, which required the school to meet more rigorous academic guidelines and benchmarks for graduates. As a result, WHHS graduates who meet specific A+ defined criteria are eligible to receive state reimbursement for tuition and general fees to attend any Missouri public community college or vocational school. Because of this benefit, many graduates choose to attend a community college or vocational school prior to continuing on to a traditional four-year university. This is seen by many as a major reason why only 46.8% of Holt High students go on to attend a four-year colleges or universities directly after leaving Holt,Fact|date=September 2008 even though the school has been long known for it's high academic reputation among area public high schools.

In addition to its A+ designation, WHHS has been accredited by the North Central Association since 1982.Fact|date=September 2008

WHHS offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses and exams in American History, English, Advanced Biology, Advanced Physics, Advanced Chemistry, Calculus, French, Spanish, and German.

Block Schedule

Wentzville High School was one of the first high schools in the St. Louis area to adopt a block scheduling system.Fact|date=September 2008 The decision to implement a block schedule plan grew out of a planning effort to develop a vision and a program of improvement for the high school. The planning team behind the move toward block scheduling consisted of teachers, students, parents, and administrators, and it began meeting in 1993. Following the implementation of block scheduling in 1995, Wentzville served as a model for many other districts throughout the Midwest looking to adopt similar scheduling systems.

After months of debate and strong protest from students, the Wentzville Board of Education voted 6-1 in February 2007 to changed from block schedule back to a traditional seven-block schedule beginning in the fall. The controversial move came following District Superintendent Terry Adams' request that district principals explore options to save money and increase instructional time in core subjects. Approximately 200 residents attended the board meeting to protest such a schedule change. They argued that reverting back to traditional scheduling would result in less project-based learning and lab time, more chaos between classes, and less time for individualized instruction. Some board members cited flat standardized test scores over the past few years as another reason for the change. They stressed the district's need to concentrate on improving performance levels on a global scale to reach international benchmarks, rather than only comparing performance to other area districts. Adams also referenced studies that indicate block scheduling results in higher grades but lower achievement. Other sources have produced information that shows schools on the block schedule in Missouri have achieved higher grades and levels of achievment. [ [http://wentzvillejournal.stltoday.com/articles/2007/02/10/news/sj2tn20070210-0211wtz_block.ii1.txt Wentzville Journal | News | Board reformats class scheduling ] ] [ [http://wentzvillejournal.stltoday.com/articles/2007/01/02/news/sj2tn20070102-0103wtz_schedule.ii1.txt Wentzville Journal | News | Protest rings to keep block schedule ] ]

tudents

The 2006 graduation rate for Holt High School was 85.2%, which was down nearly two percentage points from Holt's 2005 rate of 87.4%. [ [http://dese.mo.gov/planning/profile/building/grate0920891050.html MODESE Annual Report of School Data ] ] In 2006, the average composite ACT score of Holt students was 22.9, which is higher than the average state score of 21.6. 70.4% of graduates took the test. [ [http://dese.mo.gov/planning/profile/building/act0920891050.html MODESE Annual Report of School Data ] ] 46.8% of Holt High students go on to attend a four-year colleges or universities, and 38.2% of students go on to attend two-year colleges. [ [http://dese.mo.gov/planning/profile/building/grad0920891050.html MODESE Annual Report of School Data ] ]

taff

Holt High School faculty have an average of 11.5 years of experience, and the average student to classroom teacher ratio is 25:1. [ [http://dese.mo.gov/planning/profile/building/ratio0920891050.html MODESE Annual Report of School Data ] ] The average annual salary is $45,466 for teachers and $86,128 for administrators, and 67% of teachers have a master's degree or higher. [ [http://dese.mo.gov/planning/profile/building/staff0920891050.html MODESE Annual Report of School Data ] ]

Athletics

MSHSAA Sanctioned Sports

Holt's MSHSAA sanctioned sports compete in the South Division of the Gateway Athletic Conference. [ [https://www.mshsaa.org/Schools/Navigation.aspx ::MSHSAA::Schools ] ] Until recently, the school's traditional colors were royal blue and gold. A couple years after "Holt" was added to the common name for the school, new athletic coaches and staff began re-branding the teams with new logos and a change in colors to the current Navy and Vegas Gold.

Fall Sports
*Cross Country (Boys & Girls) (Class 4, District #5)
*Football (Class 5, District #2)
*Volleyball (Girls) (Class 4, District #8)
*Softball (Girls) (Class 4, District 9)
*Soccer (Boys) (Class 3, District #9)
*Swimming (Boys)
*Golf (Girls) (Class 2, District #4)
*Tennis (Girls) (Class 2, District #4)

Winter Sports
*Basketball (Boys) (Class 5, District #9)
*Basketball (Girls) (Class 5, District #9)
*Swimming (Girls)
*Wrestling (Class 3, District #2)

Spring Sports
*Baseball (Boys) (Class 4, District #9)
*Golf (Boys) (Class 4, District #5)
*Soccer (Girls) (Class 2, District #6)
*Tennis (Boys) (Class 2, District #4)
*Track and Field (Boys & Girls) (Class 4, District #5)

Club Sports

* [http://www.wentzvilleholthockey.com/ Ice Hockey] ( [http://www.midstateshockey.org/ Mid-States Club Hockey Association] , St. Charles Division) [ [http://www.midstateshockey.org/division/varsitydivisions.htm Varsity Divisions ] ]
*Roller Hockey
*Lacrosse (Missouri Scholastic Lacrosse Association)
*Bowling (St. Charles High School League, USBC sanctioned)

Notable Alumni

* Daniel Edward Alexander '96, former University of Nebraska All-Big 12 running back and former NFL player with the Titans (2001), Jaguars (2002) and Rams (2003)
* Ross Detwiler '04, former Missouri State University pitcher who was drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 2007 MLB Draft on June 7, 2007
* Lee Ann Miller '80, 1984 Olympic and four-time World team pairs figure skaterFact|date=September 2008
* Ethan Place '01, Marine sniper, recipient of the Silver Star [http://www.ksdk.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=81571]
* Les Sachs, news anchor and senior editor, WGEM-TV in Quincy, Illinois [ [http://www.wgem.com/Station/index.php WGEM TV :: Quincy, IL ] ]
* Tim Melville '07, Was drafted in the 2008 baseball draft by the Kansas City Royals right out of Holt.Fact|date=September 2008

External links

* [http://www.wentzville.k12.mo.us/ Wentzville R-IV School District]
* [http://www.theblueandgold.org/ "The Blue & Gold" - the Holt High School student newspaper]

References