Education in Washington Court House

There are two public school districts in the Washington C.H. area, as well as a private school, and a community college. Some people in the community feel as if the educational system in Washington Court House knits together otherwise disparate residents in this small town. Making up for the lack of a central cultural hub in the town is the strong involvement in the educational lives of Washington Court House children.

Washington Court House City Schools

The [http://www.washingtonch.k12.oh.us/ Washington Court House City School District] enrolls most school-age children within the city limits of Washington Court House. Presently, operating school buildings include:

*Sunnyside Kindergarten
*Belle Aire Elementary
*Eastside Elementary (held in modular buildings, as the old Eastside school has been demolished)
*Rose Avenue Elementary
*Cherry Hill Elementary (held in the basement of the Washington Middle School, as the old Cherry Hill school has been demolished)
*Washington Middle School
*Washington High School

The district also operates a combination administrative office and school bus garage. Each first through fifth grader attends school at one of the four elementary schools, while grades 6-8 take place at the historical Middle School. Washington High School consists of students in grades nine through twelve. The graduating class of 2005 was approximately 126.

unnyside Kindergarten

Sunnyside Kindergarten has been used as the Kindergarten building for 11 years. The famous hallways are brightly covered with beautiful murals. This school building is scheduled to be demolished in the "Capture the Dream" school facility reconstruction project.

Washington Elementary Schools

The four elementary schools, Belle Aire, Cherry Hill, Eastside, and Rose Avenue, will all be demolished (With the exception of the newer portion of Belle Aire) relatively soon in accordance with the school reconstruction project. New Cherry Hill and Belle Aire facilities will provide space for a K-2 "primary" school, and a 3-5 "intermediate" school.

Washington Middle School

In the school construction projects, a new Washington Middle School will be built adjacent to an entirely new High School. The historical building and grounds currently housing Middle School students is still up for debate as to what it will become.

The current middle school houses grades 6-8.

Washington Middle School Drama and Choral Music

The Middle School Choir is directed by Jane Morse. Mrs. Morse provides a variety of styles of music to broaden the experience of her students. She and Mrs. Wright present a Jr. Broadway musical each year. In the past they have done Annie Get Your Gun, Bugsy Malone, The Music Man, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, starring Zak Thompson as Tom Sawyer, Morgan Farmer as Becky Thatcher and Trevor Patton as Huckleberry Finn, Oklahoma, starring Scott Rush as Curly, Ashley Kimmet as Laurey and William Hensley as Jud Fry, and most recently The King and I staring Katy Lachat as Anna Leonowens and Chan Wheaton as The King Of Saim. Mrs. Morse also coaches students for an annual solo and ensemble competition.

Washington Middle School Instrumental Music

The Band Department is led by Michelle Crockett. She and Matt Stanely, the High School Band Director, help students decide what instrument to play in the fifth grade. The seventh and eighth grade bands participate in annual solo and ensemble and large group contests, the latter of which has returned only Superior ratings since Crockett's tenure. With Crockett's maternity leave, Paul Febo, the former Miami Trace director, filled in for the year.

Washington Senior High School

The current High School rests on the 1200 block of Willard Street, on the eastern side of town. Originally, the current middle school was the town's high school, but in the district's late '60's attempt at expansion, the current high school was built. Only one high school exists in the district.

Some residents protest that the high school does not participate in the National Honor Society, and that the district's substitute, the "Academy of Scholars," does not hold as much weight with colleges as the NHS. In fact, this may be true, but some top high-schools are eliminating class rank and even their AP or IB curricula in order to cease the catering to national conglomerates. It has been reported that those changes have actually helped students' entry into top colleges.

A new High School (and Middle School) building will be constructed on the massive Elm Street construction site, between the corner of Elm and Willard and the current McDonald's restaurant.

Washington Senior High has approximately 50 staff members, and approximately 600 students in grades 9-12. Only the school board is aware of numbers as to teacher/student capacity in the new schools.

Drama and Choral Music

In the past several years, Washington has performed annual broadway musicals to high community acclaim, and to much community enjoyment. These shows have included South Pacific, Big, Footloose, Children of Eden, West Side Story, Beauty and the Beast, and Seussical. This summer it was announced the he next musical to be performed will be The Sound Of Music. The school also has the concert choir, the symphonic choir, and the singing and dancing show choir. Look to official school district events to see choirs and smaller ensembles headlining the entertainment. Symphonic and Show choirs were honored in March 2007 by singing in the National Cathedral, in Washington, DC, performing in "The National Festival of the States."

Instrumental musicOn Friday Nights during the Autumn Football Season, The Marching Band can be heard throughout the downtown area. The marching style of the band is modeled after The Ohio University Marching 110.Therefore, the majority of the Washington Court House residents are devoted to the Ohio States Football team, and however their band sympathies lie to OU for this reason. The WCH Marching Band has reached a new height on the band they now have 180 members in the marching band. The Band plays a variety of songs from Classic Rock Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne and Jungle Love by Steve Miller Band,Newer Rock songs such as Enter Sandman by Metallica Numb by Linkin Park The Hand that Feeds by Nine Inch Nails Thanks for the Memories by Fall Out Boy, and Pop songs such as Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson. Traditions of the WCH marching band are Song: Long Train Runnin' by The Doobie Brothers, Trademark Move: The Splits, Cadence: Tequila, and Mr. Matt Stanley. "The band is so appreciative of the amount of support and love we receive from this wonderful little town. Thanks to all of you we can keep this long train running! GO BLUE!" -band member

The "Research History" Class

This invaluable asset to Washington Court House's high school curriculum places seniors within reach of leading national scholarship through the analyzation of primary source documents. The acclaimed instructor Paul LaRue guides and directs his students' efforts.

Some projects either completed or in progress are as follows:

*Compiling a single record of all who are buried in the Soldier's Home Cemetery, Washington, DC (the companion national cemetery to Arlington) from two separate and conflicting records. Washington C.H. High School seniors are the sole laborers in the U.S. to complete this project of national significance.
*Constructing and maintaining two websites on the Civil War U.S. Colored Troops, or USCT. One website is dedicated to USCT [http://usctohio.org from Ohio] and is highly ranked in Google searches.
*Obtaining and installing headstones for many unmarked black veterans in the Washington Cemetery, many from the USCT.
*Obtaining and installing headstones for unmarked veterans in the Bloomingburg Cemetery, Bloomingburg, OH. (For which the students earned an award from The History Channel, below)
*Compiling a publishable historical account of the Bloomingburg Cemetery
*Obtaining Historical Site Markers from the Ohio Historical Society for many historically significant areas in and around Washington Court House
*Developing pamphlets for distribution about various historical sites around W.C.H.

In 2005, the research history team sent two representatives to Washington, DC to compete in a national history research competition sponsored by "The History Channel." The program, called "Save Our History," included project submissions from hundreds of schools and extracurricular teams from across the country. Washington Court House's Research History class placed in the final four high school teams, and thus, was offered an all-expenses-paid trip for two student representatives to the nation's capital. For the same project work done, the class received plaques from the Veteran's Administration's headquarters in Washington, DC.

A quest for quality school buildings...

Some time ago, all residents voted on a levy in order to secure tax monies to replace the aging school buildings currently in use, with a total budget of $60,693,801. The majority of funds, $39,694,272, will be provided by state, while the local community will provide $13,946,000. Locally funded initiatives will provide an extra $7,053,529. The companies overseeing this project are Ruscilli Construction Co. Inc., Heapy Engineering LLC, Shell + Meyer Associates Inc., and Ruetschle Architects.

On May 7, 2006, a groundbreaking ceremony and celebration took place near the high school and Eastside Elementary to raise awareness and mount excitement for the buildings coming in the near future. A statement released on the district's web site regarding the new schools reads as follows:

(Upon the groundbreaking,) Washington City Schools will begin a two year construction project which will replace the existing facilities with four state-of-the-art school buildings. This exciting project received overwhelming community support by continuing a tradition of ensuring adequate funding for local schools. These new buildings, while not only bringing architectural beauty that adds to the richness of our community, will ensure that our students are provided with an education that is second to none. The schools are to be configured with K-2 housed in one facility, another "primary" facility for 3-5, a third Middle School building which will host 6-8, and the Senior High School where grades 9-12 will meet for classes. The schools include dedicated space for libraries, media, gymnasiums, fine arts, musical arts, outdoor sports facilities, and will support a technology-oriented infrastructure that will assure a comprehensive academic experience for our students. This major project is an unbelievable opportunity for our community and we enthusiastically anticipate inaugurating these four cutting-edge facilities in September of 2008.

=Miami Trace Local School District= The [http://www.miamitrace.k12.oh.us/ Miami Trace Local School District] serves parts of the city in question, while providing education for almost every area in Fayette County which surrounds the city. The vast amount of land area covered by this school district, while less population-dense of an area, warrants a larger student body than the "city" school district. As a tradition, Miami Trace and Washington city schools are athletic rivals.

A new elementary school for Miami Trace is being built adjacent to the high school along S.R. 41-NW. This building will replace the small, reportedly 100-year-old elementary buildings dotted across the county.

Fayette Christian School

A small number of students attend [http://www.fayettechristianschool.com/ Fayette Christian School] , placing it as the only alternative to public education in Fayette county.

outhern State Community College

The Fayette County campus of [http://www.sscc.edu/ Southern State Community College] is widely used among residents of W.C.H. due to its open enrollement. High school students from Washington Senior High School and Miami Trace High School regularly attend classes here as a part of the Post-Secondary Enrollment Option. Like Advanced Placement credit, course credit at Southern State usually transfers to the students' university of choice.