Lick-Wilmerding High School

Infobox School
name = Lick-Wilmerding High School


motto = A private school with a public purpose
type = Private
established = 1895
location = 755 Ocean Ave, San Francisco, California
campus type = Urban
head of school = Albert M. Adams, Ed.D
faculty = 59
students = 429
athletics = 10 sports
conference = Bay Counties League - West
colors = Black, gold
mascot = Tiger
free_label = Newspaper
free_text = "Paper Tiger"
homepage = [http://www.lwhs.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1]

Lick-Wilmerding High School is a college-preparatory high school located in San Francisco, California, United States.

Early history

Lick-Wilmerding (then known as the California School of Mechanical Arts) was founded in September 21, 1874 by a trust by James Lick. George Merrill was hired to manage the school as the first director, and Lick officially opened in January, 1895. George Merrill was the director of Lick until 1939, and later also the director of Wilmerding School of Industrial Arts and the Lux School for Industrial Training for Girls. All three schools later merged to become Lick-Wilmerding High School.

Mission statement

The school's [http://www.lwhs.org website] says of its mission: "Lick-Wilmerding's central mission is to offer its students a distinctive and exemplary education, the key ingredients of which are: the school's 'head, heart, and hands' curriculum, the inclusive nature of its community, and its commitment to society beyond the campus. Each of these elements is grounded in the principles set forth by the school's founders -James Lick, Jellis Wilmerding, and Miranda Lux."

The actual text of the mission statement, printed in school publications and in every classroom of the school, is as follows:

"Lick-Wilmerding High School inspires students to become self-directed, life-long learners who contribute to our world with knowledge, skill, creativity, compassion, and can-do confidence. Toward this end, Lick-Wilmerding integrates a distinguished college preparatory curriculum with a distinctive program in the technical arts. As a private school with public purpose, Lick-Wilmerding encourages participation in community service and is committed to developing innovative educational programs that will benefit students and teachers throughout the Bay Area. Lick-Wilmerding's purpose, built on the foundation of a diverse and inclusive community, is to develop qualities of the head, heart, and hands that will serve students well throughout their lives." [Lick-Wilmerding Parent Handbook]

Curriculum

All students must carry a minimum of six credit courses per semester. The maximum number of courses a student may carry per semester is seven, unless a student has been approved to take three AP courses, in which case, the course limit is six. All academic courses are college preparatory. In keeping with Lick's 110-year tradition, every student is required to complete technical arts courses (such as wood, metal, glass or electronics), as well as to design and create a major independent arts project in their junior year.

Historically, Lick has been known to offer technical courses that other private schools in the Bay Area do not offer. Some of these include Metalworking, Woodworking, Glass, Electronics and Jewelry. Lick also has several semester-long Architecture courses and an introduction to design course, entitled Contemporary Arts and New Media that is mandatory for all freshmen.

Lick's Performing Arts Department has three choirs, three jazz bands, an orchestra, an a cappella group, one-acts, and musicals. There is also a dance group.

Community

The school's 429 students in grades 9 through 12 reflect Lick's tradition of a strong commitment to cultural and social diversity. The student body is 3% African-American, 16% Asian-American, 48% Caucasian, 6% Latino, 26% multiracial, and 1% other.

Over the past four years, 95 students have earned recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Program; 37 have been named Finalists. In addition, three students have been honored as a Finalist in the National Achievement Scholarship Program and four students have been selected for the National Hispanic Recognition Program. Six students from the class of 2006 were National Merit Semifinalists, and all became Finalists. From the class of 2007, 15 students have attained National Merit or National Achievement Semifinalist status.

Of the 59 full-time teachers, administrators, and program directors, 42 have master's degrees and four have doctorates. Of the eight part-time teachers, all have master's degrees. Performing, technical, and fine arts teachers have extensive work and performance experience.

Technical Arts Programs

"Remaining faithful to its century-old history as a pioneering institution in the technical arts, Lick offers a unique collection of shop classes. This is an important part of the school's mission of developing in young people those "qualities of the head, heart, and hands" which will serve them well in college and in life.

The department's courses seek to provide a basic understanding of the qualities and characteristics of the materials in the Glass, Electronics, Machine, Jewelry and Wood Shops, as well as to foster an appreciation of the design principles introduced in the Drafting & Design course. Lick students learn to work conceptually and physically, moving from theory to practice in order to bring the designs of the mind into the physical world.

The faculty members work closely together, often stepping across conventional boundaries. They are committed not only to educating young people but also to furthering their own learning and to exploring their own creativity. Their common objectives include efficient use of technologies, effective problem solving, creative expression, aesthetic appreciation of craft and design, and personal empowerment through self-confidence and self-esteem."

Courses:
*Metal Shop: Fabrications, Advanced Fabrications, Jewelry/Metal Art, Advanced Jewelry/Metal Art
*Glass Working: Glass Foundations, Advanced Glass
*Wood Shop: Woodworking I, Advanced Woodworking, Wood Carving
*Electronics: Electronics Foundations, Advanced Electronics

Athletics

Fall Teams:Boys and Girls Cross Country

Boys Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Frosh/Soph Soccer

Girls Varsity and Junior Varsity Volleyball

Girls Varsity and Junior Varsity Tennis

Winter Teams:Boys Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Frosh/Soph Basketball

Girls Varsity and Junior Varsity Basketball

Spring Teams:Boys and Girls Track and Field

Boys and Girls Badminton

Varsity and Junior Varsity Lacrosse

Baseball

Girls Varsity and Junior Varsity Soccer

Boys and Girls Swimming

Boys Varsity and Junior Varsity Tennis

Clubs

Lick-Wilmerding offers more than forty student-led clubs and organizations that allow students to become engaged in their environment and connect with others who share similar interests. Clubs include:

*Agape

*Anime Club

*ASIA Club

*Black Student Union

*Celtic Club

*Chess Club

*Chinese Tutoring Café

*Community Action Club

*Democratic Forum

*Economics Club

*Environmental Club

*Friends of Africa

*Gay-Straight Alliance

*Go Club

*Godmode Gamers Club

*Hapa Club

*History Geeks

*Interior Design Club

*Jewish Student Alliance

*John Lennon Bible Club

*Junior State of America

*Knitting Club

*Latinos Unidos

*Lick Cycling Club

*L.L.A.M.A. (Math) Club

*Lumberjack Club

*L-WOW (Lick-Wilmerding Organization of Women)

*LWTTA (Lick-Wilmerding Table Tennis Association)

*Meat Club

*Microsoft Club

*Mysterious Club

*Red Cross Club

*S.P.E.A.K. Club (Students Privilege Expression Awareness Knowledge)

*Social Justice Club

*Society of Cinephiles (Film Club)

*Spirit Squad/Hyphen

*Stagecrew Club

*Super Smash Bros. Club

*Surf Club

*Technology Club

*Ultimate Club

*Women in Science

*Writing Club

*Yucaid

Awards

Alternet.com has also designated Lick-Wilmerding as the 6th top high school in the United States utilizing Green Architecture [http://www.alternet.org/story/24530/]

California Music Education Association Honors
Chamber Singers: Unanimous Superior, 2004, 2005, 2006.
Big Band: Unanimous Excellent, two years running, and Unanimous Superior, two years before.
Advanced Jazz Combo: Unanimous Superior, for four years
Orchestra: Unanimous Superior, for one year
Anaheim Heritage Festival Honors
2004: Chamber Singers and Chamber Orchestra: Gold

SAT Means

For the class of 2007:

SAT I

Verbal Mean: 687

Math Mean: 681

Writing mean: 688

SAT II and number of test takers

Biology: 657 (7)

Chemistry: 726 (7)

English Literature: 644 (51)

French: 676 (18)

Japanese: 790 (1)

Math IC: 658 (15)

Math IIC: 711 (50)

Physics: 682 (16)

Spanish: 646 (43)

US History: 586 (10)

World History: 735 (2)

Admissions

In 2007, there were 736 applicants for 110 places in the ninth grade. Students were admitted on the basis of previous academic work, recommendations, extracurricular talent, and test scores. The 111 ninth graders that entered Lick-Wilmerding in 2007 came from 54 middle schools. Lick's acceptance rate was about 15% in 2007.

Programs

From the website:

Aim High"Aim High was founded in 1986, with 50 students and 12 teachers, on the campus of Lick-Wilmerding High School in San Francisco.

The program has evolved into a collaboration with several outstanding educational institutions: Lick-Wilmerding High School, The Urban School of San Francisco, the San Francisco Unified School District and St. Paul's Episcopal School. Additional partners include the Bay Area Teachers Center, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the Exploratorium."

The Bay Area Teachers Center"The Bay Area Teachers Center, located within Lick-Wilmerding High School, offers a unique one-year secondary school single subject teaching credential in partnership with San Francisco State University. See the Bay Area Teachers Center (BATC) website at bayareateacherscenter.org"

Famous Alumni

*Albert Overhauser - National Medal of Science winner (class of '42)
*Dan the Automator ^{[http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/11/29/DDGOLA29K11.DTL&hw=dan+the+automator+wilmerding&sn=001&sc=1000 source]} - DJ/Producer
*Benjamin Wildman-Tobriner- 2008 Gold Medal Olympic Swimmer
*Michael Franti
*Teresa Strasser - radio and television personality, writer
*Gerek Meinhardt - Fencing qualifier for 2008 Summer Olympics, youngest American Olympian fencer, ranked first among American male foilists, and is ranked second in the world among under-20 foilists
*Claire Wolff - Global History Department Head - Bronx Leadership Academy II
*Jonathan Feldman - Director of the music video for the smash hit record, "Target Practice (Shot and Framed)" Video can be seen at http://www.targetpracticevideo.com
*Galen Murphy-Hoffman - Extra in the Harvey Dent press conference scene in the Summer '08 blockbuster, "The Dark Knight". Can be heard yelling, "Amen!" with gusto.

ee also

*San Francisco County high schools

References

External links

* [http://www.lwhs.org Lick-Wilmerding Website]