Watson Chapel High School is a comprehensive public

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in the

Watson Chapel School District Watson Chapel School District No. 24 (WCSD) is a public school district serving the communities of Pine Bluff (including Watson Chapel) and Sulphur Springs within Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. Headquartered in Pine Bluff, Watson C ...

in Pine Bluff,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, that serves grades 10 through 12. It is one of three public high schools in Pine Bluff and the only high school managed by the

. It serves as the main feeder school for Watson Chapel Junior High School. It serves portions of Pine Bluff and

Sulphur Springs Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage under ...

History

Initially the Dollarway School District (DSD) sent older white students to Watson Chapel High and other area high schools, as it did not have its own high school for white students nor one for black students. - Cited page 359. In 1957 DSD opened its own high school for white children, Dollarway High School. - Cited page 360. In the 1969-1970 school year the high school had 972 white students and 41 black students. It was previously reserved for white students.

District Court for Eastern District of Arkansas The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas (in case citations, E.D. Ark.) is a federal court in the Eighth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appeale ...

judge

Oren Harris Oren Harris (December 20, 1903 – February 5, 1997) was a United States representative from Arkansas and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas and the United States District Court ...

, in 1971, ordered the Watson Chapel School Board to desegregate schools. All high school students were moved to Watson Chapel High while the former Coleman High School/Coleman Elementary School, previously for black students, was to become a combined middle school. From 2006 to 2007 the number of students fell by 100, and from 2007 to 2008 they fell by 18. This reflected economic problems in the

Arkansas Delta The Arkansas Delta is one of the six natural regions of the state of Arkansas. Willard B. Gatewood Jr., author of ''The Arkansas Delta: Land of Paradox'', says that rich cotton lands of the Arkansas Delta make that area "The Deepest of the Deep ...

. In 2018 the State of Arkansas put the school's accreditation on a probationary status.

Academics

Watson Chapel is accredited by

Arkansas Department of Education Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osa ...

(ADE) and has been accredited by AdvancED (formerly North Central Association) since 1963.

Curriculum

The assumed course of study is the Smart Core curriculum developed by the

. Students may engage in regular (core and career focus) and may select Advanced Placement (AP) coursework and exams that provide an opportunity for college credit prior to graduation.

Athletics

The Watson Chapel High School mascot is the wildcat with school colors of black and gold. For 2012–14, the Watson Chapel Wildcats participate in the 5A South Conference for interscholastic activities administered by the Arkansas Activities Association (AAA) including baseball, basketball (boys/girls), cheer, dance, cross country, football, golf (boys/girls), softball, and track and field. The Wildcats baseball team has made 28 appearances to the state tournament, with 39 tournament wins, 13 semifinals, and seven finals; winning four titles between 1988 and 2000. The boys' basketball team has won three state championships as well. In 2013, Watson Chapel won the state's Student Angler Federation (SAF) High School Fishing State Championship.

Notable alumni

* Kyle Coleman,

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

fullback and

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for the Seattle Seahawks * Dante Wesley, an American football cornerback for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. * Kevin Williams, former American football defensive back for the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins and Houston Texans.

References

External links

* {{authority control Public high schools in Arkansas 1890 establishments in Arkansas Educational institutions established in 1890 Schools in Pine Bluff, Arkansas