West Orange High School (Winter Garden, Florida)

West Orange High School is a high school located in Winter Garden in southwest Orange County, Florida, United States. West Orange serves Winter Garden, Oakland, Tildenville, and parts of Lake Butler and Ocoee.

History

1970s

Completed in 1975 at a cost of 6.5 million dollars, West Orange High was formed as a consolidation of two over-crowded high schools within western Orange County: Lakeview High School and Ocoee High School. Ocoee High School has since been rebuilt and reinstated due to overcrowding in West Orange and Apopka High School. The Lakeview High School site became Lakeview Junior High School. In recent times, Lakeview has undergone a campus expansion and renovation as Lakeview Middle School.

The first classes were held at Lakeview High School in September 1975. The first principal of the school was Lester Dabbs. Upon completion of the new facility, classes began onsite in January 1976. Many of the teachers that first year transferred from Lakeview, Ocoee, and Evans High Schools.

The original West Orange High School building design was extremely modernistic for its time. In fact, the WOHS main building was an award-winning design for the architectural firm. Apopka High School was the only school in existence with the same exact building format. West Orange appeared virtually identical to its sister school, both in the original pristine white paint scheme. The school name's facade on the side of the gym and the front entrance were trimmed in cypress wood. Gymnasium accent columns, as well as the round front entrance planters, were trimmed in red brick.

All academic classrooms were housed within an innovative floorplan design, with each of the three circular wings arranged and interconnected in the shape of a triangle. New to Central Florida high schools at the time, all classrooms and common areas were located within one contiguous building complex so that the weather did not affect the school day. The lunchroom "commons," as well as the library media center and auditorium, were designed to be located centrally within the complex. The band room, gym, and industrial arts wings, as well as the science building, were located along the periphery of the complex. Designed in the aftermath of the 1973 energy crisis, the architectural design also called for a minimum of windows to maximize energy efficiency, as the building was 100% air-conditioned. Large portions of the building were also designed with removable partitions to allow for easy re-configuration as classroom size changed. Also contemporary with the 1970s, nearly all floors were carpeted and many of the interior walls were either covered with carpet or high-grade vinyl wall texturing. In the campus' final years, however, the building interior has been modified, removing most of the carpeting on the walls and floors.

The school opened with a population of nearly 1800 students for the 1975–1976 school year. As a result of the rapid growth brought on by the earlier opening of the Magic Kingdom and the more recent opening of EPCOT Center, the school was at or past maximum capacity at about 2200 students by the 1977–1978 school year. Many of the palm trees and additional landscaping elements near the front entrance portico were donated by a foundation associated with Disney. Despite uniqueness of building design, the size of the community student body was already at the bursting point. A science wing was added to the original structure, being both the first and last major addition to the school main building.

One of the school's earlier principals, Raymond Screws, was shot dead in his own office by a co-worker, Assistant Principal Roosevelt Holloman, who had been accused of misconduct on December 12, 1977. The football field, Raymond Screws Field, is named in his honor.

2000s

Ocoee High School opened in 2005 and nearly half of West Orange's student body was sent to the new school, along with some West Orange teachers. Ocoee's first principal, Michael Armbruster, is both an alumnus and a former principal of West Orange.

In April 2006, WOHS held a gala to celebrate 30 years with performances by the drama and choir departments and the marching band and ensemble. The school honored six teachers and staff members who had been at the school since it first opened its doors: Pat Moran, Karen Whidden, Maxine Lee, Fred Savage (retired), Gay Annis, and Rick Stotler (retired

In 2006, additional property at the corner of Warrior and Beulah Road was purchased to expand the campus.

On October 11, 2013, for the first time on record in Orange County, two students with Down's syndrome, Down syndrome were awarded Homecoming King and Queen.

As of the 2014–2015 school year, the school's enrollment was 3,873. The racial makeup of the school was 51% White, 24% Hispanic, 16% Black, 6% Asian, 2% Multicultural, and 1% Native American.

As of the 2016–2017 school year, 4,285 students are registered for classes at West Orange.

In 2017, Windermere High School