Warwick High School is a

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 ...

Newport News, Virginia Newport News () is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the 5th most populous city in Virginia and 140th most populous city in the U ...

, United States. Warwick is the oldest of five high schools in the city and has been home to the Newport News Centre for the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...

(IB) program since 1995. The school's sports teams are known as the Raiders. As of the 2020-21 school year, the student population is 1,591.

History

The school originally opened in 1926 as Morrison High School in the small community of Morrison. It became Warwick High School in 1948. Originally located in Warwick County, it became part of the

Newport News Public Schools Newport News Public Schools (NNPS) is a division of Newport News, Virginia that operates the city's system of public schools. , NNPS had an enrollment of 28,669. The division employs about 4,700 people, including approximately 2,630 teachers and ...

system in 1958 when the citizenry of the former Warwick County voted to be politically consolidated with the neighboring

independent city An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

of Newport News. The facilities at Warwick High School were expanded to their present size in 1968. Following the 1954 ''

Brown vs. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregat ...

'' decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, racial desegregation lawsuits eventually resulted in a federal court-ordered busing program in Newport News which began in 1971. Busing changed the nature of Warwick's population and community. However, in the years after the federal court supervision ended, a

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...

approach was adopted to successfully attract students and families to voluntarily select the school. Due to overcrowding and pest-control issues, Warwick High School expanded into the building which was formerly the Warwick Early Childhood Center. This building is now known as the Senior Center, although students from all grades may have classes there. However, this building is currently under construction and is estimated to be finished at the start of the 2023-2024 school year.

Extracurricular activities

During the 2007–2008 school year, Warwick High School started an archery team. The team won the state competition and went to nationals in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

. Warwick High School's Scholastic Bowl team has won the Peninsula District Scholastic Bowl every year since 2017-18. Warwick High School has also enjoyed great success in

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

and forensics. Students from the debate team qualified for the state championship tournament in the 2021-2022 year and won the LD style championship. In 1986, the Raiders football team advanced to the state championship, but lost to

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...

7-6.

Demographics

As of the 2020-2021 school year:

Notable alumni

* Will Crutchfield – orchestra conductorJohn Campbell, Review, "A Father and Son Recital in Newport News", ''Artsong Update'', September (?) 2003, http://www.artsongupdate.org/Reviews/Artists/Crutchfields.htm. Retrieved 16 April 2014. * Tim Fasano – Bigfoot hunter, blogger, author – Class of 1975 * Gary Hudson – actor - class of 1974 *

Henry Jordan Henry Wendell Jordan (January 26, 1935 – February 21, 1977) was an American football defensive tackle for the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers during his 13-year National Football League (NFL) career. He played in the NFL from 1957 to ...

– former

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

player, 5-time NFL champion, member of

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

Norman Snead Norman Bailey Snead (born July 31, 1939) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers. He playe ...

– former National Football League player, quarterback, second overall pick of

1961 NFL Draft The 1961 National Football League draft took place at the Warwick Hotel in Philadelphia on December 27–28, 1960. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Minnesota Vikings expansion franchise. This draft was also the first reg ...

Sonja Sohn Sonja Denise Plack (' Williams; born May 9, 1964), known professionally as Sonja Sohn, is an American actress, activist and filmmaker, best known for portraying Baltimore detective Kima Greggs in the HBO drama ''The Wire'' (2002–2008). She i ...

(Williams) – actress in the HBO drama ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American crime drama television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The Wire'' premiered on June 2 ...

'' *

William Styron William Clark Styron Jr. (June 11, 1925 – November 1, 2006) was an American novelist and essayist who won major literary awards for his work. Styron was best known for his novels, including: * '' Lie Down in Darkness'' (1951), his acclaimed f ...

- novelist and essayist, attended two years before transferring to Christchurch School, where he graduated * Marcus Vick – National Football League player - Class of 2002 * Michael Vick – National Football League player - Class of 1998 * B. W. Webb - National Football League

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...

for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

References

{{authority control High schools in Newport News, Virginia Public high schools in Virginia