Wilson High School is one of three

high schools 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 ...

Florence Public School District One Florence Public School District One manages the schools in the region around Florence, South Carolina, United States, USA. It is the largest of the school districts in Florence County. Schools High schools (Grades 9-12) * South Florence High Sch ...

Florence, South Carolina Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropolit ...

, United States. It is the only high school in Florence County that offers 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 Dip ...

diploma.

History

Wilson School was Florence's first public school for children of any race. Opened on this site by the Freedmen’s Bureau in 1866, it was incorporated two years later into South Carolina’s first system of free public education. In 1906 the original wooden building was demolished to make way for this one, a substantial new brick school for black african american children, and a new Wilson High School was built on Athens Street, away from downtown in a black residential neighborhood. Today Wilson High School includes an International Baccalaureate program at its fourth location on Old Marion Highway, and alumni hold a popular annual homecoming in October.

Academics

Wilson's We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution debate team won the annual state competition in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2010. Wilson has won the Pee Dee Regional Academic Challenge AAA/AAAA championship eleven out of the past twelve years, and won the 2010 State Championship. Wilson has the only Florence chapter of the

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into ...

(IBDP).

Athletics

Wilson competes in the AAAA classification of the

South Carolina High School League The South Carolina High School League (SCHSL) is the organization that rules and regulates school athletics in the state of South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Caro ...

and is located in Lower State, Region VII with Myrtle Beach High School, North Myrtle Beach High School, Darlington High School, Hartsville High school, West Florence High School, and South Florence High School. In 2002, the varsity baseball team won the AAA state championship. The boys' basketball and varsity football teams won AAA state championships in 2007.

Notable alumni

Harry Carson Harry Donald Carson (born November 26, 1953) is a former American football middle linebacker who played his entire professional career for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). Carson was inducted into the College Football Ha ...

, (1972), Hall of Fame football player, NY Giants *

Darian Durant Darian Bernard Durant (born August 19, 1982) is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. He played college football at the University of North Carolina. By the end of his college career, he held school records for completion percentag ...

(2000), football player,

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

Justin Durant Justin Ryan Durant (born September 21, 1985) is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) who played for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons. He was drafted by the Jaguars ...

(2003), football player,

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

Maggie Glover Maggie Wallace Glover (born August 29, 1948) is a former American Democratic Party (US), Democratic politician. She was the first African-American woman to be elected as a member of the South Carolina Senate, serving from 1992 to 2004. Glover was ...

(1968), first black female Senator to serve in state senate *

Clayton Holmes Clayton Holmes (born August 23, 1969) is a former professional American football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He was drafted in the third round of the 1992 NFL draft. He played college football at Cars ...

, retired football player,

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

* William Johnson (attended 1916–1918), painter *

Jolette Law Jolette Law is an assistant coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball, South Carolina Gamecocks Women's Basketball team. She was previously a Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball assistant and, before that, the Illinois Fighting I ...

(1986), basketball assistant coach South Carolina Lady Gamecocks, former

Illinois Fighting Illini The Illinois Fighting Illini () are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The university offers 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University operates a number of athletic faci ...

head coach and

Harlem Globetrotter The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of ...

from 1991 to 1994 *

Trey Lorenz Trey Lorenz (born Lloyd Lorenz Smith; January 19, 1969) is an American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. He was born in Florence, South Carolina and is a graduate of Wilson High School. Lorenz is best known for his duet with recording a ...

(1987), singer and songwriter *

Pearl Moore Pearl Moore (born March 16, 1957) is a retired American professional basketball player who played for the Women's Professional Basketball League. During her collegiate career at Francis Marion University, Moore established herself as one of the mos ...

(1975), basketball player *

Carlos Powell Ricardo Auturo "Carlos" Powell (born August 29, 1983) is an American basketball player, who last played for Trotamundos de Carabobo of the Liga Profesional de Baloncesto in Venezuela. He is notable for receiving the NIT Most Valuable Player awar ...

(2001), basketball player, NIT MVP and

Dakota Wizards The Dakota Wizards were an American professional basketball team based in Bismarck, North Dakota. They played in the NBA Development League from 2006 until 2012. After the 2011–12 season, the team relocated to Santa Cruz, California, and now pl ...

forward *

Reggie Sanders Reginald Laverne Sanders (born December 1, 1967) is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed. He played professionally with the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, S ...

(1985), retired baseball player,

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

Lawrence Timmons Lawrence Olajuwon Timmons (born May 14, 1986) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He would go on to win Super Bowl XLIII with the Steelers the following ...

(2004), professional football player,

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

External links

*
History of Wilson

''The Purple and Gold''

Wilson High School Alumni Association

References

{{authority control Public high schools in South Carolina Schools in Florence County, South Carolina International Baccalaureate schools in South Carolina Schools supported by the Freedmen's Bureau