Wheeler High School is located in northeast

Cobb County, Georgia Cobb County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, and is a core county of the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north-central portion of the state. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 766, ...

, U.S. It is near the city of Marietta, about 15 miles (24 km) northwest of

downtown Atlanta Downtown Atlanta is the central business district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The largest of the city's three commercial districts (Midtown Atlanta, Midtown and Buckhead being the others), it is the location of many corporate and region ...

. The school has been in operation since 1965. It is a

public high school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

, accredited by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...

. It is named for

Joseph Wheeler Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler (September 10, 1836 – January 25, 1906) was a military commander and politician of the Confederate States of America. He was a cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil ...

who was a Confederate military leader, and later, an American military leader and politician.

The Center For Advanced Studies in Science, Math, & Technology

Wheeler High School's Center For Advanced Studies in

STEM Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

(Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math) began teaching classes in 1999. Since then, it has accepted about 150 freshmen every year. Wheeler's program is a member of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science, and Technology. The coursework allows magnet students to begin taking college-level courses in math and science by eleventh grade and participating in internships at local businesses by twelfth grade. In 2014 the magnet program earned the STEM Certified School Outreach from Tag-Ed, a Georgia STEM organization.

Efforts to change name

In June 2020, students, alumni, and community members began circulating an online petition to change the name of Wheeler High School due to the namesake's ties to the Confederate States of America. The petition received support from Charisse Davis, the school board member representing Wheeler High School and the school's Student Government Association. Some have opposed the move, including school board member David Banks, who argues that the issue is overly politicized and that Wheeler's later service as an American politician and as an American military leader during the

Spanish-American war Spanish Americans (, ''hispanoestadounidenses'', or ''hispanonorteamericanos'') are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly from Spain. They are the longest-established European American group in the modern United States, with a ...

should be noted. As of March 2021, the name change is still under consideration. The movement has received praise from notable alumni including

Jaylen Brown Jaylen Marselles Brown (born October 24, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one year of college basketball for the California Golden Bears and wa ...

Notable alumni

Amir Abdur-Rahim Amir Abdur-Rahim (March 18, 1981 – October 24, 2024) was an American basketball coach and player who was the head coach of the South Florida Bulls men's basketball team. Prior to coaching at USF, he was the head coach at Kennesaw State from ...

'00: Head Coach, South Florida Bulls men's basketball *

Shareef Abdur-Rahim Julius Shareef Abdur-Rahim (born December 11, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player who is the president of the NBA G League. Nicknamed Reef, he previously served as the director of player personnel for the Sacramento Kings ...

'95: NBA forward, Olympic gold medalist for the U.S. national basketball team * Brad Armstrong '80: former professional wrestler * Tope Awotona: Billionaire, founder of Calendly *

'15: Boston Celtics forward, 2024 NBA Finals MVP * Brett Butler: comedian and actress *

Byron Capers Byron Capers (born March 21, 1974) is an American former professional football defensive back who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Florida State. Early life Capers was born in Washington, D.C., and gre ...

'93: former NFL/CFL pro football * Isaiah Collier '23: USC guard, #1 National Recruit, NBA Player for the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

* Jermareo Davidson '03: NBA power forward * Randy Edwards: former NFL football player *

Tiera Guinn Fletcher Tiera Guinn Fletcher is an American aerospace engineer. She is a designer and structural analyst for NASA's Space Launch System. Early life Tiera Guinn Fletcher was born in the greater Atlanta area in Georgia. Her mother Sheila is an accoun ...

: Boeing and NASA engineer *

Robby Ginepri Robert Louis Ginepri ( ; born October 7, 1982) is an American former professional tennis player. He won three ATP singles titles in his career and achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 15 in December 2005. Ginepri's best Grand Slam result ...

'01: former professional tennis player * Dax Griffin '90: actor *

Linda Hamilton Linda Carroll Hamilton (born September 26, 1956) is an American actress. Known for portraying tough, resilient characters, she made her film debut in 1979 before achieving fame with her starring role as Sarah Connor (Terminator), Sarah Connor i ...

'87: defender, U.S. Women's National soccer team *

Jeremy Hermida Jeremy Ryan Hermida (born January 30, 1984) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, Cincinnati Reds, and San Diego Padres, and ...

'02: Major League Baseball player * JJ Hickson '07: Former NBA player (McDonald’s All-American) * Richard Howell '09: American-Israeli basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

* Tammy Susan Hurt '83: Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the

Recording Academy National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (NARAS), doing business as The Recording Academy, is an American learned academy of musicians, producers, recording engineers, and other musical professionals. It is widely known for its Gramm ...

* DeQuan Jones '08: Orlando Magic forward * Jelan Kendrick '10: basketball player * Goeff Knorr: '03: composer * Douglas Lima '06: professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

, competing for

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

* Harold Melton '84: Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia *

Aries Merritt Aries Merritt (born July 24, 1985) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 110 metres hurdles, 110 metre hurdles, and currently holds the List of world records in athletics, world record in that event with a time of 12.80&n ...

'03: All-American hurdles, 2012 Olympics U.S. Men's Track Team, gold medalist in 110m hurdles, world record holder in 110m hurdles * Charles Mitchell '12: basketball player *

Shane Monahan Shane Hartland Monahan (born August 12, 1974) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He played his entire career for the Seattle Mariners (1998–99). He is a graduate of Joseph Wheeler High School in Marie ...

'92: former Major League Baseball player, Seattle Mariners * E.J. Montgomery '18: basketball player *

Denise Oliver Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters (in animation, video games, puppet shows, radio, audiobook, audio books, amusement rides, computer programs, etc.) This is a list of Canadian voice actors/actresses notable for ...

'07: (CEO of Culture Wash and Detailing) (Actress),

: CEO - Actress, aka Meghan Oliver * Darius Perry '17: basketball player * Ron Pope: musician * Robert Shaw '75: former NFL football player * Pam Stone '77: actress on ''

Coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

'', comedian, writer, and talk radio host *

Becca Tobin Rebecca Grace Tobin (born January 18, 1986) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She is known for her role as Kitty Wilde on the Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee''. Early life Tobin grew up in Marietta, Georgia, the younger of two ...

'04: actress on ''

Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

'' * Jordan Tucker '17: basketball player *

Bob Tway Robert Raymond Tway IV (born May 4, 1959) is an American professional golfer. He has won numerous tournaments including eight PGA Tour victories. He spent 25 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking in 1986–87. Early life Tway wa ...

: PGA Tour golfer and 1986 PGA Championship winner * Jordan Usher '17: basketball player * Romello White '16: basketball player for Hapoel Eilat of the

* Reggie Witherspoon '03: All-American 400m, 2008 Olympics U.S. Men's Track Team, gold medalist in 4 × 400 m relay * Trey Wolfe '07: NFL Player

References

External links

Wheeler High web pageWheeler Magnet web page
{{authority control Public high schools in Georgia (U.S. state) Educational institutions established in 1965 Schools in Cobb County, Georgia Magnet schools in Georgia (U.S. state) 1965 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)