Washington High School (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
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Washington High School (officially George Washington High School) 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 ...
in
Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in u ...
, in the
U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
. Built in 1956, it is named in honor of the oldest high school in Cedar Rapids.


History

Built in 1855, the original Washington High School—not yet known by that name—opened in 1857. In 1869, it narrowed from a general school to a high school. Originally called "the schoolhouse," the "Cedar Rapids graded school," and the "second ward school", it received its current name in 1875 when all the Cedar Rapids schools were named for presidents. The oldest building was called Washington School. In 1887, Abbie S. Abbott began her 34-year tenure as Washington High School principal. The school was expanded in 1910 to help deal with overcrowding, but the expanded room from the addition did not suffice for long. The nearby
vocational school A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary education#List of tech ed skills, secondary or post-secondar ...
Grant School was converted to a regular high school to reduce the burden. Deteriorating conditions at the original structure led to its abandonment in 1935. Four junior high schools in the area, which had been expanded in preparation, were converted to joint junior/senior high schools. September 3, 1957, was the first day of school at new Washington. Washington began with grades 10-12 and became a four-year high school in 1987. During the 1956–57 school year, students voted on colors for the new school and selected red and blue with white trim. They also picked the “Warrior” as Washington's mascot. In 1961, of classroom space were added to the south end of the building—12 classrooms. In 1971, the area under the library was enclosed to provide new office space for the counselors. In 1990, a new gymnasium was built to accommodate the increasing number of recognition assemblies. In 2003, a large wing of six classrooms and six science laboratories was added to the southwest corner of the building. At the same time, a new band room was completed and the entire original music area was remodeled to house the growing vocal and string orchestra programs. The first principal, Fred J. Kluss, had been principal at Roosevelt before coming to Washington in 1957. Kluss was succeeded as principal by Don Birdsell, who served for three years. Robert O. Fitzsimmons became principal in 1962. Donald G. Nau took over as principal in the middle of the 1966–67 school year. Ralph Plagman was principal from 1981 to 2016. Ralph Plagman resigned in 2016, with Dr. Carlos Grant taking up the job as interim. John Cline was hired as principal on April 19, 2017. After the 2020 school year, John Cline resigned from the job and moved back to North Carolina. The international pandemic and his deep marital issues were cited as the reasons for his resignation. In December 2017, a former substitute teacher at the school, Mary Elizabeth Haglin, was convicted of sexual exploitation by a school employee, an aggravated misdemeanor. She had a sexual relationship with 17-year-old student from 2015 to June 2016. An appeal, on May 2, 2018, upheld the ruling of 90 days jail sentence, the appeal delaying the start of her sentence until October 2018. In the spring semester of 2017, transgender student Jeffrey Abraham was elected as the President of the class of 2020. He is cited as the first transgender class president in the Cedar Rapids School District. Under his class presidency, thousands of dollars were raised for the school. His three years as president culminated in an inspiring speech he gave for the graduating class on May 29, 2020. The speech was recorded and streamed live on Youtube, due to the in-person commencement ceremony being canceled in the wake of the Covid-19 Pandemic.


Art gallery

In 2007 Washington High School opened an art gallery to feature the works of famous Washington alumni. The gallery includes works by
Grant Wood Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891February 12, 1942) was an American artist and representative of Regionalism (art), Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for ''America ...
and Marvin Cone, who both graduated in 1910 at the "old Washington" school. The gallery's centerpiece is ''Kanesville'', a mural Wood painted in 1927.


Extracurricular activities


Athletics

The Warriors compete in the Mississippi Valley Conference in the following sports: *Cross Country *Volleyball *Football *Basketball ** 3-time Boys' State Champions (pre- IHSAA: 1914, 1916, 1922) *Wrestling ** 1921 State Champions (pre- IHSAA) ** 1970 Class 3A State Champions *Swimming *Track and Field *Soccer *Softball *Baseball *Tennis ** 5-time Boys' Class 2A State Champions (1983, 1987, 1990, 1994, 1996) *Bowling


Notable alumni

* Katie Abrahamson-Henderson - women's basketball head coach,
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* Landen Akers - UFL wide receiver,
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* Adrian Arrington - NFL wide receiver * Alanna Arrington - fashion model * Frank Baker - NFL wide receiver * Rob Bruggeman - NFL center *
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- actor * Arthur A. Collins - inventor * Ross Colton - American professional ice hockey center,
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* Marvin Cone - painter and art professor * Keenan Davis - American football player *
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- actor * Paul Engle - poet * Brenda Frese - women's basketball head coach,
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* Izaah Knox Iowa State Senator * Erik Koch
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fighter * John Lipsky, economist * Bob Netolicky - professional basketball player; member
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*
George Nissen George Peter Nissen (February 3, 1914 – April 7, 2010) was an American gymnast and inventor who developed the modern trampoline and made trampolining a worldwide sport and recreation. Background Born on February 3, 1914, in Blairstown, Iowa, to ...
- developer of modern trampoline * Tyler Olson - Iowa State Representative from 65th District * AJ Puk -
MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher * Beardsley Ruml - academic * Sami Scheetz - Iowa state representative from District 78 *
William L. Shirer William Lawrence Shirer (; February 23, 1904 – December 28, 1993) was an American journalist, war correspondent, and historian. His '' The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'', a history of Nazi Germany, has been read by many and cited in schol ...
- author * Henry C. Spencer - businessman * Hannah Stuelke - NCAA college basketball player, Iowa Hawkeyes *
Carl Van Vechten Carl Van Vechten (; June 17, 1880December 21, 1964) was an American writer and Fine-art photography, artistic photographer who was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary estate, literary executor of Gertrude Stein. He gained fame ...
- writer * Dedric Ward - coach and wide receiver in NFL * Wes Washpun - professional basketball player *
Grant Wood Grant DeVolson Wood (February 13, 1891February 12, 1942) was an American artist and representative of Regionalism (art), Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for ''America ...
- painter


References


External links


Official site
{{authority control Public high schools in Iowa Schools in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Schools in Linn County, Iowa Educational institutions established in 1956 1956 establishments in Iowa