Walnut Ridge High School (Columbus, Ohio)
| Walnut Ridge High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
|
4841 East Livingston Avenue Columbus, Ohio, (Franklin County) 43227 United States | |
| Coordinates | 39°56′37″N 82°51′58″W / 39.94361°N 82.86611°WCoordinates: 39°56′37″N 82°51′58″W / 39.94361°N 82.86611°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public, Coeducational high school |
| Opened | 1963 |
| Superintendent | Dr. Dan Good[1] |
| Principal | Dr. Todd Walker[1] |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Color(s) | Red, Gray and White[1] |
| Athletics | Varsity, Junior Varsity and Freshmen teams. |
| Athletics conference | Columbus City League[1] |
| Sports | Boys' Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Cross-Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Tennis, Track & Field, Wrestling. Girls' Basketball, Cheerleading, Cross-Country Golf, Softball, Track & Field, Volleyball. |
| Team name | Scots[1] |
| Rival | Independence High School |
| Accreditation | North Central Association of Colleges and Schools[2] |
| Athletic Director | Andrew Hange[1] |
| Website | http://walnutridgehs.ccsoh.us/ |
Walnut Ridge High School is a public high school located on the far east side of Columbus, Ohio at 4841 E Livingston Ave near the I-70 and Hamilton Road exit. The school is neighbored by the Far East Recreation Center and Big Walnut Creek.
History
The school colors are scarlet, gray and white and the school's sports teams nickname is the Scots in honor of the school's sister school, The Harlaw Academy in Scotland. In recognition of this fact the school's color scheme has been officially recorded as a distinct tartan pattern. Walnut Ridge is a four-year high school with an enrollment of 860. It is accredited by the North Central Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges, and by the Department of Education of the State of Ohio. It has student representation from 27 countries.
At its peak in the early 1970s, the school had an enrollment of over 1,800 in grades 10-12. Starting with the 1971-72 school year, Walnut Ridge went into split sessions. This lasted until enrollment declined due to other schools opening in the area. Declining enrollment for city schools started after many fled the Columbus city schools after a federal court mandated desegregation of the district in 1979.
In 1987, a four-student team from the school won the National Academic Championship, a question-and-answer competition, beating the team from Walt Whitman High School of Bethesda, Maryland.[3] The team consisted of Susan Wright, Garrett Schwartz, Mu Chun Yin and team captain Michael Dake.[4]
Curriculum
Academically, Walnut Ridge offers Advanced Placement courses in chemistry, English literature and composition, calculus (AB), government & politics and U.S. History. It also offer PSEO (Post Secondary Enrollment Option) through Hocking College. Students enrolled in the PSEO program can earn high school credit as well as college credit in English and Government. Concurrent enrollment is also available through local universities. This school remains slightly below average for the district when it comes to proficiency test scores.
Sports
In sports, the school's traditional rival was Eastmoor High School. This was in part because when Walnut Ridge opened to students in 1961, more than half of its enrollment were former Eastmoor students. Walnut Ridge Students attended classes in the Eastmoor High School building in the afternoons while the Eastmoor students attended classes in the same building in the mornings. This continued for a few months until the new Walnut Ridge building received its certificate of occupancy. From the late 1960s through the end of the 1990s the winner of the annual football game between these two schools received the Victory Bell trophy to go along with their bragging rights. Officially this tradition came to an end when Eastmoor became an Academy school in 2000. Since 2000 the biggest rival has been Independence High School. In addition to football the school has 16 other varsity sports including baseball, basketball, swimming, wrestling, and a soccer program.
Notable Alumni
- Richard Sillman (Class of '84) - youngest (among the first) cable TV Director in the United States.[5][6]
- Greg Cox (Class of '84) - safety for the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants
- Gary Russell (Class of '04) - running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders
- Ernie Wheelwright (Class of '03) - wide-receiver for the Baltimore Ravens and the Saskatchewan Rough Riders.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 OHSAA. "Ohio High School Athletic Association member directory". Retrieved 2010-02-17.
- ↑ NCA-CASI. "NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from the original on September 23, 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-17.
- ↑ http://www.qbwiki.com/wiki/view/1987_NAC
- ↑ http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_dat=news/11B86F5B798E11E0&rft_id=info:sid/infoweb.newsbank.com&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=0FDCCF0B172AF019
- ↑ Technological milestones of the electronic age. Retrieved 2014-01-06.
- ↑ Larry Satkowiak, President and Chief Executive Officer/Board of Directors, Cable Center/Cable Museum, non-online archives/library - Headquarters, Denver, CO. Retrieved 2014-01-21.