Wilson High School is one of three high schools in Florence Public School District One in Florence, South Carolina, United States. It is the only high school in Florence County that offers the International Baccalaureate diploma.
Video Wilson High School (Florence, South Carolina)
History
Wilson was founded in 1866 by the Freedmen's Bureau as a school for African-American children. The school opened on the corner of Palmetto and Dargan Streets in downtown Florence. The school has existed in four different locations. Since 1982, Wilson has been on Old Marion Highway northeast of Florence, after having moved from a building on North Irby Street in downtown Florence.
In 1996 Wilson became the second International Baccalaureate school in South Carolina. The first IB class graduated in 1999, and a class has been graduated in each year since. The first class to complete both the Middle-Years Program and the IB program graduated in 2002.
Maps Wilson High School (Florence, South Carolina)
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.
International Baccalaureate Programme
Wilson is the home of the final two years of the one Florence chapter of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (IB MYP), which begins at Florence's Williams Middle School. Wilson is also home to the only Florence chapter of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). The International Baccalaureate helps students "think critically, synthesize knowledge, reflect on their own thought processes and get their feet wet in interdisciplinary thinking," said Howard Gardner, an educational psychologist at Harvard University.
Athletics
Wilson competes in the AAAA classification of the South Carolina High School League and is located in Lower State, Region VII with Myrtle Beach High School, North Myrtle Beach High School, St. James High School, and Marlboro County High School.
In 2002, the varsity baseball team won the AAA state championship. The boys' basketball team and the varsity football team won AAA state championships in 2007.
Notable alumni
- Harry Carson, (1972), retired football player, NY Giants
- Darian Durant (2000), football player, Saskatchewan Roughriders
- Justin Durant (2003), football player, Atlanta Falcons
- Maggie Glover (1968), first black female Senator to serve in state senate
- Clayton Holmes, retired football player, Dallas Cowboys
- Ben Ingram (2001), Jeopardy! champion
- William Johnson (attended 1916-1918), painter
- Jolette Law (1986), basketball assistant coach South Carolina Lady Gamecocks, former Illinois Fighting Illini head coach and Harlem Globetrotter from 1991-1994
- Trey Lorenz (1987), singer and songwriter
- Pearl Moore (1975), basketball player
- Carlos Powell (2001), basketball player, NIT MVP and Dakota Wizards forward
- Reggie Sanders (1985), retired baseball player, Kansas City Royals
- Marva Smalls (1974), VP of Global Inclusion Strategy for Viacom
- Lawrence Timmons (2004), professional football player, Pittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins
External links
- Official website
- History of Wilson
- The Purple and Gold
- Wilson High School Alumni Association
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia