Washington High School (officially George Washington High School) is a public high school in Cedar Rapids, in the U.S. state of Iowa. Built in 1956, it is named in honor of the oldest high school in Cedar Rapids.[2]
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.[3] 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 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.[4] They also picked the “Warrior” as Washington's mascot.[5]
In 1961, 17,625,904 square feet (1,637,500.1m2) 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.[6] Kluss was succeeded as principal by Don Birdsell, who served for three years.[7] Robert O. Fitzsimmons became principal in 1962.[8] Donald G. Nau took over as principal in the middle of the 1966–67 school year.[9] 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. [10]
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.[11] 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.[12]
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. [citation needed]
Art gallery
In 2007 Washington High School opened an art gallery to feature the works of famous Washington alumni.[13] The gallery includes works by Grant Wood 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.[14][15][16]
Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 40,713. Cedar Falls is home to the University of Northern Iowa, a public university.
Cedar Rapids is the second-most populous city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, 20 miles (32 km) north of Iowa City and 128 miles (206 km) northeast of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city. It is a part of the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City region of Eastern Iowa, which includes Linn, Benton, Cedar, Iowa, Jones, Johnson, and Washington counties.
Grant DeVolson Wood was an American painter and representative of Regionalism, best known for his paintings depicting the rural American Midwest. He is particularly well known for American Gothic (1930), which has become an iconic example of early 20th-century American art.
The Stone City Art Colony was an art colony founded by Edward Rowan, Adrian Dornbush, and Grant Wood. The colony gathered on the John A. Green Estate in Stone City, Iowa during the summers of 1932 and 1933.
Marvin Dorwart Cone was an American painter in the regionalist style.
Kathleen Halloran Chapman, known as Kay Chapman or Kay Halloran, is an American politician and attorney who served as Mayor of Cedar Rapids, Iowa from 2006 to 2009.
Dedric Lamar Ward is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys. He also was an assistant coach in the NFL. He played college football at University of Northern Iowa.
Adrian Jarrard Arrington is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft and was called up from the team's practice squad before week 17 of the 2010 NFL season. Arrington served as the offensive coordinator for the Cedar Rapids Titans of the Indoor Football League (IFL). He played college football at Michigan.
Conger Metcalf (1914–1998) was an American painter.
Nan Wood Graham was an American artist and art teacher. She was the sister of painter Grant Wood. She is best known as the model for the woman in her brother's most famous painting, American Gothic (1930).
The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art is a museum in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States. The museum is privately owned and was established in 1905. The museum acquired the old Cedar Rapids Public Library building after the library moved into a new location in 1985. The current home of the museum, designed by post-modern architect Charles Moore, was built adjoining the old library in 1989.
Robert Bruggeman is a former American football center. He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Iowa.
Marvin McNutt, Jr. is a former American football wide receiver. After playing college football for Iowa, where he became the all-time leader in receiving touchdowns and yardage, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round, pick #194 of the 2012 NFL Draft. He was also the head coach of the Cedar Rapids Titans of the Indoor Football League (IFL) for the 2017 season and then the general manager in 2018. McNutt is formerly the wide receivers coach at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 2021
The Tri-Rivers Conference is a high school conference in eastern Iowa sponsoring athletic competition, as well as speech and music activities. Formed in 1967, the conference has enjoyed long-term stability while enduring periods of significant change over its 50-plus year history. With the return of Edgewood–Colesburg in 2017, all but one of the founding members were still conference members..
The Cedar Rapids River Kings are a professional indoor football team based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They are current members of American Indoor Football and play their homes at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.
The African American Museum of Iowa (AAMI), nestled along the Cedar River near downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States, has been carrying out its mission “To preserve, publicize, and educate the public on the African American heritage and culture of Iowa” since its incorporation as a 501(c)(3) organization in 1993. It has become the leading educational resource on African American history in Iowa and has two on-site exhibits: a permanent exhibit called Endless Possibilities, and a temporary exhibit which changes annually. Additionally, the AAMI has several "traveling exhibits" that are available for reservation by libraries, schools, businesses, etc.
Andre Morris is an American former sprint runner. He was part of American 4 × 400 m relay teams that won gold medals at the 1995 Summer Universiade and 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships, setting a world indoor record in 1999.
John Erik Campbell is an American gridiron football coach and former player. He is currently the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Bowling Green State University football team.
Alanna Lynn Arrington is an American model from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She has been on the cover of Maxim and Elle U.K. She is a model for Victoria’s Secret.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
