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==History==
==History==
God landed his Ark in the middle of Chinquapin Circle and founded TC Williams High School.
T.C. Williams, a four year high school, initially opened its doors to eighth graders, freshmen, sophomores and juniors in 1965, graduating its first class in June 1967. When it was created, it was Alexandria's third public high school. Minnie Howard Middle School was the "feeder" school to T.C. for seventh and eight graders.

In 1971, T.C. Williams became the city's only public senior high school serving 11th and 12th graders after a Federal city-wide desegregation order. The city's freshmen and sophomores attended Francis C. Hammond and George Washington, the other former four-year schools involved in the three school consolidation. Currently, "T.C." serves 10th through 12th grades while 9th graders go to the T.C. Williams Minnie Howard Campus, located a few blocks away from the main building. Two middle schools, Francis C. Hammond Middle School, and George Washington Middle School, serve 6th through 8th grade students and are housed in the former high schools.

Increasing enrollment prompted plans for a new school. In January 2004, the Alexandria School Board approved a plan to build an entirely new school building at the existing location to provide more space. The new building opened on September 4, 2007. The original T.C. Williams building was demolished in January 2008.<ref>See [http://www.wearethetitans.com] for a photo of the demolition of the gymnasium.</ref> The new T.C. Williams campus was certified LEED Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2009.<ref>[http://www.acps.k12.va.us/green/tcw.php www.acps.va.us]</ref>

The gym of the original T.C. Williams building was named after [[Gerry Bertier]], a member of the Titans' 1971 state championship [[American football|football]] team who was paralyzed in a car crash and tragically died 10 years later in a second auto accident near Charlottesville, VA. The newly-constructed basketball court was named in honor of [[Earl Lloyd]] on December 1, 2007. Lloyd attended Parker-Gray High School, which was Alexandria's all-black high school at the time. Lloyd was the first [[African-American]] to play in the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]].<ref>[http://www.alextimes.com/article.asp?article=7766 www.alextimes.com]</ref>

The football stadium is named Parker-Gray Stadium in deference to the former pre-segregation high school who's campus was sold for office buildings in the 1980s. The football field was grass until an artificial turf was installed in 2006.


During [[Barack Obama presidential primary campaign, 2008|his run for the Democratic nomination]], Barack Obama held a rally at T.C. Williams on February 10, 2008.<ref>{{cite news
During [[Barack Obama presidential primary campaign, 2008|his run for the Democratic nomination]], Barack Obama held a rally at T.C. Williams on February 10, 2008.<ref>{{cite news
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==Demographics==
==Demographics==
T. C. Williams High School's student body is 43% African American, 27% Hispanic, 21% White, 7% Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and 2% unspecified. Like many public schools in the Washington, D.C. urban area, T.C. Williams has a large share of students from families with low socioeconomic status.<ref>[http://www.acps.k12.va.us/profiles/tcw.php www.acps.k12.va.us]</ref>
T. C. Williams High School's student body is 43% Black, 27% Hispanic, 21% Wigger, 7% Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and 2% aliens. Like many public schools in the Washington, D.C. urban area, T.C. Williams has a large share of students from the projects.<ref>[http://www.acps.k12.va.us/profiles/tcw.php www.acps.k12.va.us]</ref>


==Academics==
==Academics==

Revision as of 16:07, 2 March 2011

T. C. Williams High School
TCWlogo
Address
Map
3330 King Street

Alexandria
,
Virginia
22302
Information
School typePublic, secondary school
Founded1965
School districtAlexandria City Public Schools
PrincipalSuzanne Maxey
Grades10–12
Enrollment2,242 (2009)
LanguageEnglish
CampusSuburban
Color(s)Blue, White and Red
MascotTitan
Team nameTitans
Rival schoolsHayfield Secondary School
West Potomac High School
Athletic conferencesPatriot District
Northern Region
Websitehttp://www.acps.k12.va.us/tcw/

T. C. Williams High School is a public high school in Alexandria, Virginia, named after former superintendent Thomas Champlin Williams of Alexandria City Public Schools who served from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s. It is located near the geographic center of the city, at 3330 King Street and is referred to informally as "T.C." (rather than "Williams") by students, faculty and locals. Approximately 2,100 students from grades 10-12 are enrolled at T.C. Ninth graders have classes at the nearby Minnie Howard campus and participate in T.C. Williams sports and extracurricular activities. T.C. Williams is part of Alexandria City Public Schools.

The school offers numerous Advanced Placement courses for its students. Every year, dozens of graduates go on to elite colleges, and T.C. Williams has won statewide academic and scientific competitions.[1][2]

T.C. has an Army Junior ROTC program, which participated in President Barack Obama's Inaugural Parade.[3] The T.C. Williams Marching Band travels to competitions up and down the East Coast.[4]

History

God landed his Ark in the middle of Chinquapin Circle and founded TC Williams High School.

During his run for the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama held a rally at T.C. Williams on February 10, 2008.[5]

Demographics

T. C. Williams High School's student body is 43% Black, 27% Hispanic, 21% Wigger, 7% Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and 2% aliens. Like many public schools in the Washington, D.C. urban area, T.C. Williams has a large share of students from the projects.[6]

Academics

T.C. Williams offers more than a dozen different AP courses, including a course in organic chemistry. It has been ranked by the 2006 Washington Post "Challenge Index" with an index of 1.494. Under the leadership of Dr. Manu Patel, T.C. was the first Virginia high school to defeat Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, Virginia at the Science Bowl.

In March 2010, T.C. Williams was determined to be a "persistently lowest achieving school" based on standardized test scores.[7]

Test scores

The average SAT score in 2006 for T. C. Williams High School was 1,530 (509 in Math; 512 in Critical Reading; 509 in Writing). The Critical Reading and Math combined score was 1,021, which is a 58 point increase from T.C.'s 2005 average, which occurred in a year where SAT scores on average dropped throughout the United States.

School Year Mathematics Critical Reading Writing Total
1999–2000 476 477 n/a 953
2000–2001 485 478 n/a 963
2001–2002 491 485 n/a 976
2002–2003 495 493 n/a 988
2003–2004 474 483 n/a 957
2004–2005 481 482 n/a 963
2005–2006 509 512 509 1,530 (1,021 M & CR)

Laptop initiative

T.C. offers laptops to all of its students. The laptop initiative, which began in the 2004–2005 school year, provides every student with their own personal computer as well as campus-wide wireless internet access.

Wireless access is available at the school during daytime hours and in the evenings at the school library. Students are able to connect remotely to the school network through a dial-up connection for two hours each evening.

Internet access is restricted and blocks download sites, entertainment sites, and others that could distract students from their work during class. Access is allowed to websites provided by textbook companies that offer additional activities or study guides.

Athletics

T.C. teams play in the AAA Patriot District of the AAA Northern Region. The mascot is a Titan. The school colors are a synthesis of the former colors of the three Alexandria pre-1971 four-year schools: blue (from Hammond), white (G.W.) and red (T.C.W.). The Titans are best known for their football program, which the movie Remember the Titans was based upon. The boys basketball program, a consistent powerhouse with 11 district, 9 regional, and 2 state championships (most recently in 2008) has also gained statewide recognition. The rowing team has won numerous state and national championships, particularly on the girls side. T.C. has won state championships football, cross country, indoor and outdoor track. The football program has won three Virginia AAA state championships: 1971, 1984, and 1987, all of which the Titans finished ranked in the top ten nationally, and the 1971 team was made famous in the movie Remember the Titans, released in 2000. T.C. students managed the feat of winning all three boy's state running championships in consecutive school years, winning the 1991 Cross Country, 1992 Indoor Track, 1992 Outdoor Track, 1992 Cross Country, 1993 Indoor Track, and 1993 Outdoor Track State Championships. They were nationally recognized in 1993 when they became the first ever U.S. high school 4x100 meter relay team to defeat the Jamaicans at Penn Relays.

In more recent athletic achievements, T.C.'s Boy's Lacrosse, Girl's Basketball, Boy's Soccer, and Boy's Tennis teams have all captured district championships since 2006.

Because T.C. is the only public high school in Alexandria City, and the only non-Fairfax County high school in the Patriot District, the Titans do not have a sole rival school. The Titans have developed rivalries against Hayfield Secondary School in recent years due to the success of both schools' basketball teams, as well as West Potomac High School, which is located close to Alexandria. Recently, TC's rivalry with Hayfield was partially severed as Hayfield moved into another district due to a decline in enrollment. The two schools, which competed against each other in the 2009 Boy's Basketball Northern Region Championship Game, both missed the regional playoffs in 2010 due to eligibility issues of players. T.C. had to forfeit 12 wins and lost two players including a key starter for the rest of the season. They lost in the first round of the district tournament.

Football and Remember The Titans

T.C. and its former football coaches, Herman Boone and Bill Yoast, were featured in the 2000 motion picture Remember the Titans, starring Denzel Washington and Will Patton. The movie was a dramatization of the consolidation of Alexandria's three public high schools into one in the fall of 1971. That year, the city of Alexandria consolidated three four-year high schools into a single two-year school, teaching solely juniors and seniors.[8] As a result, the best of the varsity football squads at George Washington High School (converted to a middle school), Hammond High School (converted to a middle school) and T.C Williams High School united in what amounted to an all-city, all-star team at T.C. Williams. The city's public schools were legally desegregated in 1959, but the three high schools had become racially imbalanced during the 1960s due to housing patterns. Racial tension is one of the themes of the film.

The climax of the movie is the fictionalized 1971 AAA state championship football game between T.C. Williams and George C. Marshall High School. The dramatic license taken in the movie was to convert what was actually a regular-season matchup between T.C. Williams and Marshall into a made-for-Hollywood state championship. In reality, the Marshall game was the toughest game T.C. Williams played all year and the actual state championship (against Andrew Lewis High School of Salem) was a 27-0 blowout. As depicted in the movie, the real Titans won the Marshall game on a fourth down come-from-behind play at the very end of the game.

T.C. Williams was referenced in the "My No Good Reason" episode of the television show Scrubs. Three actors wearing T.C. Williams letter jackets appear towards the end of the episode. Donald Faison, who plays Dr. Turk on the sitcom, also starred in Remember the Titans as Petey Jones.

Rowing

T.C. is known for its nationally and internationally competitive rowing program, which has its own boathouse on the Alexandria bank of the Potomac River. T.C. Crew has claimed state, national, and international championships.[9] The program has produced several Olympic athletes, most recently Nick Peterson and Linda Miller who represented the United States at the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia.

Alumni

Famous graduates of T.C. Williams include:

References

  1. ^ ACPS. "T.C. Williams High School - Points of Pride 2010". Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  2. ^ Jefferson Lab (15 February 2006). "Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology wins the Virginia Regional Science Bowl". Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  3. ^ Jennifer Roche. "Inauguration Parade 2009 - Overview and List of Participants". Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  4. ^ ACPS (2 November 2009). "Titan Marching Band Earns Excellent Rating at Festival". Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  5. ^ "Obama to Embark on "Stand for Change" Tour Across Commonwealth". 8 February 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  6. ^ www.acps.k12.va.us
  7. ^ www.washingtonpost.com
  8. ^ "George Washington High School". George Washington High School Alumni_Association. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  9. ^ ACPS (4 May 2010). "T.C. Crew Takes Gold". Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  10. ^ http://www.superiorpics.com/diedrich_bader/
  11. ^ Remember the Titans, DVD special features.
  12. ^ Page 139 of http://issuu.com/mcd202dc/docs/best_of_dc
  13. ^ Page 139 of http://issuu.com/mcd202dc/docs/best_of_dc
  14. ^ Page 174 of http://www.vacadsci.org/vjsArchives/v46/46-2/P169.pdf
  15. ^ http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/94/colleges-09_Emory-University_94141.html
  16. ^ Remember the Titans, DVD special features.
  17. ^ Page 139 of http://issuu.com/mcd202dc/docs/best_of_dc
  18. ^ http://www.perfectpeople.net/biography/14122/jason-butler-harner.htm
  19. ^ http://www.fandango.com/jasonbutlerharner/filmography/p363435
  20. ^ Page 139 of http://issuu.com/mcd202dc/docs/best_of_dc
  21. ^ Remember the Titans, DVD special features.
  22. ^ Page 139 of http://issuu.com/mcd202dc/docs/best_of_dc
  23. ^ Page 139 of http://issuu.com/mcd202dc/docs/best_of_dc
  24. ^ Page 139 of http://issuu.com/mcd202dc/docs/best_of_dc

External links

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