School Highlights

• Four Small Learning Communities continued and included the following themes: Visual & Performing Arts, Global Communications and Technology, Health and Sciences, and ROTC/Business. Instruction again included 90 minute block schedules.
• Twenty-three students were honored at the University of Kansas as Kansas Honors Scholars.
• Striving for Excellence, the graduating class of 2007 had students qualify for nearly 40 scholarships totaling more than $152,500.00.
• Washington High School began their fifth year with School Uniforms, the school was able to offer uniform assistance to students in need through a donation program involving the graduating class. Beginning with the class of 2003, graduates were offered extra tickets to commencement in exchange for items of uniform clothing, allowing Washington High School this resource to extend to needy families.
• Twenty-eight students were dual enrolled in the Area Technical School (A.T.S.) while twenty-five students were concurrently enrolled in the Kansas City, Kansas Community College (KCKCC).
• The ROTC/Business Academy had two students compete in Girls State in Lawrence, Boys State in Manhattan.
• The In School Suspension Program (ISS) continued to include a strong academic focus.
• Washington High School students improved their performance on State Assessment Tests, with 32.3% of Washington students scoring proficient or above on the Math Assessment Test and 44.1% scoring proficient or above on the Reading Assessment Tests.
• Twenty sophomore students and seven junior student were inducted into the National Honor Society.
• The number of students eligible to play sports increased and several teams had honor roll the entire year. The raising of academic standards and Wednesday afternoon study hall for student athletes helped make this change possible. No Pass/No Play was in full effect.
• Washington High School Students and Staff donated more than 400 pounds of non-perishable food for the holiday season, as well as over 150 new toys to Toys for Tots, sponsored by the United States Marine Corps.
• The school continued a school-wide honor roll system. Hundred of students were recognized for academic achievement.
• Five students enrolled in the University of Kansas Math and Science Center, and three were a part of the Upward Bound Program sponsored by the University of Kansas.
• Eighty-three of our students were a part of the KU Talent Search Program.
• The district extended a grading policy that already included algebra/geometry classes to also include English classes, physical science, biology, chemistry, world history, and American history classes, that is strictly performance based; requiring that benchmarks are passed by students, thus establishing a strong foundation in each of these important core subjects, on which students can continue to grow.
• A strong emphasis was put on the district's family advocacy program, allowing students to meet nearly every day with their family advocate in a classroom setting.
• A group for young African American men conducted by a consultant with the district was implemented and met on a regular basis to address concerns relating to the young men, this group became known as the 100 Strong Men of Vision.
• The Second Step Program began at the commencement of the 2006-2007 school year. This alternative to long term suspension program focused on dealing with social issues that led to lack of success in the school setting. Research was conducted relating to the effects of this type of program at other schools before a decision to implement was made, the majority of students attending the program showed marked success after completion.

Mission Statement

The faculty and staff of Washington High School are committed to providing a quality education in a safe and academically challenging environment in cooperation with parents and community members.

This building report card is a brief summary of how your school and students are performing and the impact of your local school improvement plan. However, it should not be used as a single source to judge students or school accomplishments. No single report can tell the whole story of a district's or school's education program. This report card does not provide information about curriculum, teaching methods, special programs, the "climate" of your school or the performance of individual teachers or administrators.

In addition, this report card is not a way of "rating" or "ranking" schools. Because of the distinct community and student characteristics, direct comparison between schools or districts are invalid. Rank-ordering school districts or schools is a clear misuse of the information. Rather, the information should be used to access local strengths and weaknesses based on past performance and to plan program improvements.

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