Walnut Hills High School (Cincinnati, Ohio)

History

The school was the third district public high school established in the city of Cincinnati, following Hughes H.S. and Woodward H.S., and was opened in September 1895 on the corner of Ashland and Burdett Avenues in Cincinnati. As a district high school, it accommodated the conventional four years (grades 9–12). It began with 20 teachers and 684 students.

In 1919, Walnut Hills became a classical high school (college-preparatory school) and was expanded to accommodate six years (grades 7–12). Students were drawn from the entire city, rather than from a defined district within the city. As a classical high school, its organization was modeled on eastern college preparatory schools in general, and on Boston Latin School in particular.

A new building on Victory Boulevard (now Victory Parkway) was built on 14 acres (57,000 m²) acquired from the Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati and completed in 1931. Designed by architect Frederick W. Garber's firm it remains in use today. The facility was designed for 1700 students and included 31 class rooms, 3 study halls, choral harmony and band rooms, a general shop, a print shop, a mechanical drawing room, 2 swimming pools (separate swimming for boys and girls), a library, a large and a small auditorium, and a kitchen for teaching cooking (with pantry and adjacent living room and dining room).

Examples of Cincinnati's famous Rookwood Pottery are to be found throughout the building, including the masks of comedy and tragedy adorning the proscenium arch of the large theatrical auditorium. The school's original Ashland and Burdett location became the Burdett School in 1932, which was closed in 1979. Abandoned for many years, the building was renovated in 2005 as the Schoolhouse Lofts.

Four temporary, prefabricated steel classrooms, called "The Colony" or "the Tin Can" by resentful students, were installed in 1958 to accommodate the increasing student population. As of the 2011–2012 school year, these have been demolished. In 1960, a one-story Annex added 17 classrooms, including a language laboratory and typing lab, to the school. In 1976, a Fine Arts Complex was added, partially replacing existing facilities near the main Auditorium, including a secondary facility that had been called the "Small Auditorium," "Small Theater," or "Little Theater." In 1998, the Annex was razed and an Arts and Science Center containing 30 classrooms and state-of-the-art science labs replaced it in 1999. This addition was unique in that its construction was funded entirely with $9 million of private donations from the school's alumni, after the voters in the Cincinnati Public School District rejected a tax levy that would have paid for it.

The Robert S. Marx stadium, a 2000-seat all-weather football and soccer field, was dedicated on 1 September 2006. At the same time the 8-lane William DeHart Hubbard Track was dedicated. Construction of both facilities was funded by the Cincinnati Public Schools. They are named for successful alumni who had distinguished themselves in athletics during their student years, and in DeHart Hubbard's case, was the first African American to win an Olympic gold medal in an individual event. In 2016, a new two-toned turf was installed, featuring the "WH" logo in midfield and Walnut Hills lettering in the end zones.

As is usual in American high schools, students in grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 are called Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors, respectively. At Walnut Hills after 1919, students in the 7th Grade are called 'Effies' and those in the 8th grade are called 'E-flats.' This derives from a different scheme for naming classes that was in use in the early part of the 20th century. Then, the 12th grade was the A-class, 11th grade was the B-class, and so forth, with the 8th grade the E-class and 7th grade the F-class. The other remnant of this system surviving into the late 20th century was the event called the "B-A Prom," which was the Junior-Senior Prom.

At the end of the 2006–2007 school year, Marvin O. Koenig, Walnut Hills' Principal for fifteen years, retired. Before the 2007–2008 school year began Jeffrey J. Brokamp was named the new Principal. A member of the Class of 1978, he is an alumnus of Walnut Hills and the son of previous Walnut Hills' Principal and Superintendent of Cincinnati Public Schools Raymond Brokamp.

An 8-phase construction project designed by SHP Leading Design and constructed by HGC Construction and Turner Construction began in the 2010–2011 school year, and was completed in time for the 2014–2015 school year. Highlights of the $56 million project funded by both Cincinnati Public Schools and the school's Alumni Foundation include a complete renovation of the original 1931 building, while maintaining its "classical" looks, new music lyceum and athletic complex, including a new gym with seating a total of 1200 seats on 3 of the 4 walls, locker rooms, and a full size natatorium featuring a 25-meter, 6 lane pool. There are two tunnels, one going from the locker rooms and another from the band rooms were built leading into Marx Stadium for the sports teams and the marching band. The new gym had its first game on November 30, 2012. A two-floor, 15 classroom modern foreign language wing was built, along with 4 new outdoor courtyards around the school. All classrooms were updated with whiteboards and the latest classroom technology. The building remained open and in use, with 7 temporary full-functioning modular buildings (known to students as "The Mods") replaced classrooms currently under construction during each phase. In fall 2013 when all of the classrooms were completed, the mods were removed to make way for the Christopher South Athletic Complex, which opened in October, 2014. The complex features an all-weather turf field lined for football, soccer, and lacrosse, stands that seat 400, a press box, concessions, and batting cages. Six new hard-surface tennis courts, which opened in the spring of 2016, completed the project.

Academics

Walnut Hills has long admitted only students who pass a standardized test. All students must pass a standardized test in math and reading to be accepted to the school.

An Honors program is available for academically exceptional 8th and 9th graders. The top 90 students of the 7th grade class are selected to be placed in the 8 Honors program for the following year. The history, science, and English subject areas are team-taught by three teachers in a block composed of the first three bells of the day. The program focuses on inter-disciplinary learning, in large 90 student groups as well as smaller classes of 30 students. See the listings for English 8 Honors, Science 8 Honors, and American History Honors in the Curriculum Guide.

In keeping with the classical format, emphasis is placed on ancient Greek and Roman history and culture, and all students who enter in grades 7 or 8 must complete three years of Latin. The classical emphasis is complemented by a broad range of academic options in the higher grades, with more Advanced Placement courses being offered than in any other school in the country, according to the Curriculum Guide. The school has consistently been ranked in school rankings, including being named the 60th best high school in the nation by Newsweek, and 36th in U.S. News & World Report's 2009 rankings. Each year Walnut initiates National Merit Scholars and generally scores on the 28 AP tests offered including Music Theory, Art and Design, Psychology, Chemistry and US History.

Clubs and activities

Walnut Hills' Latin Club functions as a local chapter of both the Ohio Junior Classical League (OJCL) and National Junior Classical League (NJCL).

Athletics

The sports teams have played in a number of leagues since the demise of the Public High School League in 1984. Through the 2011–2012 school year, in most sports, they played in the Cardinal division of the Fort Ancient Valley Conference. As of fall 2012 they joined the Eastern Cincinnati Conference.

In recent years the school's most notable teams have been their girls' tennis, soccer, and girls' track teams. In 2011, the football team qualified for the Ohio football playoffs for the first time in school history. The 2012–2013 boys' basketball team finished the regular season 21–1, ranked #1 in Ohio and #18 in the country. They advanced to the Final Four in the tournament. The game was played at OSU's Schottenstein Center. They lost to Toledo Rogers.

Ohio High School Athletic Association Team State Championships

Notable alumni

Notable alumni and alumni include: